A work in progress in Toronto, Canada. Partner at Jet Cooper. Entrepreneur. Marketer. Geek. Go-getter. Friend. Evangelist. Listener. Dreamer.

This is what’s wrong with young marketers

Posted: February 2nd, 2009 | Author: Satish | Filed under: Community | Comments
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Shields are up captain. Nobody can see us now.

They don’t have confidence.

Now before I elaborate, let me clarify. By young marketers, I’m mostly talking about aspiring marketers. By aspiring marketers, I really mean marketing students. And by marketing students, a good portion of those I was with this evening at the University of Toronto’s marketing event.

Don’t get me wrong, the event was absolutely enjoyable. Students heard from Sean Moffitt, who keynoted after one tweet led to another (link has his blog post with similar content – kickass Sean), and also met folks in the industry. I would do it again.

But the audience didn’t all get it.

Back in the day when I was trying to demystify the black hole that is marketing, I fought for any opportunity to engage. That’s why I jumped on board a start-up creative marketing agency and attended local meet-ups with AMA Toronto, CaseCamp, etc. as a student.

When a marketer got in verbal reach of me, I went for it. I threw out my hand, I squeezed into a conversation, and I got in their way enough that they couldn’t ignore me. No hesitation, no second thoughts.

Today, there were only a handful that took that leap of confidence. When given an opportunity to ask an open question, hesitation. When given a choice to network versus listen, second thoughts.

Everyone got something out of the evening, but I commend those that made the most out of being face-to-face. If you didn’t raise your hand, leave with a to-do note, or email someone yet with a follow-up, I challenge you to think again about what you were trying to achieve and how else you’re going to do it.

If you’re reading this, then all’s not lost. It won’t take you long to find any of us on Twitter, LinkedIn, or elsewhere. What’s there to lose?

And that applies to anyone attending anything anywhere.

S

  • What’s wrong with young marketers today? http://is.gd/21ehV …Interesting #PacificAviation


    This comment was originally posted on Twitter

  • There's definitely ways that groups like #genYTO, etc. can facilitate that 'learn and adapt' mentality, making the 'read and remember' more of an exercise than an adopted lifestyle for these students.
  • Ya, the same goes for almost any other demographic of student. Anyone interested in marketing is especially in trouble because if you look at marketer as being on one of two sides, those that have adopted a new approach and are moving in one direction, versus the old style of marketing that the new is spending a lot of its efforts in trying to bring forward, then students are being trained for the latter group.

    Once their education changes from "read and remember" to "learn and adapt" the trend will have already started to change for the better.
  • All of them would be great in their own way ( really pumped for PodCamp btw!) I think the biggest help would be exposure. Looking at all of my classes the one thing we didn't have much of was exposure and discussion with practicing marketers. If a student speaks with a few marketers and realizes that they're pretty easy to talk to and all it takes is making initial contact they're more likely to go for it. By not having that it seems really daunting . I know in my personal experience I found I would talk myself out of just approaching someone and saying hi.
  • Great points @kevrichard, and good to hear it from the student perspective. What would help you be more prepared for these interactions? Personal branding coaching? Student-focused events? Attending more unconferences?
  • *raises hand* I'm one of those sorry excuses of a marketing student or at least I'm transitioning out of it ( and trying to drag others with me!) . I think the biggest hold up is negative self talk, being in university and not having a lot of experience you hear of all the experiences and knowledge that marketers in the field have and become overwhelmed. Then the thought process starts to kick in " why would they have any interest to talk with me?!" and the fear is right out rejection. And I have had that happen to me, I've been to an event where its been " Oh you're a student.... nice talking to you!" but luckily I'm coming out of that mode and am enjoying talking to people actively involved in marketing. Biggest thing I would say is be brave and be persistent.
  • It's nothing particular to this year Chris, but just hasn't hit me this hard until now. In the past I've been too busy going at it myself to notice not everybody else was :).
  • Chris
    Agreed.

    If you don't have that drive and determination, and that constant motivation to reach to the top no matter what the top is for you... things aren't going to happen for you.

    Through I do think it's very easy to lose sight of that fact, and lose sight of the goal. Then to get it back it takes a new low, a new bottom, to make you find the strength of will to fight for what you want.. (or maybe I'm just talking about my own life here?... hmm)

    In terms of your marketing event comment... maybe this year was just an off year?
    I wish I could've attended... I would've been all over that :).
  • Personalities is an excuse. You can be any sort of person - A, B, C personality, shy, used-car-salesman, extroverted, etc. but that doesn't take away from the fundamentals.

    Universities don't teach you those things, that's not what the professors are there to do. They prop up the pillars that allow you to go and accomplish that. I realize that even attending is a big step for some, but you're not doing yourself any favours until you take the leap.

    What's the point of getting into the game if you're not going to play to win?
  • It's true, you can't stop someone from sheer determination but I think the root of the problem could come from the fact that students just don't know what they want/working towards and even more prominent is that they just don't know what to do. It's not an excuse, it's just the reality of it.

    In university we don't learn how to network with others, we don't learn how to pose questions in front of professionals or have intelligent conversations - we are not taught these things unless we "go and get'em" ourselves. How? It's obvious what mediums are available that offer skill development but even those who proactively attend may already be getting out of their comfort zone, just by being there.

    I'm not sure what a viable solution is but at the end of the day, but maybe it just comes down to personalities....?
  • Thanks Zainab, Facebook maybe?

    Follow-Up Scorecard
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    Count of follow-ups: 1
    Count of new Twitter accounts: 0
    Count of new LinkedIn requests: 0
  • Zainab
    There should be some way to get everyone from last night to read this...really.
  • You draw a really key insight here Verne. Though I still believe confidence is the ultimate cause, there's of course the element of how you get that confidence.

    Inspiration is a huge part of it. If you're working towards a goal you believe in - one that inspires you - then you're more likely to exert yourself in all sorts of ways to get there.

    You can't stop someone with the sheer determination to do something, in any case.
  • I think a lot of it stems from a lack of inspiration within the institutions that are introducing the students to this wonderfully wide and ambiguous sandbox we call marketing. I remember the 4 P's and the 3 C's. I remember learning about SEO (something I'm sure many students aren't privileged to learn about in a business program). And yet, I don't remember hearing about the passions, thrills and excitements of becoming a modern day Mad Man.

    Whether it was luck or fate (or anything in between), we somehow had the ambition to seek out our own inspiration. It's a will that not many can say they start with (then again it's not something many can say they can retain either, but that's a whole other story).

    So, you say they lack confidence. I think they lack inspiration - and the motivation, passion and determination that inevitably sparks that confidence.

    And this isn't just an issue with marketing.
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