Marketing Madness: Discovering Opportunities in Towson’s Marketing Department

Held in the College of Business and Economics, Marketing Madness gave students a chance to explore what studying marketing at Towson can actually look like. Students could talk directly with faculty and current marketing students, ask questions, hear about their experiences and discover what happens beyond the classroom.

Today, marketing is much more than traditional advertising. It brings together strategy, communication, creativity, technology, research and data. Marketing Madness offered students a closer look at how all of these pieces come together within Towson’s Marketing Department.

Understanding Consumers Through the BRAIN Lab

What makes people notice one advertisement over another? Why do certain products capture our attention? How do consumers actually respond to marketing?

The BRAIN Lab, Towson’s Behavioral Research and Insight NeuroLab, gives students an opportunity to explore questions like these through hands-on consumer research. Using tools such as eye tracking and physiological measures, students can study attention and responses rather than relying only on what consumers say.

It is a chance to experience the research side of marketing firsthand and see how understanding consumer behavior can inform real marketing decisions.

Turning Data Into Marketing Intelligence

For students interested in analytics, statistics, digital marketing and technology, Towson’s Marketing Intelligence program offers another side of the field.

The M.S. in Marketing Intelligence focuses on acquiring, analyzing and using marketing intelligence to make data-driven decisions. Students explore areas such as marketing research, analytics, digital marketing, consumer insights and market segmentation.

There is also an opportunity for eligible undergraduate students to pursue Towson’s accelerated B.S./M.S. pathway, allowing them to begin graduate-level Marketing Intelligence coursework while completing their bachelor’s degree.

It is a pathway for students who want to understand not only what consumers are doing, but what the data can tell businesses about what to do next.

Putting Communication Into Practice Through Strategic Sales

Marketing happens face-to-face.

The Strategic Sales Competition, part of Towson’s Marketing Department, gives students the opportunity to practice communication, relationship building and problem solving in realistic sales situations. Students can work through customer needs, develop solutions and learn to think on their feet while receiving feedback from professionals.

It is another example of the department’s hands-on approach: learning a skill is one thing, but getting to practice it in a realistic setting is something else entirely.

Exploring the Business Side Through Business Law

The Business Law Minor gives students an opportunity to explore the legal and ethical side of business, adding another perspective to the decisions companies make every day.

For students interested in business, entrepreneurship or understanding the environment in which organizations operate, the minor can complement a marketing education and broaden their perspective beyond campaigns and customers.

Finding Your Place in Marketing

Marketing Madness brought these different opportunities together in one place, giving students a chance to see that there is no single way to study marketing or build a career in the field.

You might be interested in understanding consumers. You might enjoy working with data and analytics. You might be drawn to digital marketing, communication, sales or strategy. You might even discover an interest you had never considered before.

That is the value of an experiential approach to marketing education. Students have opportunities to learn through research, simulations, competitions, projects, internships and interactions with industry and faculty.

Marketing Madness was an afternoon of conversations, connections, food, activities and discovery. But more than anything, it gave students a chance to look at the Marketing Department from the inside and imagine what their own future in the field could look like.

For anyone wondering whether marketing could be the right career path, Marketing Madness offered a simple place to start: come see what is possible.