20 Day Plan for Finals Preparation

Disclaimer: This plan has been drawn by Team MarkSoc, and is based upon the personal experiences of
the various members and input from various alumnus of FMS, Delhi who are in different Marketing
Roles. The things to be covered as mentioned in this document can be considered as broadly the more
important topics, but is not exhaustive in any way.
Content Preparation
Step 1: Please find attached a 44 page condensed PDF of Kotler and a document containing the links of
various videos to refresh your marketing concepts.
Step 2: We are assuming that most candidates are well versed with the Current Affairs related to the
companies which shall be appearing for the Finals. Following links like ETRetail and Livemint will keep
you abreast of the latest developments, and subscribing to their newsletters makes the process more
painless.
Step 3: Please go through the Sector Reports (IBEF, Trade Briefs, or otherwise) of industries like Food
Industry, Telecommunications, Durables and Retail. Candidates interested in Retail Banking should
definitely brush up the Banking report also.
Step 4: We believe that it is very important to prepare for each company separately. This ensures that
you understand the companys philosophy and know adequately about their brands too. For a few of
your preferred we advise the following things to be covered:

Read properly about at least three of their products and study their campaigns.
Have a proper understanding of at least two of the segments the company is operating in. eg,
while sitting for an HUL interview, have a decent understanding of the business situation of
either of foods, detergents, soap, shampoo, deodorant etc markets.
For these preferred brands, try to identify problems that the company is facing/ might face in
the future, and try coming up with solutions. For example, if you have studied about Nescafe
properly before sitting for a Nestle interview, try to come up with a few original strategies to
counter the threat posed by Bru and how you can make changes to the marketing campaign to
do better in the market.
Think of a few alternative products in a cluttered market with a different positioning based on
insights which can help companies to gain a competitive advantage. For example, you can think
of alternative products for P&G to counter Surf in the detergent market, products Asian Paints
to counter Nerolac in the interior paints segment, for Emami to counter Nivea in the fairness
cream market.
ETs Brand Equity section often talks about the future plans of various marketers. You can be
asked to suggest Go-To-Market strategies for various products, so think them through
beforehand. For example, you might be knowing that ITC is making forays into the Dairy and

Beverages market. So, a question related to the GTM of the same is surely expected. A little
thinking before the interviews will make you better prepared to tackle it.
Step 5: Soon, we shall we sharing a document which will contain the distribution strategies of
various companies. Try reading about these and different distribution models which companies
follow.
Step 6: Quoting anecdotes always helps in the interviews. You can try reading Positioning by Ries &
Trout or relevant examples from Brand Failures by Matt Haig. These examples will help you
understand and keep examples for ready references about key insights necessary while launching
products.

HR- Questions
Step 1: Your Summer Internship is the main topic for your interview. Know everything about the
work inside-out. Read up about how the company is doing now and changes they have made
recently. It is always beneficial to have a few numbers upfront, both about the internship project as
well as macro numbers like market cap, market share, revenues ballpark of the product and the
company.
For candidates who didnt get a PPO, the question Why didnt you get a PPO? is a definite and
hence, proper work needs to be done for it. Experience says that make the answer a mix of
everything mention things that went against you, but do accept where you went wrong. Have a
ready list of things to be said as to how you could have performed better and why you failed to do
so.
Step 2: Prepare answers for Why Marketing, Why FMCG Marketing, Why Us?
Step 3: Other common questions will be related to Your Dream Company, Your Favourite
Brand whose recent campaigns/marketing strategies should be on the tips of your fingers, Which
Brand are you which is a question which needs a bit of introspection.
Step 4: For your Summer Intern and your Live Projects, think of a few Insights based on which you
did your internship/project and devised strategies. Always remember that An Insight is always
driven by consumer behavior and is a valid truth which is not affected or related to any brand as
such.
Step 5: Go through the presentations which you have made for the various Corporate Competitions
during your time at FMS (remember Dhawal Pratap Singhs mail ? Go through them too). These will
give you many options regarding marketing strategies and ideas that you can suggest during your
interviews, after customizing them, of course.

Please see to it that these are suggestions which we felt would greatly help everyone for the Finals
process ahead. However, it is neither the best way to prepare, nor an exhaustive list of preparatory
measures to be taken. Please feel free to get back to us in case of any doubts and request us for
material that you might need.