We interviewed Rebecca Röhl, alumna of the International Master in Marketing programme at EADA. Rebecca has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from the Berlin School of Economics and Law and speaks 3 languages. Before coming to EADA, she had already travelled abroad extensively and worked at Bayer, where she worked as Junior Brand Manager. She currently works as Country Implementation Lead ONE WEB, Digital Marketing at IKEA in Frankfurt, Germany.
How would you define your EADA experience in one sentence?
For me, EADA was a memorable experience, which allowed me to develop myself not only professionally through a high quality educational programme with amazing teachers, but also personally, getting to know and working with people from all over the world, many of whom I still call friends today.
What were the highlights of your year at EADA?
By completing the International Master in Marketing I had the opportunity to interact with students and teachers from different countries, cultures and professional backgrounds. I learned how to analyse and understand business and market situations from various perspectives to connect the dots in order to find business opportunities and develop a strategic marketing approach. The practical methodology, case studies and group projects prepared me for my future career in business.
The “soft skills” development in the EADA-Residential Training Campus was also a highlight. It strengthened skills that I use in my everyday business life. Soft skills are often taken for granted, but like any skills, they must be practiced. Being persuasive and confident when presenting, being able to negotiate the best terms and working effectively in a team are the basic ingredients of success. I think that the optimal balance between hard and soft skills –both of which are necessary in business– is a real highlight at EADA.
At EADA, I could be innovative and think about business issues with an outside-of-the-box approach while discussing solutions with peers from all over the world.
What did the Marketing programme mean for you?
The International Master in Marketing was the perfect opportunity for me to break free from my work routine and develop myself professionally and personally. I could reactivate my passion for Marketing by improving my understanding of customer behaviour and business patterns in order to deliver added value to the client. I could be innovative and think about business issues with an outside-of-the-box approach while discussing solutions with peers from all over the world and learning from each other’s ideas. The Marketing programme meant that I could dedicate a year to enthusiastically get to know myself and my competencies so that I could better lead myself –and potentially others– in my future professional life.
Tell us about your position at IKEA. What knowledge learned in class do you apply in your current job?
I basically use the knowledge I gained from every class – the most important knowledge, which has proven to be quite an advantage, is the EADA way of thinking and working on complex business challenges. I especially remember the valuable methodological approach of analysing and understanding business situations to identify value for the customer and the company. Additionally, the strategic way of thinking and the toolkit that I learned at EADA provides a conceptual framework to create, deliver and sustain value for customers.
EADA recently incorporated an optional coding bootcamp for International Master participants. How important do you think exposure to coding is for future graduates?
Understanding the digital development process as well as developing a basic knowledge of how developers think and how digital products are built is key in my area. I use this skill set every day in my position as a digital marketer at IKEA. I just launched a new web site together with my team and experienced first-hand the most important elements of an online eco-system.
The future Marketing and Brand Management will be digitally driven and marketers need to be able to understand digital developments and tools.
What advice would you offer to graduates who want to develop their careers in digital marketing?
Don’t see digital marketing as an discipline itself. In the future, digital will be even more an integrated part of all company functions. Ultimately, the future Marketing and Brand Management will be digitally driven and marketers need to be able to understand digital developments and tools. For this, a marketer doesn’t need to be a geek or tech specialist. However, every future marketer or business manager should have a certain interest in understanding the technological world in order to keep up with the latest product developments and customer interaction points. In the end, it’s important to have the capability to be customer-centric, understand business strategies and connect everything in the digital world.