Michigan Ross New Program – Strategic Marketing in the Digital Age

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The University of Michigan Ross School of Business is offering a new program, Strategic Marketing in the Digital Age, this fall. Created by Professor John Branch and Lecturer of Marketing Marcus Collins, it is designed to help participants focus less on “how” a campaign is delivered, or the delivery tools, and more on “who” they are trying to reach and the environment in which they live, filling the knowledge gaps of human psychology and strategy and showing participants how to apply the program to their work.

Topics for this five-day program include:

* Defining digital marketing
* Networks
* Environments
* Tools
* Success

Collins, Senior Vice President and Director of Social Engagement at Southfield, Mich.-based advertising agency Doner, who has run social media campaigns for Apple, Beyoncé, the Brooklyn Nets, State Farm, and others, says, “Marketers still tend to think about people based on demographics, but that approach doesn’t help us understand people and their networks. Digital marketing too often focuses on the medium, but technology is only an extension of what people already do. We want marketers to understand the social networks of people–the shared beliefs, norms, and unwritten rules. Their networks are the community in which they live. Only by understanding their community can you leverage technology to the fullest and influence those social ties.”

According to Branch, Academic Director of Part-Time MBA Programs and Clinical Assistant Professor of Business Administration, marketers often fail to align digital and social marketing campaigns to an overall coherent idea. “A hashtag isn’t a strategy. A strategy needs to reflect what I call the ‘North Star’ of the brand — the idea at the core of the brand that everyone knows, loves and holds on to.”

Branch observes, “Humans are still social beasts. The fact that we’re getting news on our phone instead of down at the mercantile store doesn’t change how our minds work. This program delves into how the human brain works so that marketers understand the North Star of the community which they are trying to reach first, then develop cutting-edge tools and tactics.”

For more information on this program, visit the Michigan Ross Web site.

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