In House vs. Agency Marketing

AUSLEEN ACOSTA | APRIL 9, 2021

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As we go on to explore the endless possibilities of the marketing world, this inescapable question seems to follow us - agency or in-house marketing? The choice of working at an agency or in-house is completely based on preference, and it’s important to know what’s the best fit for you!

Marketing agencies are firms that are responsible for building value for multiple businesses at a time. Full-service digital marketing agencies usually have multiple employees dedicated to different departments such as search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, social media management, web design, content marketing, etc. in order to drive the biggest results for your business. This differs from in-house marketing because in-house marketing involves people that work exclusively for a company. These employees are paid to specialize in the company’s product, philosophy, and culture and use this information to leverage their brand.

There is no better or worse, but there are different pros in each route in regards to skills, creativity, and adaptability:

Skillset: When you are working at an agency, you will be surrounded by professionals who specialize in different aspects of marketing, whereas in an agency, you will be working alongside different parts of a business such as operations, product, communications, etc. If you enjoy working in fast-paced environments, agency life might be best for you because you could dip your toes in many different aspects of marketing.

Creativity: If you value creativity in your work, agencies would be a great option because you are not limited to marketing one product or service because you’re handling a wide variety of accounts at a time. Your mind will always be moving to try to find solutions for different unique businesses. However, in-house marketing is good if you like to be creative in finding a deep understanding of specific problems and competitors. 

Adaptability: Since in-house marketing is dedicated specifically to a single company, communication is fairly easy and you could finish marketing tasks efficiently. This allows you to have a more malleable agenda. Considering agencies are handling multiple clients at once, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by high-priority tasks and task coordination can be an issue between the company and the agency. If constant communication is one of your priorities, in-house marketing can be a great route for you.

Do you have an idea of which marketing route to take? Please let us know in the comments below!

A Beginner's Guide to Marketing Concepts

AUSLEEN ACOSTA | FEB. 05, 2021

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Are you interested in marketing but can’t get a grasp on what it’s about? Going into college, I knew that I wanted to major in business marketing but I didn’t necessarily know where to begin in finding information. In today’s blog post, we’re going to go over five essential marketing concepts that you should know! 

According to the American Marketing Association, “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that here value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” There are many different ways to undergo the marketing process, and the world of marketing is always changing and adapting to different trends. However, either of the five marketing concepts of production, product, selling, marketing, and societal concepts can be found at the basis of every marketing campaign. 

THE PRODUCTION CONCEPT

The production concept focuses on the assumption that consumers will prefer products that are widely available and inexpensive. This concept is one of the oldest concepts in marketing and was founded during the production era of early Capitalism in the mid-1950s. At this time, companies were focused on achieving high production efficiency, low costs, and mass distribution. An example of the production concept is McDonald’s, where they sell fast food for an extremely low price and are available at any time of the day. The production concept focuses on the quantity, not the quality of the products. 

THE PRODUCT CONCEPT

The product concept is almost the opposite of the production concept. This concept focuses on products that are quality and innovative over low-cost products. It assumes that availability and price don’t have a role in consumer buying habits and believes that brand loyalty is closely tied to their products. A great example of this concept is Apple, where they concentrate on making innovative products and improve their products over time. Many people don’t care about the price of new Apple products and their company trusts that potential customers will buy them anyway. 

THE SELLING CONCEPT

The selling concept believes that consumers and businesses alone will not buy enough of the selling company’s products. This leads to the assumption that the company must convince a customer to buy their product through aggressive selling and promotion effort. This concept usually disregards the customer’s needs. An example of this is Coca Cola, where the consumer knows that it’s really bad for your health, but Coca Cola still pushes its product. 

THE MARKETING CONCEPT

The marketing concept focuses on competition and believes that knowing the target market, sensing its needs, and meeting them most effectively better values its customers than its competitors. This concept emphasizes that customers come first and will always return to buy more. A great example of this concept is Glossier, a make-up company, figured that women were unhappy with the toxins and negative effects that make-up had on their skin. As a result, Glossier introduced a line of skincare and make-up products that nourished their skin. 

THE SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT

The societal marketing concept believes in giving back to society by producing products that benefit the consumer and society’s well-being. This concept focuses on the idea that marketers have a moral responsibility to market purposefully and promote what’s good for the people. An example of the societal marketing concept is The Body Shop, where they create natural cosmetics and skincare that are plant-based and cruelty-free.

These five essential marketing concepts are key components of any marketing campaign. Although some concepts are more beneficial than others, it’s important to know the basics of each concept. Knowing these concepts are not only important for marketing students, but for all business students, and we hope that you gained a little more insight into what marketing is about!

REFERENCES:

https://www.ama.org/topics/marketing-definition/#:~:text=Marketing%20is%20the%20activity%2C%20set,partners%2C%20and%20society%20at%20large.

https://avalaunchmedia.com/the-five-marketing-concepts/

https://www.disruptiveadvertising.com/marketing/marketing-concepts/

The Clock Ticks on TikTok

ISAIAH CROOKS | OCT. 23, 2020

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TikTok’s recent claim that competitors are attempting to steal their followers by utilizing similar, popular features from their app should come to no surprise to anyone. While TikTok did not name any social media platforms, it is clear that one of the platforms they are referring to is Instagram, who has a history of implementing features that are similar to those used by competitors. 

Instagram’s tricks may be slimy, but they are unfortunately common in the business realm. One tactic that has always existed in business has been to:

1. take a competitor’s feature

2. improve the feature 

3. implement the feature into their own mix 

After that, it is the marketing team’s responsibility to market the feature as new and improved– and vastly superior to their rivals.

Ultimately, Instagram is following the business handbook, but they may not succeed this round in dethroning their competitor. If TikTok is serious about maintaining their “It Girl” status, they need to learn from Snapchat’s mistakes and show that their app is vastly superior to Reels (which it is).

OFFICIAL BLOG LAUNCH - OCTOBER 2020!

Hi fAMAly!

American Marketing Association at San Diego State is SO excited to announce the launch of our BLOG! We’ll be covering all things #trending, from current trends to marketing tips & tricks, & even letters from our members & Executive Board - this is a resource for all of our members to stay up to date, get even more advice, & learn about the crucial trends happening in the digital world! Posting every other FRIDAY, we cannot wait to provide yet another source of information to further your knowledge, but also discuss the best practices in today’s ever-changing marketing industries. Stay tuned for our official OCTOBER 2020 launch THIS FRIDAY, October 9th, at 12 PM PST.

In the meantime, be sure to keep up with us on all of our social media!