DRAFT

MARKETING CASE INTERVIEWS

1. Frameworks
2. Market –sizing
3. New Product Launch
4. Competitive Defense
5. Key Measures
6. Advertising
7. Interview Questions

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 Frameworks

Case questions have been popping up in marketing interviews for years.

While there are many similarities between a consulting case interview and a
case given in a marketing interview there are differences as well.

I always tell the consulting students to stay away from “cookie-cutter”

frameworks like the 5Ps and 5Cs, but in marketing interviews you are
encouraged to employ them.

To truly standout from your peers, it is best to incorporate the 5Ps into the
overall structure and then to fill in your answer with concepts from the Ivy
Case Method™ found in Case in Point. You’ll find that out of the 12 Ivy Case
scenarios you’ll most often use (i) entering a new market, (ii) developing a
new product, (iii) pricing, and (iv) growth strategies.

In marketing interviews as in consulting interviews the 5Ps are: Price,

Product, Promotion, Placement and Packaging. The 5Cs, however; differ. In a
consulting interview the 5 Cs are Cost, Competition, Channels, Company and
Client while in marketing interviews the 5 Cs are Category, Company,
Competitor, Consumer and Customer.

On the following pages I have laid out some working structures for you to
review. Keep in mind that these might vary depending on if the case is about
a product or a service and what industry it belongs.

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MARKET-SIZING QUESTIONS
Your answer should be based on logic and assumptions.

Structure
o Listen to the question, and then determine the type of case;
population-based, household, individual or preposterous.
o Ask clarifying questions, only if you don’t understand the question or
terminology.
o Lay out your structure first, the steps you’ll need to answer the
question, and then go back through it with the numbers.

Assumptions
o Don’t worry if your assumptions are off, the interviewer is more
interested in your thought process than whether your assumptions are
correct. If your assumptions are way off they will tell you, otherwise
they’ll let it go.
o Base your assumptions on some sort of logic otherwise the interviewer
might press you on how you drew that conclusion.
o You can group several assumptions into one number (i.e. The 20%
takes into account X, Y, and Z.)

Math
o Estimate or round numbers off to make it easier for calculation.
o Write all numbers down.

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NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH

1. Customer needs
• Do customers want or need this product?
• Benefits to the consumer

2. Segmenting the market

• Market-sizing – how big is the market?
o Market growth rate (past, present and future forecast)
• Competition and substitutions
o Who are the competitors and what is their market share?
o How do their products and services differ from ours?
o Will they launch a competitive response?
• Determine strategic opening
o Entering the market
 Start from scratch, buy your way in, or strategic
alliance
o Barriers to entry
 Government regulations, access to distribution
channels, access to capital, access to raw materials

3. Choose target
• ID heavy users
o Why would they be interested in this product?

4. Positioning
• Differentiate – how different is it from the competition?

5. 4Ps
• Product – Why is it good, what’s our niche? How is it packaged?
• Price – competitive analysis; cost-based pricing; price-based
costing (what is the customer willing to pay for it)
• Place – distribution channels
• Promotion – how best to market

6. Evaluate financials
• Do we have the funding we need to launch and support this
product?

To launch or not to launch – make a decision

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COMPETITIVE DEFENSE

Assess the threatening product

• How similar is it to our product?
o Does it do a better job meeting the customer’s needs?
o What are its strengths and weaknesses?
o What kind of market share can it expect?
 Curiosity – will it last?
 Will it cannibalize our sales or will it steal sales from
another competitor instead?

What kind of resources does it have behind it?

• Parent company – large or small
o How committed is it to this division or product?

• Introduction strategy
o Major marketing campaign
o Incentive discounts
 2 for 1 offer
 Low interest financing

Defense strategies
Defense strategies will differ depending on product or services offered. Below
are a few well-tested ideas that you should think about to determine if they
are appropriate for that particular case.

5 Ps
• Pricing – can you adjust your price to maintain or even gain market
share and profitability

• Product – can we upgrade our product or options offered? How long

will it take and at what cost? Will it canalize existing products?

