Brittany Thomas (IMC22)

Product Marketing Manager at eBay

Tell us about your career path. How did you get where you are today?

My career path started in 2019 at Motorola Solutions in my first full-time role as a regional marketing coordinator. After a year in my first role, I became a marketing manager for video and analytics technology. In that role, I found a passion for product marketing and wanted to expand my marketing knowledge and expertise to carry with me throughout my career. Which is what led me to the Medill IMC Full-Time program in 2021. After completing the Medill IMC program, I started my role as product marketing manager at eBay in January 2023.

What are your main responsibilities in your current role?

As a product marketing manager, I lead go-to-market and product marketing strategy for eBay’s social and seller experience products. Some of my main responsibilities are to leverage insights to identify product opportunities and deliver effective messaging strategies, value propositions, and product narratives that resonate with eBay’s target audiences. I work cross-functionally with product management, engineering, brand, design, and more to drive successful product launches and ensure alignment with business goals.

How did the Medill Integrated Marketing Communications Full Time program prepare you for your career?

Medill IMC gave me strategies and frameworks that greatly expanded my marketing knowledge and expertise. I apply many of these strategies and frameworks in my role today. What was truly valuable was the community that came from Medill IMC. Medill IMC alums can be found anywhere and everywhere you go in a variety of industries, companies, cities, and more. From Medill IMC, I received an expansive network of people to connect with in my career which I’m immensely grateful to have.

What is a class or experience that stick out in your mind and why?

My three favorite classes from the IMC program were Culture & Inclusion, Digital Marketing Activation, and Branding in a Digital World. Each of these classes allowed me to have capstone-type projects that allowed me to work with real-world companies and apply creative thinking along with innovative strategies to various projects that helped me develop as a marketer in the best ways possible.

The most memorable experience from the program was our Global Perspectives London course, which focused on global digital marketing and took place in London. We had the opportunity to learn key components of the digital marketing experience while visiting and networking with international brands in London.

How has Medill Career Services helped you?

Medill Career Services helped connect me to marketers at companies and in roles I was interested in. They were instrumental in helping me put together a network of mentors who were able to support me in my journey to finding a role after completing the Medill IMC program. This included resume building, interview preparation, applications, referrals, and more!

How can your industry be more inclusive and representative of society?

I remember learning about the importance of intersectionality in my Culture and Inclusion class with Danielle Bell during my time at IMC and the learnings from that lecture have resonated with me a lot in my career. My role and industry involve responsibility for curating product narratives, value propositions, go-to-market campaigns, and more. Acknowledging intersectionality is crucial in product marketing because it ensures that marketing strategies recognize and address the diverse experiences and identities of target audiences. It also allows us to create campaigns that resonate more authentically. Understanding intersectionality in my career helps avoid one-size-fits-all solutions and promotes more nuanced and customer-centric messaging.

How have your identities influenced the way you navigate your professional career?

My identities have allowed me to be a voice and advocate throughout my career. There have been plenty of instances where I’ve been the only person who looks like me in the room, and I try to see those instances as opportunities to speak from my perspective and give insights. It’s not always easy, especially when certain nuances and experiences are not understood or shared amongst those around you. But, approaching open and honest conversations in those scenarios has helped me immensely in my career.

What advice would you give to someone considering the Medill Integrated Marketing Communications Full Time program?

The IMC program gives you an incredible marketing knowledge foundation. But, you will be best set up for success by putting into it what you want to get out of it. It’s 15 months to focus on what you want to achieve and the best way to do that is to take every opportunity, make all the connections you can, get outside of your comfort zone, keep an open mind, and have a positive mindset. When you go into Medill IMC with those goals top of mind, the value and opportunities you will receive from this program in the real world are endless!