The following statement of purpose is written by an applicant who got accepted to several top graduate programs in marketing. Variations of this SOP got accepted at UT Austin, Vanderbilt, and Rice University. Read it to understand what a top essay in marketing should look like.
Example Statement of Purpose in Marketing
I have been fascinated by brand marketing. I used to track innovative advertisement campaigns and often looked up their corporate histories. Creating a brand from nothing more than an idea, the promise of delivering something of value to customers, and the long, arduous road to fruition have always intrigued me. So naturally, I preferred business subjects at school and studied Marketing & Media Studies as my undergraduate degree. This introduced me to the industry, and I further delved into my passion by joining Coca-Cola in Istanbul. While I have learned a lot from my 2.5 years of marketing there, I now wish to enhance my capabilities by pursuing a master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communication with a specialization in Brand Strategy & Communication.
My career at Coca-Cola has helped me become a young professional. In my initial role, my primary responsibilities included performing data analysis for ongoing business strategy reviews. As part of my work, I collated inter-department updates to analyze the national marketing landscape. I also worked on the company’s Annual Business Plan and customer loyalty programs from strategy to execution. This aided my understanding of the business and developed me for my next role in the Trade Marketing division.
As a Trade Marketing Executive, I looked after the Organized Trade channel, which contributes 5% of Coca-Cola’s volume & outlets. In addition, I worked on and executed the first-ever structured National Modern Trade Program, ‘Walk In,’ which delivered 3.9mn total volume and 78% Growth year on year. This channel ownership allowed me to meet and interact with renowned retailers, experienced sales personnel, and creative ad agencies.
The learning curve has been steep but very enjoyable. I have worked on some of Coca-Cola’s most notable projects, including Coke Zero, and some of the most challenging ones. One such complex project was the New Year Campaign because of its significance and short turnaround time. This exposure to multi-varied content, varying from music to ethnicity, is what I lacked in my prior role and have learned the most from. My main concern in my first role was that although it gave me an excellent platform to understand the business, it lacked strategy-making. This was an obvious disadvantage, as I had many creative ideas but needed help to see them take shape. This situation improved when I started my next role. However, I still need to find complete comfort in contributing to the business as I had imagined. Most of Coca-Cola’s marketing campaigns are designed by the company side, and we, as bottlers, are responsible only for the on-ground execution.
During the last few years, there has been a drastic shift in the perception of marketing from merely a support function to a core function. In many organizations, it now holds the responsibility of volume delivery too. Such significant commitment requires a well-thought-out brand strategy with effective communication, which most FMCG companies need to develop. For example, despite an improved retail landscape and favorable economic conditions, Coca-Cola spent $50M on marketing activities and gave discounts worth $119M but still needed to deliver its target volume. After spending 2.5 years in this organization, I have concluded that this failure is due to a disconnect in strategy and execution. With no budget constraints, resource shortage, or a lack of mediums available for execution, the issue is undoubtedly one of capability.
As part of the marketing team, I had undertaken a few cross-functional projects, two of which were with the Public Affairs & Communication department. During this time, my interest partially shifted away from the corporate sector. ‘Clean Water Initiative’ was the first project I worked on to provide clean water to 500,000+ people. Working on this project has been immensely rewarding and has taught me the power of well-allocated resources. Giving back to society and making it a better place seemed more worthwhile than any corporate venture.
The second project I helped develop is called ‘321 Run Away, which harnesses the power of sports as a platform for youth to build safer, stronger, healthier communities. This program was introduced in 25 schools and achieved phenomenal results regarding teachers’ training, youth grants, projects, and the appointment of trained coaches at schools. During the development phase, I met a lot of children from different backgrounds with immense potential and dedication to pursue their passion but no platform to channel that energy. As responsible citizens of a developing country familiar with marketing, one thing became apparent: the burden to empower the underprivileged falls on our shoulders.
While working on these, it also dawned on me that many nonprofit organizations are working on critical social issues with constrained budgets and no strategy. They can only project their causes by partnering with larger organizations such as Coca-Cola. Therefore, their work must be showcased for national welfare to raise donations and charities. Still, more prominent companies’ hefty investments in advertising and media strategy hinder the development sector. High-end organizations can only use mainstream media, leaving many development projects almost unnoticed and NGOs bankrupt, adding to another economic problem: unemployment.
I aim to be part of or set up a company that empowers smaller organizations by creating practical, low-cost strategies with vast outreach. This can be achieved by innovative approaches incorporated into the brand strategy, such as digital marketing, online web journalism, and effective communication. Such solutions would benefit both sectors and contribute to the economy. Moreover, it would encourage the partnership of NGOs with large companies to position a product/service positively and simultaneously give media mileage to the NGO by spreading awareness for its cause. This would be the practical application of the degree I wish to pursue and would support the rectification of poor strategy-making that affects retail and development sectors.
