By Ashley Camillo, Account Executive
acamillo@bwmginc.com

In college, before I started with BWMG, I never once thought that I would eventually come to know anything about the manufacturing, hardware distribution, software, defense, employee retention or network security industries.

My expectations in college were similar to many of my fellow classmates looking to start a career in marketing. I expected more glamour (this is not to say that Ben, Pete and Robert aren’t glamorous).

Without knowing exactly why, I had the opinion that marketing was big campaigns featuring brand names, catchy tag lines, high-energy commercials and eye-popping logos.

Looking back, I made the mistake of underestimating the amount of work required to craft and target a message. I did not realize the honesty and straightforwardness that marketing today requires.

When compared to the glitzy and loud executions of my mistaken expectations, marketing today is truly about speaking with an "authentic" voice. Every time you break through the clutter and you are heard, you are found. When you manage to break through the clutter, you earn the customer's trust throughout all levels of the buying decision.

That is what I have learned.

Where I am now and where I had expected to be are two completely different places -- I am in a new place learning new concepts every day and immediately applying them. New industries, concepts and strategies are opened before me continuously and I have a better idea of what to expect going forward.

Marketing used to seem to be about scale, and power, and big media; now I understand that it's more about authenticity.