MS in a Nutshell

The day after Thanksgiving unofficially puts everybody on a "busy" mode. I have 4 group presentations and 2 final papers to finish in the next couple of weeks. Although, so far, my groupmates and I have been very effective at time management and efficiency, we tend to want to overthink our presentations so we can come up with the best strategy - and preferably the best grade. That is why we spend good time in discussing the meat, or what our professors would love to hear us say.

I now think I should have started a blog since the beginning of my Masters program at NYU, but I am afraid that talking about it may have not given it enough justice. The academic and social aspects of it are obviously different from an MBA program, but they are still very enriching.

I am taking my MS in Direct and Interactive Marketing. What it is in a nutshell is targeted and measurable marketing. There is already a shift in marketing dollars from "traditional" (although, this can mean many things other than TV, radio and print) to "targeted" (this one too!... syndication, search, direct, email, SEO, etc.). Gone are the days when ad agencies can talk their Clients into approving a communication plan that is predominantly TV, Radio and Print-based. Clients nowadays want their money accounted for, they want to know whether the $10,000.00 they put into this marketing effort can bring them back 20 times much more in return. They always give less for more.

There are a million different media formats now and each cater to different marketing objectives. DRTV, TiVo, FSI's, Blogs, Co-op, Alternative, Contextual Ads, Search and what have you. Do you want branding? Do you want tactical? Do you want to drive traffic? Do you want conversion? There will always be something, and you just have to find the right mix. The key thing is to keep testing and testing until you beat your control format.

One key thing that they keep teaching us in class is to test and test until you die. It's crazy how marketers come up with the greatest, brightest and most successful marketing ideas, and still manage to beat it. It evolves and evolves and you just can't stop - otherwise, you will miss the bus.

Right now, I am taking the following classes: Advanced Direct and Interactive Marketing (this is actually more of a Strategy class, than a DM class), Creative Strategy, Media Planning and Buying, and Management Principles and Ethical Practices. Each class complements another seamlessly. Each one goes very in-depth that sometimes I feel like a semester is not enough to learn everything about it.

Sometime ago, I was compelled to subscribe to dozens of direct and interactive marketing blogs (will send you links next time), and you could easily get lost with the whole gamut of new information you read everyday. But thanks to RSS, I get to choose what I want to read anytime!

Just awhileago at lunchtime, I attended a dialogue at NYU with Robin Johnson, the President/CEO of Financial Times, and he talked about the importance of tapping multiple channels and the challenge of being global using a single, established brand. And yes, he did mention that FT's marketing dollars is on its way to a 50-50 split in online and offline. (Yes! I'm in the right program!) I could go on and on talking about this ever-changing industry, and you might just get bored if you're not into it.

So anyway, that's basically what I learn here. My other Masters taught me integration between marketing disciplines, and this one is teaching me targeting, strategy and measurability. I wonder when marketing this sophisticated will become popular in the Philippines?

On a different note, I had a lot of fun during Thanksgiving weekend. Apparently, I have another addition to my TLTILAF series. More on that soon...

Okay enough, I still need to work on my final project. Ta-tah for now.