How Technology is Changing the World of Marketing

Ignore the age-old worry that job displacement will become a reality thanks to the advanced sophistication of modern technology. Fear not – we’re not there yet, and it doesn’t look like we ever will be.

If you’ve got your heart set on breaking into marketing, you’re in for a very exciting time. As the most creative area of business where the consumer will be at the forefront of almost every decision you make, roles in marketing will continue to diversify and evolve and look very different to what they were just a decade ago. Roles such as:

• Digital brand manager
• eCommerce marketing director
• Chief experience officer (CXO)
• Digital strategist

It’s all about understanding what happens next. Making room for developments while being adaptive and resilient with technology is critical as attention turns away from more traditional advertising means.

With more time than ever spent on tablets, laptops and cell phones, businesses are struggling to grab their desired audience’s attention, give them the best experience possible and build their brand in the process.

And while digital marketing is changing the ways in which business operates, it’s also changing academia as well. In Fall 2019, The University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Business and Economics designed and launched its MSc in Marketing program, with an aim to equip the next generation of innovative marketers with a “new understanding of advanced marketing, such as digital marketing”, said Dr Sara Kim, program director of the program.

“Handling big data is quite an important topic these days. However, it does not mean that traditional topics are devalued now,” Dr Kim explained.  

“Our program covers not only traditional topics in marketing including branding, advertising, consumer behavior, entrepreneurial marketing, and service marketing, but also trendy topics such as innovations and digital marketing handling big data.”

“I think marketing skills can be quite versatile especially if you have data analysis skills. The skills we teach in our program are different from those in stat courses, as we focus more on what managers need to know to handle data instead of learning exact formula.

“I am not degrading what stat classes offer – we just have a different focus for potential managers. My understanding is that a lot of industries will appreciate such skills, and a lot of companies regardless of their industry do hire people with marketing research skills,” Dr Kim added.