Maggi. Ghadi Detergent. Dairy Milk. Colgate. Nirma. Amul Butter. Parle G. Some famous brands that kids across India would know. These brands are stuck in our minds as funny ads, jingles, quirky statements or just 2 minute foods. But how did they begin? Who made these names iconic, household terms? The answer lies somewhere between strategy and marketing! If you’re an MBA aspirant or student interested in marketing, you would probably want to work on a brand such as this. You would essentially become a part of the FMCG story - enriching those household utility brands that we all know and love! In this article, meet some marketers who have contributed to the stories of famous, iconic or just daily FMCG brands. Find out what makes an FMCG career interesting. Is selling soaps, atta or noodles really a passion project? What rewards do you get as an FMCG marketer? This article provides you a glimpse. And a little something more. An opportunity to create your own marketing career! Check it out now!
Here’s some FMCG Insider Knowledge For You:
Revered as the dream company on many campuses, Hindustan Unilever is also called the school of CEOs. It also boasts of leaders who stay with the company for decades, making a solid impact on not only their brands but also the value it creates in society. Here's someone who has been there for over 27 years telling you why he stuck around and what makes HUL the finest company in the world. BP Biddappa, who is the Executive Director, HR for Hindustan Unilever Ltd and also the Vice President HR at Unilever South Asia has a heart to heart with HUL's leaders of tomorrow during the ULIP Summer Summit 2019.
What is it like to handle a global brand as a brand manager? Naveen Gupta, after his IIM Indore days, joined HUL and what followed was a long illustrious marketing career. From a full-time role as a Rural marketing manager, working in different nooks and corners of the rural hinterlands of India, Naveen rose to become a global brand manager, working in South East Asia, Europe, and the Netherlands in the years to come. In this video, Naveen discusses the learning he has acquired around marketing, brands, diverse global markets, and above all, secrets of knowing your customer.
Also Read: Consumer Goods Companies Where Alumni of IIM A, B, C And ISB Are Now Working At - Alumni Report 2020
A veteran in consumer insights, customer development, and marketing, Priya Nair has worked with iconic brands such as Dove, Axe, Rexona, Surf Exel, Close Up and Pepsodent. She was also the mind behind HUL's path-breaking rural mobile marketing initiative ‘Kan Khajura Tesan’ which received three Gold Lion awards at the 2014 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. She addressed the HUL Summer Interns at the ULIP Summer Summit 2019 and her talk will inspire you to be more than just a regular. She talks about her journey and the lessons she learned through the years. You don't want to miss this one, click play to tune in now.
Jagriti did Biotechnology and with very little knowledge about the MBA world, she started preparing for the B-school examination. And with a tinge of hard work and a lot of confidence, Jagriti made it to one of the top management institutes in the country; IIM Ahmedabad. It is at IIM Ahmedabad that her love for marketing started and when it was time for her to join Nestle, that too happened all of a sudden. Spending over 8 years at Nestlé, working with the god of brands Maggi, Jagriti has now become a true blue marketeer holding hands of the worlds’ largest FMCG brand. Let's find out more about Jagriti’s journey in this episode of Konversations Cafe Online.
Imagine working in the same company for 9 long years in an age and time where everything comes with an expiry date. This is what Varun’s relationship with the FMCG behemoth Nestlé has been like. Varun Sethuraman joined Nestlé right out of SPJIMR. A marketing graduate, Varun took up challenging roles within Nestlé in the first year of his Management Trainee stint. From there grew manifold within the organization. Category and Channel Head of Nestlé West India, Varun currently is in a Trade Marketing role. Varun takes us through to his career trajectory within Nestlé in this video, mapping his time and learning within the company.
A NITIE graduate, Nupur Arora realized that Supply Chain is where she wants to see herself working. But, that did not come easy. Although she initially thought that she had everything figured out when she started her MBA journey with NITIE Mumbai, it was during her time at the institute and internship with Nestlé, that she got an overview of the world of business. She delved deeper into how the cogs in the wheel works for an FMCG behemoth like Nestlé and that somehow made her realize that supply plays a pivotal role in this. From there on, Nupur never looked back. Spending over 8 years at Nestlé, Nupur now heads the Demand and Supply Planning for Breakfast Cereals at Nestlé. In this episode of Konversations Cafe Online, we go deeper into Nupur’s journey to understand how she made it this far.
“22nd July 2020 I woke up to an email from the placements team.
“Congratulations! You have been offered a Pre Placement offer from Reckitt Benckiser based on your Summer Internship performance.”
And over the next few hours, as it sunk in, I realised just how lucky I was that everything worked out just right, from the project, to having a guide I was able to connect with to having a smooth presentation without technical glitches.”
