Ivey Career ManagementHBA Marketing Primer & Career Preparation

Guide2015-2016

Authored by:Brenda Pearson, Associate Director, MBA Career ManagementMelissa Welsh, Corporate Relations Manager, Career ManagementMaria Phillips, MBA Admissions

Table of Contents

Overview and Introduction to Marketing…………………………………………….……. Page 3

Careers in Marketing……………………………………………………………………….……….. Page 4

Your Next Marketing Task………………………………………………………………….……… Page 7

Step 1: Market Research (Career research) ………………………………………..……. Page 8

Step 2: Market Planning (Defining your target audience and approach)…… Page 9

Step 3: The Product Launch (Getting actively engaged with your market)... Page 11

Step 4: The Sales Call (The interview)………………………………………………..…….. Page 12

Step 5: Closing the Deal (The offer)………………….……………………………..…….… Page 14

Appendix: Sample Marketing Interview Questions………………………….………. Page 16

Appendix: Key Milestone and Program Document for CPG……………….………. Page 20

Appendix: List of Key Resources ………………………….…………………………………… Page 21

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Overview:The intent of this document is to provide guidance on how to most effectively approach and plan your career strategy for pursing and securing roles in Marketing. It is not exhaustive, but it is a good start. As a business professional, you can apply the same frameworks that you would successfully use in a business context to yourself, as you ARE the product in this discussion.

What is Marketing? There are many answers to this question, and many of them would be correct. To keep it simple, we will define “Marketing” in this document as: all the activities involved in bringing a product, service or an idea to the customer for profit.

Marketing is both an art and a science; using market research and models, as well as personal experience and business acumen, to increase revenue. Every company engages in marketing regardless of industry. This is an important distinction, as often students associate marketing with an industry, rather than as a function and as a creative exercise rather than one focused on strategic decision making and implementation.

Overview and Introduction to Marketing

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What is a Brand?

• Brands exist as a way for consumers to differentiate one manufacturer’s goods from

another.

• Brands ensure companies communicate with consumers on an emotional level – making

them feel happier or healthier, more successful, efficient or even popular.

• Branding is the sum of all points of contact with the products/service that create a customer

experience.

In marketing, your job will be to take a product and/or service and associate it with a brand. What

does that mean? It is the marketer’s job to ensure that consumers look beyond just price and

function of a product/service during the purchasing decision to understand the differentiation and

why this is the best product or service for their needs and interests. It is, therefore, the role of the

marketer to understand what motivates the consumer in terms of their needs and desires and

then translate those insights into a marketing strategy.

There are many ways that these insights can be communicated to the consumer, and this leads to

the many facets of marketing – and, marketing careers. In fact, when you count the number of

different careers and jobs that fall under the umbrella of marketing, it’s believed that over thirty

percent of all workers worldwide work within the marketing function. For the purposes of this

outline, we have tried to focus on the traditional business school roles.

A marketer, in some ways, is similar to a small business owner, with overall ownership of decisions

associated with getting the product/service to market and increasing its market share. As your

marketing career progresses, it is likely that you will be assigned ownership of the Profit & Loss

(P&L) for a product or have performance metrics tied to category, or service line.

Prep Tip #1:

Use the Right Terminology - Function vs. Industry: Often, HBA students are interested in marketing-based functions, not the industry. Functional roles in marketing

can be found in various industries including: advertising, retail, niche marketing consulting firms, public relations,

etc. For example a role in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), does not necessarily equate to a career in marketing

and can be the client of those working in the “industry” of marketing. The CPG industry employs many

professionals, including, but not limited to finance, sales, operations and accounting and can be the client of those

working in advertising and public relations etc. Titles, functions and roles are not interchangeable and should be

used carefully with recruiters, alumni and in your own decision making of what career you are pursuing.

Why Consider a Marketing Career?There are two ways to make a profit: decrease costs and/or increase sales. Successful marketers

make a real impact increasing sales and ultimately, on the bottom line. This quick fact makes it

easy to demonstrate the importance of the marketing function – and the opportunity for great

visibility from senior leaders in an organization.

Marketers often rise to high levels in the organization due to their:

* Knowledge of the company’s products and consumers

* Proven analytic and problem-solving skills

* Ability to manage projects across the organization and work collaboratively across multiple

functions

Careers in Marketing

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What do marketers actually do?

