Which is the focus of a marketing major: analysis of the market, the planning of promoting, or the design of advertisement?

Thanks for the A2A.  Of all the brilliant marketing minds I've met in my life, I'm trying to recall how many of them were marketing majors in undergrad.  I'm sure there were some, but not a single one comes to mind. As others have noted, it's more important to figure out what you want to do after college with this degree.  Get a job at a good ad agency?  Major matters less than... joining the ad club & interning at a prestigious shop.  Brand development at a major CPG?  Undergrad won't matter; you'll need an MBA from a prestigious business school and nothing less. Candidly, your major doesn't matter nearly as much as your GPA & your school's academic reputation.  (and even those only have disproportionate influence during the first couple of years - after that, your work experience is really all that matters) Getting an internship is the key to any good agency job.  (and unfortunately, getting that choice internship is tricky in its own right.  Be prepared to wheedle, beg & work for free.  Or, if possible, be the offspring of an accomplished agency veteran.  That usually works.) Whatever your major, be passionate about it.  Any good talker should be able to spin the merits of a psychology / anthropology / English / Poli Sci degree to an agency hiring manager.  Accomplish that, and you're already halfway to becoming a good Account Exec!

Thanks for the A2A. Personally I find a marketing degree to be useless in most situations.  Many have this grand idea of being in a job like on Mad Men when often times after graduation you will be in a commission only sales job and will not really be writing ads or content.  I have seen more English/Literature majors end up with the writing jobs more than marketing majors.  I am not taking away from the discipline of Marketing, there are certainly things that they learn that are important, however, these are many things I went out read a few books and gained much of the same knowledge.  I feel though that it is an easy undergrad degree which is well over saturated because of the ease which makes is slightly more difficult to find a great job or a job you want because of the over saturation.  Most of my college friends that have a degree in Marketing are now in some management or sales function.    If the research side is what really interests you perhaps a degree in Actuarial Science, Finance or another math and/or research based degree would work better and focus all of your electives in Marketing.  This would, at least in my mind, make you a stronger candidate as you would have a larger and more rounded background as well as the math and/or research skills to back up that career path. I wound rather focus on what it is that you want to do and then take those steps or choose a major that will get you there.

First off, Marketing and Advertising are different things. Well, advertising is a part of marketing but it is more of a tool to make marketing easier or provide higher ROI. When I took my international marketing degree it had nothing to do with the design of ads, and little to do with planning the promotion. The focus was on the principles of business that are directly impacted by proper marketing. The ability to understand the world and how global markets, world wide events, or even disasters could affect a companies marketing and business plan were just some of the things that were focused on. Generally, a marketing degree is just a major you choose within a Commerce Degree. You should ideally walk out of university with a strong understanding of how each area of business impacts an organization but with a larger understanding of how marketing decisions play a role in the organization. From there it really depends on what you want to do with your career path. Many university degrees are never used for what they were intended. Instead, it is the ability to think and problem solve that becomes the most valuable tool you learn at university. On the other hand, a large enterprise company, will only look at people with exceptional experience or those with an education in the field they need to hire for. I think that you need to figure out what avenue of marketing you want to be a part of. Do you want to: -Sit at a desk and control the marketing mix from a top down perspective? Go get an MBA in marketing -Be part of the design team that comes up with the ads, taglines, etc? Go get a graphic design degree and take some marketing classes to compliment your design knowledge -Be the company communicator, the face, or the spokesperson? Go get a communications degree with a focus in Public Relations. -Want to work on cutting edge technology and create marketing solutions that are used by companies? Go get a commerce degree and double major in Marketing and Management Info Systems (MIS).

