Aleem Visram is an award-winning, part-time professor at the Schulich School of Business. Having a decade-long work experience at fortune 100 companies such as Pfizer, American Express, Kraft, Novartis and Tetley, he has great insight to offer about what it takes to become a successful marketer. The INSIDER had the pleasure of sitting down with Aleem to gage his opinions on frequently asked questions regarding a career in marketing.
Starting from undergraduate, which school did you go to?
I went to school at Western, and I went there for two different reasons. One – it’s a great place in terms of a social atmosphere… and I’m sure you guys will understand what that means. Secondly, I really wanted to be as far away from home as I could possibly get. I went to the Richard Ivey School of Business for both my Undergraduate and MBA.
What is the most common misconception about marketing? …show more content…
Although advertising is a component of marketing, it’s probably a fifth of your total job. What people don’t realize is if you’re working in marketing, you are actually a strategist working on the brand strategy. How is the company going to make money? How is the product or service going to sell? Normally, companies hire advertising agencies to execute the plan and you have to work with them to build a strategy that fits with the brand you represent. A lot of the analytics revolves just around consumers. Understanding what they like, what they’re buying, and how frequently? These questions are key as they impact the way that you bring a product or service to market. In a nutshell, understanding the sales component and consumer insights is probably the most important