THE DIGITAL ERA HAS CHANGED MARKETING: A GUIDE TO USING INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS AND EXPLORATION OF STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTIVENESS

Abstract

The digital era has changed marketing dramatically and marketing jobs have shifted as well. Thus, marketing faculty face a difficult challenge in preparing students for the marketplace. Industry certifications can be a great way to prepare students for a career in the digital era. We present a design for using certifications with suggestions for the sequencing order as well as example instructions. This article describes the findings of a qualitative study and a quantitative study. The qualitative study focuses on content knowledge for several industry certifications. The quantitative study focuses on the effectiveness of using certifications.