The marketing landscape has been forced to evolve either as a result of technological advancements or the demands of the pandemic, driving most of the companies to readjust their strategies and testing their ability to adapt.

 

We invited Bruno Albuquerque, Marketing Director at Super Bock Group to share with the Lisbon MBA students the ins and outs of a Marketing career path, current challenges, key trends and the necessary skills to be successful.

 

As the head of Marketing of the leading F&B company in Portugal, with a ‘local passion, but a global ambition’, Bruno gave the students an overview of the business and how it relates to its marketing strategy, stating that ‘innovation plays a big part’ and that ‘agility’, and ‘meaning’ are key aspects to generate brand value and real equity.

 

There is a general sense that a marketeer should generate creative solutions to business problems and to have the capability to adapt to new ways of communication. But despite the need for generating ideas, Bruno stated that there is a ‘hard side of business’ in which strong analytical skills are highlighted. A marketeer should be able to deep-dive into relevant metrics and business case studies to increase the knowledge on the existing market.

 

For our guest speaker, in order to excel in marketing, one should understand society in a way that strengthens the understanding of human behaviour. Moreover, referring to marketeers as ‘orchestrators’, Bruno added ‘leadership capacity and a strong drive to understand human motivations are also key core skills’. When considering a career in marketing, there is a growing need for constant adaptation and a lifelong learning mindset. Over the past couple of years, marketing trends have changed, as the world accelerated its transformational process. For marketeers in F&B, digitalisation has deeply transformed the way to approach business in multiple ways, and as the world evolves, the fragmentation of sources of entertainment and audience are challenging loyalty marketing strategies. Additionally, adapting the marketing strategies to reach different generations has pushed brands to take more risks. Consumers, especially with millennials and gen Z, expect a brand to have purpose and to create emotional links that are built into organic narratives.

 

We thank Bruno Albuquerque for sharing his passion and career path in marketing with the Lisbon MBA students, a career he says he has chosen in order ‘to be able to create impact in people’s lives’.

 

Career-In is an initiative by the Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova’s Career Management Center, where students get the opportunity to deepen their knowledge about different sectors, expanding perspectives on role responsibilities and career journeys, as well as to build a professional network with senior executives.