How Consumers Choose

In elementary school, I was the kid who knew everyone. Introducing myself on the first day of school wasn’t scary. Sitting somewhere new at lunch was fun. People told me I liked to talk.

Journalism school seemed like the right choice — and that it was. My reporting classes have no doubt sharpened my writing, critical thinking skills and editorial judgment. But as I got deeper into my time in Evanston, I found that the stories I liked reporting the most always seemed to come back to how everyday people interact with a certain product (or the company that makes it).

And I always walked away from those stories with more questions than when I started. How could I get ahead of the decisions consumers make about what to buy … how could I understand what happens at the company level? That’s where the Integrated Marketing Communications certificate fits in for me.

In just five courses — very easy to fit between other majors and minors — we learn how to tackle those questions and more. Faculty with tangible, real-world experience take us through how the small things we know about consumers, called insights, help shape effective strategies. How brands are perceived stays in shoppers’ memories for longer than we think. Products in the middle of a shelf get bought more than those at the bottom or the top. And, to little surprise, how a product makes someone feel is one of the ultimate drivers of purchasing — even if it might be more expensive. At its core, IMC is a data-driven approach to storytelling, so we learn how to connect those insights to specific metrics, too.

Hands-on learning is what makes Medill special, so the certificate program doesn’t just stop at how marketing works — we actually get to do it.

In my favorite course, we built a year-long multichannel strategy for an actual business in the Chicago area, complete with a budget and branding kit. Working directly with a client was a valuable experience in itself, but knowing that the ideas we came up with were backed up by concrete insights and data drove home just how impactful the program is. The strategies we created from Fisk Hall were just as strong as those from companies across the world — and the IMC program is what made that possible.

There’s no doubt I’m walking away from Northwestern a more well-rounded storyteller because of those five courses. I know how to make messages stick. I understand the true value of socially conscious messaging. I’ve gotten much better at using Excel and R! (free software environment for statistical computing and graphics).

And because I’ve paired that knowledge with Medill’s BSJ curriculum, I feel like I bring a unique set of skills to a potential post-grad job.

My journalism classes have taught me that all the best stories are driven by a central character — meaning data and consumer insights alone can only go so far in making a company’s messaging stick. I’ve particularly enjoyed my multimedia journalism courses, so I’d love to find a job producing people-driven video campaigns on social media. That BSJ/IMC combination gives me an advantage over traditional marketing majors!

But above all, the IMC certificate has taught me how to look at my own buying habits with a critical eye. Because, after all, so many decisions we make in a day ultimately revolve around how we spend our time, attention and money — and knowing why we make the decisions we do goes a long way.

Brandon Kondritz (BSJ26) is an early-career journalist. He was a finalist in NPR's 2023 Student Podcast Challenge, and his work has aired on WBEZ Chicago, Apple News' daily and feature podcasts and national NPR newscasts.