Skip to main content

About Marketing Management

Marketing is the strategic process of creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers. It encompasses a range of activities such as market research, product development, advertising, and sales aimed at satisfying consumer needs and achieving organizational goals. In essence, marketing involves understanding customer desires, crafting compelling messages, and effectively promoting products or services to drive sales and foster long-term customer relationships.

Cal Poly’s Marketing concentration cultivates agile marketers, who integrate data analytics, critical thinking and creativity. The curriculum is a conscious balance among the technical rigors of data, the nuance of creative strategy, and the finesse of customer relationship management. These experiences prepare marketing graduates to launch careers in digital marketing, marketing strategy, sales, experiential marketing, and more.

Career Pathways

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is the strategic use of digital channels such as websites, social media, email, and search engines to reach and engage with target audiences. It encompasses a range of tactics including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, and paid advertising to drive brand awareness, generate leads, and ultimately, achieve business objectives in the online realm.

Top Job-Titles  Key Skills  Applicable Courses On-Campus Organizations
  • Digital Marketing Associate
  • Digital Marketing Manager
  • Digital Strategy Analyst
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Email Marketing platforms
  • Digital Advertising platforms
  • Data Analysis
  • Copy Writing
  • BUS 453 – Digital and New Media Marketing
  • BUS 421 – Marketing Analytics and Business Intelligence
  • GRC 361 – Marketing & Sales Management for Print & Digital Media
  • Media Arts, Society and Technology Minor
Content Marketing

Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage a target audience. Its goal is to build brand awareness, establish credibility, and ultimately drive profitable customer action through informative and engaging material such as articles, videos, and social media posts. Content marketing is a component of digital marketing, emphasizing the strategic use of content to drive results within the broader digital landscape.

Top Job-Titles  Key Skills  Applicable Courses On-Campus Organizations
  • Content Strategy
  • Social Media Manager
  • Content Creator
  • Content Marketing Manager
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Analytics [i.e. google analytics],
  • Content management systems (CMS)
  • Email Marketing Platforms
  • Basic HTML/CSS
  • BUS 453 – Digital and New Media Marketing
  • JOUR 331 – Contemporary Advertising
  • GRC 338 – Web Development & Content Management
  • Graphic Communications Minor

Key Recruiting Programs & Timelines

Recruiting happens on a rolling basis for most business analytics programs, starting in Winter for the next Summer Internship cycle (18 months before internship start date) and August for full-time positions the following summer (nine months before start date). There are a number of Consulting programs for internships and early career opportunities, including:

  • PWC Women’s Consulting Experience, Start
  • Deloitte Discovery
  • EY Launch
  • KPMG Embark, Rise
  • Accenture SLP

Consulting On-Campus Organizations & Resources

  • Cal Poly Consulting
  • Mustang Consulting
  • Net Impact Consulting
  • OCOB Career Readiness Center Case Preparation
Demand Generation & Field Marketing

Demand generation and field marketing encompass the strategies and tactics used to stimulate interest and generate demand for a product or service within a targeted market. This involves a range of activities such as organizing events, creating compelling campaigns, and engaging with potential customers to drive brand awareness and ultimately, sales. It’s a strategic approach aimed at effectively reaching and influencing potential buyers to take action.

Top Job-Titles  Key Skills  Applicable Courses On-Campus Organizations
  • Growth Marketing
  • Events Coordinator
  • Demand Generation Specialist
  • Field Marketing Specialist
  • Email Marketing Strategist
  • Marketo
  • Hubspot
  • Lead Generation
  • ABM/ABX
  • Social media management tools
  • CRM systems
  • N/A
  • Event Planning and Experience Management Minor
Market Research

Careers in market research involve studying market trends, consumer preferences, and competitors to provide insights that inform business decisions. Market researchers collect and analyze data through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and other methods to understand consumer behavior and preferences. They interpret findings to identify opportunities, assess market demand, and evaluate the effectiveness of marketing strategies.

Market research encompasses the systematic gathering, analysis, and interpretation of data related to markets, consumers, and competitors. It involves studying various aspects of the market, such as consumer behavior, preferences, demographics, and trends, to provide valuable insights to businesses and organizations. Market researchers employ a range of techniques and methodologies, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, and data analysis, to gather information and draw conclusions.

Top Job-Titles  Key Skills  Applicable Courses On-Campus Organizations
  • Consumer Insights Analyst
  • Data Analyst / Marketing Analyst
  • Market Research Associate 
  • Data Analysis tools (SPSS, R or Excel)
  • Quantitative & qualitative research skills
  • Survey Platforms (SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics)
  • Data visualization tools (Tablea, Power BI)
  • BUS 396 – Consumer Insights
  • BUS 418 – Listening to the Customer
  • BUS 419 – Strategic Marketing Measurement
  • STAT 323 – Design & Analysis of Experiments
  • STAT 331 – Statistical Computing with R
  • STAT 421 – Survey Sampling & Methodology
  • Psychology minor
  • Statistics minor
Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing, also known as engagement marketing or event marketing, involves creating immersive brand experiences that actively engage consumers and allow them to interact with products or services in memorable ways. Instead of relying solely on traditional advertising methods, experiential marketing seeks to forge emotional connections and foster positive associations with the brand through firsthand experiences.

This approach often involves organizing live events, pop-up activations, product demonstrations, or interactive installations where consumers can directly interact with the brand in a physical space. Experiential marketing aims to evoke emotions, stimulate senses, and create meaningful interactions that resonate with consumers on a deeper level than traditional advertising.

