3rd Student-Practice Conference in the School of Business, SUNY Geneseo
Under the leadership of marketing professor Dr. Ian Alam, the school of business organized its 3rd Marketing Student-Practitioner Conference on Friday, October 22, 2021. For the last two years the students have used this conference to network with marketing practitioners and experts and learn about new developments in the field of marketing. Due to the pandemic, the conference moved to the virtual format in which the participants attended via Zoom. This year the theme of conference was “Marketing in the Age of Disruption”. Indeed, recently, marketing has been affected by disruptions: from big data to social media to artificial intelligence to augmented reality to sharing economy. These disruptions raise novel questions that require new thinking about product innovation, advertising, pricing, branding, and distribution strategies. This conference provided a forum for insightful and engaging discussions among students and practitioners covering a range of contemporary marketing themes.
Provost Stacey Robertson opened the conference with the welcome address and president Denise Battles presented video-recorded address introducing the keynote speaker. A total of 12 marketing experts including advertising agency owners, brand managers, public relation professionals and digital and social media marketing experts presented the seminars. In addition, a panel of five recent school of business graduates (class of 2020) attended the event. The conference concluded with a keynote address by Elizabell Marquez, a 98 Geneseo graduate and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream. A total of 148 students attended the conference and participated in the event enthusiastically.
Julia Amara, class of 22, a Business Administration major with a Marketing minor enthusiastically remarked: This year's marketing conference opened my eyes to positions I never realized I had an interest in. This year was very special because we had so many great Geneseo alumni share how they overcame a job search during a pandemic. The Q&A session with them gave me interview tips that I have used in my current interviews for post-graduation.
Alexa Gutwenger, class of 22, and the president of Geneseo’s marketing club said: The marketing conference was extremely beneficial to my future as a marketing professional. It gave me networking connections that are crucial as an undergraduate student to propel my career in a successful and meaningful direction after graduation. After leaving the conference, I felt invigorated, excited, and more prepared for the future.
According to the conference chair Dr. Alam, the students enjoyed the event immensely and learned about the challenges of marketing from the experts who are current in their field. The practitioners also praised the enthusiasm, curiosity and motivation of the Geneseo students.