Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Thanks everybody for the advice! I guess my last and final question is that I'm currently a recruiter for a college and was wondering if that is good experience for a marketing career? I promote the college frequently and am currently running a program to boost college attendance in the minortiy population. I am trying to work for a marketing firm, but it's very hard because of current economic conditions. :-/ Thanks again, you're advice was fast and is just what I needed!

Thanks everyone, I'm closing this topic you have all given me great advice and hope for the future. This young man thanks you profusely. :>)

Phil notes about Bob Bly:

"His, while a genuine skill, is not all there is to writing copy. I doubt you'll write copy for a an upscale resort or high priced car using Bob's techniques. That doesn't make him bad or his techniques wrong. It merely serves to point out there are many different types of copywriter out there."

Phil - note that I hire Bob often to write copy and he can write any type of copy. Using his techniques will yield success. (They have for me when I write). He has written copy for products for me that are very high end and what he writes about holds true.

You won't go wrong with his info - there are others out there to study and I referred to Bob's site since he has many free articles and even recommends marketing books by others that are "must reads."

Now I'm confused. . . . .

I found a definition of a Journalism degree.

Journalism Degrees focus on the theory and practice of gathering, processing, and delivering news and that prepares individuals to be professional print journalists, news editors, and news managers. Includes instruction in news writing and editing; reporting; photojournalism; layout and graphic design; journalism law and policy; professional standards and ethics; research methods; and journalism history and criticism.

Then I found a definition of Marketing.

Multi-faceted business and social processes by which a company determines what a potential customer needs and wants, planning of how they will attract and acquire new customers within their target markets, how they will support and manage the customer relationship once they acquire the customer, and how to protect their customer base from competition. The process and resulting marketing plan addresses Product, Price, Placement and Promotion and is the key element to a company's overall business plan. It typically is the result of countless hours of research, design, testing, analysis, strategizing, and planning.

The term marketing generally gets thrown around to describe (encompass) many formal disciplines - such as marketing, advertising, promotions, public relations, etc. All the comments hit the nail on the head, especially Phil's and Randall's, yet what does Eric really want to do?

Write brochures, press releases, corporate communications, technical manuals, ad copy, research papers, short stories, novels, news articles, etc. All these carry a different mindset and many deviate from the core Journalism mindset - despite they are all writing. Within an (larger) organization - they also may / do fall under different departments, so your "how do I get my foot in the door" approach should address the destination.

Have I missed something?

Gotta put my two cents in...I actually hired a journalism major for my marketing department years ago. Best darn press release writer; super knowledge of media expectations, wants; extraordinarily creative with event themes and detail compliance. In short, best hire I ever made at that company!!

Hang in there. In my opinion, you don't need the MBA, experience, stamina, courage and perserverance are the keys in marketing.

jag
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