marketing interviews and chapter

8/8/2019 Marketing Interviews and Chapter

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/marketing-interviews-and-chapter 1/21

Quinn

1) Marketing Chapter

a) A Marketing Story:

Becoming the largest Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in the

world and three times the size of its nearest competitor didn’t happen overnight for

Godaddy.com. In 2001, Godaddy.com was the same size as its two nearest competitors, but by

2009 it was thirty times the size of one competitor and three and a half times the size of the

other. How did this happen? In 2005, the company essentially bet its existence on an

advertisement during the Super Bowl and got the consumers attention by being “trashy,” “edgy,”

“sleazy,” and “crude.” This marketing strategy certainly worked for this company and led to

Godaddy.com being the number 1 ICANN provider. The CEO, Bob Parsons, refers to their

marketing as “GoDaddy-esque" which he describes as "fun, edgy and a bit inappropriate,”1 but,

when someone needs to find out if a domain name is available, Godaddy.com has the solution to

that problem.

b) Definition of Marketing:

Marketing is the process of promoting the sale of goods or services; it is usually associated

with the creation of value for customers. There are multiple disciplines that fall under the overall

umbrella of marketing; public relations, advertising, account management, events, sports, and

branding. Universities market programs to prospective students in the hope that the students (or

their parents) will ultimately commit resources to the university in the form of tuition. From a

marketing perspective, however, the same techniques are used as would be used by a furniture

store that was advertising a sofa.

1 ^ Parsons, Bob (2007-03-30). "Our GoDaddy-esque marketing. Why I keep it edgy. Our 2nd

GoDaddy-esque video cast.". BobParsons.me. http://www.bobparsons.me/GoDaddy-

esqueMarketing.html. Retrieved 2007-04-10.

1



Quinn

1) In general, business schools teach three main acronyms in marketing classes: NPD,

the 4 P’s, and PLC.

a) New product development, or NPD, details the various stages of how to bring a new

product to market. The techniques taught by business schools require that managers focus

on are: 1) idea generation, 2) idea screening, 3) business analysis, 4) product

development, 5) product testing, 6) test marketing, and, ultimately, 7) commercialization

of the product. Without following these steps, it will be difficult to convince a company

to make the required investment to bring a new product to market.

b) The “4 P’s” are product, promotion, price, and placement. Categorizing products in this

framework was originally introduced in 1940 by Neil H. Borden, who was a professor at

Harvard in the 1960’s. The 4 P’s combined define the “marketing mix”2 with which a

company attracts its consumer. For example, car tires would be the “product” and “Buy

3, get one free” is the “promotion.” The tire manufacturer sets the “price” at or below its

closest competitors while partnering for “placement” to have the tire be the choice for

Nascar.

2 The term "marketing mix" became popularized after Neil H. Borden published his 1964

article, The Concept of the Marketing Mix

2



Quinn

c) The product lifecycle or PLC describes the phases of a product’s life: introduction,

growth, maturity, and the decline phase. 3

3 www.mrdashboard.com/BCG_Matrix.html

3

http://www.mrdashboard.com/BCG_Matrix.html

http://www.mrdashboard.com/BCG_Matrix.html



Quinn

This technique is used by marketing managers in order to gain a better understanding of where

the product is in regard to revenue generation. Many managers use this for competitive product

analysis as well.

In the introduction stage, a product is launched into the market. To stimulate growth of

sales/revenue, and in order to heighten awareness of the product in question, use of advertising

may be high. For the growth stage, sales are increasing, which may stimulate more marketing

communications to sustain sales. Usually in this stage of the product’s lifecycle, competitors

begin to notice the product and attempt to enter the same market because they want to capture

the apparent high level profits that the industry is producing. During the maturity phase of a

product, sales start to level off. With an increased number of similar products from competitors,

firms resort to price decreases or sales promotions to entice buyers away from competitors. In the

final decline phase, revenues decline and demand for the product tapers off. At this point, the

firm may opt to discontinue manufacturing of the product.

3. Marketing Jobs for the recent MBA graduate:

There are three general marketing categories that recent MBA’s typically consider, including:

Associate Brand Manager, Account Executive, and Market Research/Strategy Analyst.

