Andrew Baxter aims to bridge the gap between uni and marketing industry

Former Publicis chairman says universities need to build better ties with industry or risk becoming irrelevant

Andrew Baxter
Andrew Baxter

Universities are at risk of becoming completely irrelevant to the marketing profession unless they start ramping up engagement with the sector – and quickly, the University of Sydney’s latest adjunct professor of marketing claims.

Former Publicis chairman and Ogilvy CEO, Andrew Baxter, has joined the tertiary institution this month as an adjunct professor of marketing, and is tasked with establishing a stronger dialogue between the University of Sydney Business School and the marketing industry.

It’s a role Baxter is holding alongside his appointment to KPMG Australia as a senior advisor for its Customer, Brand and Marketing Advisory business, as well as a non-executive directorship with Australian Pork.

Baxter is a well-known name in the marketing sphere. During his career, he has worked with a host of iconic Australian companies and brands in the retail, FMCG, sports and entertainment, automotive, banking and finance, gaming, tourism and travel, education and government sectors. His emphasis has been on branding, marketing, digital transformation, data, communications and customer experience.

With the amount of change experienced in marketing over the last 10 years, it’s vital the tertiary education approach gets a rethink, Baxter said.

“Now more than ever, universities need to understand industry best practice in order to remain relevant,” he said. “Students need to learn the latest techniques from the sector itself.”

The University of Sydney Business School professor, Vince Mitchell, said it was important the education provider engages top talent if students are to be job ready when they graduate.

“Technology has transformed the industry in recent years with a shift in focus away from traditional media and towards highly targeted digital platforms,” professor Mitchell said. He also expected Baxter would lift the profile of the school and encourage the marketing sector to work with the school around further research.

“Industry has been successfully utilising the University’s significant research capabilities in the likes of medicine and science for many years, but the Business School’s research skills haven’t been tapped into at the same level by the marketing industry,” professor Mitchell continued.

“This appointment will help us to future proof our students by blending the very best of what the industry and academia have to offer.”

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+: google.com/+CmoAu 

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in