<p>Sally,</p>
<p>If you become an assistant brand manager with P&G you will spend a lot more time interfacing with Sales or R&D than you will with the finance department. When an assistant brand manager needs a “reality check” they send them out for Sales Training. Not finance training.</p>
<p>We’re talking algebra-level math here. However that doesn’t mean that taking Calculus and more advanced math courses in college is a waste of time for a Marketer. MBA Admissions Officers are always concerned about Marketer’s math skills because they know marketers are the creative-qualitative type. They worry a Marketer might not be able to handle some of the quant-heavy courses in the core curriculum. Some advanced math or finance/accounting courses on your transcript really helps to alleviate their concern.</p>
<p>No marketer is going to be impressed if you can do 66x66 in your head during an interview. He’s not going to care if you know what a “long-bond” is either. But it is crucial that you know: “What is a brand?”. And he would be impressed if he asked you to: “Envision a new product in your household and walk me through the launching of it into the marketplace” and you come up with something interesting. They’re looking for creativity and logic-based thinking. Creative solutions to real-world problems. Leadership ability and good judgement. Adaptability and a willingness to take risks. Not quantitative skills. And this is why many companies looking for marketers/brand managers target people with Marketing degrees. Not accounting/finance degrees.</p>