SCPS Faculty Profile
Professor Explains Why “Integrated Marketing Is Hot, But Talent Pool Still Cool”
Marjorie Kalter
academic program director and clinical professor,
graduate program in Integrated Marketing
For those who have the skills companies now demand in integrated marketing—a combination of direct, digital, and brand marketing—the future is paved with opportunity, says Marjorie Kalter, the academic program director of SCPS’s M.S. in Integrated Marketing program. Fueled in great part by the desire by companies such as Procter & Gamble and Dell to have their marketing coordinated across all points of contact with consumers, especially for digital media, the “360 degree” agency has emerged, along with matching demand for “360 degree” marketing talent to oversee brand management.
A former top advertising executive, Kalter says the biggest challenge faced by the industry right now is the lack of managers with the skill set to handle the convergence of digital, direct, and brand marketing, and one other equally important component—the numbers.
“The corresponding challenge in the industry is a shortage of entry- and mid-level managers who have financial skills,” Kalter explains. “In my ad agency days, I saw that even senior managers were less comfortable with the numbers than some of our clients. Now, I’m hearing from CEOs and CMOs that all marketing—not just direct marketing—has to be accountable and measurable, so you also need financial skills.”
The need is so great, in fact, that Kalter often hears immediate feedback from her students. “ Integrated marketing is a necessity, and expertise in it will be a long-term competitive edge for career development,” she says. “Many of our students who already work full-time tell me that they got promoted right after taking our finance course.”
Kalter joined NYU in 2001 from Columbia University and teaches competitive strategy and entrepreneurship. She was executive vice president and account managing director at advertising agency Wunderman (WPP Group), in New York and Paris, leading integrated marketing programs for American Express, AT&T, Groupe Danone, Kraft, and Air France. In 2004, Kalter was awarded the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation’s Outstanding Educator award. A member of the Board of directors for the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation and the Direct Marketing Association’s ECHO Committee, she is chairman of the DMA Hall of Fame Committee and a frequent speaker at marketing conferences on the convergence of digital and direct marketing and brand advertising.