Alyson Kaye is one of the most dynamic professors on campus. Her experience ranges from Agency Account Service, client side Marketing Director, Strategic Marketing Consultant and most recently has been teaching at Bentley for the past 3 years. If you have had the pleasure of having Professor Kaye as a teacher, you understand how passionate she is about her profession and field of advertising. If you have not had her yet, well get in line, she has an infamous wait list for all of her classes! Read below to learn more about one of the best professor on campus (in my book)!
Her Campus (HC): How did you originally get involved in advertising?
Alyson Kaye (AK): After I graduated from Bentley I started working in the sales department at Harte-Hanks Community Newspaper. There, I managed local retail accounts selling ad space in local newspapers. This is where I initially gained insight into how an ad came to life via the in-house creative department. Realizing that pursuing a career in advertising was something I wanted to do, I moved on to work within the advertising department at Filene’s Department Store. This expanded my knowledge of advertising and more specifically direct marketing/advertising. I was the liaison between the buyers and the creative/production department in the development and execution of the consumer direct mail catalog. I began to realize my passion for advertising and decided to go back to school to get my MBA.
HC: Tell us about some places you have previously worked?
AK: After completing graduate program at Bentley I worked in the account management department of Bronner Slosberg Humphrey, now Digitas. Here I worked with clients such as AT&T, Charles Schwab, and General Motors. Over the course of my career I have held positions at several agencies as well as spent time on client side as marketing director. My most recent full time position was with Arnold Worldwide on the Royal Caribbean business.
HC: From there, how did you get into teaching, and begin at Bentley?
AK: I contacted a professor/mentor from both my undergraduate and graduate years that I had at Bentley, Perry Lowe. I knew I wanted to go back to work and thought he would be a great person to turn to and ask for advice. I began my teaching career working beside him teaching a Corporate Immersion class.
HC: What has been your most memorable experience at Bentley thus far?
AK: I would have to say it was when I was co-teaching with Perry Lowe. At the end of the semester the students were to present their work to the corporate partner. The night before the presentations I found myself helping some of them on the phone until 2:00 in the morning. This reminded me of the nights before a pitch during my years at agencies and during the presentation I felt a similar feeling to that of winning a piece of business combined with a sense of pride that the students “got it.” I had so many emotions; I was nervous, excited and just so proud of all of them. It made me realize that I really enjoyed teaching and making a difference in my student’s lives.
HC: Do you have any advice for students looking to get into this field of marketing?
AK: To be in advertising I would suggest that you focus on being adaptable to constant change, be able to respond quickly while remaining professional and goal oriented and to have a thick skin. It is a high stress environment and you have to have a sense of humor with a work hard play hard attitude.