Mini MBA star: Kate Huang

Strategy is as much what you don’t do as it is what you do, says Callaly’s former CMO Kate Huang.

Kate Huang, former CMO at Callaly

Having started her marketing career at an agency before moving in-house, Kate Huang felt she profited from sections of the Mini MBA in Brand Management that explored the tension between brand and performance budgets. “It was interesting to see the range of opinion among academics and people in the field and I decided by the end of that module there was no right or wrong approach,” she says.

She was not alone in finding valuable lessons in the simulation module of the course, and Mark Ritson’s analysis of it. “The simulation taught me the practical truth that Mark had insisted on (and I ignored) that strategy is as much what you don’t do as it is what you do. I should have narrowed my budget even further than I did, then I might have had a higher share price and beaten both of the competitors,” she says.

Indeed, Huang found the simulation module so enjoyable she completed it in one evening, ignoring advice to complete one year of virtual decisions every day with time to sleep on the results. “The thrill of seeing the share price rising was too addictive to stop and a take a break,” she says.

Take your skills to the next level with the Mini MBA in Brand Management. The next course, which is run by professor and Marketing Week columnist Mark Ritson, starts on 20 April. The Mini MBA in Marketing course begins on 13 April. Visit the Mini MBA website for more information and to book your place.

Recommended

NikeJustDoIt-Logo-2013_304

Top ten Nike ‘Just Do It’ ads

Seb Joseph

Nike’s famous “Just Do It” strapline has been at the centre of many iconic adverts over the years as the brand has gone on to be revered as one of the most innovative advertisers in the industry. As the company celebrates the 25th anniversary of its famous slogan, Marketing Week picks out ten of the most memorable ads it has graced during that time.