Episode 230

full
Published on:

7th Jun 2023

Introducing the Master's of Science in Marketing with Craig Geiger

This week on the Be Epic podcast Matt sits down with Craig Geiger, full time instructor and Director of the newly launched Master's of Science in Marketing degree at the Walton College. To begin the episode, Craig and Matt discuss Craig's rich history in the consumer packaged goods industry, working across customer insights, sales, marketing and category management for Walmart, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup Company, and more. Craig's background has positioned him perfectly to lead the new master's degree program with a curriculum designed specifically for students who are interested in a career in brand management, retail marketing and marketing services. As they continue through the episode they discuss the types of courses that students in this program will be able to take to prepare them to enter the fast paced and rapidly changing industry. They finish the discussion with a focus on how leaders in the industry will be able to participate in this master's program through partnerships and projects promoting experiential learning and networking. They then end the discussion with Craig sharing advice for prospective students on how to get into this program and how they can prepare for success. Learn more about the Master's of Science in Marketing here: https://walton.uark.edu/graduate-programs/

Transcript
Craig Geiger:

We will be working with a number of different

Craig Geiger:

industries including retail and medical healthcare as well as

Craig Geiger:

consumer packaged goods, so that students have all these

Craig Geiger:

different types of exposures to enable them frankly, to follow

Craig Geiger:

their passion.

Matt Waller:

Excellence, professionalism, innovation and

Matt Waller:

collegiality. These are the values the Sam M. Walton College

Matt Waller:

of Business explores an education business and the lives

Matt Waller:

of people we meet every day, I'm Matt Waller, Dean of the Walton

Matt Waller:

College and welcome to the Be Epic podcast. I have with me

Matt Waller:

today, Craig Geiger, who has an incredible background and

Matt Waller:

category leadership, sales, category management, shopper

Matt Waller:

insights, and many other types of roles. He's worked with

Matt Waller:

companies like Kraft Foods, Borden Foods, Barilla,

Matt Waller:

Campbell's Soup, Walmart, Kellogg, and we're fortunate to

Matt Waller:

have him here in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

Matt Waller:

Professor Geiger, thank you so much for joining me today. I

Matt Waller:

really appreciate it.

Craig Geiger:

Thanks for having me, Matt, I'm thrilled to be

Craig Geiger:

here.

Matt Waller:

Craig, you have a really rich background in

Matt Waller:

consumer products and retail in the area of sales, marketing,

Matt Waller:

category management. And we are so fortunate to have you

Matt Waller:

teaching our students here in the Walton College. But in

Matt Waller:

addition to that, you are also heading up our Masters of

Matt Waller:

Science in Marketing program. So I really appreciate your effort

Matt Waller:

to do that.

Craig Geiger:

Well, thank you, Matt. And it's been a real

Craig Geiger:

pleasure being here as a as a full time instructor, and now

Craig Geiger:

leading this program.

Matt Waller:

Well I know you get amazing student evaluations, all

Matt Waller:

of your students feel like they come away from your class having

Matt Waller:

learned a great deal. And I know just as a side note, for the

Matt Waller:

listeners this past Summer, we had a couple of members of the

Matt Waller:

Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas System,

Matt Waller:

want to visit a class in business. And so we went to

Matt Waller:

Craig's class. And I went as well. And of course, I've been

Matt Waller:

in this business a long time so I've sat in a lot of classes,

Matt Waller:

and I was absolutely amazed at what he did in teaching.

Craig Geiger:

Oh, well, thank you. That's a very gracious

Craig Geiger:

comment. And it was really fun to have the board sit in. The

Craig Geiger:

students certainly enjoyed it and I certainly did as well. So

Craig Geiger:

thank you.

Matt Waller:

So can you provide an overview of the Master's of

Matt Waller:

Science in marketing program here at the Walton College, and

Matt Waller:

also what sets it apart from other similar programs?

Craig Geiger:

I'll tell you, Matt and I we're really excited.