1) Associate Brand Manager: This position reports to the Vice President of Marketing, Brand

Manager, or Marketing Director, and assists in the development and execution of marketing

plans. An Associate Brand Manager is typically responsible for devising marketing strategies for

the brand, creating a positive brand image, participating in ad campaigns, coordinating with the

4



Quinn

creative department, looking into the budgeting aspects and positioning a brand in the right

manner. 4

a) Kimberly-Clark Associate Brand Manager Job Description

Job responsibilities- The Associate Brand Manager is responsible for the evolution of sales of

one or more products or brands of the company. The manager analyzes sales, information,

projections, and other meaningful data and prepares forecasts on market evolution and the

company’s products. He or she also coordinates promotions and advertising efforts of products

or brands under his/her responsibility.5 An MBA is preferred.

2) Account Executive: An Account Executive may work in several different industries,

securing clients and making sales. A background in sales, advertising and client management can

be beneficial to individuals in this career. He or she must be able to build and maintain customer

relations and have great organizational skills. Being responsible for looking after several of the

company's clients, he or she must keep the company’s client relationships in good repair and

attempt to increase the amount of business a company does with that client. This means that the

Account Executive must be familiar with all the company's services and products and ultimately

be able to sell them to the client.

In addition to working on existing accounts, Account Executives may be required to find new

customers and clients. This can involve cold-calling or prospecting, as well as attending

seminars, conventions and trade shows for networking. Account Executives generally make

presentations to potential customers in person.

a) Kellogg Company Account Executive Job Description

4 http://www.marketingcrossing.com/video/2391/Associate-Brand-Manager-Jobs/

5 http://www.retailgigs.com/job.asp?id=22349570&aff=5B69D171-E6DF-4407-9864-

3092BB91A6F2

5



Quinn

“The Account Executive is responsible for developing this customer’s annual business. By

offering increased consumer value through promotional programs tied to volume and margin

goals, building long term customer relations and leads market / local specific business plans.

Develop account level plans to impact shelf space, merchandising, advertising, promotions and

pricing. Identify opportunities, develop ideas, and deliver sales presentations/business reviews to

maximize merchandising opportunities. Forecast sales annually and on a period basis as part of

the integrated business process. Track the execution of objectives to insure volume and profit

targets are met… and perform pre- and post-promotion analysis and revises future programs as

necessary. Communicate with the Retail team, regarding account cooperation, ad dates, display

dates and results. Manage assigned trade and selling expense budget to insure that all expense

goals are achieved.”6

3) Market Research/Strategy Analyst: Companies do not guess what people want and

how much they are willing to pay for goods and services. Hours, weeks, and sometimes months

of preparation and research are needed to make informed decisions on pricing, location, and

identity of the end customer. The Analyst is responsible for gathering this type of analytical

information in order to help the company make informed decisions. They can obtain this data

through research, the use of consultants, segmenting of competitors and surveying their customer

base. Some of the surveys are designed to identify what people think about potential products or

pricing. After reviewing the data, the Analyst draws conclusions about how a product should be

made, distributed and priced. He or she then provides this information to management.

Using the information, management will make one of several possible decisions. For example,

they may decide to open a new retail outlet, change a product's price, or launch a brand-new

6http://remotesalesjobs.com/job/46?

id=6263&utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed

6



Quinn

product. An Analyst must have strong quantitative skills. A bachelor's degree is usually required

for entry into this field and a Master’s degree is preferred.

a) Caremark-Market Research Analyst Job Description

Responsible for conducting market research projects in support of corporate goals. Propose

appropriate research design based on identified business objectives. Design screeners, discussion

guides, and questionnaires. Manage data collection, perform analyses, prepare summaries and

present research findings with minimal supervision. Develop actionable recommendations for

internal clients. Manage market research suppliers for both qualitative and quantitative projects.

Consult with internal clients to help determine and prioritize market research needs. Collaborate

with CVS Caremark Market Research team members to share and optimize insights gathered

across the company.7

INTERVIEWS:

Marketing Interview #1:

Demographic Data: Marketing Associate or Associate Product Director

I work in a product group of a global food and beverage service provider - in analytics and

budgeting. This entails more analytics than I had anticipated. Occasionally now, and as I progress

as an employee, I will be permitted to develop more strategic options for the product.

What is your professional background?

After college I worked for two years in Advertising as an Account Executive in branding for a

multi-national hotel chain and then returned to my undergraduate university to obtain my MBA. In

business school, I was the President of the AMA Club on campus.

7 Indeed.com/expired position

7



Quinn

What kind of experiences or help did you have during graduate school that assisted you in your job search?

