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RSM students’ casework of P&G’s Oral-B branding strategy rewarded

RSM students’ casework of P&G’s Oral-B branding strategy rewarded

A case study based on one of the most highly-contested sectors of FMCG marketing has resulted in praise for students at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), from global company Procter & Gamble.

 The winning team of the Procter & Gamble case competition 2012

RSM strives to create optimal synergy within its teaching programmes by linking theory and practice in everyday business. This principle was exemplified by the prize awarded to the team of MSc International Business Administration (IBA) students with the best case results for their second year Business Administration (BA) and IBA Marketing Research course. In this course, students apply their learnings and creativity to a real-world business case. Organised in teams of five or six, students were requested to make proposals and recommendations for Procter & Gamble’s Oral-B toothpaste.

President of the jury Bora Karamustafa, Associate Marketing Director P&G announced the winning team. Voicing a unanimous jury, he praised the quality of the students’ work. As he said: “I am impressed by the high quality of the analyses in combination with the creative and out-of-the-box thinking of the various groups.” Regarding the winning group, he said to be really enthused by the fact that their creative recommendations were based on an objective to address the shortages of a holistic approach and complete, in-depth research. “I think they were very successful in employing the insights and methods taught at RSM for solving a very practical business issue.” Mr Karamustafa also commented on the unique co-operation between RSM and P&G by saying “this kind of real life casework makes both theory and practice very tangible. For us, it is very relevant to see the student research findings and make use of them”.

In this assignment, the central question answered by the students was How Oral-B toothpaste is perceived by consumers and how it differentiates itself from core competition. In order to provide a balanced answer to these questions, students had to analyse the effects of marketing efforts of P&G, conduct qualitative research in order to clarify the needs of consumers, make a sound analysis of Oral-B’s strengths and weaknesses and finally come up with recommendations for further marketing opportunities.

Out of 181 teams, two BA and two IBA teams with the highest average grade (above 9 out of 10) were invited to present their findings to an especially appointed jury. The winners were an IBA team consisting of Tom van Berkel, Kerren Radvany, Evita Bizune, Agnetha Roobol, Nicoli Guilherme, and Shir Radvany. They received a P&G bag full of ‘goodies’ for a year of free brushing’ with Oral-B toothpaste and an electric toothbrush. Commenting on this, the winning team said: ‘This case assignment is a lot of work, but it’s nice to do in a team as it really puts theory into practice. We’d like to have more of these!”

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University is consistently ranked amongst the top 10 business schools in Europe. It is located in the international port city of Rotterdam where core Dutch values of openness, flexibility and acceptance of diversity have attracted businesses on a global scale. Our emphasis is on groundbreaking research and practices relevant to business; our primary focus is on developing business leaders who carry their innovative ideas into a sustainable future. Our portfolio includes a broad array of bachelor, master, doctoral, MBA and executive education programmes. www.rsm.nl

For more information on RSM or on this release, please contact Marianne Schouten, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at mschouten@remove-this.rsm.nl.