The Way We Teach Marketing is All Wrong

Learn then test. Or maybe even learn then do. Read, listen, watch and then show up and nail your quizzes, midterms, finals, or worst yet, group presentations.

I have been doing marketing at a high level for the last twenty years. Yet every time I make decisions based mainly on past experience, I jeopardize the outcomes of a campaign. Marketing is constantly evolving, and you need to be in the game of "doing marketing" to be a successful marketer. Yet somehow, we expect students to consume a bunch of knowledge and then know what to do.

They won't. And as an employer, you're probably better off hiring some kid from the /entrepreneur subreddit than a recent graduate who has been nailing their exams for the last four years.

How we teach marketing needs to change.

Here is how.

1. Do then learn. Not learn then do. Structure the class to force students into creating from day one. If they feel confident in their ability to do the task, you waited too long.

2. Knowledge needs to be "just in time" rather than "just in case." Make knowledge available to your students to help them "just in time" as they struggle to complete their tasks. Relevancy improves long-term absorption way more than short-term test-taking.

3. Forget about tests, quizzes, papers. Make all output public. Nothing provides more accountability than showing your work to your peers. Nothing builds camaraderie faster than struggling independently together.

4. Reward progress through iterations. Encourage people to improve their work and apply lessons learned. Don't like the results on day 25. Try again on day 26. Measure progress at the end.