UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State students preparing to enter careers in marketing and branding heard from industry professionals recently about communication, artificial intelligence and standing out in a competitive job market during Penn State Prime’s 11th annual Branding Panel on Sept. 28 in the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Atrium of the Business Building at University Park.
The event, titled “Forging a Career in Branding,” brought five professionals to the Business Building Atrium to discuss their careers and offer students perspectives on skills and experiences that extend beyond the classroom. All five panelists fit the theme of founders.
For Gary Brandeis, CEO of Scholar Hotels, one of those skills is the ability to communicate effectively face to face.
In addition to Brandeis, the panel included: Kate Wahl, product lead at Google; Rick Ayers, associate vice president of marketing at in the Penn State Office of Strategic Communications; Kelsey Wetz, associate merchandise planner at Offline by Aerie; and Kyle Whittingham, CEO of Whittingham Sports.
“Students have to be able to work outside of their computer screen,” Brandeis said. “People want to see that you care.”
Brandeis also encouraged students to be patient when beginning their careers. Students hoping to eventually become brand managers or move into leadership positions may not immediately land their ideal jobs, he said, but early career experiences can provide opportunities to learn and build professional connections.
“You’re young, you have a long career,” Brandeis said. “Take your time, learn and network. That’s all you have to do for the first couple of years.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) and its role in the future of marketing also emerged as a major topic during the panel. Ayers said students should view AI as a tool that supports human creativity and expertise rather than replaces it.
“AI should not be replacing the minds of the people in the Business Building tonight,” Ayers said. “It should serve as an augmentation to human creativity and expertise.”
That message also stood out to students in attendance.
Gary Liu, a senior majoring in marketing, said the discussion reinforced what he learned while working with AI during a summer internship with Amazon Web Services. With concerns about how AI could affect future marketing careers, Liu said he appreciated hearing professionals discuss the technology as a tool that can strengthen employees’ skills.
“It was really refreshing to see all of these companies saying that AI is used as a tool to empower your skill sets and not necessarily replace them,” Liu said.
Timmy Garde, chief growth officer at Ardelis Health and moderator of the panel, told students that succeeding in a competitive job market requires finding ways to distinguish themselves from other qualified candidates.
“Students have to separate themselves,” Garde said. “They have to show differential capability, different DNA that’s different than the student next door.”
Garde encouraged students to research prospective employers, understand their businesses and ask thoughtful questions during interviews. Grades and classroom knowledge are important, he said, but passion, confidence and initiative can help candidates distinguish themselves.
For Prime’s student leaders, providing those firsthand perspectives was central to the event.
Ellyse Wilson, a junior majoring in marketing and Prime’s vice president of logistics, helped organize the panel. She said bringing together professionals from different career paths allowed students to hear perspectives relevant to a variety of professional interests.
“We have five panelists that are all in different career paths that I think could have touched every single person in this audience tonight,” Wilson said. “Getting to connect with them on such a personal level and talk to them after this branding panel is something that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Prime President Lila Mathias, a senior majoring in marketing, said branding provided a common theme among the panelists while giving students an opportunity to learn about an area that may not receive as much attention in their coursework.
“Although Smeal is a fabulous school, there’s only so much you can learn from your classes,” Mathias said. “Hearing the real-life anecdotes from all the speakers and everything that they’re able to accomplish in their jobs is very helpful.”
Brandeis said he hoped students left the event knowing that the professionals who participated wanted to help Penn State students succeed.
“We really want to help,” Brandeis said. “We want to give good guidance. We care about this school, this institution, and we want to see them succeed.”