Storytelling Through Strategy: Bridging Creativity and Data

The Art of Storytelling

Noah Laramore, MSDM ’26, has always seen storytelling as the thread connecting his creative and professional interests. “The reason I love animation and the reason I think public relations and advertising are interesting is because it all involves storytelling,” he said. “As humans, that’s how we communicate with one another, learn, and grow.”

As an undergraduate, Noah studied animation and public relations—an experience that shaped how he approaches both creativity and communication. “My major and minor encouraged me to think about how I told a story and what impact it was going to drive,” he said. “What story am I trying to tell, and how am I going to communicate it so that it resonates with my audience?”

Finding Direction

When Noah first learned about Notre Dame’s new Master of Science in Digital Marketing (MSDM) program, graduate school wasn’t initially part of his plan. After exploring the program, he recognized it as an opportunity to strengthen his marketing expertise and clarify his professional direction.

He applied with the mindset that the program could serve as a bridge to his career—but soon found that his interest ran deeper. “After being in the program, my interest has been sparked by insight,”  Noah said. “Marketing is driven by insights, which can be sourced from all kinds of places. In my future career, I want to be the guy who makes the right call on how to react to insights and develop engaging creative from it.”

Noah also saw graduate school as a way to build a foundation he didn’t think the job market alone could provide. “Companies don’t want to teach anymore,” he said. “A job might prepare you to do one thing really well, but graduate school prepares you to excel in a range of roles.”

The Notre Dame Experience

Transitioning from a large city to the Notre Dame campus brought a new kind of community. “I often refer to Chicago as my campus when I talk about my undergraduate experience,”  he said. “So your campus changing from an entire city to one centralized location is a transition for sure. However, it’s been an extremely rewarding one.”

Noah was immediately struck by the sense of pride that defines life at Notre Dame. “It’s interesting to see on-campus camaraderie like I have here,” he said. “Not only do people rally behind the school’s athletics, they rally behind Notre Dame itself…being here has filled me with an immense sense of pride in my school and in my program.”

Rising to the Challenge

Graduate-level work has required Noah to approach learning with new discipline and focus. “My classes have challenged me to prepare differently than I did in undergrad,” he said. “I regularly attend office hours, collaborate with peers when I don’t understand something, or making sure to consistently review class materials with more intense focus.”

He credits Professor Germann for being particularly influential. “His class has been challenging for me; so much so I’ve attended almost every one of his office hours,” Noah said. “He happily sits with me as I work through a concept and connects ideas to real-world applications.”

Noah’s peers have also been an unexpected source of growth. “I never expected classmates to go beyond co-workers or acquaintances,”  he said. “It’s nice to have my expectations subverted. My peers encourage me to collaborate and invest not only in the academic experience but the social one as well.”

Putting Lessons into Practice

Noah recently put his coursework into practice through the Marcus Graham Project’s iCR8 Sports Marketing Workshop with the Washington Wizards, Fanatics, and Hennessy. “For the workshop, we were given a creative brief that asked us to deliver a retail concept line as well as the marketing strategy for the line,” he said.

The experience mirrored a real-world case study. “The entire workshop was like a live case study that utilized everything we’ve learned in the program so far,”  he said. “Our concept and pitch were steeped in the Wizards’ current brand and expanded on it in a way that was creative and authentic. The MSDM program had equipped me with knowledge on how to develop an effective campaign starting with research and bringing that to a finished product.”

Building the Inaugural Class

Being part of the inaugural MSDM cohort has been a point of pride for Noah. “It has been an incredible experience so far,”  he said. “There’s a sense of responsibility around setting the standard and performing well. I’m already seeing how valuable this program can be, and I want the University to continue to provide it.”

That pride is shared across his classmates. “Notre Dame has an established culture when it comes to the University as a whole and the Mendoza Specialized Masters Programs,”  he said. “We’ve been able to lean into that while bringing our own unique flair to what already exists.”

He describes his peers as highly engaged and community-minded. “My classmates want to go out, participate in activities, and get work done as a community rather than to be alone,”  Noah said. “We’ve hosted watch parties, attended games for our student-athletes, and even organized daily meetups during Grow Irish Week. We want to be in community with one another, so we find ways to make it happen.”

Creativity Meets Strategy

Noah envisions a career where his creative and strategic skills come together. “Ideally post-graduation I will be doing some level of creative marketing or advertising,”  he said. “Serving as an art director or creative strategist for a campaign or brand sounds like a gig that is suited to my taste.”

He’s especially drawn to industries that influence culture. “Sports, entertainment, beverage, food, and fashion always manage to drive cultural impact, and an extension of that is done through their marketing,” he said. “I would relish the opportunity to work on a creative campaign for a brand that impacts not only sales but culture.”

At the same time, Noah wants to bridge the gap between creativity and analytics. “Since being accepted into the program, I’ve said that I’m enrolling to close the gap between my creative skill set and my strategic skill set,” he said. “I want to be the guy who can read and analyze data, and then drive creative insights because of them.”

Advice to Future Students

Reflecting on his path, Noah would tell his undergraduate self not to fear change. “It’s okay not to have all the steps figured out,”  he said. “When things don’t work, it’s time to change or at least try something new. This was trying something new, and it has paid off in dividends so far.”

For future MSDM students, his advice is simple: “The stage of life you’re entering the program at doesn’t matter,” he said. “As long as you are interested in marketing and eager to learn, you will be successful in the program.”

He also encourages students to lean into campus life. “Utilize university services and opportunities to help you acclimate better,” he said. “Be attentive as you work through becoming Irish so that you don’t miss anything important. For classes specifically, you need to make a friend in whatever room you’re in—people are so willing to help one another.”

Noah hopes future MSDM students will continue to build on the foundation his class has started. “Take the baton and do even better than our batch,”  he said.

“This is an amazing program with faculty who truly care about your success. Showing up authentically and enthusiastically is what will endear you to your fellow cohort members and University personnel as well. If you lean into the experience, you will get a huge return on investment.”

-Noah Laramore, MSDM ’26