“The most exciting profession to be in.” How to promote marketing as a winning career

Their answers reveal the importance of communicating the opportunity created by creativity, the latest technology and the power of people.

“The way I would articulate getting people to understand marketing is it truly being the CEO of a brand and a business. So, if you really love to understand all the different levers of growth, if you have an obsession with human behaviour, marketing is exactly where you need to be, because not only is it P&L ownership and general management, but it's creativity, it's connection, it's all those things combined in one. That makes it from my perspective the most exciting profession to be in,” says Diana Frost, Global Chief Growth Officer at Kraft Heinz.

WFA President and Chief Brand Officer at Allwyn, David Wheldon, says it’s important to be more optimistic about the role: “So often we talk about ‘oh it's all tough and it's getting more difficult [or] not being taken seriously enough’, but as I always say; do you think accountants worry about whether they're being taken seriously or not?”

Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mastercard, argues that now is the ideal moment to get into marketing, because it is increasingly what makes the difference for brands in a sea of technological sameness. “What will help a company stand out, stay ahead and be a part of conversation is being innovative and out-of-the-box in your thinking and creativity. And that's what marketing is all about,” he said. “This is the best time ever to be in marketing.”

But it’s not just about being positive, marketers also need to communicate what the job is about, the people they could be working with and the opportunities to cover a host of different business issues.

“The thing that gets everybody passionate, especially if you work within marketing, is people. So, I think showcasing your best people is incredibly important,” says Kate Maunders, Global Head of Marketing Communications at Primark.

For Alyssa Fenoglio, Vice-President, Global Head of Digital Commercial at Teva Pharmaceuticals, the breadth of the profession is a powerful appeal. “What is really attractive about marketing is that it's a multifaceted function that spans all aspects of managing a brand, from combining creativity and strategy with the science of growth and ultimately you're driving this sustainable long-term brand growth and consumer trust,” she says.

That was echoed by Susan Akkad, Senior Vice-President, Local and Cultural Platforms, Corporate Innovation at The Estée Lauder Companies, who argued that brands need to showcase how powerful marketing can be at every moment in the business cycle. “I think that we could do a better job of marketing marketing by really talking about the end to end of our activity as opposed to just the final result. And so, when we're talking to students or others who might want to switch careers and go into the marketing discipline, really take the time to talk about the end to end nature of our function,” she says.

Five ways we can better market the marketing profession

1. Be optimistic: technology is transforming marketing and creating new opportunities;
2. Promote your people: people want to know who they’ll be working with;
3. Highlight the opportunity: show how marketing can make a difference;
4. Showcase the range of possibilities: marketers get involved across the business;
5. Build ideas: marketers get to turn inspiration into reality.