HUL Conducts Workshop on Marketing at IIM Kozhikode

HUL Conducts Workshop on Marketing at IIM Kozhikode

The Industry Interaction Cell (IIC) of IIM Kozhikode, as part of its Leadership Series 2008-09, organized a workshop on 'New Product Development & Cross-Cultural Branding' on the 4th of September. Mr. Stephen Remedios, the Regional Sales

& Customer Manager, South India, at HUL, conducted the workshop. He has been with HUL for the last seven years and has extensive experience in the field of brand management.

'Steve', as he is popularly called, spoke in depth about the New Product Development Process & Cross-Cultural Branding, taking the students through the entire journey of one of HUL's power brands, Close-Up. Steve coupled his talk with some very exciting product ads and explained how the common thrash 'able' elements of the communication were maintained over a period of time. The talk was attended by over 180 students from the senior and the junior batches, in spite of having parallel lectures, which speaks volumes about the kind of trust and enthusiasm the student community at IIM Kozhikode has with regards to HUL.

He also spoke about the nuances of brand communication. He explained how brand communication has evolved over the years based on the audience's changing tastes, outlook and cultural differences, taking Close-up as an example to illustrate how HUL has designed different types of advertisements for Northern India and Southern India to counter the cultural differences that exist between these markets.

The session concluded with a thought-provoking question and answer session where queries raised by students ranged from the methodology of deciding on communication briefs to questions on gender bias in advertisements.

Steve's talk was interactive and very well-structured as it gave the students great insights about branding and real world marketing. The entire talk was a great learning experience for the students who would be heading out to leading marketing firms in the near future.

This workshop was part of a focused effort by HUL to enhance the student learning experience by giving them exposure to real world marketing best practices. HUL has also come up with a website to foster the learning process as well as form a brilliant and unique communication channel between the students and the company. The website has garnered an amazing response from the students because of its lucid content and interactive-learning experience. These initiatives of HUL have given a new dimension to students about marketing and have made the learning process more involving and fun.

The "Leadership Series", an Industry Interaction Cell (IIC) initiative launched in 2004, involves year round talks by senior people from the industry and other walks of life on topics ranging from established business practices to emerging trends, their implication on the economy and value-addition to the society.

Concluded.

Contributed by -
Nishith Sharma,
Media Cell,
IIM Kozhikode.

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