Marketing Communications Today Blog

It was a dark and stormy night. IMC discussion posts had been written, replies completed early, and thoughts of assignments due on Monday were being put on hold for the evening. Students gathered dressed in their best costumes to celebrate the only day of the year scarier than the capstone project deadline – Halloween.

At this party, you can tell just by the costume what each student is studying. Because just like Halloween garb, a student’s Area of Emphasis is a reflection of their interests and personalities.

Here’s a look around the party:

Empowering brands and inspiring people to think differently – this is how Mary Prevost has approached her 16 years of work in the public relations industry.  Nurturing meaningful relationships is key to Prevost’s success – from internal executives and colleagues to external target audiences and media. Prevost’s vast experience spans both agency and client-side work and she’s helped clients of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to startups and non-profits.

Her specialties include both B2B and B2C strategic communication, content marketing, media relations, writing, social media planning and execution, crisis communication, brand development, event planning, and internal communications/team building. 

With a career in the field of marketing communications, your options are endless. You can pursue careers that focus on public relations, digital and social media, content creation, even healthcare.

Right now, we want to explore a niche area of marketing — higher education marketing. In doing so, we’ll address the following questions:

But first, let’s talk about Integrated Marketing Communications at West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media.

When people ask about me about myself, one thing I always mention is that I love to travel.

I love to see new places, meet new people, and take a ridiculous number of pictures. In the past week, I traveled to South Beach, Miami, Florida and stayed in a hostel with eight of my best friends  — picture eight girls in a room packed with bunk beds.

Why do I mention this? Well, when you’re enrolled in an online graduate program — like  Integrated Marketing Communication — your environment is your classroom, and last week, my hairspray, sunscreen, and glitter covered hostel was my classroom.

Here at West Virginia University's Reed College of Media, our online graduate students have always proven to be high-achieving, however, some of our students truly do go above and beyond: Meet Kaitlin Ingram.

Kaitlin is a Marketing Manager at SC Johnson in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a 2013 graduate of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) master’s program, Kaitlin had already obtained a strong skill set in creating IMC campaigns. But she wanted to take a deeper dive into the data behind marketing campaigns and decided to enroll in the Data Marketing Communications (Data) graduate program this year.

Here's what she had to say.

The social media field is continually changing, and having in-depth knowledge of the field is essential when it comes to succeeding in this competitive industry. However, experience is just one part of the equation when it comes to thriving in a social media-focused workplace. In other words, there are some essential skills, best practices, and tips students and young professionals need to grasp in order to be marketable in the dynamic field of digital and social media.

In a recent interview on our podcast, Dennis Yu discussed these new expectations, best practices for marketing yourself using social media, and the future of work in social media.

As the landscape of marketing communications continues to evolve across all industries, the industry demands a new type of marketing communications professional. This professional offers  thought leadership and  problem solving in a specialized area of marketing communication, but can also  adapt and  improve in areas beyond their specialty. 

The “ T-shaped marketer” is this title given to the professional in demand. What is T-shaped marker? Are you a T-shaped marketer, or how do you become one? Read on to learn more about the potential you have to leverage your knowledge and expand your skills.

A T-shaped marketer is someone who has a broad range of knowledge across all the areas of marketing and  profound knowledge in one specific area. This kind of marketer tends to thrive in the industry long term, experience measurable career advancement, and find themselves capable of being successful in a variety of career roles.

Negative events can go viral these days — easily. For this reason, effective crisis management skills are incredibly valuable for marketing communications professionals to master.

In this interview,  Melissa Agnes, a globally recognized and leading expert in crisis management, shares some of her field experience as well as how she helps professors bring crisis management best practices into their classrooms to help their students build and hone this critical skill set.

In the fast-paced world of marketing communications and media, it’s increasingly necessary to have well-trained public relations professionals present within the marketing communications teams of all industries.

From crisis communication to social media management, there are countless specializations for public relations professionals to take on in their career and education. For professionals interested in advancing their skillset and becoming a driver of industry trends, the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) graduate program specialization in Public Relations Leadership can provide the knowledge applicable to reaching the highest potential.

West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media offers an Area of Emphasis (AOE) in Public Relations Leadership, existing within the larger framework of the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) graduate program. By pursuing a specialization like Public Relations Leadership along with your graduate degree in IMC, you are positioning yourself as a T-shaped marketer, which makes you much more valuable given your combination of specialized and general training in marketing communications theory .

Tamara Rebick is the Founder and Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of CORIPHERY Holistic Consulting Solutions, a boutique consulting firm that delivers strategic solutions to the non-profit, education and community/social sectors. An eternal optimist, she advocates for organizational wellness and is passionate about challenging the status quo through “respectful disruption”. Tamara consults and advises on strategies connected to participant engagement, organizational capacity-building, and culture design.

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