Top Job-Titles  Key Skills  Applicable Courses On-Campus Organizations
  • Partner Marketing Lead
  • Community Marketing Manager
  • Events Coordinator
  • Cvent Event Marketing Strategy Certification
  • Event Planning
  • RPTA 318 – Destination Marketing and Management
  • RPTA 320 – Strategic Event Planning
  • RPTA 321 – Advanced Principles of Experiential Marketing
  • RPTA 420 – Festival and Event Management
  • Event and Experience Management minor
Sales

A career in sales involves the process of selling products, services, or solutions to potential customers. Sales professionals are responsible for identifying leads, building relationships, and persuading prospects to make a purchase. They often work closely with marketing teams to understand customer needs, generate leads, and develop effective sales strategies.

Sales roles can vary widely across industries and sectors, including retail, real estate, pharmaceuticals, technology, and more. Depending on the industry and product/service, sales professionals may work with individual consumers (B2C) or businesses (B2B).

Top Job-Titles  Key Skills  Applicable Courses On-Campus Organizations
  • Sales Development Representative (SDR)
  • Business Development Representative (BDR)
  • Ad Sales Rep
  • Account Manager
  • Solutions Engineer
  • Solutions Consultant
  • Account Executive
  • CRM
  • AWS cloud practitioner
  • Outreach
  • Powerpoint
  • Gong
  • LinkedIn Sales navigator
  • Salesforce Certification
  • Zoominfo
  • Excel
  • Outlook/Team/Slack
  • ConBUS 347 – Professional Selling Skills
  • BUS 348 – Technology-Based Professional Sales
  • BUS 489 – Negotiation
  • IME 401 – Sales Engineering
  • ITP 406 – Professional Technical Sellingtent
  • Sales minor

UI/UX On-Campus Organizations

  • Iter8
  • UX Fest
PR, Advertising, & Media Relations

The fields of public relations (PR) and advertising both focus on shaping public perception and promoting products, services, or ideas, but they differ in their approaches and objectives. Public relations involves managing the reputation and image of an organization or individual through strategic communication with various stakeholders, including the media, customers, employees, investors, and the public.

Advertising, on the other hand, involves paid promotional activities aimed at reaching and influencing target audiences to drive sales, brand awareness, or other desired outcomes. Advertisers develop creative campaigns and messaging to attract attention, engage consumers, and persuade them to take action, such as making a purchase or visiting a website.

Both PR and advertising play essential roles in building and maintaining a brand’s reputation and visibility. While PR focuses on earned media and relationship building, advertising relies on paid media and creative messaging. Opportunities in PR & advertising span across industries, from agencies, corporations, non-profit organizations, or government agencies.

Top Job-Titles  Key Skills  Applicable Courses On-Campus Organizations
  • Corporate Communications Specialist
  • Public Relations (PR) Specialist
  • Advertising Strategist
  • Brand Manager
  • Publicist
  • Google Ads & Facebook Ads
  • Copy writing
  • JOUR 312 – Public Relations
  • JOUR 331 – Contemporary Advertising
  • JOUR 342 – Public Relations Writing & Editing
  • Communications Studies minor
  • Media Arts, Society, and Technology minor

Graduate Outcomes

 Top Jobs
  • Marketing Analyst
  • Marketing and Operations Manager
  • Marketing Associate
  • Sales Development Representative
  • Business Development Representative
  • Recruiter
  • Marketing Coordinator
  • Content Coordinator
  • Digital Marketing Specialist
Salary Report
  • $65,000 - Median Based Salary
  • $1,850 - Average Signing Bonus
  • $30,600 - Average Expected Commission**

*110 respondents from 2023-24 Graduate Status Report
**Based on those receiving commission

Top Companies
  • Adobe
  • Insight Global
  • Walt Disney
  • DocuSign
  • Oracle
  • RSM
  • American Express

Marketing Management Alumni Mentors

Ashley Bocast

Ashley Bocast: Field Marketing Manager @ Workday

Ashley lives in San Diego and works remote as a Field Marketing Manager for Workday. She works very closely with the Sales team to build and accelerate pipeline, mostly via in-person and virtual events. Ashley graduated from Cal Poly in 2015 as a Business major with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. In my free time, she loves going to the beach with my 2 year old french bulldog (Benny), traveling to new cities/ countries, going to live music shows, and reading by the pool.

Gianna Kettmann

Gianna Kettmann: Digital Advertising Operations Manager @ Palo Alto Networks

Gianna specializes in advertising, marketing technology and operations in the technology sector, specifically cybersecurity. She manages a team of operations and analytics specialists that function as the operations arm of Global Paid Media. Outside of work, Gianna is passionate about travel, fitness, and reading. She can mentor on finding a job, deciding on a career path, transitioning to post-grad, and having a fulfilling, values aligned college career.

Tom Howell

Tom Howell: Senior Client Success Manager @ Hinge Health

For the entirety of my career, Tom has served in a variety of cross-functional roles with an emphasis on account management. Tom started in Oracle’s “Class Of” Program, quickly transitioned to a pilot team within their IaaS/PaaS space, and for the past 3 years he’s been working for a high growth startup in the digital health industry.

Tom has lived in Austin TX, San Francisco, and just recently relocated to Sacramento, CA. In my free time, he is an exercise fanatic and an (improving) fly fisherman!

Connect with Alumni

To gain mentorship from these alumni or other industry professionals, apply to the Alumni Mentoring Program or reach out on Cal Poly Career Connections. Mentors exist in various pathways in Information Systems and provide career-related support to launch your career.

ALUMNI MENTORING PROGRAM