Lawrence Gee | Marketing, Internet, Creativity, Strategy

CNN: Don’t be US Weekly

It a sad commentary on what we value in society when Britney Spears’ hospital stay is the front page story over a little thing like the INTERNET going down for part of the world…

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Search Marketing Has a Bright Future

I came across an article today called “Search Marketing: A Rewarding Career Path ” on Search Engine Watch today. It basically was discussing the results of a new survey of in-house SEMs conducted by SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization . Some very interesting facts from the article:

• ~64 percent of respondents had five years of SEM experience or less.
• For those with 0-3 years of experience…
  • 8.0% made over $100K
  • 48.8% made between $50-100K
  • 43.2% made less than $50K
• For those with 5-7 years of experience…
  • …they make significantly more.
  • The majority (56.4%) make more than $80,000 a year. Of this, 4.4% reported earning more than $200,000 and 30.3% make between $100,000 and $200,000.
• Few senior management roles for Search as of now - Only 4% had VP titles and 10% had Director titles.

Some very interesting numbers and figures, especially considering that SEM is a relatively new field of marketing. Simple supply and demand theory implies that salaries should be decent for both inexperienced and experienced hires. How many graduating college students have degrees or concentrations in Internet Marketing? Yes, exactly.

Of course, in the next 3-5 years this will obviously change. I recently took an Internet Marketing class as part of my MBA curriculum at USC Marshall. A few years ago it was an experimental class; today its a regularly listed elective. We all should expect more colleges and universities to offer courses like this. It’s hard to deny the fact that the Internet is an important channel for any marketer to get a grasp on. It will definitely be a competitive advantage going forward for any company and individual who gets it.

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The Social Bandwagon

Being honest with your customers is key to getting the relationship you want out of them — that being long-term, loyal, consumers.  Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook were meant to give the Internet community a way of sharing ideas, creating interaction, and making connections.  Blogs and UGC (user generated content) sites like Youtube were meant to be authentic and allow individual expression.

When companies enter these communities, build product pages, and plant videos, are they still being honest with the intentions of these sites? Are companies just jumping onto the bandwagon to say that they have a Web 2.0 presence?  Alas, companies are not likely to stop strategizing and entering onto these sites but unless they create authentic connections with their customers, it’s unlikely to translate into more sales.

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Hello and Welcome.

Welcome to LawrenceGee.com and thanks for taking the time to read some of my ramblings on marketing, media, creativity, society, and the Internet.  This blog will be used as an outlet to express some of my views and current thoughts.  Comments and feedback are always welcome. 

In the meantime, enjoy and thanks for reading.

 –Larry 

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About Me

Originally hailing from Long Island, I currently reside in Los Angeles, California.  I am an experienced marketer with a diverse professional background.  I have a BS in Business Management and Marketing from Cornell University and currently I am finishing up my MBA at USC Marshall School of Business. 

Prior to business school, I started off my marketing career in consumer products as a Field Marketer for Newell Rubbermaid, managing in-store relationships and merchandising for products such as Rubbermaid, Levolor, and Sharpie. 

I have always been fascinated by technology and the Internet.  In fact, several college internships were spent dealing with web design rather than Marketing.  It was only fitting that after Newell Rubbermaid, I spent four years at an online educational software startup called Aplia.  As Marketing Manager, I helped grow Aplia from a beta product to having over 450,000 students and 500 institutions use the software.  My role required me to develop integrated marketing campaigns, plan sales demos and events at higher education conferences, dive headfirst into CRM and database management, deal with shoe-string budgets, and build up word of mouth marketing.

At USC Marshall , I’ve had the opportunity to explore my personal development, continue lifelong education, and realign my career goals.  In 2006, I investigated the world of Brand Management and was selected to attend the prestigious Procter & Gamble Summer Marketing MBA Camp as well as the Johnson & Johnson Brand Mini Camp.

While traditional CPG was interesting, my explorations made me realize that I enjoy working in smaller more technology focused environments.  This Summer and Fall, I interned at LAMPS PLUS, an Internet Retailer Top 500 Retail Web Site, where my focus was on Internet Marketing and Strategy.  I was able to learn from top Internet Marketers and was heavily involved in developing and maintaining paid search campaigns, evaluating and managing vendor realtionships, and offered strategic recommendations for usability, design, and marketing.

Currently, I am exploring potential opportunities for my post-MBA career and also working on several pet projects dealing primarily with affiliate marketing, search engine optimization, and search engine marketing.  The purpose of this blog is to offer an outlet to collect my thoughts on marketing, strategy, and technology.

On the personal side, I am getting married in July 2007.  There’s much planning to be done and my marketing experience is being put to good use. In my free time, I am an avid sports fan (Yankees, Knicks, Dodgers, Lakers) and enjoy outdoor activities such as running, hiking, and triathlons.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog.  Please feel free to comment on any postings or drop me a note at larry@lawrencegee.com.

–Larry

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