• Promotion – reinforce brand with advertising, promotions and PR

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• Place – increase exposure within current distribution channels as well
as increase number of channels

• Packaging – can you improve or update your packaging?

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KEY MEASURES

In these cases the main key measures are market-share, sales and profits. If
you are given a case with an existing product, identify where that product is
in its life cycle - emerging, growth, maturing or declining.
Things to consider:

• If market-share is constant but sales are flat, that could indicate industry
sales are flat and your competitors are experiencing the same problem.

• If market share declines, and it is determined that market share is more

important than profits then consider lowering price; if not, then upgrade
the product, increase promotions and expand distribution channels.

• If your case includes a decline-in-sales problem, analyze these three

things:
o Overall declining market demand (soda sales have dropped as
bottled water sales climb)
o The current marketplace might be mature or your product might be
obsolete (CDs gives way to digital)
o Loss of market-share due to substitutions (Netflix DVD rentals
gives way to Internet downloads, Pay-per-View, DVD purchases,
and competitors entering their market such as Blockbuster.

• If sales and market-share are increasing, but profits are declining, then
you need to investigate whether prices are dropping and/or costs are
climbing. However, if costs aren’t the issue, then investigate product mix,
and check to see if the margins have changed.

• If profits are declining because of a drop in revenues, concentrate on

marketing and distribution issues

• If profits are declining because of rising expenses, concentrate on

operational and financial issues

• If profits are declining, yet revenues went up, review:

o changes in costs;
o any additional expenses;
o changes in prices;
o the product mix; or
o changes in customer needs.

• If a product is in its emerging growth stage, concentrate on R&D,

competition, and pricing

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• If a product is in its growth stage, emphasize marketing and competition
• If a product is in its mature stage, focus on manufacturing, costs and
competition

• If a product is in its declining stage, determine the strength of the brand

then define niche market(s), analyze the competition’s play, grow
category, maintain at more profitable levels or think exit strategy
o Can this product be reinvented or changed to meet new consumer
needs?
o Can this product be produced at a lower cost?
o Can this product have new uses?
o Can new distribution channels be created?

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Advertising

Determine media strategy. Combination of any of the following:

Print
Newspapers, magazines, bill boards, flyers, direct mail and catalogs
The purpose of the print advertisement is to build brand, create an image,
generate exposure and drive traffic your website and stores.

Web
Website, adwords, sponsored links, links, product placement in virtual
worlds, social networking campaigns and You Tube.
The purpose of web ads is to build brand, create an image, generate
exposure, provide information and make sales.

TV & Film
Cable, network, iTV. Ads and product placement
The purpose of TV ads is to build brand, create an image, generate exposure
and drive traffic your website and stores.

Promotions and sponsorships

Promotions generate sales by giving the consumer a chance to use the
product either at discount or through use of a small test sample.
Sponsorships are used to enhance name recognition and to build good will.

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Common marketing interview questions

1. How would you develop and introduce a new product?

2. There are two ideas in the company pipeline, which one would you
choose?
3. Critique this ad.
4. Define a successful ad.
5. Your competition is attacking your product, how would you respond?
6. Give me an example of good marketing.

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Q1:
How many Sky Mall magazines are printed every year for domestic airlines?
As marketing manager for Sky Mall how would you increase revenues?
• Distribute in airports
o More down time
o Access to phone and internet
o Impulse buy

Q2
You have just taken over as the brand manager for a product whose sales
have been flat for the last three years. However, despite flat sales your
product went from having 25% of the market to recently having 40% of the
market. What’s going on and what would you do about it?

?[P=(R-C)*V]?

If sales are flat, but your market share is growing then it probably means
that the product’s category is shrinking.
Why is it shrinking?
• Is your product obsolete?
• Is there a new type of product or a substitution that is stealing
customers?
• Have any competitors left the market?
• Have there been any mergers?

Solutions:
Are there any new ways to use the product?
Offer new products in another category that leverages your brand.
Can you change or alter the product to bring it up to date?
Can you encourage existing customers to use more of your product?
Can you make your product “hip” again?
Can you go after new markets?
• Demographic
• Geographic

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