Marketing chair tells it like it is

Recent grads thanked Marketing Chair Gail Tibbo for her support with an inventive gift

If Marketing Chair Gail Tibbo could bottle her approval as a drug, it could result in some serious addiction issues on campus, say her graduates.

Tibbo provides the perfect combination of presence, intensity and playfulness in her classes, say Marketing Management grads Tomomi Chu and Chris Zawadzki. But what really stands out is her ability to bluntly tell students when their work is outstanding - or not.

"Students ran to her because she listened well, gave honest answers and helped each person find their own solution. She never babied anyone," says Chu, who remembers students lining up to speak with Tibbo after class.

"It's an extension of who I am, in a way. I'm blunt. I can see through it if someone is giving me icing and I don't deserve it. By giving my students honest feedback, I'm trying to help them do better. If I raise the bar high, it becomes their new target," Tibbo explains.

Blunt, yes, but Tibbo is hardly all work and no play. Zawadzki recalls her sense of humour.

"'Chris Z.' she would say, randomly. 'Define synergy for the class.'

'Synergy?' I'd respond. 'Could I get a rare Gail Tibbo-pass on this one?' She'd smile, and move on to the next student. She knew how to mix the intensity with a lightness," says Zawadzki.

Tibbo has been with the Douglas Marketing Department for 15 years. She strives to keep lessons fresh and varied, injecting her experience as president of Incisive Marketing into her lessons. She regularly weaves current events into her teachings too - shortly after the American election, she had a class on President-elect Barack Obama as a brand.

Whatever the assignment, Tibbo emphasizes hands-on learning. Students design promotions, undertake research projects and take part in a practicum class which is run like a marketing firm where they act as consulting teams for well-known companies in the Lower Mainland.

Following their graduation in Spring 2008, Chu and Zawadzki put their practical skills to use creating a unique thank-you gift for Tibbo. They mocked up a box and bottle for their new product: Approvax, or Tibbotine-approvalide, along with a promotional poster.

Its creators claim Approvax, "simulates the experience of profound approval and creates feelings of euphoria and acceptance, leading to happiness and elevated levels of self-worth."

Both he and Chu are continuing their studies. Zawadzki is studying Professional Communications at Royal Roads University and Chu is taking New Media and Web Development at BCIT.

"I owe Gail quite a lot for everything that she has taught me, all the help that she has given me and all the ways that she helped me find my strengths," says Chu.

For her part, Tibbo says her true passion "is the reward of dealing with my students."

"Nothing beats seeing them move from being unsure of where they are going to confidently starting out in their career," says Tibbo.

In addition to the full-time Marketing Management Diploma, Douglas offers a Marketing Management Citation, a five-course program targeted to people employed in the field who want to improve or update specific marketing job skills, and a Marketing Management Certificate, a part-time program.

Links: