Know-How Exchange : Just for Fun

Marketing allows me to combine creativity, business acumen, and (consumer) psychology into a single profession.

One of the things I like about marketing is seeing things from concept to finish. It can be a product idea, an ad or a brochure. It's a good feeling to see the finished product.
Good luck in your marketing career.
Judy

I love marketing but my other passion is Porcupine Enemas....

Marketing allows you to be close to all aspects of the business while retaining creativity, objectivity, powers of critical observation, intellect, sharp wit, and so much more that the guys in engineering never get to dream about.

Marketing requires a high level of intelligence coupled to that rarity, a good deal of common sense.

Marketers get to make a lot of important decisions that affect the whole business.

Staying sober with all the power provided by marketing is tough; marketers also have to stay ethical and highly principled.

It's a tough gig, but someone's got to do it and do it well. I wouldn't give it up for the world.

I went to school to be a graphic designer and spent the first ten years of my career doing nothing but that. While it was fun, I had actually just started learning... about the clients and industries I worked for. If you had told me then that I'd eventually be a marketing specialist I would never have believed you because I didn't really know what marketing people did (they were the ones in suits who always got taken out to lunch and had the Suite tickets for the football games). But the more jobs I had, the more I learned about business...and the big picture of how what I did contributed to business and was important to do well.

I also love puzzles, and marketing for me is like a big puzzle. The difference is that you never have the completed picture on the box to look at, and the shape sizes keep changing, so it's really challenging to stay in tune with what's happening out there. I learn new things every day, new ways to tell the right people the right things, measure what worked and what didn't, and learn how to do it better. I like dealing with all kinds of people on all kinds of levels and try to learn something from each of them. The gratification when hard work, the right execution, and your belief system come together as a well-planned outcome that makes the company money or gains better market position is indescribable.
Marketing is different things to different people; I've seen many who rest on laurels, replicate or cookie-cutter ideas to other businesses and industries, never learn or evolve, and let power cloud ethical judgement for personal gain.
The most important thing is love what you do, every day, whether that be marketing or something else, and make it work for you. The rewards in the fulfillment of your life will far surpass any money you will ever make.