The type of work marketers actually do will always vary by the company’s leadership vision, the

industry and of course the corporate strategy. However, within the Consumer Packaged Goods

industry, marketers will use much of the same consumer research, external agencies, and

similar internal processes for business planning, new product development and performance

tracking. Listed below are some of the core focus areas for CPG Brand Managers / Assistant

Brand Managers and the accompanying competencies / qualities needed to drive success. We

focus on these for this discussion as these structure and roles are mirrored in many industries.

What? How? Who?

New Product

Development /

Innovation

Commercialization

Work closely with product developers and internal

consumer research team to find relevant consumer

insights and translate ideas into new features or

products. Lead the innovation commercialization

process (internal approvals, regulatory, packaging

development, concept / product testing,

production etc.) .

Key skills: curious,

collaborative, detail oriented,

experimental, innovative

thinker.

Brand / Strategic

Planning

Develop a long term business plan for the brand

and product portfolio. How will the business grow

or penetrate a new consumer segment? Sell more

to current consumers? Target a new occasion?

Develop a long term innovation roadmap?

Optimize go-to-market strategy including regular

and feature pricing by channel?

Key skills: strategic and

analytical, strong consumer

and shopper knowledge,

visionary.

Creative Development

Collaboratively build integrated marketing campaigns with external agencies. Develop a creative brief detailing business objectives, target consumer, and communication priorities for agency partners. Select a creative concept and choose media mix and allocate the budget. Constantly provide creative feedback and artwork approvals during the process.

Key skills: relationship building,

strategic creativity,

accountability.

P&L Management /

Performance Tracking

Be accountable for achieving the annual P&L goals

and plans, including setting the objectives and

growth strategies for the brand – volume, profit,

market share, brand equity etc. Monitors the

business performance and proactively recommends

change in direction as required to senior

management.

Key skills: financial acumen,

continuous business

improvement, results-oriented.

Cross Functional Team

Leadership

Lead a diverse cross functional team (sales, finance,

demand planning, insights, innovation etc.) with no

formal authority. Hold weekly meetings to report

on performance and identify opportunities and

threats to the business. Build a highly engaged,

winning team by fostering a culture of continuous

innovation, accountability and a shared

commitment to delivering on team goals.

Key skills: leadership, ability to

influence, develop and inspire

others, set a winning example,

project management.

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Career Snapshots:As you consider your post HBA career path, career progression is an important consideration.

Below are roles and options of where most HBA graduates might begin their marketing careers.

Your career is shaped by the

choices you make and the

performance you deliver. Below

is an overview of a traditional

career path:

Analyst/Associate/Assistant

- Overall responsibility for specific

aspects of projects/tasks; The

“Doers”

- Gather and interpret data; High

operational focus (90%+)

Sr. Analyst, Team Leader,

Account Executive, Manager

- Overall responsibility for individual

projects/accounts; “Mentors” others

- Develops project

recommendations;

Operational/strategic split

(60%/40%)

Senior Manager, Director

- Overall responsibility for

department; “Manages” managers

- Builds departmental focus;

Operational/strategic split

(30%/70%)

VP, CMO, COO, CEO

- Holds overall accountability for

firm (business creation, revenue

growth)

- Outlines vision for organization;

High strategic focus (90%+)

Brand Management: Run a Business Within A Business

What? How? Who?

Plan, develop, and direct the

marketing efforts for a

particular brand or product.

Effectively communicate the

unique benefits to increase

market share.

Coordinate the various

marketing functions,

participate in cross-

functional teams, work with

analysts and provide

decision-making support.

Key skills: analytic,

relationship-

building,

leadership, and

results-oriented.

Market Research: Gather, Analyze, Determine ImplicationsWhat? How? Who?

Understanding the consumer,

what their needs are,

purchasing habits, and how

they view themselves in

relation to the rest of market

and within the competitive

environment.

Focus on qualitative and

quantitative research to

advise on customers,

competitors, marketing

environment or for testing

a new product, ad

campaigns.

Key skills:

methodical,

statistical,

analytical, and

strong

communicator.

Customer Relationship Manager : Sales function within CPGWhat? How? Who?

