Track TWO: Management/Brand Strategy

Advertising and marketing communications is no longer an industry of “idea development” where brand identity is generated through one-way forms of storytelling. It must now include new forms of consumer engagement which require managed story building.

This presents new challenges in the ways in which managers must be fluent in developing strategies, fostering collaboration, evaluating content, managing scopes of work, visualizing information, reacting to consumer participation, making persuasive presentations – all while breaking down agency silos that inhibit productivity and collaboration.

The business/economic environment in which managers operate has become more challenging, in that client fees are under constant pressure, clients have competitive internal operations, relationships are short rather than long-lasting, and industry competitors are lined up to take client business away. BIC managers learn how to lead those within recalcitrant and legacy structures into the future.

Today’s agency, project, and brand managers must not just manage a process-driven environment, but become change agents who can recreate a healthy, dynamic, and sustainable culture with business relationships that are worthy of respect, permit improved economics and generate positive marketplace results.

In a consumer-centric marketplace, strategists must deeply understand what motivates consumers today and how these insights affect the ways in which we reach them in an ever-changing landscape. MS BICsters explore how various models of consumer psychology and behavioral science can provide the lens through which brands can design meaningful market research and tailor effective communications.

BIC strategists appreciate how messaging embraces as well as influences culture in ways that must be authentic, transparent, and add value to society.  While the business imperatives remain key, the bottom-line differentiator to enhance brand value is truth.

Based on undergraduate focus and work experience, BIC grads who specialize in this track may get jobs as: Advertising Account Executives, Brand Managers, Brand Strategists/Planners, Social Media Experts, Project Managers, etc.