Promotion as an Art or What is Apple’s Secret: SUSU Experts about Marketing of the 21st Century

What are the society’s demands nowadays? How to understand, what is going to be popular in the nearest future and what will become out of fashion? How a regular thing can become desirable for hundreds of thousands of consumers all around the world? Marketing deals with all these questions. Specialists of this sphere determine people’s needs and help manufacturers of various goods to provide really necessary and interesting products and services and gain profit.

Marketologist of the 21st century – who is he?

First courses of lectures on marketing started to be read back in the beginning of the 20th century in the USA, and in 1926 there was established the first National Association of Marketing and Advertisement. On its basis, American Marketing Society was formed, which in 1973 was renamed into American Marketing Association (AMA). Later, such organisations appeared in other countries. Candidate of Pedagogy, Associate Professor of the Department of Management of SUSU’s School of Economics and Management, business coach Denis Stukalov told us how has changed the 21st century society’s demands and, correspondingly, the marketing.

“Marketing has changed. If previously we talked about creating a product with which we were going to amaze, nowadays marketing is intended to reduce time consumption for satisfying a person’s needs. It is important to make the person understand that if he got a necessity – it is good, you can get it here and now. At that, the issue is not in the level of income or the price. There is a group of consumers that is related to a higher segment and values the status of a product. This is especially applicable to thing that they use in their everyday life: cars, refrigerators, furniture. But demand remains the same – to get a service or a product within the shortest period of time.”

Life dynamics in the modern society makes producers constantly monitor consumers’ demands, which are rapidly changing. It is precisely marketologists who can tell whether there’s going to be a demand for a now-popular thing in the nearest future, therefore, underestimating such specialist is reckless, says the expert:

“During the crisis of 2008, advertising specialists, PR managers and marketologists were the first ones to get fired. Though in the middle of 2009, who do you think were the first ones to get hired? The same specialists. As of today, regarding the level of salary, good companies offer marketologists top-level wages. Marketologists are necessary in any sphere. That’s because marketologist is a specialist who thinks for the future prospective. But we are not talking about marketologists from the 90s or the beginning of 2000s. Now we need to talk about a marketing scientist, about a scienitific approach, the ability to select information, analyze it and form solutions. Such specialist can recommend to company owners to change something, because otherwise there might be problems. Indeed, good executives take such advice into account.”

How to bring out emotions? Apple’s experience

Competent marketing is as important as uniqueness of inventions or product quality. This is verified by leaders of the world market in various areas. They invest huge money into their advertising campaigns and use non-standard methods to attract attention. One of such leaders is the American corporation called Apple, which created a unique reputation that has become almost cult-like among electronics users. On August 2, Apple was claimed to be the most expensive public company in the entire history – its market capitalisation exceeded 1 trillion of dollars.

“A company’s success lies in its expenses spent for development, as well as in registered patents and, of course, in adequate positioning. Apple understands: it should be simple, convenient and beautiful. This is a special art of product presentation. You should know how to bring out emotions. When the first iphone was about to be released, there was an incredible excitement about this event. Only the lazy ones didn’t talk about what it was going to be like. Naturally, when the presentation was announced, the audience had already been heated. Then everything is going smoothly: every time the new release is shrouded in mystery and everybody is expecting a breakthrough. Phones with two SIM cards had long since become a usual thing. But Apple finally proclaimed: we have released such iphone. And everybody took the bait. And now nothing can stop the brand fans who are in desperate need for two SIM cards.”

Many companies are trying to duplicate Apple’s success in presenting their products, sometimes missing the fact that a product should perform the functions that were claimed in its name. Then originally interesting projects that could have become successful do not get fully implemented.

“We have enough examples of companies that failed at the stage of idea. For example, a vegetarian restaurant started operating in Chelyabinsk but was soon closed as it was not profitable, though there is the audience – the number of vegetarians in the city is growing. The problem is in the concept. In that restaurant, there was only a room with tables, stools and dishes. Generally speaking, it was a diner. Format of a restaurant assumes something more: entertainment, leisure, but not just eating,” exemplifies Denis Stukalov.

Master class by Denis Stukalov on marketing

Multi-functionality and practice

Profession of a marketologist nowadays is one of the most demanded, as it is precisely such specialist who can see possibilities and form a solution that will make business more profitable. However, in order to be demanded, such specialist should know how to use modern technology, says the leading marketologist of SUSU.

“It is not enough for a marketologist to just know the technique of conducting a marketing research or market analysis. It is important to understand consumer behavior in the Internet, know how to use modern technology and address the companies which automated such processes, such as Cambridge Analytica, which was used in Donald Trump’s election campaign. And, of course, many things depend on involvement of teaching staff and students into the real processes,” notes Denis Stukalov.

A good marketologist should at some extent be an economist, logistics specialist, manager and analysis specialist. At South Ural State University, training of marketologists is performed at the Department of Management of the School of Economics and Management. Bachelor’s study programme includes courses in disciplines related to marketing. In the course of master’s degree studies, students are mastering the program entitled “Innovative and strategic marketing”. It has been elaborated based on comparison of Russian and foreign marketing technology, which allows for a more detailed study of the world experience in this sphere. The programme is taught not only in Russian but also in English.

Moreover, SUSU students have a chance to master all necessary competencies of these spheres using specially designed practice-oriented courses, explains Head of the Department of Management of the SUSU SEM, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor Alena Levina.

“Starting this year, an interesting practice is to be implemented at the Department: we offer students supplementary education programmes, They are quite short but intensive practice-oriented courses in management and many other disciplines. Students acquire knowledge and skills in a specific sphere. They complete these courses not with a bundle of definitions in their head but with certain skills that can be applied in practice.”

Executives and leading specialists of enterprises hold lectures and master classes for future marketologists. Also, SUSU students take part in research and elaborate marketing strategies upon assignments from various organisations. Among such projects is developing an advertising campaign for SEYHO-MOTORS, supervision over research groups in projects featuring consulting companies, and many more.

Students defending the projects implemented upon an order from Kompleksnye postavki – Ch OOO

Now the Department is planning to start cooperation with an enterprise of defence complex, Elektromashina NPO, says Alena Levina:

“Such enterprises faced a problem: upon the Presidential decree on production diversification, they have to produce a certain number of products of civil purposes. But they have always manufactured certain products; their technology is well-established and they have a certain outlet market. Now they have to understand which products to release as well as how and to whom offer them. These enterprises must organise their manufacture in a new way. With Elektromashina NPO we are going to carry out research on what products on the basis of their technology could be in-demand, how to introduce them on the market, how to promote them and how to carry out marketing.”

Besides, future marketologists, who are acquiring education at SUSU, take part in the work of practicing specialists of the Department. In particular, Denis Stukalov gets students involved in projects for Fashion Retail GROUP – a trading network of Italian and Spanish clothes brands. Many of students get hired in world-level companies, and after graduation they build their careers in Moscow, Sochi, Canada, USA and Italy.

Azaliya Sharafutdinova
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