Build partnerships with the

retail customers to develop

creative solutions which will

attract the shopper to purchase

brands at their retail outlets.

Overall focus on customer

development and

retention, not new business

development.

Key skills:

relationship

building, analytical

and strategic vision.

Business to Business: Consultant to the Buyer

What? How? Who?

Managing the planning, sales

and service of products for

commercial or business uses.

Usually focus on capital

equipment and involve a single

high-involvement purchase

process which requires training

and support.

Primary tasks revolve

around relationship

management and sales –

also includes product

management, market

research and sometimes

pricing administration.

Skill set:

communication,

problem-solving,

and technical

expertise.

Agency: Consultant to the Brand Teams

What? How? Who?

A variety of services fall under

marketing communications.

Most well-known are

Advertising, PR and Promotions.

Manage the development

and execution of campaigns

by making sure they are

created within the allocated

schedule and budget. Liaise

with the brand manager

and departments within the

agency.

Skill set:

interpersonal with

strong relationship

/ project

management

background.

Entrepreneurial in

nature.

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Your Next Marketing Task

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Your challenge: To persuade your time-starved prospect to see

value in an expensive, unproven product: YOU!

Prep Tip #2:

Creativity is Key… or is it?It is guaranteed that you will need to answer “Why marketing?” during the recruiting process. Many recruiters have

cringed at the typical answer: “Because I am creative.” Unfortunately, this answer encourages the misconception that

marketing is an exercise of coming up with “neat taglines”. As previously noted, marketing requires a high level of

analytic capability - creative ideas alone don’t cut it.

To determine if you have what it takes for a career in Marketing, you need to assess whether you can do the

following and demonstrate it to your network and potential employers:

• Organize and interpret complex data to make recommendations and decisions • Operate in a decisive environment with limited data • Lead buy-in and build support up, down and sideways within an organization• Communicate your thoughts, ideas, and information clearly and concisely both in writing and verbally• Recognize problems and devise an appropriate plan of action to resolve that problem

Now that you have a brief overview of marketing, you need to think about marketing yourself!

Structure your job hunt like you would your first project on the job. You are your own Personal

Brand Manager. You need to recognize that you are competing in a fierce and cluttered

marketplace, in a category where often supply is high and demand is low. Your target consumers are

busy senior executives who have a host of stimuli competing for their attention and your resume

becomes another consideration in their busy lives.

In the pages ahead, there are specifics steps that you can use to achieve this:

1. Market Research

2. Marketing Planning

3. The Product Launch

4. The Sales Call

5. Closing the Deal

This first step is critical and sets the tone for the rest of your job search. It requires commitment,

genuine interest and curiosity. Typically, market research consists of a plan that charts how data is

to be collected and analyzed so that the results are useful and relevant for making marketing

decisions. The following framework, as discussed during the Career Management Essentials classes,

is an ideal structure for your career planning research.

In a marketing context data collection can be performed on a large or small scale and can involve

both qualitative and quantitative data. By utilizing the Internet and focus groups data collection

allows for a broad range of consumer feedback on behaviours, perceptions, needs, attitudes, market

sizing and opportunities. Data collection projects range from simple habits and attitude

questionnaires, which gather data from a large number of consumers to focus groups, which gather

in-depth consumer insight.

Once market research and the related

analysis is complete, the results are

analyzed to help to make decisions. Just as

this would provide management with in-depth

information regarding crucial factors that have an

impact on the target market and existing marketing

mix, put into a self marketing context, this market

research will allow you to make the proactive

changes and actions necessary to better position

yourself for success in the job market.

This can be paralleled with a job search as you view a firm’s buyers and influencers as your

market. The fact is, just as you can't have a successful company without having the right data

about customers, products and the market in general, you need to do the same with your career

search. To remain competitive, you’ll need a mix of both qualitative and quantitative research that

you’ll acquire through research and networking. A list of key resources to be utilized can be found

in the appendix of this document.

Industry

Company

Role

StructureIssues Faced

Players

CompetitorsProducts/Services

Key competencies

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Step 1: Market Research(Career research)

Prep Tip #3:

Know the ProductsGo shopping! Especially if you are targeting CPG, take a walk through retailers that carry the specific products

manufactured and marketed by your employer of preference. Check for product placement, consumer behavior, in-

store promotions and don’t forget to find out who their competitors are and what they are doing. For other

industries, get to know their products from the perspective of the buyer and imagine yourself in the role of Brand

Manager – what would you be paying attention to, what would you want changed and why?