With the economy being so bad, the career center was really trying to help as much as they could.

They reached out to all alumni in marketing and specifically in second tier Consumer Product

Goods companies. My school is not considered strong in the marketing field. Many students go

there for supply chain or to specialize in human resources. The school is working hard to make

marketing a leading discipline.

How familiar were you with the company before your interview process?

I started finding out about the company as I was preparing for the interview. Other than my

occasional use of their products, I didn’t have a great deal of knowledge of the company.

Did you know other individuals in the company?

Technically I didn’t have an “in” with a current employee, so I contacted my career center. They

arranged me to speak with a fellow alum who was two years ahead of me and works for another

division of the company.

Interview for this job:

How did you obtain the interview?

The company actually located me on Monster.com. I used about ten job boards but was not

impressed with any of them. I did like Careerbuilder.com, which was more geared to e-mail blasts

that sent me geographic-specific marketing positions that I might be interested in.

8



Quinn

What was your preparation process for the Interview? (Books, websites, practice, etc.)

A lot of my company preparation was done via Internet research. I didn’t really do a whole bunch of

company specific research until I knew what companies I had obtained interviews with. I did use a

generic marketing guidebook that the career center had provided me to get an overview of what to

expect during marketing interviews. It was about marketing roles, typical questions, and

interviewing.

Once I obtained the job interview I changed my strategy to one-on-one interview practice sessions

with friends. I would rely on feedback from other people on the answers that I gave and the skill-

sets that I portrayed.

What was the format of your interview? (Individual sessions, multi-rounds, large groups of students)

It was a fairly standardized interview format. The initial screening was done by phone with the

human resources contact. After the initial call, I was invited to the headquarters to meet with two

senior marketing professionals. After the second round, I was supposed to go back to the office to

meet with a senior marketing director, but he ended up wanting to speak with me by phone. The call

with him was more of a final blessing than anything else.

What key questions stood out for you in the interview?

My interview process was fairly easy. I remember at the NSHMBA and the NAWMBA (National

Association Women’s MBA) conferences they drilled you on hard questions. Before the

conferences I spent a lot of time working on my answers and making sure that I was prepared for

anything that could come my way.

9



Quinn

Since my current company found me on Monster.com, somehow I fell outside the MBA candidate

pool and was considered as a regular job applicant. I felt that the questions were very easy. This

probably is not the typical way in the door for many candidates, but it worked for me.

Here are a few of the questions that I recall:

• Tell me about a project where you came to a conclusion that no one ever came to before. How did

you gain support for your solution among your team members?

•

Tell me about a project that you worked on where you had to think outside the box.

• Walk me through your resume.

• They had one case question -which was fairly generic.

• Why do you want to work here?

How did you answer these questions?

I was taught to use the STAR (Situation, Task or Threat, Action, Result) format to answer any

question. I also relied heavily on my network to help me understand what skill-set the company was

looking for. I found out they wanted the employee to be hard-working and adaptable, to think

outside the box, and to take initiative. For example, if I wanted to convey my use of analytics, I

would answer with an analytical and quantitative approach.

Post-interview reflections:

Looking back at the interview, is there anything you would have done differently?

10



Quinn

Before interviewing I would learn at least a few computer software programs geared to marketing.

Some of the statistical software packages are standardized throughout the industry and these

programs came up a number of times during my interviews. Without any knowledge of the

computer programs, I was left with giving fairly generic responses; I am adaptable and a quick

learner. Also, if I had more time I would have talked to more people about each company I was

interviewing with.

Why do you think the company hired you?

The people with whom I work said they hired me because I was one of the most prepared people

they interviewed. I was very proactive in learning about the company and went above and beyond in

my preparation. The culture at my company is that they want people to be a step ahead and at the

top of their game.

They also saw me as being genuinely interested. I was not expecting to hear that as feedback. They

appreciated that I was not just interested in marketing generically, but specifically working for them

in marketing. The reason I think they told me this afterwards was that my attitude contrasted sharply

with other applicants, who were less informed about and less eager to work for this company. Or I

could be way off and the other candidates just sucked.

What are the three most important characteristics that your firm is looking for?

Genuinely interested in working with the company, smart and quick on your feet. Somewhat

surprisingly, they really look for people who are creative. I had at least a couple of creative

11



Quinn

questions and one example I can recall was: Tell me about a creative solution that you came up with

to a problem. The question was to gage your outside-the-box thinking.

What is the best way to get hired at your firm?

