Success Stories

Challenge:
An Account Manager working for a large advertising agency in New York City wanted to make the transition from advertising to brand management. The candidate had an undergraduate degree in advertising and communications but did not have an MBA. Candidate was not able to relocate.

Focus:
Most of the candidate’s experience was image/HBA advertising so we decided to focus on companies whose products were geared towards cosmetics and fashion. Many of the cosmetic companies that we targeted preferred candidates with a graduate degree but we were able to identify an apparel company whose marketing executives came from a traditional CPG background and tried to bring some of that experience into the apparel business.

Result:
Company agreed to interview candidate and candidate did very well on interview. Candidate was offered a position as an Assistant Marketing Manager and was promoted to Associate Marketing Manager within 12 months. Two years later the company was relocating to another area of the country and the candidate was offered a position as Marketing Manager in the new location. Candidate decided not to relocate and was able to secure a marketing position with a local company that in the past would have passed on her candidacy because of not having an MBA.

Challenge:
Candidate was a Brand Manager for a small CPG firm in New England. Candidate’s primary goal was to relocate to a major city. Candidate had only one year of experience in Brand Marketing. Prior to the Brand Manager position the candidate was employed in the Marketing Research department of the company. Candidate also had a strong background in consulting. Candidate had an undergraduate degree.

Focus:
Candidate was very strong analytically and creatively. Although the primary focus was to relocate to a large city there was also a desire to work on an interesting/image focused brand. Candidate also wanted to try to get promoted up to next level during the move. The candidate’s experience in marketing was in the frozen food/novelty industry. We decided to focus first on companies whose products were of interest to the candidate leaving the debate on level until after we had some feedback from interviews. Given the fact that the candidate had one year of functional brand experience and no MBA a lateral move would have been considered a win.

Result:
Candidate secured interviews with a beverage company thirty miles outside a city and an HBA company in a city and both interviews went very well. Client feedback on candidate was very positive although both clients felt that Brand Manager was the level the candidate should come in at. Candidate was able to secure an offer from the HBA company and despite a significant effort during the negotiations was forced to accept position as a Brand Manager. Candidate got off to a great start and a few weeks after a major presentation was promoted to director less than six months after starting with company. Candidate is still being promoted steadily through this company.

Challenge:
A candidate had recently been hired as a Director of Marketing for an internet start-up. Shortly after joining the company the candidate lost his job when the company was forced to close its doors because of a lack of funding. Prior to the internet experience the candidate had been in product marketing for a quick serve restaurant chain. Candidate did have an MBA from a top school. Candidate wanted advice as to where he should focus his search.

Focus:
Most of the candidate’s experience was in the quick serve restaurant industry. The candidate had moved up from a Product Manager to a Director but it was unlikely that the candidate would be able to stay at the Director level unless they continued to move forward with opportunities of an entrepreneurial spirit. We discussed the pros and cons of traditional CPG experience vs. other opportunities such as QSR and internet and the candidate decided that it would be worthwhile to go after opportunities that were more traditional. The candidate felt that getting the foundation of the traditional CPG marketing experience/training would be beneficial over the long term.

Result:
Candidate interviewed for a number of CPG and CPG related companies at both the Associate Brand Manager level and the Brand Manager level. Candidate had multiple offers and after much deliberation decided to take a position with a well known CPG training company at a Senior Associate Brand Manager level. The candidate, because of his experience, was able to move quickly through the company and after three years is a Senior Brand Manager.