The online Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in Marketing program at St. Thomas University (STU) prepares students for a field experiencing remarkable growth. The program covers consumer psychology, communication, analysis, and the digital marketing strategy skills that employers seek across industries.
Americans are far more likely to see an advertisement online than on television, and that gap continues to widen. Digital channels now account for 72.7% of worldwide ad investment, with online spend exceeding $790 billion in 2024, according to DataReportal. The ever-increasing popularity of online usage signals sustained, strong demand for digital marketing professionals.
The Decline of Newspapers and Print Media
Marketing as we know it today — targeted ads designed to influence consumer behavior — came into practice in the late 19th century, largely through ad space that brands bought in newspapers. Marketing evolved in the mid-20th century as radio, television and magazines diversified the media landscape.
Beginning in the 1990s, widespread use of the internet again changed how marketers reached customers. As Americans gained newfound access to news and entertainment online, often for free, daily papers struggled to maintain readership and subscription levels. The loss of revenue from classified advertising dealt a particularly damaging blow to print newspapers.
The Rise of Digital-Age Marketing
Beyond the opportunities created by the advent of email and the internet, social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram are integral to digital-age marketing. A HubSpot guide to digital marketing explains how different specialists work in concert: A content marketer produces blog posts and other assets to generate leads; a social media marketer promotes those assets through paid and organic posts; and an email marketer sequences campaigns to move prospects further down the funnel.
Digital marketing employs a variety of strategies and methods across channels. Marketing automation tools streamline campaign execution across those channels, allowing teams to schedule content, trigger personalized messages and measure performance at scale — amplifying results without proportionally increasing effort. Among the tactics used by digital marketing agencies are:
- Search engine optimization (SEO): The use of keywords and other components to improve a website’s online ranking.
- Content marketing: The promotion of content assets through blogging, infographics and online brochures.
- Social media marketing: The process of creating brand awareness and drawing business to websites through social media posts.
- Email marketing: The use of email campaigns to generate leads and increase sales of products.
- Answer engine optimization (AEO): The practice of structuring content to appear directly in AI-generated answers and voice search results.
What Does the Growth of Digital Marketing Mean for Careers?
The digital marketing industry is expanding rapidly. The global digital marketing sector reached $410.66 billion in 2024 and Clutch projects it will surpass $1.1 trillion by 2033. Mobile channels captured 66% of all digital marketing spend in 2024, reinforcing a clear shift toward mobile-first engagement.
This growth translates directly into career opportunities. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment of market research analysts, a core digital marketing role, to grow 7% from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations. STU’s MBA with a specialization in Marketing builds the analytical and strategic skills that help professionals pursue those opportunities.
Learn more about STU’s online MBA with a specialization in Marketing program.
