Why I Want to Go for MBA in Marketing - Admission/Application Essay Example

MBA in Marketing Admission Essay Nowadays it seems that the only way to avoid any form of advertising is to isolate oneself and live in a cave but not all advertising is negative and bad. It is found almost everywhere such as just by walking on the street, driving a car, or watching TV. Ference (2004) reports, "Every surface that could possibly have an ad slapped on it -- clothing, buses, taxis, myriad walls and billboards, even the snow you ski on -- now hawks something." Our lives have been finely knit into the media world where brands are often competing for the attention and purchase decisions of similar consumers. There are many definitions for the term marketing as it comprises many different aspects. Colon (1996-2000) defines marketing, "informing your potential clients about your products or service, and finding ways to establish and keep a customer base. Your target market is the specific group of people that consume your product or utilize your service. Advertising refers to the various media used to convey your message. Printed advertisement, radio air time, television commercials and the Internet are all part of advertising that conveys your business message to the public." Another definition, which lists more steps of marketing, is listed by bookzonepro.com (n.d.), "this is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to satisfy customers." Since marketing can give a company a competitive advantage, I feel that understanding and knowing the business angles as well as the production techniques for advertising will certainly help my career as a professional. Advertisers appeal to the lusts, desires, and wants of the target market or potential customer. "Target market is the market segment to which a particular product is marketed. It is often defined by age, gender and/or socio-economic grouping," states Wikipedia encyclopedia (2006). Advertising has a great power to take a company's products from the assembly line to the shopping cart. At the same time, this power is magnified when with the addition of logistics, quality control, and production efficiencies are added to advertising to create a marketing strategy. This field is unlike any other as it involves the knowledge and practical experiences of various industries to develop, sell and promote a particular product for a company. This is the second reason why I wish to pursue a Master's degree in such a diverse field. More importantly, marketing creates more employment opportunities due to the variety of industries it integrates. A Master's graduate in Marketing can, for example, seek positions related to the sales, advertising, research and development (R&D) sectors. Even if an individual with a Master's Degree in marketing wishes to switches to an associated industry, s/he would be able to do so at any point in his/her career with minimum retraining required. On the other hand, a psychiatrist would have to undergo several years of specialized training in order to pursue his/her new career in General Surgery. Therefore, an MBA in marketing makes clear-cut advantages as a field of specialization. Marketers appeal to the lusts, desires, and wants of the target market or potential customer. "Target market is the market segment to which a particular product is marketed. It is often defined by age, gender and/or socio-economic grouping," states Wikipedia encyclopedia (2006). As previously stated, an increasing number of marketing agents, advertisers, retailers, and wholesalers appeal to the target market's emotions, lusts, desires, wants, and needs. They want to pull at the heart strings in order to persuade, or get others to believe and create some action. Perhaps some of the best examples of these use sex to sell everything from beer to necessities such as toothpaste. The word lust is not often used in our society today so the meaning may be obscure to many Americans. (Advertisers Lure Customers with Worldly Lusts, n.d.) This may seem devastating but without advertising, many people would be out of jobs and many would lack product and service knowledge and opportunities to purchase what they want and need. For example, without marketing (whether it is on a billboard, on the Internet, or through a salesman), people would not be as informed and the opportunities for buying and sales would decrease. Marketing increases competition, competition encourages innovation which leads to more jobs. Burton (2005) reports, "The goal of the competition is to improve economic developmentand hopefully, will result in job opportunities..." On a broader level, I feel that from the initial days of the development of marketing as a science i.e. after the First World War, modern marketing has taken on a revolutionary turn with the coming of each new medium for message delivery. Moreover, the process of globalization has been helped greatly due to successful marketing strategies being incorporated creating business opportunities in far-off countries of the world which are maintained by successful and powerful multinationals. The Internet has also contributed to globalization. Some even say that marketing is a necessary evil. It is necessary when the new product is introduced on the market to create a demand for it, or when there are pressures from competitors to remind the consumers of the product. It is also needed to inform people. It help to better lives, improve health and save lives, and prevent consequences. For example, we can find various ads with the positive intentions such as persuading smokers to stop smoking or promoting organic food. Ads can be helpful if they inform the audience of detrimental consequences due to lifestyle choices. I.e., Pro-Cigarette Words and Ads are Illegal (1999), states "Cigarettes contain toxic chemicals and have a record of adulteration thus causing "wide devastation," not just the 'potential' for it." Companies are also trying to get our attention by using someone else's face to advertise their products like actresses, models, or singers (Sutherland & Sylvester, 2000, p. 105). Although marketers are highly skilled at what they do in order to lure us, we are not helpless victims to their attempts and trials. Advertisements have different effects on different people. We see various types of ads and commercials every day, but our minds can process only part of them. We usually notice those that somehow catch our attentions; some of them can be entertaining, others a little irritating. The major variables that influence our view of ads are: Ad Credibility, Ad Perceptions, Attitude toward the Advertiser, Attitude toward Advertising, and Mood (Alwitt & Mitchell, 1985, p. 47). Advertising, the double-edged sword of Marketing has allowed for companies to understand their consumers' needs through many different tools like mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), watches and even food patterns. This being the age of the Internet, I feel that marketing will continue to improve as both consumers and producers in an economy have access to better information about each other. The MBA will also allow me to learn more about the major issues in this field, "the question of law and ethics". The processes of marketing should be carefully controlled. Society needs to make sure that people are not taken in by misleading advertisements. There is a set of principles that all advertisers must follow (Roman & Mass, 2003, p.200-202). After having completed the MBA Marketing program, I will be able to contribute to not only the American society but worldwide communities who need marketing and advertising to make informed decisions regarding the products and services they obtain. References Advertising. (2006, June 13). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:53, October 4, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.phptitle=Advertising&oldid=58465237. Advertisers Lure Customers with Worldly Lusts (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2006, from http://www.biblestudyguide.org/articles/sin-ads.htm Alwitt, L. F. & Mitchell, A. A. (Eds.). (1985). Psychological Processes and Advertising Effects: Theory, Research, and Applications. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved June 5, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&d=85638012 bookzonepro.com (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2006, from http://www.google.com/searchhl=en&lr=&defl=en&q=define:Marketing&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title Burton, Taylor (2005). Competition encourages businesses to innovate, 06/17/05. Retrieved September 10, 2006, from http://www.purdueexponent.org/interface/bebop/showstory.phpdate=2005/06/17§ion=cit y&storyid=elililly Colon, S. (1996-2000). What Does Marketing Mean Retrieved October 6, 2006, from http://www.icbs.com/Kb/marketing/kb_marketing-what-does-marketing-mean.htm Ference, A. (2004). Advertising Sucks, It's EverywhereDo Something. The Black Table, 07/01/04. Retrieved October 4, 2006, from http://www.blacktable.com/ference040701.htm Pro-Cigarette Words and Ads are Illegal (1999), Retrieved September 10, 2006, from http://www.members.tripod.com/medicolegal/cigadsillegal.htm#3 Roman, K., & Mass, J. (2003). How to Advertise: Building brands and businesses in the new marketing world. (3rd ed.). New York, St. Martin's Press. Sutherland, M., & Sylvester, A. K. (2000). What Works, What Doesn't, and Why What Works, What Doesn't, and Why (2nd ed.). St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. Retrieved June 5, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&d=98640261 Sutherland & Sylvester (2000). The Power of Advertising Retrieved October 6, 2006, from http://www.bized.ac.uk/current/mind/2006_7/180906.htm. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2006). Retrieved September 9, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_marketing Read More