Kristin Branch’s career began with a simple insight from a professor:
Marketing is the psychology of consumers.
That spark set her on a path from undergraduate marketing student to corporate brand manager, and eventually back to the classroom at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
After years spent building brands and earning her MBA, she discovered an even stronger calling—mentoring students, connecting with industry leaders, and shaping the next generation of marketers.
In this conversation, she reflects on the pivotal choices that led her to UW–Madison, the joy she finds in teaching, and the lessons she wishes she could share with her younger self.
Tell us about your career path in marketing and how you ended up at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a professor?
I went to undergrad at the University of Denver, originally a psychology major. As I was studying psychology, I realized that wasn’t quite the right fit for me, so I switched to Marketing. I remember back then, you needed to have a piece of paper signed by a professor to change your major. As I was telling the professor I was switching from psychology to marketing, he said that’s a great fit, because marketing is the psychology of consumers.
I didn’t really realize at the time, but it absolutely is very similar. Understanding why people do what they do, buy what they buy, has always intrigued me and that is how I first got into marketing. After my marketing undergrad, I moved back to Wisconsin and worked in marketing for four years before coming to UW-Madison for my MBA degree as a full-time student. Being a full-time MBA student is an incredible opportunity. When I was an MBA student, I studied marketing and entrepreneurship.
I chose entrepreneurship, not necessarily because I wanted to start my own business immediately, but I liked the mindset of understanding the “whole” business, especially as I wanted to go into brand management, which is a general business career path with a marketing mindset. After I completed my MBA, I moved to Pittsburgh to be an associate brand manager. I did that for a couple years, and then I moved back to Madison to do brand management here in town. As soon as I moved back to Madison, I reached out to the university and said “how can I mentor, how can I guest speak, how can I help students in any way?”
I did a little bit of that, and after a few years a position became open, at the University of Wisconsin, to be the director of the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research. I was excited to throw my name in the hat, and luckily I got that job. I joined the university back in 2007. In that role, I summarized my job as helping students prepare for careers in marketing by having a strong industry relations focus and connections with our alumni and our industry partners.
I spent a lot of time staying connected to the marketing industry and industry professionals, while also teaching, coaching, and preparing students to work in that space. I did that job for almost 18 years, loved that path, but was ready for a change, so threw my name in the hat to become a full-time lecturer/professor of our intro to marketing class. Any undergrad at UW-Madison who wants to study business will take my Marketing Management 300 class. That’s the long story of how I ended up at my current job.
Looking back on your past jobs, what has been your biggest career lesson and how have you changed because of that?
I would say twice in my life, both when I left corporate America to come to UW, and when I left the center director job to teach at the undergrad level; both choices were a choice to focus on my professional and personal happiness, rather than making more money. In fact, both jobs were a pay cut.
But I did it, because I knew there was more that I was seeking professionally. Whether it was more time for my family, or more time to focus on people, not just business. That is the biggest career lesson I had. While I was successful at corporate marketing and I loved that career, I was a better fit to blend marketing with educating people. I am glad I was able to make that career choice and grow in that field.
You graduated with your Master’s degree in Marketing & Entrepreneurship and have since worked at the university for a majority of your career, what is it about marketing at UW-Madison that caused you to work there for so long?
I have loved my jobs at UW because I get to work with students, and I get to help them learn and grow. That very much aligns with my personal values, I am a people person. I am someone who cares about helping others find their path or their goal. This was a great fit for me. I think it was the combination of marketing and education that has made this great fit. Plus, UW-Madison, and the city of Madison are a fantastic place to live, so it has been great to raise my family here.
Can you discuss some of the daily responsibilities you have had while working at UW-Madison?
I can talk a little bit about my current job teaching. Right now, it is summertime, and I am preparing for the fall; preparing what lessons I want my students to have, what are the important takeaways, and how I will teach and assess those things. I spend a lot of my time thinking and planning, looking for case studies of great real examples that will help my students understand through the real world. I also spend a lot of time reaching out to students to see how I can help them and learn from them, which is great too. There is the actual delivery of lecturers, and then all the student follow ups. There are lots of questions around “did I do this right, how do I get a good grade, what’s going on in my life, and how can I make that fit in my class.”
What part of your job do you enjoy the most, that makes you look forward to going to work every day?
I love the lectures. I love getting in front of my students and seeing them get excited about the topics that we talk about. I love face to face personal interaction the best.
What do you value most about having the opportunity to teach college students marketing?
I love that these are very bright students that are curious to learn and get roles in business. They have a bright future ahead of them, and if I can help them be smarter, be more thoughtful about the choices they make as businesspeople, and what that does to themselves, their business, and the world, that is very motivating.
Based on your past experiences, what skills have you learned that you think are necessary for individuals working in marketing?
I love that marketing is a balance between art and science. I love that it is quantitative and rigorous, and full of analysis. Yet, it always has an element of strategic and creative thinking. There is rarely a research study you can do in marketing where it will tell you exactly what to do next. Which product to launch, what advertisement to run, whatever it is, you never fully know so you do a lot of experiments. A lot of try and learn, edit, learn again and try again, etc.. I love that about marketing, so I always encourage people to stay curious; to use both sides of their brain to be analytical and be creative, and to lean on both sides of their brain.
As someone who has worked many jobs at the same establishment, what advice do you have for individuals looking to grow their marketing role at their company?
For anyone, whether a young professional or a seasoned experienced person, being curious about your professional opportunities, seeking out mentors, asking for advice from more senior people, such as “what did you do next, how did you get the experience needed to do what role they are doing.” Whether or not you want to do that role, the chance to learn, grow, and see if it’s right for you, or the steps they took, how do I feel about that, how does that fit for me. I think that’s important.
What advice would you give someone who wants to enter the marketing industry but isn’t sure how or where they fit in?
I love working with students because they are young in their career. I tell them “you have a long career ahead of you, see how it works, you don’t have to stay there for 30 years.” You can learn from it, and give it your all. Do your first job well for at least 2-3 years at the minimum; learn what you can from them, and then move on if you must. It’s ok to not know where you fit in, or if you are not sure if marketing is for you. Your career is going to flow, pivot, and change, and that will be fantastic. You will like some jobs more than others. Sometimes that has to do with the type of work you're doing, sometimes that has to do with your boss or your coworkers. But, you will learn from every step along the way.
Knowing what you know now, what tips would you give your younger self coming out of college about looking for a job?
What I did not know in college or in grad school was my love for student leadership: working in admissions, being a teaching assistant, mentoring fellow students, working in the student newspaper - that passion could be a part of my career. All the different leadership activities, I thought that was just personal, that it had nothing to do with my career. What I learned when joining UW-Madison, was that I can make it a part of my career. I can be a marketer and use those social and leadership skills, for a combination of the two.
For me personally, that is the advice I would go back and give 20 year old Kristin, that you can do both right away. That being said, I would not change anything about my career. Working in corporate America gave me a better perspective for working in higher ed. It makes me a better teacher that I understand how real business works, so I am forever grateful for the education and career path I have had.
