Executives from Lexus, Foot Locker, Disney and Other Global Brands Bring Real-World Marketing into the Babson Classroom

When Lexus marketing executive Lindsay Smelser joined a Babson College advertising class this fall, she expected to share insights about building a luxury brand. She left with something unexpected: student perspectives that are now informing her team’s marketing strategy.

  Babson and Walton Isaacson along with leading marketers offer co-taught course 

It’s one example of the exchanges taking place in Babson’s Advanced Professional Advertising Practicum, co-taught by Executives in Residence Aaron Walton, CEO and co-founder of Walton Isaacson, Christine Villanueva, PhD, the agency’s EVP of Brand, Strategy and Growth, and Anjali Bal, PhD, Associate Professor of Marketing at Babson College.

Walton, a 1983 Babson graduate and Advertising Hall of Fame inductee, has drawn on decades of industry relationships to connect students with senior executives from Lexus, Disney, Foot Locker, DICK’S Sporting Goods, AT&T and Clinique. Upcoming speakers include leaders from Hilton and American Airlines, along with Steve Pacheco, President and CEO of the American Advertising Federation (AAF). The discussions go beyond successful campaigns to explore the strategic decisions, business challenges and lessons learned behind them.

“The Babson students were incredibly engaged in the content and asked thoughtful, real-life questions; some of which are now informing our marketing strategy because they were keying in on brand topics that we perhaps overlooked the importance of – like vehicle reliability,” said Lindsay Smelser, General Manager, Lexus Marketing.

Foot Locker CMO Brett O’Brien was similarly impressed by the students’ engagement.

“This is a class filled with super sharp, inquisitive students who led with both curiosity and a true depth of insight into the topics we discussed,” said O’Brien.

For students, the experience is changing how they understand the industry.

“My biggest takeaway from this course is that great advertising starts with understanding people, not products,” said Babson student Natalie Vincent. “Before this class, I thought of advertising mostly as the creative output: the commercial, the billboard, the clever tagline. Hearing from practitioners has shown me that the most effective work comes from deep insight into who the audience is and what shapes their lives.”

“We wanted students to hear directly from the people making the decisions, navigating the challenges and shaping where the industry is headed,” said Walton. “It’s one thing to study a successful campaign. It’s another to understand the thinking behind it, what was at stake and why certain decisions were made.”

“Preparing students to lead in an ever-changing world necessitates that colleges bring industry-leading experts with applied experience into the classroom,” said Poonam Arora, dean of Babson’s undergraduate school. “The breadth of marketing leaders participating in this immersive learning opportunity gives our students a unique chance to learn directly from executives shaping some of the world’s most influential brands and industries.”

Source: Babson College

  Babson College, Brett O’Brien, Lindsay Smelser, Poonam Arora, Walton Isaacson