- Check out Dhaval Patel’s journey to bagging a PPO at Reckitt Benckiser
Google is the dream company for so many of us. And today, we bring you someone who has been with Google for the past 6 years! Meet Sandeep Ramesh, an alum of FMS Delhi who is a true blue Sales & Marketing Professional with a very rich background. From getting into HUL after FMS, he learned the nitty gritty of Sales & Marketing. Working in FMCG Marketing prepared him for his work with Google. If you’re someone who aspires to be a Marketing Professional or wants to get into a top company like Google, then this video is a must watch for you!
A company that puts growth at the forefront, Mondelez has not only been giving the opportunity to explore new territories to the people joining, but it also helps them to grow, both professionally and personally, with the company. Whether it’s Sagar Malik, who was asked to define the brand strategy for Bournvita during his internship or Garima Dikshit, who continued working remotely post her marriage, Mondelez believes in providing autonomy and freedom to its employees to deliver efficiently every day. Watch this video to know more about the values of Mondelez and how it creates a commercial leader out of a new joinee, from day one at the organization.
“It seemed only yesterday that the 45-minute journey to my first day at the office of what one would call the most delicious company ever- Mondelēz India Foods Ltd. had started. I was standing on the doorway of the women’s compartment of the local train, watching the Mumbai high rises speed past, so lost in my own musings of the coming two months that I had almost missed the announcement above - “The next station is Mahalaxmi, pudhel station Mahalaxmi.” I jumped off the train, fought my way through the morning crowd on the station and then hopped into a cab across the street-“Cadbury house, bhaiya”, I said, as he turned on the meter. The cab dropped me in front of the iconic white building- the world of all our Dairy Milks, Oreos and Five Stars.”
- Read Amita Sureka, IIM L grad’s sweet internship story with Mondelez!
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For nearly a decade, we've been in the business of constantly trying to bridge any knowledge gaps that may exist between your idea of an MBA and what it can add to your career, and what value it really adds. Our entire team works constantly to bring you closer to a career decision that is right for you in the longer term.
We continue with our endeavor this year stronger than ever, and are proud to present to you the
InsideIIM Marketing Festival 2020 - an opportunity for you to spend about 5 hours each with professionals who are currently where you'd probably want to see yourself at some point in your careers. These are professionals who have a strong pedigree, have been educated from the finest institutions, and have gone on to work as senior executives at industry giants - a testimony to the fact that they are
really good at what they do, and we want to offer you nothing but the best.
The first series of sessions with the Founder of Terribly Tiny Tales is now coming to an end, and we inching closer to the most anticipated series of sessions in the Marketing Festival -
FMCG Marketing 101, conducted by someone who has previously been a Global Brand Manager at Unilever, no less, and holds an MBA degree from IIM Indore!
At the end of this 3-day-long series, these are the questions that your instructor for the FMCG Marketing 101 series will answer:
Session 1 - The Foundation of FMCG Marketing: Bring Out Some Truths To The Surface (1.5 Hours)
- What does an FMCG Marketer really do? Is the path to a Marketing career as straightforward as it seems, or is there some unknown twist or challenge that you're bound to face?
- What are the skill sets common to all FMCG Marketing professionals? What skills will you need to build to get to their level?
- As a Marketing professional with, say, a Unilever or a Nestle, what should be your realistic long term and short term goals?
- A day in the life of a Brand Manager is too short to learn anything - what does a year look like in the life of a Brand Manager? What are the targets to chase, the obstacles to face?
Session 2 - Getting Into The Technicals of The Role: How Do FMCG Marketers Do What They Do? (1.5 Hours)
- What is a 'Marketing Mix'? How do you go about developing a 'Marketing Mix'? What impact does it have on your job/company?
- What is the journey through a standard process at an FMCG company?
- What is 'de-risking' of a project? How do you de-risk a project? Why is it crucial for the role of an FMCG marketer?
Session 3 - Gaining More Technical Insights, Applying Gained Knowledge (1.5 Hours)
- What are consumer insights? How do you use consumer insights to do your job better?
- What is the process of concept development? How do you frame a Marketing concept? What method can you adopt to ensure accuracy?
- An interactive exercise on insight development for participants of FMCG Marketing 101.
Apart from this, your instructor will also talk about what it takes to reach such a senior position at an organization as reputed as Unilever. Beyond this, he will also be taking questions from at the end of every single session! In fact, you can
go ahead now and ask your burning questions about FMCG Marketing and Marketing careers in general here, and these will be taken up by your instructor in one of the sessions!
Whether you're deeply passionate about the field of Sales & Marketing, are confused about a career in Sales & Marketing, or just want to know more about Sales & Marketing so you can ace your job interviews, we guarantee that these 4.5 hours hold the potential to take you many steps closer to your career goals.
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