Master Student Interview: Marketing Management

Master Student Interview: Marketing Management

My name is Max and I am currently following the Marketing Management Master, which I started last September. Besides my study, I work as an online marketeer at a marketing agency specialized in creating Google Ads campaigns and website design for SMEs. When I started my master, I also became an active member at Asset | Marketing, where I was part of the study trip committee. Currently, I am doing a full-time board year as vice-chairman at Asset | Marketing. This means I have paused my study for now, which I will continue in February 2021. In February, I will start writing my thesis and finish my last courses. 

In 2015, I started my bachelor International Business Administration at the Tilburg University. During the bachelor I noticed I enjoyed courses like Decision making in Marketing and Marketing Management a lot more than the more numerical courses like Financial Accounting and Statistics. This made me realize I wanted to know more about the ‘human’ side of companies. After postponing my bachelor thesis by half a year, I finished my bachelor in 2019. By that time, I was not sure whether to follow a master more specialized in management or marketing. After a half year of backpacking and working in the dive industry, I came to the conclusion I loved working with customers and creating offerings that have value for them. So, I decided I would start a master’s in marketing when I came back home. 

At Tilburg University, you can choose between two Marketing masters, Marketing Management and Marketing Analytics. It is also possible to follow both masters since a lot of the courses are the same for both masters. Keep in mind when following both masters, that you will have to write two masters theses. Since writing theses is not my strong suit, I decided I would follow one Marketing master. I decided to go for Marketing Management instead of Marketing Analytics, since Marketing Management focusses more on the managerial and creative side of marketing whereas Marketing Analytics is more focused on data analyzing markets. For a clear explanation between the two masters, watch this video by the program director of both masters.

The master Marketing Management consists of five core courses, two elective courses and one master’s Thesis. The five core courses for Marketing Management are Brand Management, Marketing Channel Management, Marketing Communication, Strategic Marketing Management, and Introduction to Research in Marketing. These courses teach you how to develop innovative and effective ways to distribute, design, price and promote products and services, both on- and offline. For the two elective courses you can choose two out of seven courses that are a bit more analytics and data heavy. For example, Conjoint Analysis and Customer Analytics. 

Since I am only halfway my master, I only followed Brand Management, Marketing Channel Management, Introduction to Research in Marketing, Conjoint Analysis and Customer Analytics. From those courses I enjoyed Brand Management and Marketing Channel Management the most. During Brand Management you will learn about the way consumers think, feel and behave with respect to brands and the way organizations perceive and manage brands. Next to the lecture of Brand Management you will also work on an actual business case for a company. I, for example, worked on an interesting case for Côte d’Or, one of the brands of Mondelēz International. In the beginning of the project you will go to the office of the company the watch a presentation. After that, you will work on your project for a couple of weeks with your team, which you will present before the actual (brand) managers of the company. Marketing Channel Management on the other hand is a bit more theoretical and teaches you everything about the one of the four P’s of marketing. 

You will learn how companies handle different streams to sell its products or services. This knowledge becomes more relevant than ever since the distribution environment becomes more complex every day and is essential to know when you have an interest in marketing or strategy consulting. 

The main difference between IBA and Marketing Management is that during IBA you will learn a little about a lot and during your master you will learn a lot about a little

The main difference between IBA and Marketing Management is that during IBA you will learn a little about a lot and during your master you will learn a lot about a little. Another difference is that a year of IBA is divided in two semesters, whereas a year of Marketing Management is divided in four blocks. This means you will have less courses at the same time, however the workload of the courses is more intense. This way you really focus on two or three courses before moving to the next instead of having to deal with five courses at the same time. During your master you will get in contact with companies more often than during your bachelor which is a big advantage of doing a master. You still have your (guest) lectures, cases, presentations and papers you have to read so in this respect there is not a huge difference between doing your bachelors and masters at Tilburg University. 

As mentioned before, I will start writing my thesis next February. When writing your thesis, you have the choice to write it for a company or for the university. I would prefer to write it for a company, not only because your thesis will help solve a current problem a company is facing but you will also make some connections along the way. Making connections with companies and recruiters during your master is very important since it makes it much easier to get your foot in the door with your potential next employer. 

I hope I gave you an idea what the master Marketing Management is like and if you have any further questions, do not hesitate to write a mail to m.m.vdrSchaft@tilburguniversity.edu.

Good luck making your choice!

Max van der Schaft



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