This past week, I got to speak at NC State to 350 students. The class was an Introduction To Marketing, and it was a real privilege and pleasure to share my Ten Simple Lessons about Marketing presentation.
After the class, about a dozen students came up to the front to ask questions. One of the most interesting questions was a simple one.
Why did you become a marketer?
Since I never went to business school and didn’t have any classical marketing training, I shared a few reasons why I was attracted to work in marketing.
- I was an entrepreneur running a photography business from age ages 15-23. The chance to do creative work every day was inspirational. I didn’t realize I was marketing a photography business at the time but loved the work. I got to work with my grandfather George Ginsberg, who was a commercial photographer in Philadelphia for most of his career and I learned how to build a small business, how to sell customers and how to be different from the competition.
- From ages 23-35, my wife and I built a successful wholesale bakery called Rachel’s Brownies that gained national exposure and deep connections to millions of customers I enjoyed the opportunity to learn how to be a creative leader and President of a growing firm. I never thought about marketing as we grew our business – marketing just flowed as the creative expression of what we did each day to get our sweet little double chocolate brownies into the mouths of hungry customers.
- From 35-50, I worked in corporate marketing climbing a ladder of success. Each morning when I would come to work, I had a chance to exercise my creative muscles and to find clever, imaginative and unexpected solutions to reach various target audiences. As marketing became more of a discipline and career path, I studied, learned and observed master marketers so that I could keep improving my knowledge. It was in this period of my life that I started to see marketing as my career, fitting like a custom suit. It was work made for me. I liked working and collaborating with teams and I enjoyed leading marketing organizations filled with wild, crazy and brilliant team members. I loved having various marketing agencies who helped expand my marketing knowledge and built on the success of the brands I managed. Who gets to go to work and hang out with Macho Man Randy Savage while we made commercials for Slim Jims?
- From 50 -62, I worked for several mid-sized companies, leading both domestic and global marketing activities. The challenges in each industry were varied and filled with a need for disruptive thinking to solve a range of problems. Like a moth to a flame, I relished the chance to be the creative wellspring of ideas and to use my abilities to manage teams to reach new heights. Marketing became an all-consuming activity for me that was a daily creative challenge. I felt like marketing gave me a chance to have a creative workout many times each day.
- From age 62 onward, I consult, speak and write about marketing and business every day. I’m still in touch with the energy and passions of the 15-year-old version of me who loves to see the world differently. I view marketing as an acquired skill I have learned over many years, and I work hard at sharing my humble gifts with non-profits and for-profit ventures. I continue to study so I can learn from the best marketing professionals. Today marketing is as much of a career to make a living, as it is to give back for all the grace and goodness I have had in my life.
Marketing offers me a platform for my creative expressions in business and other non-profit ventures. It is a career that draws in curious and imaginative individuals who want to bring exciting opportunities to commercial enterprises. The day to day work of reviewing graphics, copy, video, digital and planning unexpected, surprising communications fills me with joy. Working with intelligent, creative folks who share a marketing worldview makes me happy.
In summary, I’m attracted to the world of marketing because it gives me a chance for creative expression with purpose and I love finding solutions to help brands become remarkable.
Could your business use a fractional VP Marketing to help you several days per month? Do you have experienced marketing leadership guiding your brand? Let’s talk. 919 720 0995 or jeffreylynnslater@gmail.com
Speaking at NC State to a marketing class.
