Sunny Cervantes
On my “What do I want to be when I grow up?” list, being a marketing strategist was never one of them. At the top of that list was detective because I fancied myself as the next Nancy Drew. I went through a period of figuring out how to color my hair, titian, except I didn’t know what titian was.
Then, there was secretary. That was a product of my Mills & Boon obsession where all the ladies were secretaries whom Arab sheiks whisked to exotic lands to live a life of luxury, romance and high drama.
Finally, a teacher. In grade school, we taught catechism classes to public schools as part of our community service. I always felt so powerful each time I stood in front of the class. 11 years old and already power hungry, what can I say?
I never became any of those.
After college, I needed a job pronto. My first job was being a marketing officer for a fast food giant in the Philippines. I didn’t have a lot on my plate at that time so I grabbed the offer. I thought I’d do marketing for a while until I found something better.
Instead, I fell irrevocably in love with Marketing. After 18 years of solid marketing experience, I am now a marketing consultant who remains blissfully in love with marketing.
As a marketing consultant, I think of myself as a Marketing Director for rent. If a company or business can’t afford to hire a marketing head, they come to me, The Marketing Girl.
I conceptualize their marketing strategies and, should clients wish to, I implement it as well. For some clients, I manage their marketing departments until they can hire a permanent marketing director or vice president for marketing. For other clients, I do brand management. I conceptualize and develop their marketing and communication tools alongside their advertising and PR agencies. I also conduct marketing seminars and training workshops.
In a nutshell, I do marketing management.
My career as a marketing strategist is a merger of my What-To-Be-When-I-Grow-Up list. Detective work entails a lot of investigation and analysis. Possessing an analytical mind is a must in the marketing world.
Secretarial work, on the other hand, calls for organization and attention to detail. A marketer should have those traits in order to create a coherent, effective and efficient marketing campaign. Sadly, being whisked away by dashing and fabulously wealthy sheiks is not part of that deal. Still, hope springs eternal.
As a marketer, I help educate the people I work with on the principles and concepts of marketing management. To me, this is the most fun part of my job. Someday, I hope to be a real marketing professor ala Philip Kotler.
I do have a life outside of marketing.
I’m a single mom to a future artist whose aim in life is to hang her paintings at the Louvre. Preferably, while she’s still alive and breathing. I’m passionate about writing and I dream of the day I can win a Pulitzer. Hey, if I’m going to dream, I might as well dream big, right?
I go scuba diving in my spare time. I like to dabble in black-and-white photography. However, in this age of digital film, I’m a purist. I prefer to shoot on film because I enjoy developing and printing my own photos. Other than the fact that I can’t cook and I’m missing a sheik, life is pretty good.
They say life begins at 40. I say life gets more exciting at 40. Being an author on All the Single Girlfriends, alongside some of the world’s most amazing women, definitely makes being in my 40’s intense.
From Manila to the world, Mabuhay!
For a regular dose of my marketing brains, you can go to my marketing blog or connect to The Marketing Girl on Facebook. Ask me about marketing and brand management on Quora. My resume can be found on my LinkedIn profile. Snippets of my daily life are shared on my Twitter, @SunnyC
And my posts on All The Single Girlfriends begin here…
The Marketing Girl’s Christmas Gift
Control is one of the key factors to the success of a marketing campaign or program. The marketer loses control, the project goes to pieces. As a result, many marketers end up as control freaks. “You should be in control of the project” is one of those ominous statements I dread hearing from any CEO. […]
Top 5 Advices for Marketing Newbies
A cousin who calls me Obi Wan (I know, I know) and is about to join the marketing world asked me this: “What are your top 5 advices for a marketing newbie?” The question made me recall my own Marketing Jedi-In-Training days. Those were not happy days. At all. My memory recounts endless tears, utter […]
Anybody Who Pays?
I was having a lovely lunch with some business colleagues when the talk veered to someone’s new business. Me: “So, who’s your target market for it?” Businessman: “Anybody who pays!” WEH?! In the Jurassic Era, “anybody who pays” is an excellent marketing strategy. What do dinosaurs know about marketing anyway? All they care about is […]
Reputation in the Era of YouTube
Depending on where you’re standing, YouTube can be manna from heaven or the work of the devil. Many a successful career has been built on YouTube. Filipina singer Charice Pempengco’s meteoric rise to international stardom is one proof. It was YouTube that brought her to the attention of Ellen Degeneres and, eventually, Oprah. Therefore, fear […]
The Pied Piper Syndrome in Social Media
Social media experts proclaim something or someone is brilliant or amazing (Cue in Bruno Mars!) and we all chime in to agree enthusiastically. God forbid you do not agree with the social media gurus. Spell dead career. Or, worse, vicious attacks from their acolytes for daring to disagree with the founding fathers and mothers of […]
Do Love Triangles Really Exist?
I spent the weekend watching videos of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. For my trouble, I ended up with a monstrous migraine. Their story reminded me once again that people love for reasons that have nothing to do with beauty, glamour, power or success. The world may perceive you as the ugliest duckling ever. Yet, […]
You Have .. Snail Mail!
I miss receiving snail mail. The only snail mail I get these days are my bills and that, I definitely do not miss. There was a time when the sight of an approaching postman would fill me with excitement. Today, I am filled with dread whenever I see my postman. He never brings anything good […]
Unapologetically Single At 40
There was an article I read about how annoying it is to be constantly harassed as to why one is still single. I share that annoyance. It even gets more annoying when people point out that you’re 40 AND still single. As if being single at 40 is some dreadful contagious disease or a crime […]