Marketing Communications Today is a collection of resources for marketing communications
professionals filled with industry research, marketing trends, and career
information about integrated marketing and data-driven communications.
Learn industry insights through the Marketing Communications Today blog,
podcast, as well as Integrate Online.
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.
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.
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.
Cyndi Greenglass: What does it mean to have audacious authenticity?