Whatever marketing career you choose, a plan needs to be put in place. A marketing plan aims to help organise the strategy for a company and its products or services. Based on your research, set yourself SMART objectives so you know where you are heading.

Specific – Clearly state what you want to achieve. This includes companies and roles on your target list.

Measurable – Set objectives by monitoring your recruiting activities throughout the year. This can include answers to specific questions, number of contacts and will vary depending upon where you are at in the process.

Achievable – How do your goals align with your pre-MSc experience and the state of the industry? Seek ways to understand your gaps and work towards bridging these by drawing parallels from your previous experience.

Realistic – Make sure you can achieve your goals with the current resources you have and where you are at in your planning relative to the timelines of the firms’ hiring cycles.

Timed – Set a realistic time scale for the objectives. Refer to the three recruiting channels in the CM Handbook.

Key parts of your plan should include: So often, we see students’ failure to commit to a goal as a key element that is holding them back from a successful job search. A successful marketing and sales professional does not build their business reacting to the market. Instead, they make decisions that include proactively developing and executing a solid plan to yield results. For your job search and personal branding efforts, you too need to do the same and commit to a specific market to target:

Target Market: Define the key criteria for your ideal employer and further define your top five companies.

Product: Describe your product (you), in ways that differentiate you. Remember your research and keep in mind your marketing perspective:. That is, how does your product relate to the market and what THEY want? How will you incorporate this into all aspects of your communication, resume, cover letter, networking, email introductions, negotiations and time with the firm?

Competition: Describe your competition. Be sure to never underestimate your competition, as it does not begin and end in your section at Ivey. It includes the global HBA market, experienced professionals, as well as your peers. Develop your "unique selling proposition” and ensure you believe it for effective interactions and communications.

Remember SMARTstands for:

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Step 2: Marketing Planning(Defining your target audience and approach)

Budget: For the sake of this assignment, the resource here is time, not money as you would in an organization marketing a product. The questions you need to answer in your plan are around what efforts you can afford at particular times of the year. Based on the five firms that are your “Target Market” , their hiring timelines and the demands on your time with other priorities like school, we suggest you build an 80/20 plan:

This is a rule that good business development professionals live by. You can apply this to your job search by:

• Focusing 80% of your time proactively researching, developing relevant marketing collateral and growing your network as it directly relates to your “Target Market”.

• With 80% spent on targeted activities, the other 20% can be free to respond to opportunities that may arise unexpectedly, such as leads from networking, applying to job board/LinkedIn postings, referrals, and other qualified leads.

Many marketers/business development managers call this a “Lead Generation” plan. The main reasons for implementing being:• To keep control of your search • To attract the right type of opportunities • To prevent you from relying on the “low-hanging fruit” • To keep you focused

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A test market, in the field of business and marketing, is used to gauge the viability of a product

or service in the mass market prior to a wide scale roll-out. The test market ideally aims to

duplicate 'everything' - promotion and distribution as well as 'product' - on a smaller scale. The

simple go or no-go decision, together with the related reduction of risk, is normally the

justification for the expense of test markets.

We also recommend conducting mock interviews for your classmates to see what it is like for

the “other side” of the interview table to help you gain clarity on what the firms will be

assessing. The important checkpoint here is to consider how you will measure the success of

your job search. The quick answer is with ‘a job’. But, it is more than just the final

measurement. Be sure to monitor your results throughout the process. Are your networking

and informational meetings leaving you feeling excited and confident? Are your cover letters

and resumes getting you interviews?

Check in with your Career Advisor to ensure that you are engaging in the right recruiting

activities at the right time, getting the interview feedback and utilizing them as a sounding

board and gut check resource as you progress through your plan. They are here to support and

champion you with honest feedback and suggestions.

In the case of the job search, where the

product is ‘you’ the test market entails the

informal network settings and low-risk

informational interviews where you can test,

adapt, and improve your ‘pitch’ to the market.

This is a great opportunity to test whether

your beliefs regarding career and how you

position yourself for success are true.

