Naomi Fukuda is a Orfalea College of Business Marketing concentration graduate of 2007 with a minor in Graphic Communication. She's currently employed as Freelance Account Coordinator at Publicis Boise and is an advisor at the OCOB Advising Center.

…on the marketing career path

“I think that because marketing has such a broad range of applications in the real world, developing an understanding of where you want to take it is crucial. I've tried a little client side, a little marketing services side, and a little agency side. I think to understand what it is really like and what you really like, you have to do it. To get into it, you have to bring everything that makes you who you are. I don't like being bored, think: fast paced work environment. I like language, think: international business. You get it.”

…on the three pillars of the marketing curriculum (information competency, innovation, and application)

 “Working in a marketing services industry (like Valassis or in advertising), every year you have to prove to the client why they are paying you and you have to bid for their business. You have to prove in your bid that your creativity and innovation exceeds that of the competition, that you know the customer and the nature of the market and how they should be approached, and that you have achieved your goals and been a worthwhile investment (yes, data and statistics).”

… how to pursue a career in marketing

 “The best jobs in marketing are the hardest to get and pay the worst (I don't have data to back this up, but this is what I've found in my experience). I think that you have to be prepared for that and take action early. If you want to work at ____ company or in _____ industry, you can't just apply and hope they like you. You have to learn about the career paths people took to get there. You have to develop an understanding of the industry in ways that may not be marketing related. For example, understanding the print process (prepress, proofing, binding, finishing: GRC stuff) and understanding media buying don't just come to marketing students but can give you a huge advantage for advertising.”

… on what the marketing area and concentration, including AMA, are like at Cal Poly

 “Actually I've thought about this a lot after working closely with OCOB students in the Advising Center. Students in the marketing area are more fun (I think), more spontaneous, more likely to be driven by their love of the job than by money than students in other concentrations. The marketing concentration has a reputation of being easier than the others and I don't pretend that I can use a financial calculator. However, we thrive on working in a team and understanding why we do what we do. Accounting concentrations can get by with a photographic memory but I think the marketing area has more heart. Our plans for life are more diverse and don't begin with "well, I don't want to do accounting forever" because I WANT to do marketing forever. I love it. I think that is what makes marketing students unique in the Orfalea College of Business.”