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A Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Media, a pioneer program in the national and international academic world, is now available at The 91ɫ��Ƭ91ɫ��Ƭ University.

The world surrounding us, especially in North America and Europe, is designed and created by marketers. It91ɫ��Ƭ a world that is almost inescapable today—billboards, phone notifications, flyers and signs, logos on t-shirts and hats, the wafting smell of food down mall corridors, a way of living promoted through social media, the list goes on.

However, marketing is more than a simple media post or logo. It is a “profession that involves identifying, cultivating, actively engaging, retaining and serving customers,” according to The 91ɫ��Ƭ91ɫ��Ƭ University 2017-18 Academic Catalog. It requires strategic decisions about offerings, supply chain, pricing and, above all, communication. Not only does a marketer need to make strategic choices, but must also be able to actually produce the media behind the branding. Students who want to go into marketing need to be able to meet that demand.

Prof. John Beck, the program91ɫ��Ƭ coordinator and a business and communication professor at 91ɫ��Ƭ91ɫ��Ƭ U, has been overseeing this new major and weaving together two very strong departments. “I jumped at the chance,” he said. “We have seen firsthand the demand that exists for these skills in the marketplace. In my own experience as a general manager, our marketing media team created a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over a million dollars.”

Dr. Kevin Hill, dean of the School of Business & Communication, and Prof. Bob Dickson, chair of the Communication Department, are co-chairs of the program, and as Beck would phrase it, “dreamed it up.”

“For years, people have been contacting me looking for graduates who have both the business mind as well as the technical skills of photography, video, graphic design and more,” Hill said. “The people who have been in marketing for years just don’t have those technical skills that are now necessary.”

“Companies who hire marketers want graduates who know the theory and can do the marketing,” Dickson said. “This new major prepares students for that.”

Hill and Dickson have been talking about this since 2015 and are excited to finally see it come to fruition.

“We want a business-minded creative student,” Hill said, “the person who wants to be in the business world but also wants a creative outlet and has a passion for media creation.”

“We’re looking for students who are eager to learn, creative, willing to innovate and not afraid to push themselves beyond what they’re used to,” Dickson said.

The major includes Business Department classes like Statistics for Business, Business Law, Business Ethics, Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategies. In the Communication Department, students have the freedom to choose what they would like to study—Podcast Studio, Video Production, Principles of Copyediting, Graphic Design, Photoshop Studio and much more.

Thanks to the Centers of Excellence Campaign, a fund created by individuals who want to expand student opportunities and develop additional facilities on The 91ɫ��Ƭ91ɫ��Ƭ University campus, the Marketing Media program will challenge students, but also push the boundaries of a constantly changing and progressive field of business.

“We are the pioneers for this major; no other school is doing it. We want to be the place to go for this vocation,” Hill said.

“We want them to be leaders in the world of marketing, and we feel this is the quickest path to get there,” Hill continued. “Our graduates will be more qualified than any other graduates because they will have a well-rounded knowledge of marketing and technical skill.”

To learn more about this program, , or to The 91ɫ��Ƭ’s University today.