Craig Geiger:

The Master of Science in Marketing program is a rigorous,

Craig Geiger:

marketing focused curriculum, designed specifically for

Craig Geiger:

students who are interested and frankly, passionate about a

Craig Geiger:

career in brand management, retail marketing and marketing

Craig Geiger:

services. Understanding and really and addressing consumer

Craig Geiger:

needs in this dynamic world is exciting and challenging. Our

Craig Geiger:

program will help really help enable students to meet these

Craig Geiger:

challenges.

Matt Waller:

That is wonderful. What kind of focus might you

Matt Waller:

have in the program?

Craig Geiger:

Well, right off the bat, it's interesting. We we

Craig Geiger:

specifically designed this full time one year program to foster

Craig Geiger:

consumer focused innovation, and decision making skills that are

Craig Geiger:

essential for success in brand management, retail marketing,

Craig Geiger:

you know, and this extraordinary area of Northwest Arkansas with

Craig Geiger:

the global headquarters, obviously of the world's largest

Craig Geiger:

retailer, Walmart. Tyson is here. And the incredible

Craig Geiger:

consumer packaged goods suppliers and marketing agencies

Craig Geiger:

located right here. They provide the perfect foundation for

Craig Geiger:

exposure to to just outstanding marketing opportunities.

Matt Waller:

You know, it's interesting when I first moved

Matt Waller:

here in 1994, Walmart had just passed Kmart in size the year

Matt Waller:

before that, I can't remember exactly, but they netted about

Matt Waller:

28 billion. And they both started in 1962. Walmart had a

Matt Waller:

really different kind of a strategy in terms of developing

Matt Waller:

economies of scale and economies of scope and their growth. And I

Matt Waller:

won't go into that right now.

Craig Geiger:

Well, it is interesting, too. I was working

Craig Geiger:

in Dallas in a regional position with Kraft and there was this

Craig Geiger:

retailer that I kept hearing about in a planning position in

Craig Geiger:

a Regional Planning position, a retail that we kept hearing

Craig Geiger:

about, Walmart. And so in those days, you would fly in to Tulsa,

Craig Geiger:

and then make the drive over. And we saw the the potential

Craig Geiger:

opportunity for sure. And we saw that crossroads with Kmart up in

Craig Geiger:

Troy, Michigan versus Walmart here in Northwest Arkansas.

Matt Waller:

Well you know it is interesting because when I moved

Matt Waller:

here in 94 there were maybe 20 I don't remember the exact number,

Matt Waller:

20 cross functional teams here from suppliers and the biggest

Matt Waller:

one at that time was Procter and Gamble. And they had like 30

Matt Waller:

people on the team. Right now it's over 200. Exactly, it's,

Matt Waller:

and then that we've got over 1000 teams here. So it's quite

Matt Waller:

needed, this kind of skill set is needed. But what are the

Matt Waller:

skills and competencies that students will develop through

Matt Waller:

this Master of Science in Marketing?

Craig Geiger:

Well, specifically, our program, our

Craig Geiger:

Master of Science in Marketing students will get a

Craig Geiger:

comprehensive understanding of brand management, you know, we

Craig Geiger:

looked at at the marketing analytics side, and we also

Craig Geiger:

looked at brand management and because of this unique area that

Craig Geiger:

we've discussed, you know, we felt that a real grounding and

Craig Geiger:

foundational education in brand management especially, would be

Craig Geiger:

something that would be in resonate and be really relevant

Craig Geiger:

for students. So that's the first part, but but they're

Craig Geiger:

gonna gain skills that organizations are specifically

Craig Geiger:

seeking in competitive analysis, brand positioning, brand

Craig Geiger:

strategy, market trends, analysis, and then you have

Craig Geiger:

business and project management. And then there's the softer

Craig Geiger:

skills of leadership, presentation and communication

Craig Geiger:

skills that are so essential for marketers today, they'll get all

Craig Geiger:

of that in our program.

Matt Waller:

That's so valuable. And I see your point of a brand

Matt Waller:

with the long tail of products that are available. And so many

Matt Waller:

times we buy brands online, that we've not heard of, and

Matt Waller:

sometimes we're quite disappointed. And so the value

Matt Waller:

of having a recognized brand where you know, you can count on

Matt Waller:

it, it's going to deliver the value you're looking for, is

Matt Waller:

it's probably more important now than it's ever been, I would

Matt Waller:

think.

