Last Updated: November 16, 2020

Consumers are influenced by every message, jingle, logo, billboards, and celebrity spokesperson associated with a corporation. Even when consumers aren’t paying attention, the message remains in their field of consciousness or peripheral vision.

Corporate marketing departments manage the messages and outward appearances of their organizations—from mission statements to advertising implementation. For instance, Apple set out to become a visionary and revolutionary company from the beginning, and set its sights on changing the world. This vision was reflected in its very first marketing campaign: the “1984” commercial which aired during the Super Bowl, during which a female athlete saves the world from Big Brother (a play on George Orwell’s classic novel 1984)—all in the space of 58 seconds. Apple envisioned technology that was artful and intuitive, and its corporate marketing team helped the rest of the world to clearly see that vision.

What is corporate marketing?

Corporate marketing is the means by which a corporation or organization attracts potential customers. A corporate marketing team is responsible for determining how to reach the company’s desired customers, and determining what kinds of advertising and messaging tactics will appeal to them.

Marketing campaigns that fall flat often have disastrous effects on a company’s bottom line. Think back to the introduction of New Coke to celebrate original Coca Cola’s 100 years of success. Customers preferred the old Coke formula, and as a result the company took a substantial hit. No amount of marketing dollars could save a bad idea—and a lot of them were spent trying.

Successful campaigns, however, have enormous impacts that cause a brand to remain in the cultural consciousness for decades. The Pepsi Challenge campaign, started in 1975, has been so successful that many companies have since employed the “blind taste test” in their own marketing campaigns.

While these are highly visible examples of corporate marketing, many forms of corporate marketing are more subtle. Corporate newsletters, email campaigns, sales, coupons, contests, advertisements, magazine inserts, online advertising, social media, radio spots, and direct mail campaigns all play parts in a corporate marketing campaign(See also Traditional Marketing). And likewise, corporate marketers may specialize in a variety of areas, including graphic design, website design, branding, social media, copywriting, research, and corporate communication.

Who implements corporate marketing?

Obviously, corporations use corporate marketing. However, every business, club, political organization, non-profit, and even religious organization uses some form of corporate marketing strategy.

• A diaper company serves a population that moves in and out of the baby phase, so it targets that demographic. However, it will also want to maintain a good reputation with people who don’t currently have babies. Grandma might buy diapers for a beloved grandchild; a friend might bring a diaper cake to a baby shower; or a college kid eventually grows into childbearing years.
• A non-profit or charitable organization will use corporate marketing practices to inform the community about its services. It will want to persuade people to make contributions and to educate the community about the need for its services by advertising in strategic places. A non-profit marketing campaign might also appeal to government officials and corporations in order to obtain favorable legislation, allocated funds, and grants.
• A political organization will use corporate marketing practices to get its message out to potential voters. It will run advertisements or put up a billboard which differentiates itself from the opposing political position or candidate. A marketing campaign may propose new ideas about how to resolve problems and issues, and use mass emailing to inform voters. Political groups will use corporate marketing practices to fundraise and to build up its candidates’ reputations, or to gain (or diminish) public support of laws and referendums currently on the table.
• A religious organization will use corporate marketing practices to invite people to attend its services. The Jehovah’s Witnesses publish a free magazine, which they hand-deliver door-to-door to convert new members. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints launched its “I’m a Mormon” campaign to enhance the reputation of its membership. Other churches may want to advertise services they offer to the broader community (support groups, singles groups, food-bank missions). They may use a Facebook page or other social media to spread the word.

Nearly every successful organization, and certainly every corporation, has an identity it intends to express to the world—and specifically to the demographics it serves. A corporate marketer knows how to find those people—and then reach them.

For what kinds of customers is corporate marketing effective?

Everyone is susceptible to corporate marketing, to some degree. People might think they’re ignoring online ads, but they’ll take at least one glance at a link ad above their inbox because a keyword intentionally correlates to a message in their inbox.

