Can New Marketers Survive Without Tech Skills?

I have some basic graphic arts tech skills (Photoshop, iMovie, GarageBand) and I have a bit of an artistic touch: my father was a successful clothing designer and I was a recording artist. 

But after these last two weeks in 540 where we had to create an entertaining presentation to be judged by our peers, teachers, and guests, I was like: “Dude, I need to “up” my game!” 

This got me to think….

So, what is it like for cats like Brandon Rochon?

Is he, and other pros like him, just communication strategy idea guys? Or can he sit down at a computer, bust out Final Cut Pro, and make a demo of his creative ideas? I wanted to ask him last week in the meeting, but I got stuck at work.

So, what do you all think?

I did a litle research on this and found an article/infographic on this titled: Seven Skills Marketers Need to Succeed (http://www.marketingprofs.com/chirp/2014/26291/seven-skills-marketers-need-to-succeed-infographic).

Here’s a taste of what the article had to offer:

Three (of the Seven) Top Skills Marketers Need: 

1) Technical Intelligence: Marketers today must know how to do some of the basics: video production, ad layout, and even basic coding. Bottom line, the better you can communicate your ideas, the better the chance that your ideas will see the light of day.  Yes, there are digital marketers that get hired to do nothing but graphic art work, but according the article, it behooves all marketers to possess basic skills.

2) Analytics Intelligence: Marketers today must also know how to  create, understand, and interpret data. As they say, if you aren’t measuring, you aren’t marketing. Yes, Once more, there are always experts that get hired to do nothing but analytics, but all marketers should know a little about this if they want to be competitive for the gig. 

3) Social Intelligence: Finally, and perhaps more obvious, marketers today must also know how to hang and get along with a wide variety of staff, clients, etc. Today’s workplace includes Gen X, Millennials, and Baby Boomers all in the same room and you have to understand how these different generations act and think. It is not enough to just be a strategy idea guy, or someone who can read data and build a website, you have to be able to hang with the guys/gals at the office, get clients to like you, and work well in teams.

So in closing, according to the article/infographic, it appears that in the competitive marketplace, it is in the best interest of all marketers to go into the gig having more than just a knowledge of marketing communication strategy, but also some tech skills as well, analytical skills, and of course, social intelligence. Oh and by the way, I was finally able to catch up with advertiser Brandon Rochon, and here is the one thing he wanted to add, “Marketers must not just be marketers, they must be makers: Skill or be Killed!

So, I guess  it’s time for us all to hone those graphic arts skills. Take advantage of that free subscription USC MCM offers us all and even consider the Free Adobe Certification classes you can sign up for at Annenberg right here: http://www.annenbergdl.org/news/spring-2018-certification-courses/

Here are some more useful resources:

Annenberg Digital YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIU3Dhxp5YH5v5NYoGj65pA 

Annenberg Digital Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AnnenbergDL/

Cheers and best,

Bobby Borg