I am an advocate of having my resume in a keyword searchable format. I would list out core

competencies and then use adjectives to describe my skills: adaptable, branding, and management. I

think that the reason that HR found me was because they were running scans to look for certain

words.

Use any connection that you can come up with. Look up the people who you are interviewing with

on LinkedIn. Determine the school they went to and find any other commonalities. Use this

information during the interviews by mentioning these if you can, whether school, sports or some

other area.

Not that many schools advocate this, but I also had a mini three sentence executive summary at the

top of my resume and it showed exactly what type of role I was looking for.

Do you have any advice for MBA students; job related or not?

There was a divide between people in my MBA program of being either job-focused or grade-

focused. I was grade-focused. At the end of the day, I should have chosen to be more job-focused

because I went to business school to be able to get the awesome job that I always wanted.

12



Quinn

Be prepared as you can be for interviews because you have no shot at the position if you are not

prepared. Reach out to as many people as you can: friends, family, alumni and current students. You

don’t need to be best friends with people at your top choices, but it helps you identify how the

company is positioning itself. I followed two large consumer product companies on Twitter and

joined both of their Facebook pages. It let me get an idea of what they were doing and how they

wanted to portray the brand in public. Social media is huge for me because it is a direct link to

marketing. This may not work for an investment banker, but it really is what I wanted to do, so it fit

well for me. I was able to use it as research and I could bring it up during interviews. In every

interview they asked “if I had any questions,” I would plug in the examples I saw so they knew that

I was doing a lot of research above what would be listed in the 10K.

I even resorted to looking at product displays at Target and Walgreens to get an idea of how they

were placed.

One outside-the-box recommendation that I have is you can easily follow companies on Twitter.

For example I followed the CEO of my current company. I would then check out YouTube.com for

their latest marketing commercials. All of these things take time, but are well worth the effort.

This recommendation only applies to the marketing groups and keeping up to date on the trends is

essential. I did this by reading Brandweek and Ad Age. I would take notes on anything that I came

across which pertained to companies that I was focused on.

Take a deep breath: some of it is luck.

13



Quinn

Take Away Points

• Use buzzwords on your resume if you are going to post it online.

• Follow companies that you are interested in on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

• Networking! Never go to an interview without knowing what kind of questions to expect.

• Ask yourself: why did you go to an MBA program? If it was to obtain your dream job, then you

should focus more on that than the grades.

Find key characteristics that the company wants and play up those points whenever you speak with

someone at the company. If they want an analytical person, then answer the questions with numbers and

follow the STAR format for answering every question.

Marketing Interview #2:

Demographic Data: Strategy Analyst and Account Executive in the MBA Leadership Program

specializing in marketing.

I work for a global airline company in a functional marketing role. The position ultimately rotates

through multiple different areas. In his current role, he acts as an account manager in co-branding

portfolios. Initially he thought it was more services marketing. Much of the position involves

negotiating contracts and what kind of branding ideas they will offer to our cardholders. It is a very

large mix of strategy and marketing. Specifically, the program is set up to have approximately one

year rotations through five separate areas. He believes the rotations will most likely switch every

one to two years.

What type of work are you doing?

14



Quinn

Service marketing in the credit card group. A lot of the work is contract negotiations. I spend the

bulk of my time assisting the legal team.

What is your professional background?

I graduated from a leading liberal arts school with a BA in Economics. During school I interned

with a think-tank and got interested in economic consulting and forecasting. After my

undergraduate program, I joined an economic consulting firm before going to get my MBA.

What kind of experiences or help did you have during graduate school that assisted you in your job search?

Overall I believe that the marketing courses helped build my resume because a lot of my previous

work experience was not in marketing and I wanted to change career paths.

Besides the academic portion, I was very active on campus with the American Marketing

Association (AMA) Club. I felt that the AMA connection positioned me to get in the door because

the firms I was targeting were in marketing.

At school I spent a lot of time finding out about companies that interested me. I took full advantage

of the resources that were available on campus. I read the 10 K (Annual Report) for each company

and then I would network my way into the company.

I worked really hard on fine-tuning my resume and personalizing it for each targeted company.

How familiar were you with the company before your interview process?

I was very prepared for the interviews because I never went to an interview without first trying to

get in touch with someone on the inside.

