As told to DMCNY

After about 20 years serving in senior marketing roles, Alexandra Kunish took her expertise and love for marketing to Rutgers Business School to share both with RBS marketing students. Kunish, an MCNY board member, shares her career highlights, her take on hot topics in marketing right now, and her advice for career success.

Why marketing? Did you choose it, or did it choose you?

Marketing chose me and I am so glad it did! I studied business as an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill. My first job after graduation was in a marketing department at an eyewear company, with licensed brands that included Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Harley Davidson, and Gant.

I was able to be a part of the marketing campaigns for these global powerhouse brands, and I quickly learned the power of storytelling. Communicating the brand story to consumers was the key to developing long-lasting and meaningful relationships with consumers, and this is what marketing is all about at its core.

What was a key turning point or notable accomplishment of your career so far?

I am very proud of the brands I’ve worked on, the products I’ve launched, and the marketing campaigns that I’ve led. One of my proudest accomplishments though is having returned to my alma mater, Rutgers (MBA 2007), to teach the next generation of marketing professionals.

As a professor of Professional Practice, I bring my real-world marketing, brand management, and product development experience to the university. I’m honored to share my experiences from the corporate world with my students in the classroom.

What excites or inspires you most about marketing right now?

I like to say that now I am in my second marketing career as a marketing professor at Rutgers Business School. The first part of my career I spent learning the ins and outs of marketing and brand management in the beauty industry working for companies such as Estee Lauder, J&J, Neutrogena, and Avon.

Right now, as a professor what inspires me is to see the passion for marketing in my students. They’re so brilliant and creative and innovative in ways that inspire me! I love helping my students not just learn about marketing, but also start their careers in the field I love.

What do you think are the most important qualities for a marketer today?

Marketing has always been a creative field. But increasingly, the creative decisions are driven by data analytics. Marketers today need to understand the data that drives their brand — and derive insights from the data that they can use in brand storytelling, creating compelling offerings for consumers. The creative part of marketing will always be there but will be backed by the power of decision-making based on data and analysis.

What advice do you have for someone — whether a student or a person changing careers — entering marketing? 

Never stop learning! Learning something new is the only way we grow, personally and professionally.

What’s the biggest challenge facing data-driven marketing right now?

As I mentioned, data-driven marketing is how marketing of the future will be practiced and perfected. It will be how we will be able to effectively target and communicate with our consumers. I believe that one of the biggest challenges will be to gain consumers trust and overcome their concerns and hesitations in sharing information with brands.

One way to overcome that is to make data protection and privacy a priority and communicate that commitment to our consumers. Be transparent and authentic with our consumers can help drive that trust.

Any misconception about marketing you’d like to clarify?

Some outside the field of marketing believe that it’s all about slick ad campaigns, cute jingles, and TV ads. I want to break this misconception and have people realize that marketing is a blend of creativity, analytics, critical thinking, connection to the consumer, cross-functional teamwork, and adapting to an ever-changing retail landscape.

Give one prediction on the future of marketing.

The emerging technologies and innovations in marketing will be the catalyst for reorganizing and reinventing our companies, will realign brand purpose, and reframe our commitment to our consumers, our talent, and our planet.

What does the future hold for you?

I hope to keep teaching future business leaders, and to keep helping students, learn, grow, and discover marketing as a fulfilling career path.

What do you enjoy the most about being a member of DMCNY, and why? 

I have met some of the most amazing leaders in marketing in the MCNY. Every time we meet or have an event, I learn something new, and for me that is one of the amazing gifts of joining organizations like MCNY. I can then use what I learn in my professional life and pass it along to my students.