Craig Geiger:

you said it's so well, the long tail, you think

Craig Geiger:

about the virtual shelf, if you will, well, at a time, you know,

Craig Geiger:

when I grew up in the industry, as a brand manager, it was

Craig Geiger:

pretty simple to to develop your brand, understand your consumer

Craig Geiger:

needs with traditional market research, and meet consumers

Craig Geiger:

where they were at watching television. And and mostly that

Craig Geiger:

was it. And your your long tail really was in the store, when it

Craig Geiger:

come when it came to many brands. Now it's the virtual

Craig Geiger:

tail. And it's really long. And you have all these different

Craig Geiger:

areas in which we can reach consumers 24/7. And that's a

Craig Geiger:

real exciting challenge today for for marketers, brand

Craig Geiger:

managers today. And that's why we're so excited about the

Craig Geiger:

program, because we will absolutely be providing those

Craig Geiger:

kinds of opportunities for our students.

Matt Waller:

Well you know one thing I've always been amazed

Matt Waller:

with with Walmart is their ability to change. I remember so

Matt Waller:

clearly when they were rolling out the Super Centers and even

Matt Waller:

Sam's Club. You know they started with the Super Centers

Matt Waller:

and they built them too big. They call them hypermarts. There

Matt Waller:

was one in Denver and one in Kansas City, may may be some

Matt Waller:

other places, but they're like 300,000 square feet, and Walmart

Matt Waller:

pivoted. They've made lots of pivots. And now we're seeing

Matt Waller:

that with omni channel in a way that no one would have expected,

Matt Waller:

it's hard to take the largest company on Earth and change, you

Matt Waller:

know, speaking of change, how will the curriculum and this

Matt Waller:

program stay up to date? It seems like things are changing

Matt Waller:

at a breakneck pace.

Craig Geiger:

Well, I will say, first of all, I was so fortunate

Craig Geiger:

in my career to work in global customer insights and analytics

Craig Geiger:

at Walmart. I had been a consumer packaged goods person

Craig Geiger:

on a career track for many years, and I had the opportunity

Craig Geiger:

to go into Walmart. And I will tell you, when you talk about

Craig Geiger:

leading edge exposure, that that's taking place at Walmart

Craig Geiger:

today. I'm, I'm frankly, a little bit jealous of students

Craig Geiger:

coming out of the Walton College today and the opportunities they

Craig Geiger:

have, because of all of these changes that we're seeing. So

Craig Geiger:

how we're keeping them up to date, we're working really

Craig Geiger:

closely Matt with industry leaders from our retail advisory

Craig Geiger:

board. There's over 20 companies represented there, our corporate

Craig Geiger:

sponsors, and also our connections to ensure that our

Craig Geiger:

course materials, topics, and projects are absolutely leading

Craig Geiger:

edge. We also conduct regular faculty meetings with our team

Craig Geiger:

to specifically review the latest trends in marketing, and

Craig Geiger:

ensure that you know, the coverage is there at our course

Craig Geiger:

curriculum. For example, we have a specific course in social

Craig Geiger:

media marketing that covers this growing trend. I mean, there was

Craig Geiger:

a time when social media marketing was really kind of an

Craig Geiger:

afterthought. And now it's it's a primary focus for many

Craig Geiger:

marketing organizations. With the Internet of Things,

Craig Geiger:

marketers today have even more information about consumers and

Craig Geiger:

their habits than ever before, and that data is growing

Craig Geiger:

exponentially. But you know, what I find really interesting,

Craig Geiger:

you know, how do marketers how do they balance that information

Craig Geiger:

flow, where we know an awful lot about our consumers today, so

Craig Geiger:

that we can meet their needs even more personally. And yet,

Craig Geiger:

at what point are you invading privacy issues? You know, and

Craig Geiger:

those are the kinds of challenges that marketers have

Craig Geiger:

to deal with on a regular basis. Well, we'll, we'll address those

Craig Geiger:

and help our students to be ready for those as as marketing

Craig Geiger:

leaders.

