Communication

Communication is innate. Communication is spoken words. It is body language. Communication is deliberate, manipulative. It is honest. Communication is interaction. It is observation. Communication is history, present. It is future. It is timeless.
 
What changes is how we use it.

While growing up, the infamous question: “what do you want to do be you grow up?” always had an easy answer – “I want to be an inventor”. I wanted to imprint the world with my made – up realities; building castles in the middle of wastelands, creating vacation resorts on Mars. I was to become the “Gyro Gearloose” of the 21st century (with small differences of course; like, I am not a fictional chicken and my inventions would actually work). Later in life, my childhood naïveté steered me into finding my career path. However, in the adult world inventors have a different name – they are art directors, they are account managers, they are planners, and they are copywriters. Although each of these experts may hold different responsibilities inside the realm of marketing communication, the essence of their “inventions” is rooted in their ability to uncover the solutions for complex problems.

To me to working for this industry is to understand that external inaction does not allows connote internal satisfaction. To assume that a pursuit for lower cognitive dissonance is the sole determinant of social dynamics is to undermine the potential for human creation. In this arena communication is king. Advertising aids creation by turning revolt action into common thought. In my opinion, marketing communication strives to infiltrate society with messages that already exist, are able to cause commotion, but are unseen; strategy at its finest.

However, in the summer of 2008, I learned that in order to communicate the intended messages, you must first understand the cultural context in which they are received. I had spent my summer that year in São Paulo, Brazil, interning at the below-the-line advertising agency, New Style. There, I was able to attend the Gillette Latin American brainstorming initiative. Throughout the two-day conference we were to develop a new marketing strategy for a cost – friendly razor. While our cultural diversity and language barriers challenged our creativity, they also became key components of our communication strategy. Each country had different ways of responding to certain advertising tactics; for example, the sex appeal of a smooth shave could at the same time sell to an Argentinean and offend a Chilean. Although, globalization has augmented our shared reality, a successful marketer is able to pick up on the intricate differences among our interactions. In this setting, I strive to expand my spectra of opinion and become one of the best professionals in the field.

Today, being multicultural goes beyond ethnic requirements. With technology enabling us to interact with one another beyond time and space constraints, the individual is not only multicultural – he/she is multi-dimensional. Having access to different perspectives, considerations, and opinions has given birth to motley personalities that seek individuality and new forms of expression. The most successful professionals are those who understand that six degrees of separation has become “six clicks” of separation. The role of marketing communication is changing, and it is exciting. Communication strategies must be as multi – faceted and impermanent as its modern consumer. I am attracted to the field of marketing communication because of this necessary and constant evolution.

As we embark the experience economy, marketing strategies will once again face a transformation and I want to be a part of it all. What attracts me to this field is the challenge of understanding not only the business of marketing, but also a client’s culture (which may be far different from your own), and the details of a fast – paced, ever- evolving, and ever-changing society, and still being able to bring it all together in a way never seen before. To be an inventor, to be a marketer, you have to wear many hats, explore many fields. It is this dynamic environment that I want to be a part of.

Today, I see the passionate, dedicated, and motivated woman I have become and I remind myself that the person I embody is the product of intercultural experiences. My inner-child’s eagerness to discover, in combination with my diverse background, have allowed me to witness first hand the importance of seeing through all sets of eyes. As I enter the world of marketing communication I will not just build resorts on mars – I will also find the roads that can get you to them.