As an analyst of business insights at Madison Square Garden, Michael Holloway ’22, MAS’23 feels confident that he made the right choice when he chose to enroll in Fairfield’s dual MBA/MAS degree.

“Having both degrees is really useful,” he says. “The MBA is great as far as breadth, and for teaching things like decision-making skills and evaluations. And the Master of Science in Marketing Analytics and Strategy (MAS) gives you more specialized tools, like how to work with syndicated data and dashboards. Plus, it helps set you apart in job interviews. Recruiters I met thought having an MBA was great, but when they drilled down they were particularly intrigued by the specifics of the dual degree.”

Holloway, who received the highest academic standing award in the MAS program, initially chose Fairfield because of its “modern” feel.  He studied both marketing and finance as an undergraduate. “I wasn’t planning on graduate school, but I took a class with Julie Marella, the MAS program director, and found marketing analytics pretty interesting. She convinced me to consider the dual degree, which is only six classes more than the MBA,” he says.

Knowledge of Marketing Analytics & Strategy Essential in Today’s Market

The MAS program was launched several years ago specifically to provide marketers with the advanced marketing analytical skills – using software, statistical methodology, and data – needed as companies become more research-based and data-driven. Graduates leave the program certified in Google Analytics, and are comfortable working with the latest software such as Qualtrics, Tableau, and SPSS. They can even go a step further to learn programming languages and database skills by choosing a Business Analytics specialization.

“Companies today are overwhelmed with the abundance of data collected from various platforms, and they need to hire people with the analytical skills to interpret that data and provide strategic recommendations to improve results. Interest in our program continues to grow, as witnessed by a 65 percent increase in our enrollments since last year,” says Marella. “Not only that, our list of partner organizations associated with our MAS Experiential Learning Partnership Program, has expanded. We’re partnering with companies such as Henkel, Kellogg’s, Pfizer, Orangetheory Fitness, The Bridgeport Islanders, PBR, and many others.”

These Experiential Learning Partnerships ­are an essential part of the program and provide students with real-world experience that is resume-building and more often than not translates into a job offer. 

“The multi-touchpoint engagement with our strategic partner organizations, including events, classroom projects, mentoring, internships, and the capstone projects that result from them, are the key difference between Fairfield’s program and any other,” says Marella. “Students use analytically-driven strategic insights to solve marketing analytics problems using company-provided data. By the time they do their capstones, students are ready to hand over actionable reports to the companies.

The fact that these company partners are willing to share proprietary data to work on current real-world projects shows the value of the relationship they have with Fairfield”, notes Marella.

Solving the Needs of the Business Community

It was a serendipitous meeting with some Fairfield alumni that helped Holloway land a summer internship at Madison Square Garden, an internship that was soon extended through the winter and to the spring of 2023. 

“Once that concluded, I was offered a permanent position,” notes Holloway.

In his new role, Holloway is looking at syndicated data from multiple sources and using that to support the sales teams.  “For instance, I’d want to show Chase, one of our biggest sponsors, how a particular team is a great fit for their brand. I’m also looking at anything syndicated through brand surveys and will determine what’s working well and what we can do to make it perform better.”

Between their proficiency using client data such as IRI, Nielsen, and Kantar Media, as well as their experience working directly with company personnel on real-world projects, program graduates achieved 100 percent employment within three months of graduation. The program has proven to be a win-win for students and employees aiming to advance within their fields. Just as importantly, it has been proven to meet the needs of partner companies as well.

Says Capstone Mentor Jonathan Forsberg, vice-president of ticket sales and service for the Bridgeport Islanders: “Through this partnership with Fairfield, we were able to really zero in on a specific demographic, and we uncovered a bunch of new data that was really eye-opening, things that I never thought would have been the case.”

Fairfield’s STEM-designated graduate program in Marketing Analytics and Strategy is available in both online and hybrid formats.