Corporate marketing infiltrates nearly every aspect of people’s lives, whether they’re conscious of it or not. People tend to notice a billboard that they drive past every day on their way to work, if only because it’s a distraction from traffic. A direct-mail piece asking constituents to vote for a particular candidate will be noted, and a perception about the candidate’s face, posture, clothing, combined with the wording on the postcard, will be developed before it’s tossed into the recycling bin(See also Direct Mail Marketing.)

How is a corporate marketing campaign developed?

The first step in developing corporate marketing campaign is defining the objectives. Who does the company want to reach, and what kinds of messages appeal to this target audience? Is the goal to generate more traffic to a website to drive online sales? Is it to make consumers aware of an upcoming sponsorship in the Olympic Games?

The answers to these questions hinge on who the company’s actual customers are. Some of this information can be obtained by tracking previous sales, noting who bought certain products and in which outlets it sold best. Other research includes the “club” programs many stores and retailers use—for that 10 cents off a bag of chips, you’ve actually informed many corporations about your buying habits. Demographic data is also collected on the Internet—profiles on Facebook enables advertisers to offer products to consumers based on specific demographics such as gender, age, marital status, geography, and religious preference.

Additionally, corporations often employ outside data services, such as Nielsen Media Research. Although Nielsen is best known for tracking which programs people are watching on television, they also track such data as how often moms bought chicken breasts, as compared to how many dads bought hamburger patties.

Once they’ve identified an objective and who they want to reach, it’s time to brainstorm and think creatively. The corporate marketing department might gather and throw out all their ideas, great or small, outlandish or conservative, for consideration; usually one or two ideas will stand out as more appealing and doable than the others. Ideas that meet the objectives, target the appropriate market, generate excitement, and meet budget guidelines are then implemented by the corporate marketing team.

Budget considerations are important. It’s great to have the ability to think up an innovative and compelling commercial—but if a company only has enough money for a direct email campaign, the budget must be respected. Thus, a large part of corporate marketing is “internal marketing”—convincing the corporate hierarchy to sign on to new ideas and devote an adequate budget to them(See also Internal Marketing).

What career titles are in corporate marketing departments?

In a small business, corporate marketers may wear many hats. They may be responsible for copywriting, graphic design, press releases, and social media. However, in a large corporation team members will have a specialization, allowing each of them to focus on one aspect of the job.

Marketing Communications Managers

Marketing Communications Managers are responsible for communicating the company message to the media, investors, and the public.

Market Research Analysts

Market Research Analysts interpret data to assess corporate marketing strategy effectiveness. Using data from a variety of sources including purchasing history, data aggregate services, historical trends within the company, and broader market indicators, market research analysts make educated predictions for campaign strategy.

Marketing Managers

Marketing Managers lead other marketing professionals in the creative conception of projects and project implementation. They perform administrative and management tasks to ensure projects are completed on time and on budget.

How can a marketing school help you in this field?

Corporate marketers must be able to communicate to many different audiences, and through diverse mediums. A marketing program will help students learn to effectively communicate in a variety of situations, and through a variety of media channels. Marketing school also informs students about methods of data collection and analysis, as well as how to use that data to direct marketing campaigns.

Marketing students will also receive opportunities to practice real-world marketing campaigns. Students conceive and implement creative ideas, test their ability to turn ideas into results, and monitor campaign effectiveness. A quick and effective way to gain experience while still earning your marketing degree is to accept an internship. Students earn college credit while working part time in a corporate marketing department. In addition, the odds of being paid improve as your education increases; most post-bachelor’s internships are paid, while the majority of undergraduate internships are not.

A degree in corporate marketing opens doors to many different positions, including product development, branding, corporate communications, public relations, advertising and project management (See also Careers in Marketing). A degree in marketing will also enable you to become a better entrepreneur, should you decide to open your own business.

Investigate a variety of marketing programs to determine which school will help you most effectively achieve your goals as a marketing professional.