In other words, informational meetings and

networking opportunities are times to

practice, practice, practice! Further continue

to do mock interviews with your Career

Advisor, the Marketing Club and your

classmates to test your own “pitch” and

personal narrative (storytelling).

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Step 3: The Product Launch(Getting actively engaged with your market)

At this stage, the marketer’s key focus is to learn as much as possible about the prospect. During the

lead generation and qualifying portion of the selling process you may have gained a great deal of

knowledge about a customer (firm). Typically, a marketer will use their research skills to learn about

such issues as:

Having more information about a prospect allows a marketer to be more confident in his/her

presentation and, consequently be more purposeful in communicating to come across as more

knowledgeable and committed when meeting with the prospect.

In the self-marketing context, these questions also relate to the candidate-interviewer relationship:

Answering the above questions will be part of your ongoing research around industry, firm and role

and are not what you would typically asked in the interview. The chart on the next page provides an

overview of what you may expect to face during an interview.

• Who is the key decision maker?

• What alternatives are currently being used/purchased?

• How are purchase decisions made?

• Who would be your reporting manager? Is that person also the decision maker for the

hiring? How does this influence your approach for recruiting?

• What are the key attributes of others within the organization? What about those in

similar roles? What makes someone a success in this position?

• Is this interview one of many? Will it be a panel? One-on-one? Behavioural? Technical?

Step 4: The Sales Call(The interview)

Prep Tip #4:How to Prepare for Interviews• Knowing your business frameworks will help you to demonstrate your ability to solve a business problem, to

think on your feet, and apply marketing theories to practical situations. The basic Marketing Frameworks include 4C’s – STP – 4P’s and Porter’s Five Forces. Be careful not to be too reliant on these during the interview however reference these when it makes most sense.

• Continue to network leading up to the interview process. Most of the alumni and folks within the field are happy to share their own experiences since joining their companies of choice. Reconnecting with those within the firm that you are interviewing with may be a good way to gain feedback on your interactions thus far in the process and perhaps help you to better prepare for the next steps.

• Leverage the resources available to you to prepare for case interviews such as the CM resources, clubs, and vault guides. Marketing cases tend to follow a similar approach and interviewers have similar performance expectations in terms of testing your ability to drive solutions, to engage others’ input and approach problems like a professional.

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Prep Tip #5:

How to Stand Out in a Marketing Interview• Go to company and competitor websites and familiarize yourself with their brands. Pick a select few brands or

products to focus on and come up with opinions on how you would improve the P&L should you be the Brand

Manager.

• Review commercials and branding campaigns of other organizations and be prepared to discuss your favourite

and least favourite. Think of why it was a success or failure from a profitability perspective (not just from the

“ad” perspective).

• Understand some of the issues impacting the industry you are pursuing today. Issues such as: sustainability,

private label, rising cost of commodities, and social media are examples of what is impacting the day-to-day

decisions of a marketer.

• Make sure you are reading what your target audience is reading. Read (or re-read) the Brand

Management/Marketing and CPG Vault guides, and the websites, magazine and blogs that marketers read. (See

previous notes on resources)

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Test “Fit” with Corporate Cultures

Typically, although not in all cases, these interviews are primarily behavioural in nature. When interviewing for branding positions within the CPG industry, firms place high value on cultural “fit” and ideally are looking to bring in someone who is going to stay and grow for the long term within that organization. With this in mind, you can expect that during the interview they will probe and dig deep to determine your passion and interest for their firm and how as a person your approach to others and your communications style will “fit” within the organization.

Test Your Competencies

As with most interviews at this level, recruiters will develop their interview questions to test your skills as it relates specifically to the current role and determine your potential to grow within the organization. Referencing Career Management Essentials classes as well as articles in the CM Handbook on competencies and behavioural interviewing will help set you up for success.

Test your “Marketing

Savvy”:

This is what may differentiate marketing interviews from other industry or functional interviews. The questions and discussion topics are typically designed to test your knowledge, passion and capabilities in marketing. To determine this, often recruiters will bring forward more situational or mini-case line of questioning to further understand your potential for being a strong marketer and how you would approach issues to raise Profit & Loss (P&L) in the organization. Your previous activities - following the market, researching, reading and networking - will certainly bode well for you and help to differentiate yourself during the interview.

What are the interviewers looking for?