Matt Waller:

Well, you know, there's so many challenges in

Matt Waller:

industry right now, to your point. And what we're talking

Matt Waller:

about the rate of change is high. But and getting back to

Matt Waller:

the Walmart, pivoting idea, Walmart combined their dot com

Matt Waller:

and physical store merchants into one person.

Craig Geiger:

Exactly right.

Matt Waller:

And that sounds easy to say. But to create the

Matt Waller:

organizational structure, and to get the right people in those

Matt Waller:

places, is not easy. And then the other thing Walmart did was

Matt Waller:

combined their store app, and their dot com app again, sounds

Matt Waller:

easy,

Craig Geiger:

but challenging

Matt Waller:

very, very challenging. They did both of

Matt Waller:

those things. And what's interesting to me, Craig is, a

Matt Waller:

lot of these suppliers to Walmart have not caught up, you

Matt Waller:

know, they have they have salespeople that are focused on

Matt Waller:

the physical store. And then same with category management

Matt Waller:

and the others focused on the

Craig Geiger:

E commerce,

Matt Waller:

e commerce. And so you know, and then the other

Matt Waller:

thing is, I've noticed a lot of the merchants at Walmart that

Matt Waller:

are doing the combined merchandising of E commerce omni

Matt Waller:

channel, really, they're digital natives. You know, and you look

Matt Waller:

at a lot of the suppliers, especially at the top ranks.

Matt Waller:

They're, they're not aware of a lot of what's going on.

Craig Geiger:

You know, it's so interesting, you said that we

Craig Geiger:

had these discussions many times at Kellogg's, and you could look

Craig Geiger:

at what Walmart is doing. It's a great example. What are they

Craig Geiger:

doing today, but what's the real behind the scenes efforts that

Craig Geiger:

are going on? As an example, you know, there was a time when the

Craig Geiger:

back rooms may have been full of inventory. And so Greg, Foran

Craig Geiger:

back in those days, came back and said, you know, we need to

Craig Geiger:

clean up the back rooms, you know, we have trailers ready to

Craig Geiger:

be unloaded, and so on. But the real story was, they were

Craig Geiger:

getting ready for three years down the road to enable the

Craig Geiger:

Supercenters to serve as better locations for pickup. Well, in

Craig Geiger:

the supplier community, all you maybe thought of or saw was, we

Craig Geiger:

need to have some supply chain effort against inventory

Craig Geiger:

control. But there was a deeper meaning there, there was a

Craig Geiger:

deeper activity, there was a much further out perspective

Craig Geiger:

that we have to be ready for. And in that case, it was we're

Craig Geiger:

getting ready to do this order online pick up in store. And we

Craig Geiger:

have to enable that through this effort. So you always have to be

Craig Geiger:

looking at what is the today, but also what is the what's the

Craig Geiger:

real trend that's going on, and marketers are absolutely at the

Craig Geiger:

center of all that, to understand how that's going to

Craig Geiger:

create opportunities and challenges for their brands.

Matt Waller:

It makes me think that, you know, when I was first

Matt Waller:

reading about the master's of science of marketing that you've

Matt Waller:

been leading, and when I was looking at some of the

Matt Waller:

curriculum and everything I thought, you know, who really

Matt Waller:

needs to take this are fairly senior marketing salespeople at

Matt Waller:

CPG companies.

Craig Geiger:

Interesting.

Matt Waller:

I think they would benefit a lot. And it would be

Matt Waller:

neat to have cohorts where you had students just out of

Matt Waller:

undergrad, along with some real senior people. You know I think

Matt Waller:

the learning could go be bi directional, and that kind of

Matt Waller:

cohort.

Craig Geiger:

Do you know, it's interesting, you said that I

Craig Geiger:

teach a class right now in our MBA program. And it's I'm really

Craig Geiger:

fortunate because it is a combined Executive MBA, MBA

Craig Geiger:

cohort for that class in retail strategy. And, you know, we find

Craig Geiger:

exactly what you're saying that when you have this just out of

Craig Geiger:

undergraduate and a group of students, along with students,

Craig Geiger:

or I'm sorry, students, yes, that have been in the industry

Craig Geiger:

for a number of years. That combination of learning and

Craig Geiger:

sharing is really, really helpful to both sides.

