For the past several months, we have engaged Boston University communications student Summer Brainin in weekly conversations about the future of marketing. We explored topics of interest to young marketing professionals today, from AI to Google Analytics, social media influencers to traditional marketing strategies.
What did we learn together? Marketing is not just for the young. It’s not all digital. And it’s not all that glamorous (OK, we already knew that). AI is rapidly changing the way we live and work, and certainly the way we approach and enhance marketing.
Truly integrated marketing is always evolving and reimagining itself. You may have heard that “SEO is dead.” That is not entirely true, not by a long shot. But it’s changing. Just ask Google. Literally, just ask Google, or ChatGPT.
Our advice to young professionals is to keep an open mind, try a lot of things, measure your results, and be on top of the trends but don’t dismiss wise old marketers or tried-and-true methodologies.
Summer shared her advice below. We thank her for her insights and enjoyed working with her, and wish her the best in her career.
As I start to approach the end of my college career, I am bombarded with the question of what I will do next and what I want for my future career. As a freshman, I dismissed this question, thinking I had infinite time to find my interests. While I still believe that I have time to find more passions and interests in the future, I have had to specialize in some of my skills as I think of a future career. In my case, these skills have been my writing and creativity, which have translated into my fascination toward the ad industry. With one year left at Boston University, I have some insights on my experiences past and future.
My time at BU has been far from uneventful. As a student-athlete and advertising major, I have had to juggle many responsibilities, yet one thing has remained the same. A strong sense of communication that I have fostered in both of these realms has shaped me into someone who self-advocates and is not afraid to make mistakes. I have experienced these “growing pains” throughout my years as a swimmer, but it was not until this year with some of my advertising professors that I was held to a higher standard of being a creative. I learned that I had to make mistakes and learn from others to make my work better; it was harder to do it alone.
Recently I was plagued with the idea that I was not going to be able to do impactful, change-making work in the advertising industry. I am someone who cares deeply for social reform and have been unsure if I am going to feel fulfilled doing ads. While my creative mind will be fulfilled with ads, I have been asking myself how I can do both. My mentors at BU have shown me tangible ways people are making change in the ad industry; whether it is nonprofit work or in-house advertising for a brand with an impactful message, these paths have expanded my previously set boundaries.
I am excited to see what the world of advertising and marketing will look like in 10 years. I imagine AI will be more seamlessly integrated and a part of our daily lives. I still believe we will have jobs (reference previous blog!), but the way we disseminate information may look different, with the rise of short-form video and a decrease in attention spans. It is an exciting time to be a young professional in the media industry, and I am eager to see where the journey will take me.
