marketing case interview

8/3/2019 Marketing Case Interview

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Tackling the Marketing Case

Michelle Antonio, Columbia Career Coach

Loren Margolis, Associate Director, MBA Career Education and Advising

October 29, 2010

Marketing 101


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Goals

Share the employer perspective on interviews

Overview of what to expect in the case portion of the

marketing interviews

Review the most common types of Marketing

cases & constructs for answering

Highlight Key Resources/Next Steps to prepare forsuccess


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Employer Perspective

Hiring is a time intensive process for employers andcandidates. Mistakes are costly.

Employers look to hire candidates who demonstrate:

1. Passion for the function, industry & company

2. Cultural Fit

3. Skills, knowledge & initiative to succeed Leadership

Teamwork

Project management

High-Level Communication Skills

Strategic thinking

Creativity/innovation

Analytical thinking

Knowledge of marketing concepts

Assessed in

case interview

performance


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Interview Structure

1st round: 30-45 minutes

Final round(s): Varies by company

Format includes some or all of the following:

Walk Me Through Your Resume or Tell Me About

Yourself (Pitch Questions)

Baseline questions:Why Columbia?

Why marketing/brand management?

Why this industry?Why this company?

Behavioral questions (Tell me about a time)

Marketing cases


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Why Ask Marketing Case Questions?

Great method for evaluating:

Knowledge of marketing concepts

Critical skills for the job

Strategic Thinking

Analytical Skills

Communication Skills Ability to think on your feet

What do marketing firms expect from you?

Demonstration of strong understanding of, and ability

to apply, key marketing concepts not previous

background

Opportunity to understand how you think is more

important than the right answer


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How to handle Marketing Case questions

Approach each question with a logical structure/

marketing framework (3 Cs, 4 Ps, STP)

Start strategic (broad), then get tactical (narrow)

Apply the other 3 Cs (Clarity, Conciseness &Confidence):

1. Clarity articulate your roadmap upfront and your

rationale throughout so they can see how you think

2. Conciseness ask focused, relevant questions3. Confidence make reasonable assumptions, draw

conclusions, assert your opinions, deliver

recommendations


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Typical Marketing Case Types

General Marketing Knowledge case

New Product Launch case

Business Case (declining sales, declining share,

defending against a new competitor, etc.)

Advertising Critique

Creativity/Innovation case


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General Marketing Knowledge Cases

Questions that assess your general marketing andindustry knowledge.. can easily turn in to another case:

What are the main consumer trends that you see in the

marketplace for Category X?If you had to launch a

product to capitalize on one of these trends, what wouldit be and why? How would you market it?

What is your favorite advertising campaign today?..If you

had to launch a counter ad campaign, what would it be

and why?


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Approaching General Marketing Knowledge Cases

Requires you to tap in to your knowledge of current

trends, current events; so prepare by doing research,

research, research!

Recognize that these cases can be similar to other

ones assessing a new product launch, advertising

critique, so use frameworks where appropriate

Demonstrate your passion by asserting your opinion


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New Product Launch cases

These cases test your ability to apply strategic andtactical marketing concepts as it relates to a new

product launch

Example: You are in charge of all new products at General

Mills and are charged with assessing all new product ideas.One of the managers who works for you has decided that

GM should enter the frozen yogurt market. She is very

excited about the product potential and is considering

leveraging one of two brands for the new product: Pillsbury

or Yoplait. How would you go about evaluating this new

product idea and which brand, if any, would you leverage

and why?


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Approaching New Product Launch cases

Strategic (3 Cs, STP) and tactical (4 Ps) frameworks

will be needed

Always start with the consumer/customer do

consumers want/need this product?

Assess the company opportunity & competition Competitive threats/response

Cost/Ease of entry (capital investment, branding, distribution)

Size of the market estimate your market share

Determine Segment/Target/Positioning what is your

singular benefit that you intend to deliver to your

target customers. How will your positioning be

differentiated from competition?


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Approaching New Product Launch cases (contd)

Determine marketing execution (4 Ps) Price should reflect positioning and drive profit

Product which attributes to offer Promotion how will you create awareness and trial for

product?

