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RESEARCH


​MKTG 490 - MARKETING STRATEGY

This is a capstone course that covered marketing functions and their relationship to the business organization and its environment. Emphasis was placed upon the design of total marketing systems, strategies, and the design and production of new products and services. The biggest takeaway from this course was the importance of research to find your audience, regardless of the task. Even with personal branding, I can brand myself a certain way, but whom am I trying to attract? You need to know whom you are marketing to in order to get the best results. 

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An additional requirement for this course was to attend at least one meeting for the Alpha Mu Alpha (AMA) also known as the American Marketing Association Honorary Society. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend three of these, including one in person. Some were related to class materials, and others were helpful with networking, and pursuing a job search.

 

This was an online course, but our professor made sure to engage with us and ask questions to open up dialogue. It helped me to be engaged and I retained the information better when I was able to apply it to real-world situations. Overall, I learned plenty about marketing, personal branding, and analyzing your current environment. A SWOT analysis can be applied personally as well, to show where you are personally, financially, professionally, etc.

Examples of coursework

In the Starbucks Case, I was in a team of four to create a situation analysis and identify the problem that Starbucks is currently facing. Through research online and the ODU library, we were able to identify the problems and opportunities that could be realized.

 

This assignment forced us to consider Starbucks’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and whether or not the company is justified in its pricing strategy. Plus, we developed discussion questions for the class, to open a conversation about the problem statement.

The purpose of the Athlete Personal Branding Project was to help ODU athletes figure out a way to brand themselves and monetize their Name, Image, and Likenesss (NIL). With my team of four, we chose Lauren Holbrook, from the ODU Women’s Field Hockey team. We conducted interviews with her, did research on her background and interests, analyzed her social media presence, and found brands to align with her personality.

 

Overall, this was a great opportunity to see what goes into personal branding. It was fun to have Lauren as a “client” and see this idea come to life through our creatives and presentation.

skills employers are seeking

Work in a team structure: 

Both of our class projects were group assignments that the professor chose for us. I never have any issues working in a group and am aware that in the professional world, you may need to work with people you don’t necessarily like. I always advocate for dividing up the workload, but I will always step up and do more if I feel like the project will suffer, or that the team is not meeting requirements. My goal is always to make sure we have the best presentation possible.
 

Verbally communicate:

Both of our class projects had to be presented to our classmates and all of the team members had to participate. This tested our communication skills, listening skills, and public speaking techniques. I am typically nervous about public speaking, but I always do well when it is time to present because I have done it so many times for classes.

relation to my future goals

My public speaking skills have definitely improved since I started this course. Having to interview our athlete and present to the class, made me get excited about doing research and being able to present it to others. I love the feeling of showing people what I have done and getting them excited about my ideas. 


Also, I have retained the habit of not reciting text from a paper or PowerPoint, but really absorbing the information so I can verbally articulate it in a natural manner. In the future, I do want to take on more leadership roles and be more assertive in my next role. I know that being a leader or even a manager means that I must speak to others frequently and attend meetings, so I need to be comfortable with that.

Make decisions and solve problems:

Having to work on the Athlete Branding Project meant that we needed to connect with our athlete to be able to recommend a brand that suited them. I had to work with my team to think critically and weigh our options in the interest of our athlete. 

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