Matt Waller:

It may be more helpful today than it was even

Matt Waller:

10 years ago.

Craig Geiger:

I would say there's absolutely no doubt that

Craig Geiger:

that's what I found teaching that course, and I love it. And

Craig Geiger:

I think we would I would love to see that happen in the Master of

Craig Geiger:

Science and marketing. In the meantime, what we're hoping is

Craig Geiger:

to get as many industry leaders as possible as guests in a

Craig Geiger:

couple of different areas, not only lecturing, but also serving

Craig Geiger:

as case development, group project leaders and that, that

Craig Geiger:

will create that opportunity that you're talking about as

Craig Geiger:

well for that exchange of ideas that will probably help some of

Craig Geiger:

those senior people at some of our suppliers.

Matt Waller:

You know, the other aspect, we've been talking about

Matt Waller:

pivoting and making sure things stay up to date, and so forth.

Matt Waller:

But one thing that has really changed, I remember back in

Matt Waller:

2012, I don't remember which issue it was, of the Harvard

Matt Waller:

Business Review it was in the fall, but the focus of the issue

Matt Waller:

was on big data, data science, business analytics, these kinds

Matt Waller:

of things. There were a series of articles in there. And you

Matt Waller:

know, we're talking now, you know, this was over 10 years

Matt Waller:

ago. But I remember reading it and thinking, I've always been

Matt Waller:

kind of more on the data driven side. And I was really thrilled

Matt Waller:

to hear this was happening. I didn't know if it will really

Matt Waller:

happen. But it did. And it's more important than ever, for

Matt Waller:

people to be able to use data driven decision making and

Matt Waller:

analytics. How is our curriculum going to address that?

Craig Geiger:

Well, you know, while our curriculum is brand

Craig Geiger:

management, and retail focused, our program courses in

Craig Geiger:

marketing, analytics, consumer and market research, digital

Craig Geiger:

marketing, and retailing strategy, all are all going to

Craig Geiger:

require Matt the students to utilize their analytical tools

Craig Geiger:

and skills to understand trends, develop insights, but more

Craig Geiger:

importantly, develop deliver fact based recommendations,

Craig Geiger:

through the simulations and business cases that we'll bring

Craig Geiger:

to the classroom. Today, as you know, data is everywhere. And

Craig Geiger:

the ability to mine it, analyze it, gain insight, tell a story

Craig Geiger:

that has meaning that's activated, at at whatever

Craig Geiger:

whatever part of the business you're in. That's what marketers

Craig Geiger:

do today. And and that's what we'll bring to the classroom. So

Craig Geiger:

through some of those through some of those courses,

Matt Waller:

We've talked about pivoting, the rate of change of

Matt Waller:

knowledge in marketing, the importance of data being data

Matt Waller:

driven. But the other thing that's important, in learning

Matt Waller:

today, is really experiential learning what kind of projects

Matt Waller:

and, you know, partnerships will you have to help students in

Matt Waller:

that regard?

Craig Geiger:

Well, that's, that's, that's also something

Craig Geiger:

we're pretty excited about, you know, as we do in many of our

Craig Geiger:

undergraduate classes, as you know, we're working closely with

Craig Geiger:

organizations on live marketing challenges in the areas of

Craig Geiger:

marketing strategy. So helping organizations locally as well as

Craig Geiger:

much on a much broader scale, to develop their strategy, develop

Craig Geiger:

their brand awareness, develop their social media and digital

Craig Geiger:

marketing campaigns, deliver eventually delivering marketing

Craig Geiger:

plan recommendations. These are going to be hands on real world

Craig Geiger:

projects that project teams will work on through the program. And

Craig Geiger:

we're pretty excited about that. But this is really going to

Craig Geiger:

enable the students to build their business analysis,

Craig Geiger:

creative problem solving, project management presentation

Craig Geiger:

skills. Additionally, the students are going to engage

Craig Geiger:

with organizational leadership that we feel strongly will lead

Craig Geiger:

to internships and career opportunities. So we're pretty

Craig Geiger:

excited about that element of the program.

