A Calling? Marketing Is a Craft!

In my lectures, I’ve been observing the same thing for years. As soon as the topic turns to marketing, everyone has an opinion. Why this campaign isn’t working, why that rebranding backfired, what the brand really should have done. Hands are in the air before I’ve even finished asking the question. And often, the comments aren’t bad at all. In other courses, I get the impression that students are more reserved. I don’t teach the accounting class, so this is just an impression. But I rarely hear students say they had a spontaneous opinion on how to value provisions. The difference isn’t in the difficulty. It’s that marketing is seen as the subject where anyone can feel «called» to have an opinion.

It doesn't stop after college

No one heads up the accounting department just because they have a knack for numbers. Marketing, on the other hand, is a field that a surprising number of people feel confident enough to lead. A major British industry survey conducted a few years ago, which polled over 4,000 marketers, yielded a sobering result: more than half had no marketing-related training whatsoever. “Learning by doing” is considered a fully valid approach—and not just on the sly, but as a matter of course. People argued about this for a long time. Then someone decided to take a closer look.

The study by Mark Ritson

In 2026, Mark Ritson, in collaboration with Ipsos, presented 1,226 marketing professionals in four countries with ten questions. Basic marketing concepts, at the undergraduate level—nothing out of the ordinary. Thirty-five percent passed. The details paint a less flattering picture. Questions on quantitative research methods: 31 percent got them right. Questions on Distinctive Brand Assets: 48 percent got them right. Questions on market penetration: 53 percent got them right. In the U.S., over 40 percent couldn’t say what “positioning” actually means. That, with all due respect, is Week 4 of my lecture. But what stuck with me most was something else. Of those who failed, more than three-quarters still considered themselves above average in marketing. Ritson refers to the myth of the marketing genius and dryly points to the Dunning-Kruger effect.

The Uncomfortable Connection

At the same time, I’ve been hearing the same complaint in the industry for years. Marketing isn’t taken seriously—too little budget, too little attention, no seat at the table. This sentiment is real and well-documented; only 28 percent of CMOs feel they have significant influence within their own companies. Still, I wonder if we aren’t too quick to look for the cause in others. When Finance, Legal, and Engineering are seated at the table—all of whom have formally learned their respective languages—and you yourself can’t even clearly define “market penetration,” you don’t lose the discussion because nobody likes you. The study also reveals a finding that surprised me: When it comes to knowledge level, formal education is ten times more important than professional experience. Ten times. This dispels the most common counterargument: “But I’ve been doing this for fifteen years.” Ritson puts it this way: Simply being around marketing isn’t enough.

The Good News

Marketing is a craft. There is a body of knowledge, and anyone can learn it. A bachelor’s or master’s degree here at HSG is one path to that goal, but it is certainly not the only one—and certainly not the last. There are plenty of continuing education programs available, including some excellent ones. In that regard, I’m already looking forward to the start of the semester, when I’ll once again have the pleasure of welcoming around 400 motivated students to my Introduction to Marketing course. They’ll be able to define positioning and market penetration!

About the Author

Prof. Dr. Johanna Gollnhofer is an associate professor of marketing and one of the co-directors of the Institute for Marketing and Customer Insight at the University of St. Gallen (IMC-HSG).