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How to Prepare for Brand Management Interviews

Extracted from a Quaker Oats Presentation (Oct ’00)

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Agenda

What is the goal of recruitment?

What do Brand Companies want?

How to handle Marketing Case questions?

How to get ready for the process?

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What is the goal of recruitment?

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How do we identify true interests and aptitude?

• Identify understanding of and interest in brand management and marketing concepts

• Identify competencies -- Top performers are more likely to exhibit these competencies more often

and more completely for better results

• Understand past performance -- Your past performance is the single best predictor of future performance

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What competencies do marketing companies want?

• Leadership

• Teamwork

• Creativity

• Cultural Fit with the organization

• Understanding of Marketing Concepts

• Communication Skills

• Analytical Abilities

• Ability to Learn

• Strategic and Conceptual Thinking

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How to get ready for the questions?

• Prepare for behavioral questionsCapitalize on your strengths Prepare examples of how you have exhibited

the desired traits Tell your story, not a text book philosophyKnow your weaknesses and be ready to respond

when they are be probed

Prepare for marketing case questions

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What are Marketing Companies expecting from case questions?

• We don’t expect that you had a past in marketing, but we do expect that you understand marketing concepts

• We really want an opportunity to understand your potential in a brand management careerHow you apply your skills and competencies to solving

marketing problems How versatile your skills are

• We are not looking for one specific answer, we ‘re trying to understand how you think

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How to handle Marketing Case questions?

• Approach each question with a framework

• Think broad, then narrow

• Think strategically, then tactically• Use the 4 P’s (price, product, promotion, placement) or

the C’s (consumer, company, competitor, category)

• Be concise and focused

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New Product Launch

• How would you develop and potentially introduce a new product, a toddler snack, from the Quaker Oats company? Currently, there are a only a few products

available, from Gerber, located in the baby food section of the grocery channel

Gerber dominates the baby food category with Beechnut a distant second

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New Product Launch• Identify if consumers want and need this product?

Try to segment the marketUnderstand the competitionWhere are the opportunities in the market?

• Determine the target and positioningWhat is the differentiated point of difference that is

meaningful to this target?What core competencies are needed to deliver the

proposition? Do we have them? Can we get them? What do the financials look like?

• Determine the proposition, the 4 P’s?• If financials make company hurdles, Launch

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New Product Launch

Should Quaker introduce a toaster pastry? Should we extend one of our equities into this category? How would you assess?Quaker Chewy Granola Bars are #1 granola

bar, Quaker Fruit & Oatmeal Cereal Bars are now #2, behind Kelloggs Nutrigrain Bars.

Kellogg’s Pop Tarts brand is the dominant leader of Toaster Pastries.

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Competitive New Product Launch

• Malt-o-Meal has just launched an Instant Oatmeal brand at a reduced price vs. Quaker Instant Oatmeal. How would you figure out whether or not to defend?Samples received show that the product offers

more oatmeal per pouch, but the flavors are not as good tasting

Quaker Instant Oatmeal is the dominant brand in the instant oatmeal category

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Create a new product

• Develop a new energy drink, targeted to MBA students? How would you approach it?

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Business Situations

• Understand the sales, profits, and market share situation. Where is the problem? What’s happening with the consumer base?Determine relationship between sales, profit and share Identify the category size and trend + or – Identify the competitive situation

Strength of other playersRecent changes from other players

• Attempt to strengthen the problem area

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Business Situations

• Your brand’s market share is up, but sales are declining. The company wants brands that grow or at least are more profitable. What is going on? What can you do?

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Category is declining. What now?

• Why? Shrinking market or changing preferences?• How quickly has this happened? Are competitors

impacted too (broader than your category)?• Choose: exit or grow category or maintain at more

profitable levels• If Grow, How?

Alter product Increase usageCreate new useLeverage brand into other categoriesSell into new distribution channels

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Business Situations

• Your brands sales are declining and the category is growing. What is happening?

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Market share is declining. What now?

• Why is category growing?Consumer preferences?Competitive moves (new products, new positioning,

price)?

• Why is your brand not growing?Consumer – right target?Competitor – right position?4 P’s (product, placement, promotion, price)

• Action

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Business Situations

• Your competitor just announced a superiority claim over your product. What do you do?

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Competitor Claim• Understand the risk

Assess threat of competitor/brandAssess strength of claim with your consumer targetAssess marketing support behind claim Is the claim legal? Do you respond legally?

• Assess responses and implication?Product – match claim, introduce other?Price – Change value equation?Promotion – Divert attention? Increase loyalty?Place – Other channels?

• Respond

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World Class Advertising

• Commands Attention Arresting Engaging Surprising, Unexpected

• “For Me” Relevance Holds an emotional “kernel” of truth or insight Touches the heart or tickles the spirit

• Ownable - differentiates the brand vs. competition Only your brand can say it Only your brand does say it

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Tell me about a great advertisement

• Evaluate advertising using your heart first, then your headReact with your gutThen, observe the strategy

• Answering the questionDescribe the ad, the target and the positioningDescribe how the execution commands

attention, is “for me”, and ownable

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General Marketing Questions

• Tell me about an example of great marketingOne that holds a strong, relevant position in people’s

minds and is well-marketed through the 4 P’s

• Tell me about a bad example One that has a confusing positioning or holds a

significant gap or inconsistency in the 4 P’s

• Tell me about a well-marketed web siteOne that holds a strong, relevant positioning and

delivers against the 4 P’s

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Other questions

• If you were a web site, what would it be like?

• If you created an advertisement for yourself for this position, what would it be like?

• Why do you want to work for my company?

• Why do you want to go into brand management?

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How to get ready for the process?

• Practice Find your own best approach/framework for case questions Don’t let limited information throw you Practice with small groups Don’t rest on internship laurels

• Visit the channel• Observe yourself responding to marketing with

your gut• Be concise and focused in your answers• Research the companies you are targeting

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How to get ready for the process?

Then, after all of that preparation and practice…

• Be true to yourselfRelax Be yourselfHave funFind the fit that is right for you