Matt Waller:

Students in the program may have a wide variety

Matt Waller:

of career goals and interests within marketing. How does this

Matt Waller:

program accommodate them?

Craig Geiger:

It's actually one of the things we've sought, as

Craig Geiger:

we've gone through the admissions committee. And we

Craig Geiger:

talked to each and every student, obviously, through

Craig Geiger:

interviews and so on to understand what elements of

Craig Geiger:

marketing are they truly interested in, at least at this

Craig Geiger:

stage of their life. And it's pretty interesting, we've got a

Craig Geiger:

real diverse group of students coming from a number of

Craig Geiger:

different areas of interest. But our program, our courses have

Craig Geiger:

been carefully selected through a rigorous review of marketing

Craig Geiger:

curricula nationally. And, and we're looking at the latest

Craig Geiger:

trends that are evolving in the world of marketing. So if

Craig Geiger:

somebody's interested in digital marketing or social media, or

Craig Geiger:

marketing research, to understand consumer insights,

Craig Geiger:

we're focused and committed to providing those kinds of course

Craig Geiger:

opportunities. And we're working with a number of different

Craig Geiger:

industries, not just consumer packaged goods, but we will be

Craig Geiger:

working with a number of different industries including

Craig Geiger:

retail, and medical, healthcare, as well as consumer packaged

Craig Geiger:

goods so that students have all these different types of

Craig Geiger:

exposures to be able to do enable them frankly, to follow

Craig Geiger:

their passion.

Matt Waller:

Can you talk a little bit about the faculty in

Matt Waller:

the program?

Craig Geiger:

We are so excited about our faculty, our

Craig Geiger:

professors bring. Frankly, it's a it's a balance between deep

Craig Geiger:

research and academic experience and decades of industry

Craig Geiger:

marketing experience with major consumer packaged goods

Craig Geiger:

companies. So we have a real balance of professors of

Craig Geiger:

practice, and professors of academia that bring not only the

Craig Geiger:

latest learning, but also the experiential piece. And so we're

Craig Geiger:

pretty excited about our faculty.

Matt Waller:

You know, one thing that one real strength of the

Matt Waller:

Walton College that some students take advantage of, and

Matt Waller:

some don't, is the ability to network, you know, we're right

Matt Waller:

here in the middle of retail, consumer products and supply

Matt Waller:

chain heaven. I mean, right, it's everyone's here, the

Matt Waller:

leaders in the world are here. And they're in our buildings all

Matt Waller:

the time being guest lecturers or being executive in residence

Matt Waller:

or even teaching. And I have a lot of pride in that in our

Matt Waller:

college. It's a difference maker from and how will students in

Matt Waller:

the master's program have an opportunity to network?

Craig Geiger:

Well, I'll tell you even before that you made

Craig Geiger:

such a good point about the opportunities every day. And

Craig Geiger:

it's kind of funny, I, when I go into my classrooms, I'll say,

Craig Geiger:

hey, have you noticed Company X, that set up their booth here in

Craig Geiger:

the Walton College? Did you walk up, introduce yourself? Did you

Craig Geiger:

did you give them you know a little bit about you? Hi, I'm so

Craig Geiger:

and so. I'm a junior here. I'm majoring in supply chain

Craig Geiger:

management, I have real, a real interest in your organization.

Craig Geiger:

And I would just like to make a connection today, May I drop my

Craig Geiger:

resume with you? Because I'm looking for could be an

Craig Geiger:

internship, or maybe some information about potential

Craig Geiger:

career paths. And, and I find it's so often that I don't think

Craig Geiger:

our students take enough advantage of it.

Matt Waller:

I agree.

