Marketing is everywhere we look. At times, it presents itself boldly, like the man who broke the earth’s stratosphere and plunged back down while sporting Red Bull’s iconic crimson logo. Other times, it’s stealthy and calculated, strewn into our favorite influencer’s gratuitously supplied morning routine or dispersed through our social media feeds as we scroll. Whether we notice it or not, marketing is a massive part of our lives. Here at the American Marketing Association (AMA), we’re dedicated to identifying, creating and delivering valuable marketing material to propel business forward. But it’s not just business where marketing rules. Art, fashion design, film and countless other disciplines depend on marketing to be successful. This reality is reflected at NC State. From North Campus to Centennial and everywhere in between, marketing helps us to Think and Do.
The home of marketing at NC State is Poole College of Management. Throughout Nelson Hall, over 3,500 students learn what it means to market for others and for themselves. It’s here that they learn to seek opportunities, develop solutions, think strategically and communicate in ways that benefit the customer. It’s a dynamic approach that’s equipped to analyze the past and improve upon the future. While much of what these students learn concerns businesses and their consumers, they also learn how to market themselves as individuals. Poole offers plenty of professional development opportunities like networking, resume development, interview practice and more. With all that’s offered, it’s easy to see the importance of marketing for emerging business students.
Head over to Brooks Hall and you’ll find the College of Design, boasting top-ranking programs from Graphic and Industrial Design to Architecture and Digital Media. As these programs draw excitement for their groundbreaking research and breathtaking creative projects, they also train students to make waves in the marketing industry. Whether it’s a capstone research poster exploring women and marketing, an innovative and stylish headset to diversify the consumer market, or a logo designed to develop branding and identity, these talented students create materials that embody the fundamentals of good marketing. Additionally, artists must strategically market their work. Art consultant Alan Bamberger puts it simply: “Your art is your billboard, your business card. It works for you 24 hours a day”. Pairing skill with strategy promises that your work is impossible to ignore.
Catch Wolfline Route Eight to Centennial and you’ll reach Wilson College of Textiles. Marketing is woven into the fabric of this extraordinary college where students come to study Textile Brand Management and Marketing. They leave with a deep understanding of marketing strategy, brand management, consumer behavior and promotion with the skills to adapt to an ever-changing industry. Even classic brands like Chanel are adopting new techniques to market with the times. They’ve shifted focus to digital media, producing their own runway videos, films and video diaries to reach a target audience that spends more time online than flipping through the glossy pages of fashion magazines. This new arena offers companies the ability to capitalize on sensation and shares. In an industry that worships the latest trends, it only makes sense that businesses keep up with those in marketing as well.
Finish your tour at Tompkins Hall, just a short walk from NC State’s historic Bell Tower. As an English major, Tompkins is where I spend most of my time. I study Language, Writing and Rhetoric (LWR), but the building is also home to Film, Literature and Creative Writing students. We’re no strangers to the value of marketing. Film Studies majors aspiring to be screenwriters or directors need to know how to promote and distribute their work to a wide audience, as well as the marketing opportunities within films themselves. In LWR, I explore how to be persuasive, write effectively and utilize digital media in my communications, all key elements to successful marketing campaigns. I also learn to harness the power of storytelling in fostering connections that consumers hold on to. These studies opened my eyes to the world of marketing and its exciting future. Without English, marketing may have remained an unsolved mystery to me.
Now that we’ve traversed our campus, it’s clear that marketing circulates throughout NC State. It’s what makes us the Red and White. At AMA, we strive to continue the tradition of masterful marketing on campus and off, taking our skills with us to excel in internships, jobs and community outreach. If you want to do the same with your unique background, join us! We welcome students from all colleges and majors across NC State. Marketing is essential in any career no matter the field, and it’s always a good time to start. Once you do, you start to recognize it wherever you go.