Nowhere is the positive disrupting effect of the fast-paced internet age felt more than in business and marketing.

It is a fact that people and businesses have to buy things every day, and companies have to market their products to get noticed. Now, the internet brings products and marketing closer to the consumer than at any time in human history.

However, with companies now embroiled in global competition and intensifying competition for user attention, getting marketing right has never been more critical. In 2018, total spending on advertisements in the US alone reached $151 billion, a 4% jump from the previous year, continuing the trend of increasing marketing expenditure year after year

This situation creates a favorable scenario for marketing professionals as the ever-expanding global market and the increasing complexity of marketing in the digital era has created a growing demand for people who know how to get people to affiliate with brands and their products.

Now is a good a time as any to get in on the juicy piece, and one of the most popular ways to get started in this field is with an MBA in Marketing.

What is a Marketing MBA

A Marketing MBA (Master’s in Business Administration) is an advanced 1-2-year degree in marketing that school students in consumer behavior and how to get consumers to buy products that match their needs.

With a Marketing MBA, tutees take courses that cover topics like market research, product and company branding, advertising, and lots more. Anything that has to do with what people buy, why they buy it, how they buy it, and how companies can optimize their products to target these behaviors and guide consumers towards their products falls under the domain of the marketing MBA.

In today’s analytics-driven business scene, instruction in marketing has never been more critical. A significant proportion of product promotion and advertisement has seen a shift into the online and digital marketing sphere where there is an ever-increasing need for professionals who know how to bring in traffic and help companies win.

Consequently, Marketing MBAs have become one of the most sought after degrees by both employers and students in the last decade. Another popular related qualification in the field is the Masters in Marketing program.

Why Get an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration?

Marketing MBA vs. Master’s in Marketing

On paper, just like their names imply, a Master’s in Marketing and a Marketing MBA is quite similar, but the implementation is where they each take their road.

Both programs focus on customers, their relationships with the market, and an understanding of the issues surrounding consumer behavior and the demand and supply of products.

However, while a Master’s in Marketing zeros in on the theoretical side of things, studying consumers and market dynamics, Marketing MBAs opt instead to focus on the practical aspects of the field, spotlighting the processes that directly impact sales.

With a Master’s degree in Marketing, you get a look into the features of global trades and potential markets, giving you a scholarly overview of what drives business and marketing in today’s world. Furthermore, during this program, you have to complete a thesis and subscribe to the framework of a traditional academic curriculum. Hence, the typical applicant to this program is more geared towards advisory roles in the marketing field than actual on-the-job brand marketing.

A Marketing MBA, on the other hand, is less book-heavy, as it focuses on giving you the skills you need to directly participate in the product promotion game in a bid to get some products in the hands of consumers. Consequently, the ideal profile for a Marketing MBA student is someone ready to take a plunge into the business pronto.

Hence, unlike a Master’s in Market, Marketing MBAs typically takes applicants from across the board irrespective of their field of study for their undergraduate degrees, and many people who sign up already have some practical business experience under their belt.

Both programs take around 1-2 years to complete.

The Structure of Marketing MBAs

A marketing MBA is a master’s degree that helps graduates prepare for a career in marketing and related fields, and the program typically takes one-two years on a full-time schedule. During this program, you will pick up all the skills a marketing manager needs to function effectively in any company.

Consequently, a Marketing MBA casts a large teaching net that includes core courses like marketing management, consumer trends, branding, operations management, sales force management, and marketing channel strategies, as well as handy skills like analytics, communication, and mathematics.

Furthermore, a Marketing MBA typically including significant amounts of experiential learning that place graduates in real organizations for internships and practicums that include the completion of hands-on projects.

Some Marketing MBA programs also let you specialized in various forms of marketing like social media marketing, luxury marketing, and E-commerce, or they allow you niche down on any of the following courses:

  • Marketing management
  • Advertising Management
  • Operations management
  • International Marketing
  • Branding
  • Marketing Research
  • Marketing Strategy
  • SalesForce Management
  • Forecasting and Modelling
  • Product Development
  • Consumer Insight Strategy

Marketing MBA Requirements

The basic entry requirements for a Marketing MBA are a Bachelor’s degree and a solid GMAT score. Typically it doesn’t matter what field your undergraduate degree is from, as all these programs need is a student with a desire to understand human behavior and marketing.

However, depending on the school you are applying to, you may need to meet specific cutoff scores for GMAT and your undergraduate GPA.

  • A standard set of requirements you will find at most colleges is:
  • A Bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • A GMAT score of at least 600
  • Some field experience in the business world
  • And your letter(s) of recommendations