This is where the pressure is on for any marketer. Everything rests on this part of the process being a success. One thing to remember is that there are no rules to map out the steps to “closing the deal”. Knowing what to do relies on paying attention to your potential customer, or in this case, actively engaging with your potential employer. At this point in the process you should not be offering new information to the employer about your candidacy, nor should you be wondering how to step out of an offer. If you’ve been focused all along, and asking the right questions, there should be no surprises when it comes to the offer in terms of the total compensation package.

At some point marketers need to step away from their models and implement. But, they need to be adaptive as there is a fine line between theory and the realities of the market. Below are some ideas on how to effectively finalize the execution of your marketing plan:

1: Leverage your network:The world is connected and the value of personal networking in finding a job is critical. Recall Career Management’s conversation re: the “Independent Job Market”. The fact is, it does tend to be the case that when faced with two candidates with equal qualifications, most hiring managers will lean toward the one who was referred by a colleague or has been engaged throughout the process in ways above and beyond simply submitting an application. It takes some of the “unknown” out of the equation.

On the other hand, before you boast you’re friends with the interviewer’s colleague, who is also an alumni, it’s a good idea to do some investigation. Make sure that your relationship is strong and that you aren’t exaggerating a one-on-one coffee chat through the Alumni Partnership program as something more than it is.

The Internet is a great resource, but don’t neglect more traditional channels for marketing and job leads either. The more “right” people you know — both online and off — the better your chances that one of them can provide you with a productive job lead and/or sponsorship with your candidacy in the their firm or industry.

2: Effective follow-up:Your follow-up strategy following networking and interviews can make (or break) the deal. Some people take the advice to follow-up on interviews as license to “stalk” the interviewers, administrators, HR personnel, and anyone else who might be involved in the hiring process. Daily phone calls or emails so they “won’t forget you” are probably not a good idea. Definitely follow up once with each person who interviews you, as soon as possible after the interview. A second follow-up might be appropriate if the decision-making process drags out for several weeks. When in doubt, check with your Career Advisor for advice and perspective on how to proceed.

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Step 5: Closing the Deal(The offer)

3: It’s not always about the money:As students, many with loans, you are more likely than ever to have money on the brain. After a year of studies your bills are piling up. Yes, you’re interested in the job, but you want to know what it pays. You don’t want to waste your time (and theirs) going through numerous interviews if the salary is too low for you to realistically consider. But this understandable concern can lead to making a sometimes fatal mistake- bringing up money too early in the process.

If you bring it up too soon, it may appear that that’s the only thing you care about or you haven’t done your research. Realistically, interviewers know that money matters, but they want a chance to hook you on the job itself — and, frankly, they want to be sure you’re someone they want to hook — before getting to the subject of compensation. Your focus should be on making them want you for the role. Let the compensation questions come later and only after you have done your research that is easily available online, with the Ivey Employment report and/or in speaking with your advisor.

So how do you avoid wasting your time on jobs that don’t pay nearly enough? Again, do your homework. Research the average salaries for the type of position you’re applying for within the industry and in that geographic region. The Internet and all the resources available to you at Ivey makes this much easier than it used to be. Even if you can’t dig up the exact salary info, you can usually get a good idea about the pay scale.

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• Why Company X? Why marketing?

• What consumer trends have you noticed or read about recently?

• What is your most/least favourite branding campaign in the past 5 years and why?

• If you had to grow bottom-line profit without growing top-line sales, what approach would you take?

• With rising commodity costs – would you suggest increasing price or cost cutting? Why and how?

• What do you think keeps the CEO up at night at this company?

• If you were VP of Marketing with $3 million in incremental funds to spend, would you put it towards an established brand or new product launch? Why?

• Pick a product – tell me how you would go about increasing its profitability?

• What for you is an ‘innovative’ product or company and why?

• What would you change in our current marketing campaigns? Why?

• Here is one of our company’s products. Market share has been declining despite increased investments in consumer tested advertising. What could be the problem?

• What is your favourite brand in the company, and why? What would you do to further drive growth for that brand?

• You have just been transferred to an new brand or segment. What are the first three things that you would do in the next hour?

• Given a choice between handling a small brand or a big brand, what would you choose and why?

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Product X in Company Y?

• Who are the key competitors of Company X?

