Getting With the Program
BESIDES POSSIBLE ONE day being your boss, our cover models have something else in common: All have a Master of Science in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
In the program, students can specialize in direct and database marketing, or they can pick between advertising and public relations. Half the program is core curriculum. Fifth quarter students – the last “quarter” before graduation – work on a project that represents a practical use of their specialty.
Students enter the program not only to stand out from the crowd of other applicants, but also to be in the forefront of what may be the future of direct marketing.
“I’d been in advertising before,” says Gerald Connolly, manager of competition at Cablevision in Woodbury, NY. “I saw the convergence of media in terms of the different ways to communicate one to one.” Because of his belief in one-to-one customer relationships, he rejected the idea of a traditional MBA-“All fine with the basics of brand management, but I wanted to prepare for the real future of marketing”-in favor of Northwestern’s program.
Anna Vita, manager of the customer information management department at American Express, says too often an MBA curriculum is simply a repeat of an undergraduate business program. She felt a degree that focused on marketing would help her stand out from the crowd.
Another manager at American Express, Ole Andreas Pedersen, also felt a degree program “specializing in marketing made more sense than an MBA.”
For Karen Wolf, Northwestern’s integrated marketing approach seemed more creative than what she’d seen elsewhere. Wolf-director of marketing for Good Times Entertainment’s DR division-says she was drawn to DM because the “process” implemented most of the sound business rules of thumb. (And, at the time she was applying to graduate school, Northwestern had the only DM specialization program available.)
It was recognizing the value of as well as the trend toward database marketing that drew Michael Barrett to Northwestern. He wanted to “relaunch” his career and felt a strong background in database issues would give him leverage. He’s now a database marketing consultant at Dun & Bradstreet.
And Allison Tucker knew she wanted to pursue a career in direct marketing, which one could say runs in the family. Her father, Larry Tucker, is president of the alternative media firm Supermarket of Savings. While she felt Northwestern’s program would give her a competitive edge against a traditional MBA graduate, she also knew she wanted to pursue something in interactive marketing. For her project, she wrote a business plan for interactive grocery shopping. She’s now a marketing manager, handling customer acquisition and retention at NetGrocer Inc.