15



Quinn

For my current role, I asked the Human Resources contact if they could get me in touch with

someone that could help me get more information about the specific job for which I was applying. I

had met this Human Resources person while attending the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s

Conference (NSHMBA). This contact offered to get me in touch with people who were in different

areas within the company. The HR person put me in contact with the same person that I ended up

interviewing with. Having that initial connection was a huge asset, considering I had already spoken

with this person and had a good idea of the skill-set they were looking for.

My only apprehension with telling this story is that we might have been accidentally paired together

for the interview and they did not know we had already spoken to each other. You should consider

that this initial conversation might be a potential interview. I was looking to gather as much

information as possible for the upcoming interview at the headquarters. It also was a great way to

convince the hiring managers that I would make a great fit at the company because I knew what

they were looking for as a potential new hire. The informational interviews were a crucial part of

me being hired.

Did you know other individuals in the company?

Initially I didn’t know anyone but used my lack of connections as a way to approach the Human

Resources person about potential people that I could speak with. The networking really paid off for

me. Even if I didn’t know anyone at a company, I would try to reach out to anyone who might know

of someone on the inside.

16



Quinn

Interview for this job

How did you obtain the interview?

I obtained the interview at NSHMBA by speaking with the Human Resources recruiter at the event

and then followed up with a note.

What was your preparation process for the Interview? (Books, websites, practice, etc.)

Networked with others and practiced.

I would reach out to anyone at my school that could have previously interviewed with the company:

Alumni and fellow students. I spoke to one alumnus who shared his experience with going through

the interview process. He told me about the quantitative type questions to expect and how best to

prepare for them.

I think that, as soon as you find out about a potential interview, you should immediately reach out to

your career center. The more prepared you are the more likely you are to succeed. Your school’s

career center may know of alumni or other people who went through the same process.

I felt I had a key advantage over other students because I would always ask the Human Resources

contact what types of things to expect during the interview. I also would ask this same question to

people who had previously gone through the process. In my experience, only a small fraction of

them wouldn’t divulge any data about the interview process. Each time I asked this question it gave

me vital facts: types of things they are looking for, case question examples, who the hiring manager

was, what skills to play up and what not to say.

17



Quinn

How did you answer these questions?

Follow a structure either from a book or your own outline. Once you choose a method for case

questions, make sure to cover each point whenever answering these questions.

I felt it was better to just slow down towards the end of the allotted time and circle back to a few

areas that I wanted to cover to show that I at least had considered the other possibilities. They never

expect you to answer the question fully.

Post-interview reflections:

Looking back at the interview, is there anything you would have done differently?

Got hired, so no. What worked for me was networking. I think that it is much easier to ask someone

for help when you are a student, so use that to your advantage. Keep in touch with anyone you meet

during school that worked at companies that you may be interested in. If I had more time, I would

have learned more about the company.

Why do you think the company hired you?

They hired me because I was interested in Marketing and Brand Management. I tried to come across

as being creative and taking initiative. I worked really hard in school taking initiative and getting

things started.

Having personal connections through networking helped a lot. I tried to make it sound like I would

be a great fit for a leadership program and it helped to have insiders and to know what the company

was looking for. I also made it very clear to them that I was willing to relocate, which is a big

19



Quinn

concern for the company, since the location of the headquarters may not be ideal for some

candidates.

What are the three most important characteristics that your firm is looking for?

Good analytics and to challenge the status quo. They value MBA’s a lot, but there is an ingrained

and conservative culture. MBA’s come in and shake things up, and the company benefits in the long

run. MBA’s get a lot of freedom to run with projects, but at the same time they are expected to be

problem solvers. I had expected to find other MBA’s in this program to be very competitive but was

surprised to find how collegial a work environment it was.

What is the best way to get hired at your firm?

Show interest and knowledge of the company leadership programs in Marketing.

Do you have any advice for MBA students; job related or not?

Networking!!! Approach alumni at your school, reached out to them at any means necessary. Take a

deep breath and relax while you are at school because you won’t have all the time to socialize and

read once you enter the corporate world. Use the MBA as a great opportunity to branch out and

learn some new things. Read the paper and network with other students.

Takeaway points

• Networking, especially making contacts through Human Resources.

• Always ask what type of interview to expect. You will be surprised at how much people are willing

to share, which makes preparation that much easier.

20



Quinn

• Taking initiative in things that are correlated with your job search: for me that was the AMA club. It

is much easier to sell yourself and show that you are excited about the opportunity if you are actively doing

it in your free time outside of the company.

marketing interviews and chapter

Documents