Marketing is complex discipline that incorporates many disparate but interconnected skills and processes. As such, there are aspects of marketing that are appropriate for many different types of people - and most people entering the field can find a spot that is a fit with their particular skills and interests. The marketing industry as a whole spans a full range of disciplines including:  strategic analysis,market research, data mining and analysis, message design, product strategy, demographics, consumer insights, creative thinking, design, copywriting, presentation design, production, digital development, analytics, digital marketing acumen (search engine marketing, online advertising, media planning and buying, User Experience design) traditional advertising (print, Out of Home, broadcast, etc) and Social Media. As for your approach to entering the field, I see two approaches - either of which should work:  1) First determine your area of interest (based on your aptitudes, personality and interests): are you a creative person? Are you a strategic thinker? Are you an analytic person? Do you like numbers and metrics, or do you prefer creative and conceptual thinking?  Once that is determined, shoot for the aspect of the marketing field that best suits you. identify the roles at marketing firms or brands that require those qualities and pursue those jobs. This will provide a focused approach - assuming you are clear about what you like to do. 2) If you are not clear, get an entry level position at either a large advertising or media agency (WWP, Omnicom, Publicis, etc.) and learn the industry from the ground up. Best would be in an account or client services support role, where you would have access to a diverse cross section of all of the areas of marketing.  OR, get a marketing job at a start-up or emerging company- where there is a great deal of hands-on opportunity at the beginning stages of the product development and market launch aspects of the business.  Either one of these options will offer a great entry level approach.

I suppose it depends on how practical that you want your marketing major to be. You will need to decide on the purpose that you want to use your marketing for, is it to help a company with their analysis, or do you wish to build your own franchise and make a lot of money?

There seem to be several good answers by previous responders. To me and in the simplest terms of a business, marketing has two primary functions:  First, to create awareness about the organizations products and services.  Second, to generate demand for those products and services.  Every other sub-function rolls up to these two main objectives.  When marketing is done right, the sales function will be productive and efficient which subsequently leads to helathy revenue stream and a sound business.  That is basically it.   There are many functions within marketing that serve the main two objective that I mentioned above, but that is a longer conversation.  Hope this helps.

The honest answer to this question is BOTH! This is why advertising and marketing is an exciting industry in which to start your career. You often find creative-minded people working on the content, imagery and messaging of campaigns in a place like an advertising agency. Increasingly, you're just as likely to find people working in strategic roles that involve marketing analytics tasks. Having a knowledge of economics and statistics can make you very valuable when working with a client company or in the marketing department of the same company. Having a firm knowledge of business concepts and how to analyze performance is essential. I have personally had a unique career path because my undergraduate education is in economics and statistics but I've moved over to working more on the creative side of marketing tasks. I think my business education has made me a more effective worker. Here's a good basic article to understand what Marketing Analytics is all about: http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/marketing/marketing-analytics.html GOOD LUCK!

I don't think you are asking the right question. What do you want to do once you graduate? Don't underestimate the importance of this decision. Don't let friends, family and, for god's sake, ads influence your decision. You might end up spending the rest of your life doing it. Just because everyone you know is doing something it does not mean you should or shouldn't do the same. Your parents might want you to to go to a certain program, but what if you hate it and end up switching majors - or worse, end up graduating and getting a job that you will hate for the rest of your life? And just because a school-sponsored ads make a certain graduates look cool and successful... their main goal is to sell you degrees - don't ever forget that. Think of something that you would be willing to do even if you got paid very little. Then you can think of how much of it you would be willing to give up to make a better living. Don't forget that you can also start your own company and set your own rules (MBA will be a part of the puzzle here, but not the whole picture). Don't be afraid to make up your decision later. Part of the reason college education is rewarding is because it gives you a chance to figure out who you really are and what do you want to do in life. Most people I know switched their career paths multiple times. Finally, marketing is a very broad program that can potentially land you a huge variety of jobs. Undergrads are not groomed to be any particular person or employee. Even focused programs have students switching streams. I hope you will take some time to open up your mind and realise that a school major is not a set course. Only you can decide what kind of person you should be in the future. Take your time to figure that person out, keep in mind that you might be a completely different person in just a few years. Good luck!

Go on LinkedIn, and find a few people who do marketing for a living. Read their profile well. Their overview, experience and skillset section will tell you quite a bit about what they do on a day to day basis. Feel free to reach out to them via LinkedIn, and ask them a few questions. Make sure you get someone to proof read your questions for proper English first. If what they do sounds like what you want to do, write down the most important skills they use daily, and find a major that offers classes on those skills. Most marketers don't have a marketing degree. I've been in marketing for 12 years, and my major was in Business Management. You might be better off with a business degree, as anyone with a business degree should qualify for a marketing position.