For those who think marketing is a soft skill, the Brand Management Career Acceleration Module (CAM) will change your opinion. In a short seven weeks, our CAM learned how analytical marketers really are. We heard from current and retired professionals about managing a brand’s P&L, using BDI/CDI to determine media buying, and analyzing scanner data. Determining and executing a strategy based on the information is also part of the marketer’s responsibilities.
We had the opportunity to put these skills to the test with a live case with Smithfield’s Ham category. We were tasked with differentiating ham in the everyday sales as well as holiday sales. Four teams analyzed the competitive market, average selling price of ham as compared with other smoked meats, generation trends, macroeconomic trends, and much more. Each team recommended very different strategies based on the same data. Overall, Smithfield was pleased with the CAM’s performance and will further explore some of our recommendations.
In addition to the live case, we used MarkStrat, a simulation offering a risk-free platform for testing theories and making strategic decisions. It puts teams in the role of the product manager where they have to make decisions on a long-term strategy and then execute the tactics for pricing, R&D, production, distribution, market research, advertising, and market segmentation. The simulation was extremely beneficial to understanding how marketing managers work with every aspect of the brand or product.
Of course the entire CAM was not focused on analytics. Our guest speakers and company visits also highlighted the importance of creativity and innovation. Beth Comstock, CMO at GE, emphasized two key words in marketing: value and innovation. Scott Tidey, SVP for North American Sales & Marketing at Hamilton Beach, explained why Good Thinking™ is something every employee believes in. Tiffany Graeff, SVP and Group Planning Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, demonstrated how Lovemarks inspire “Loyalty Beyond Reason”. A brand becomes a Lovemark when it creates an emotional connection and builds a culture around it. These ideas are not created from a spreadsheet.
The main takeaway from the Brand Management CAM is that marketers have the tremendous task of balancing creativity and innovation with analytics and operations.