Placement where will consumer buy it?


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Business Case Questions

Can range from mini consulting case questions to real-

world business scenarios

Mini consulting case examples

How many blue cars are there in the US?

If everyone in China held hands how many times

would they circle the earth?

At any one point in time, how many gallons of ice

cream are being sold around the world?

Real world business scenarios

Declining Sales

Declining Share

Defending against new competitor


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Approaching Business Case Questions Declining Sales/Share

Start broad/strategic:

Is decline driven by general category decline or

share decline in my brand only?

Why is category/share declining? Answer will drivedecision to reverse decline or exit category

Substitutes vs. change in consumer habits

Change in own product vs. competitor product


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Approaching Business Case Questions Declining Sales/Share (contd)

Once root causes are identified, determine strategy andtactics to address:

If category is declining, develop strategy to increase

category usage or exit

If share is declining, determine why (explore 4 Ps)

and develop appropriate strategic response Price: has my price changed relative to competition?

Product: has the quality of my product changed or has

competition upgraded/launched new products?

Promotion have promotions changed?

Placement have I lost distribution relative to competition?


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Approaching Business Case Questions Defending Against New Competitor

Assess the threat to determine whether or not you

need to defend Does the new product meet an untapped consumer need?

How strong is the competitor? Will they spend to support the

launch? Do they have track record of being smart marketers?

Where will they take volume from? Are they targeting you or

your competitors?

If you need to defend, strategies to consider: Reinforce brand/product equity with advertising remind

consumers why your product is superior to discourage them

from trying new product

Upgrade your product to provide new benefit

A hi i C Q i


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Approaching Business Case Questions Defending Against New Competitor (contd)

If you need to defend, strategies to consider (contd): Load consumers with your product so they will be stocked

during competitor launch by using price incentives

If issue is private label entrant, determine how much of a price

premium you can charge before your brand starts to lose

volume; also, consider introducing a value brand

Track new competitors performance after launch


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Advertising Critique Case

These cases assess your ability to critically analyze theeffectiveness of a current or potential advertisingcampaign, using a consumer and brand focusedframework

What is the most innovative advertising campaign youveseen in the last year and why?

Give an example of an advertising campaign that you thinkwas misguided or a failure and why?


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Creativity/Innovation Case Questions

These questions are opportunities to: Demonstrate you can think creatively on your feet Convey your passion for marketing Prove you can link creativity to strategy So, think

strategically! Express your personality

Examples: If you could be a snack food, which one would you be and why?

What are 10 things you can do with an empty pint of Haagen-

Dazs ice cream?

What are 5 ways you can improve a cereal box?Approach: While there are no stock frameworks for thesecreativity questions, you can and shoulduse structure andframeworks to generate ideas


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New Product Case Example in Action

You are charged with marketing in the U.S. a candy

bar that has been very successful in England.

What things should you consider in bringing the

product to the U.S.?

Debrief:

After hearing the candidates response, whatdo you think worked well?

What could have been improved in her response?


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Resources & Next Steps

PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

Career Management Center:

Advisors, Columbia Coaches, Career Fellows for mock interviews

CML: Job Juice Cards, Resume Books, Business Card Binders

COIN: Industry Research>Marketing>Interview Qs, Interview Stream, First

Research

MAC:

Your Mentor

The MAC website, Company Events and presentations

Other:

Mock Madness (12/3): Stay tuned for more details! Go shopping, research company websites, blogs, trade

publications (AdAge, BrandWeek, AdCritic)

Watch and analyze TV commercials (Super Bowl)

Meet insiders (alumni, company reps, classmates)


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Closing Thoughts

There are 3 things you need to prove in the interview:

1. YOU CAN DO THE JOBTranslate your resume into marketing language

Know how your experience is relevant and sell your skills!

2. YOU ARE A FIT FOR THE JOB Know why you want to work for that company

3. YOU WANT THE JOBKnow why you want to work in marketing

Do your homework on the industry and company

Get excited and show it!

Good luck and let us know

how we can help!

marketing case interview

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