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Appendix: Sample Marketing Interview Questions

• Your product is the market leader and there is a new entrant coming into the category. What do you do?

• How would you increase impulse purchases of Time Magazine in mass merchandise channels?

• Assume you are the Brand Manager of Product X. You find you are consistently losing market share even though the overall category is growing? Why? What you do?

• If your job was to work on Brand X and to come up with a line extension for it, what are some ideas you might pursue?

• You have just started working with a new brand. What sort of P&L information would you want to help you better understand the business?

• You are the brand manager for Maxwell Coffee and you have only two months to increase profit by $10MM. How would you achieve this goal?

• You are the brand manager for Brand X and you are losing market share to a generic competitor. What would you do to boost sales?

• Our group is working on delivering a new and improved version of Johnson’s baby lotion. The product has to be out by the start of the year, however, due to difficulties on the marketing side, we are behind schedule. In my last meeting with Ops, they said there is no way to get this product out on time. What would you do?

• Band Aid is a category leader in wound protection. Our competitor has come out with a new product and is pricing it cheaper than ours. What do you do?

• If you were to launch a new product but want to do it in an interesting format (i.e. star-shaped, moon-shaped), what are some of the things that you would consider when doing this?

• What product benefits would you communicate to customers and why? Show product

Appendix: Sample Marketing Interview QuestionsContinued…

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• Tell me about a great product that you like, but isn’t marketed well?

• Give an example of a poorly marketed product. If you are the brand manager for that product,

what would you do differently?

• What for you is an “innovative” product or company and why?

• What would you change in our current marketing campaigns? Why?

• Here is one of our company’s products. Market share has been declining despite increased

investments in consumer tested advertising. What could be the problem?

• What is your favorite brand in the company and why? What could you do to further drive

growth for that brand?

• You have just been transferred to a new brand or segment. What are the first three things you

would do in the next hour?

• What would you immediately recommend we change in the company and why?

• What is the last ad that you saw that you liked?

• Given a choice between handling a small brand or a big brand what would you choose and

why?

• Which, in your opinion, is the most important? Product, Price, Promotion or Distribution?

• A new competitor is entering your market – how do you protect your market share?

• How do you compute the price of your product?

• A very important retailer has launched its own private label brand that is significantly lower in

price than your own brand. As a consequence, your market share has experienced significant

decline in their stores. What would you do?

Appendix: Sample Marketing Interview QuestionsContinued…

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• Our marketing research shows that moms perceive our product as a special occasion meal. We would like to encourage them to use it more frequently. Being the brand manager, what would you do about it?

• You are about to launch an almond-flavoured cereal, however the major almond producer in the world in country X is experiencing a civil war. The cost of your product will skyrocket if you launch it, on the other hand, you have everything ready for the launch and almond flavour is the only mix that your marketing research shows is missing in your already big portfolio of flavours (banana, peanuts, strawberry, vanilla). What would you do about it?

• You recently arrived in the brand manager role and are now in charge of a bakery brand. Suddenly, the customer lines get flooded with calls from angry customers complaining about the consistency and taste of the produce. You call your plant and they tell you that a new recipe from the US arrived last month and they just implemented it. How would you proceed?

• You are the brand manager on Post Walnut Crunch cereal and all of the marketing efforts are in place, ready for launch in one month. You have just found out that, due to a civil war in Argentina, your walnuts are stuck in Argentina. (The walnuts for this cereal can only be found in Argentina; there are no substitutes.) How would you handle this situation?

• You are the brand manager on Product X (bagels). You find that sales are flat but your market share is growing. What is happening and what would you do about it?

• Who is the target market for this ad? Show ado What do you think would be the best way to reach these segments?

• You are the manager for V8 Splash. Harris teeter approaches you and wants you to produce their private label blended juice. What do you say? Why XX company? Why Marketing? Why not consulting/finance?

• A very important retailer has launched its own private label brand that is significantly lower in price than your own brand. As a consequence, your market share has experienced significant decline in stores. What would you do?

• A competitive brand has recently been launched. It has just struck a deal with your top retailer, offering a huge discount at the request of removing your products from the shelves. The retailer has asked you for that same discount and has threatened to take you off the shelves. What would you do?

Appendix: Sample Marketing Interview QuestionsContinued…

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Appendix: List of Key Resources

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