Building Brands, Embracing Curiosity: Marketing Lessons from Soyoung Kang on Marketing / And
Season six of Marketing / And is in full swing, and one question 蹤獲扦夥厙 CEO and podcast host Bennie F. Johnson loves to ask always lands with impact:
What advice would you give to marketers?
In a recent episode, Bennie sat down with , newly appointed President of , for a conversation that spanned architecture, brand desire, creative joy, and the power of asking questions. Soyoungs career has been anything but linear. Before leading eos, she served as an executive at Bath & Body Works, Victorias Secret, and Boston Consulting Group, advised multiple companies, and earned a BS in architecture from MIT and an MBA in marketing and finance from Wharton. She was also a Fulbright Scholar.
What emerges from her journey is a powerful reminder for todays students and early-career professionals: you dont need your major, or even your future career, figured out on Day 1. The world is no longer siloed, and disciplines you never expected to connect can strengthen your work in surprising ways.
The Architecture of a Marketing Mind
Soyoung didnt anticipate a career in marketing when she entered MITs architecture program, but the lessons translated beautifully.
Most majors revolve around daily or weekly assignments; architecture requires months-long projects where ideas evolve over time. Youre investing in a months-long development and you are iterating and changing along the way. You are presenting and defending your ideas, and sometimes evolving because you have to reflect and assess how you incorporate feedback, she recalls.
Without realizing it, she was rehearsing the very process marketers follow when crafting creative briefs, pitching concepts, and selling ideas to teams and clients. Her story underscores a truth many young people need to hear: your major is a starting point, not a destiny. Skills compound, experiences translate, and curiosity opens unexpected doors.
Be Okay Starting from Zero
Now stepping into her role as president, Soyoung is refreshingly transparent about the humility required to keep learning.
If you don’t ask the questions, you’re never going to get from zero to expert. If I let my ego prevent me from asking the questions, I’m just going to be spinning close to zero for way too long.
Her advice dismantles the myth that leaders must know everything. Instead, she frames curiosity as a strategic advantage. Asking the basic questions early frees you to think at a higher level sooner. Lifelong learners arent the ones with all the answerstheyre the ones unafraid to seek them.
Advice for New Marketers: Try Anything
Soyoungs guidance for emerging marketers is simple and liberating: try things. All kinds of things.
Every single experience that you get under your belt just makes you a better marketer for the next bigger experience.You may not even know what your ultimate goal is. It took a series of calibrations through my career journey for me to finally end up where I am so passionate about what I do.
Its an empowering message in an era when young people often feel pressure to choose a major or map out their future before theyve even lived it. Soyoung proves that exploration isnt a detour, its a catalyst. Experimentation builds clarity. Experience builds confidence. And curiosity builds careers.
Build Something That Lasts
Soyoung also believes enduring brands are built on joy, connection, and community. She shares a snapshot that captures the elasticity of the eos brand: tween boysincluding her ownand a septuagenarian in the Midwest all expressed how much they love the product.
This brand is so stretchy and its because when your brand elicits joy and desire, its truly timeless.
For her, success isnt just about quarterly wins, its about resonance.
Winning for us from a marketing and brand standpoint is creating something that lasts beyond me rooted in something that feels very true and community-centric.
Soyoungs journey is proof that careers dont need straight lines, majors dont define destinies, and great marketers stay curiousalways learning, always building, always asking the next question.
to hear her insights firsthand.
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Marketing / And explores life through a marketing lens, diving into the moments where creativity, purpose, and culture intersect. Each episode introduces you to visionaries whose stories you might not know yetbut absolutely should. Because at its best, marketing isnt just about selling something. Its about shaping stories, shifting perspectives, and inspiring what comes next.