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University of California at Berkeley: Haas - Marketing Club

Co-Presidents Andrea Schalka and Agustina Sacerdote discuss the effects online shopping has on advertising

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Mon Aug 6 2012

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Andrea Schalka worked as Marketing Coordinator at Santander, and Agustina Sacerdote has been Engagement Manager at branding and marketing consultancy Prophet. Both are studying for an MBA at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and they're Co-Presidents of the school's Marketing Club. Andrea and Agustina tell us about Kotler’s 4P model and the effect online shopping has on advertising.

What are your club’s big aims this year?
We’d like to position Haas an as innovative school in Marketing – with a focus on diverse industries and functions, and based on a diverse skillset that we believe is necessary for a marketer to be successful in today’s marketplace.

Who was the most exciting speaker you had this year?
A lecture by David Aaker, and a brand management boot camp class with Bill Pierce

What companies are you partnering with?
This changes year by year. We have a continuing relationship with Chevron and Clorox and other Bay Area-based companies. This year we’ve been approached by Central Garden and Pet. Every fall semester we have six or seven companies represented in our Fall Speaker Series as well.

Have there been any significant improvements since the 1970s to Kotler’s 4P model (product, place, promotion, price) for analyzing any marketing situation?
The 4 P’s continue to be a helpful starting point for both novice and experienced marketers, but the way a brand chooses to engage customers is not completely captured by this framework anymore.

Beyond the 4 P’s, marketers need to think about what tactics will best tell the brand story in a way that is relevant to their target audience. In essence, we believe there are at least 2 more P’s that should be captured – Purpose and Personalization. Storytelling is also a powerful framework that is more aligned with the current dynamics between consumers and brands.

How do you think online shopping has changed the rules of the game in terms of advertising and pricing?
Online shopping definitely arms the consumer with more convenience, information and decision-making power. In this era of digital engagement, successful brands build an online presence not only meant to sell products, but to allow consumers to discover, learn and share. Furthermore, successful marketers need to abandon the channel-centric view of offline vs. online, and understand how technology can successfully bring together these two worlds to create a consistent, compelling and engaging customer experience.

Do you think in a time of recession, marketing and advertising are as necessary within organizations, and to what extent do you think that they will still stimulate revenue?
Marketing will always be necessary – it is the means by which companies connect with consumers beyond the transaction. In this era of high unemployment and heightened financial awareness, companies need to strategically think about the value that they are delivering – and in many categories this has been redefined post-2008. It also puts more pressure on marketers to really assess the effectiveness of their marketing investments, and allocate their budget accordingly.

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