Name: Catarina Daltro
Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Grad year: 2018
Major: Marketing
Dorm: Formerly Cavanaugh Hall, now off campus
What inspired you to join the Student International Business Council (SIBC) and continue to be active throughout your four years at Notre Dame?
It was a chance to apply my theoretical studies in something more real. I found the projects very interesting and they all had really good leaders. It was really intimidating in the beginning, but it definitely gets better over time.
SIBC also allows you to get to know a variety of industries. I did a project with Nielsen, which kind of goes into data analytics, and I also did a project with a fashion company, so we got to talk about shoes. I really got to see how marketing functions within different industries.
It’s also really good practice for presentation skills, which I felt like I needed to work on.
Tell me about the project you are currently leading.
So, Vera Bradley has been a very different type of project because we’re looking more at the consumer than the product. It’s a challenging company because it’s functioning in a very saturated industry – so relevancy is really hard. It’s also a company with a lot of history that is trying to maintain and modernize, rather than completely change.
It’s also the first time that I’ve collected data for a project, which has been a great learning experience, but also allows us to delve into the data in a different way. It’s definitely easier for us to understand because we’ve been part of the entire process, rather than simply using secondary data.
You’ve lead two projects – what does it take to become a leader?
So, the good thing about SIBC is that you have co-leaders. So, a lot of it is playing off how your co- leader leads.I feel like the most important part is that you sound like one person speaking within meetings and over email.
It’s also incredibly important to listen to people within the team and push them to speak, because they see things from a completely different perspective and they can question your assumptions.
Leaders should also always work to maintain good communication with their project contacts – sending them updates along the way will allow them to give project leaders feedback and steer them in the right direction. This is not only beneficial for the project leaders, but also the company that is receiving our recommendations.
You worked for an advertising agency this summer – tell me about your experience.
So, working for an advertising agency was a little challenging because we don’t have an advertising trek at Notre Dame. It was a lot of extending my knowledge from my various marketing classes to translate into my particular advertising tasks. That being said, Notre Dame has provided me a very wide perspective of business. So, I was able to approach advertising from a different perspective than those whose education was advertising focused, and I think I was really able to valuably contribute in that way.
What was your favorite part?
Since we were working as an intern group, we had our own project, which gave us a lot of responsibility and allowed me to dabble in different parts of the industry. So, I didn’t just do planning (which was my technical job), but also took part in brainstorming and the creative process, as well as working as an account executive. I really liked that I got to try everything, but at the end of the day it did solidify that planning is what I want to pursue within my career.
You also took part in the Advertising Trek over Fall Break – what can you tell me about that experience?
During the trek we visited a number of agencies in Chicago and really learned about the agencies themselves, but also the recruitment process and what skills to work on beforehand. We also had the opportunity to connect with a lot of alumni in the industry. Notre Dame isn’t really that big on advertising yet. So, it’s really good to know them and their career journey.
Do you have any advice for underclassmen interested in pursuing advertising?
I would suggest Professor Moore’s Integrated Marketing Communications class – you learn really valuable advertising skills and a lot about the industry as a whole. I would also suggest SIBC because there are projects for advertising and it really helps to know how to apply the concepts of marketing that you learn within classes.
Obviously getting an internship is also important, but there’s also a lot you can do on your own. For example, if an underclassman is interested in the creative aspect of advertising, they can begin to build their own portfolio. There are a lot of resources online, and then just general real world experiences that can be helpful in preparing themselves. I think even watching tv from a different perspective and beginning to understand what companies are trying to do is a good first step. Even at the grocery store – just start looking at where things are, what they say, and how they are displayed. Begin looking at the world around them with that specific mindset and they can learn a lot from that.
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Images provided by the interviewee