As the current vice president of marketing at flavor company Sensapure, Scott Rackham brings a robust background in brand consulting and advertising to his role as an adjunct professor in the marketing program at the BYU Marriott School of Business. But whether he’s at an agency or in the classroom, Rackham uses his nearly three decades of experience to serve as a catalytic mentor for dreamers around him.
Self-identified as a “marketing guru,” Rackham carries extensive experience in many adjacent industries, including public relations, advertising, and entrepreneurship. This broad range of involvement equips him with unique breadth and depth in the marketing world.
Initially, Rackham graduated from BYU in 1992 with an BS in public relations. After earning his master's degree in media administration from Syracuse University two years later, he landed a job with brand consultancy company Monigle, based out of Denver.
Although this opportunity in Denver provided memorable experiences, such as frequent travel and the chance to work on branding projects for large-scale mergers and acquisitions, the hefty time commitment at work weighed on Rackham. He yearned to spend more time with his young family. During a particularly distressing business trip to Chicago, Rackham was extended an attractive job offer at an ad agency in Milwaukee. “I’ll have you eating at your dinner table every night,” his future boss promised. With that, Rackham accepted the offer and spent the next 17 years in Wisconsin.
Rackham enjoyed his advertising work in Milwaukee. But it was an invitation from BYU’s School of Communications that lured him back to Utah in 2011 to lead the BYU AdLab and PR Lab. For two-and-a-half years, Rackham taught advertising classes while directing both communication labs, where students had the opportunity to work with real-world, high-profile clients. From there, he launched Rackham & Associates to help Utah companies grow and succeed.
In 2017 when one of his consulting clients decided to start a new company, Sensapure Flavors, to serve the growing active lifestyle segment in Utah and the West, Rackham joined on as one of the company’s early employees. “We create, manufacture, and design flavors for food and beverage companies,” he says. With Rackham’s marketing skills, the company has grown significantly in the last five years.
Aside from marketing for Sensapure, Rackham enjoys sharing his experiences in the classroom. Since 2015, Rackham has been an adjunct professor in the BYU Marriott marketing program. In his current role, he routinely teaches an introductory marketing course and a social media strategy class for MBA students. Teaching at BYU provides Rackham ample opportunities to jumpstart young minds and mentor talented students.
“Wherever I am,” says Rackham, “I cherish opportunities to help students chart their future plans, find direction, and gain perspective. I enjoy working with students who have their own ideas, businesses, questions, or struggles.”
Teaching provides Rackham with deep satisfaction. "I love the look on students’ faces when they say, ‘Oh! I get it,’ and the concept finally makes sense.” Thankfully, BYU Marriott provides Rackham with many of these opportunities.
“I like sharing what I have learned with those who are eager to learn,” says Rackham. “By staying connected to my areas of expertise well enough to teach, I find I learn as much as I impart.”
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Written by: Jaden McQuivey and Jake Holt