Craig Geiger:

Because it's here, just as you said. So that's the

Craig Geiger:

first part. But specifically for our program, the Master of

Craig Geiger:

Science in Marketing, students are going to have multiple

Craig Geiger:

networking opportunities and resources. Let me just kind of

Craig Geiger:

give you a few ideas here. The the networking events that you

Craig Geiger:

have networking events that you talked about in the Walton

Craig Geiger:

College, the graduate school. Secondly, career fairs, the

Craig Geiger:

Walton College Career Fairs are outstanding. Third, our guest

Craig Geiger:

lecturers in the Master of Science in Marketing classes,

Craig Geiger:

will create networking opportunities for sure. As I

Craig Geiger:

mentioned earlier, the group projects and working with our

Craig Geiger:

client partners. And finally, we have, we will be scheduling

Craig Geiger:

special networking events, specifically for the Master of

Craig Geiger:

Science in Marketing students. So there's a number of different

Craig Geiger:

elements for the students take advantage of, and I'm certainly

Craig Geiger:

going to be encouraging them to do so.

Matt Waller:

You know, Craig, one of the roles I've played

Matt Waller:

over the past eight years, as Dean is working with our

Matt Waller:

accrediting body, the gold standard for accreditation,

Craig Geiger:

the AACSB,

Matt Waller:

Exactly AACSB. And I do about two business schools

Matt Waller:

a year, pure and aspirant business schools, have for eight

Matt Waller:

years. And you can imagine I learn a lot. When I do that you

Matt Waller:

spent days studying their curriculum, their faculty, their

Matt Waller:

programs, et cetera, et cetera. And then you go, you spend three

Matt Waller:

days with them. And I've seen lots of master's programs in

Matt Waller:

marketing. And I've also been on benchmarking efforts up until I

Matt Waller:

became department chair of supply chain management in 2011.

Matt Waller:

So starting in 1994, I've been on every MBA redesign committee

Matt Waller:

up until that point, and I always lead the benchmarking

Matt Waller:

efforts. So now, after being here for 29 years, and being in

Matt Waller:

academics, over 30 years, I have seen lots of programs. I believe

Matt Waller:

you and the team have created the best Master of Science in

Matt Waller:

Marketing program that I have witnessed. So first of all, I

Matt Waller:

want to say congratulations, and thank you.

Craig Geiger:

Thank you, Dean Waller.

Matt Waller:

So having said that, what advice would you give

Matt Waller:

to prospective students, you know, wanting to get into this

Matt Waller:

program, and how they, how can they prepare for success in the

Matt Waller:

program?

Craig Geiger:

Well, very simply, there is not a better time, a

Craig Geiger:

better place, or better program than the University of Arkansas

Craig Geiger:

Master of Science in Marketing program. If you're a student

Craig Geiger:

with a passion for a career in marketing, the world of

Craig Geiger:

marketing is moving so fast. It has so many exciting

Craig Geiger:

opportunities for creative problem solving leaders who love

Craig Geiger:

to understand and meet the needs of consumers. This is the place

Craig Geiger:

to be and you know and prepare for success in our program,

Craig Geiger:

students should demonstrate intellectual curiosity, a

Craig Geiger:

sincere desire to serve consumers. They should have a

Craig Geiger:

strong interest in brand management and working

Craig Geiger:

effectively in teams. And one more important thing, you know,

Craig Geiger:

they want to have a lot of fun working in this dynamic,

Craig Geiger:

challenging world of marketing, because this will be fun.

Matt Waller:

Well, Craig, first of all, thank you for teaching

Matt Waller:

for us, you do a over the top fantastic job. Thank you for

Matt Waller:

leading this master program. I am so excited about this, what a

Matt Waller:

huge value add to our community and to and to the state and to

Matt Waller:

to the students. Most of all, so I appreciate your work.

Craig Geiger:

Thank you, Dean Waller and thank you for having

Craig Geiger:

me today.

Matt Waller:

On behalf of the Sam M. Walton College of

Matt Waller:

Business, I want to thank everyone for spending time with

Matt Waller:

us for another engaging conversation. You can subscribe

Matt Waller:

by going to your favorite podcast service and searching.

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About the Podcast

Be EPIC Podcast
Welcome to the Be Epic Podcast featuring Brent Williams, interim dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. In each episode, you will hear from guests that will inspire you to be epic. As experts in their field, they will emphasize strategy, leadership, and entrepreneurship. This programming will highlight innovation and cutting-edge information that will leave you wanting more. Be sure to connect with Brent Williams on LinkedIn to join the conversation, access show notes and discover fantastic bonus content.