The 8th Annual Digital Marketing and Analytics Panel Discussion was held on Tuesday, April 26th following the theme of exploring diverse career opportunities in digital marketing and marketing analytics. Seven panelists with diverse backgrounds, which consisted of CEOs, directors, managers, and analysts from various companies, discussed steps to take to prepare for a career in the field.
The overall goal of this event was to bridge the gap between students' classroom knowledge and industry perceptions. The panelists shared their professional experiences and offered students the chance to interact, engage, and network with them.
Panel members included:
- Ryan Bucki, CEO, Fit Butters
- Teresa Christenson, Senior Director of Sales, Sanofi
- Kacie Eyler, Revenue Growth Manager, Hormel Foods
- Chuck Gregorich, CEO, Net Health Shops
- Vanessa Nielsen, Enterprise Data Quality Analyst, 3M
- Jake Pederson, Category Account Analyst, Nestle
Dr. Kranti Dugar, assistant professor of marketing and panel moderator, explains the event allows alumni to share their experiences with current students. While the students have the opportunity to interact with the panelists and envision themselves as part of the larger marketing analytics ecosystem as future professionals.
"Events like this, hence, are bridges between students and other stakeholders in the business community," says Dugar.
Through the discussion, students understood the inter-disciplinary nature of analytics positions in organizations and pondered over the role of both technology and human interactions in meeting customer needs and engagement.
Leah Olsen, a marketing major, added marketing analytics emphasis after attending a panel discussion. "It was amazing to hear the panelists share their education and work experiences, listen to their advice, and talk with them one-on-one after the panel. It was a great experience, and it encouraged me to take the leap from being a marketing major to being a marketing - analytics emphasis major."
Students learned how analytics can be applied to solve marketing and business issues and what day-to-day operations looked like. “The analytic panel was a great opportunity to hear advice about the industry from business professionals working in different areas of analytics," says Tim Jaeger, information systems and marketing analytics major.
“It was great to learn about the future of marketing analytics and what I can do now as a student to prepare myself for a career in the industry”
Professionals spoke about the "new normal" is related to Covid-19 precautions and changes in the workplace. Students also received suggestions, tips, and pointers for job applications, preparation, positioning, and skill-building. A highlight of the discussion was the importance of learning big data software, asking the "why", storytelling with data, problem-solving, and being curious.
Event organizers were very pleased with the turnout and student participation. In the future, they hope to promote it as an interdisciplinary event open to all College of Business students.
Dr. Kate Kim, assistant professor of marketing, and Jennine Fox, associate lecturer in marketing, organized the event with Dugar. Fox also served as a moderator.
To learn more about the marketing major - analytics emphasis, visit the academic program webpage.
