Well it’s almost midnight here in New York City, but it’s been an amazing day at Taste. I just finished talking with fellow McCombs MBA, Alison Rubinson, about our day at Taste and some of our favorite beauty products. Since I am a little burned out at this point, I’m going to devote this post to a recap of the logistics for the weekend.
Last night’s program lasted about 4 hours and as I mentioned in my first post, consisted of both a corporate and division level presentation. That was followed up with a very well-attended networking event where we were able to talk with an impressive variety of L’Oreal employees.
Today began with a lovely breakfast spread before we jumped right into the case study. Rather than divulget too much information, I’ll just post this video and say that the case discussed a brand renewal strategy for a heritage brand you may remember…
Our morning was focused on a SWOT analysis of the marketplace. We had time to brainstorm in groups as well as visit a Duane Reade store to see the product on shelves. We were also encouraged to think about the competitive space intensively and the perspective of our retail partners.
In the afternoon, we joined together with another group to vote on a strategic direction and develop the execution. In about two hours, we had to address the 4Ps, develop a positioning statement and create a mood board before we presented to the marketers that had been observing us throughout the day. This was my favorite part of the weekend because I got to come up with an entire digital strategy for our product line.
Finally, the day rounded out with a group question and answer session where we were quizzed on everything from justification for our decisions to what our favorite commercials were.
And while I’m exhausted, I think L’Oreal did a great job of giving us an opportunity to really determine whether there was a mutual fit between the candidates and the working environment. The case was current and relevant, which is why I am not giving more details on this blog, so we were able to see what type of work one would really be doing as a brand manager at L’Oreal. Additionally, I have to say that I respect the effort that L’Oreal put into their recruiting process. All of the events have been extremely well attended by both HR and marketing team members who were giving us their undivided attention all day. It’s very telling how much a company cares about developing their people when they can convince 30+ employees to willingly work all day Saturday and Sunday.
Well I’m off to bed but I’ll come back in the morning and talk about some of the opportunities I see for L’Oreal.
Side Note: We were treated to an amazing meal at Métrazur for dinner. I’m still a little stuffed, but it was worth it!
