IBA Marketing Club led by their patron Mr. Jami Moiz, organized a guest speaker session for the MBA Advertising class with Mr. Gibran, Category Manager at Reckitt Benckiser on December 03, 2014 at the Main Campus.

A graduate of LUMS, Mr. Gibran has had a very rich and insightful corporate experience, where he worked in several companies like Nestle, Procter & Gamble and British American Tobacco industry. The discussion proved to be very engaging and insightful, whereby Mr. Gibran started off by an attempt to gauge students’ expectations and concerns. The theme of the session revolved around evaluating advertisements – learning how to differentiate between functional messages and emotional messages. The guest speaker demonstrated the application of various concepts by showcasing some Veet advertising campaigns, which highlighted the journey of Veet through the years. Among these were the first Veet launch ad, which featured the actress Resham and the Katrina Kaif Ad. Mr. Gibran encouraged students to participate in a healthy and thought-provoking discussion, in order to discover the real essence of Veet advertising messages.

The highlight of the session was a brainstorming activity conducted with the students, where they were provided with a list of questions and were asked to analyze advertisements (the copy, message, relevance of celebrity endorsement, factors to consider when selecting a model for an advertising campaign). Mr. Gibran highlighted how the focus has shifted in various advertisements from functionality (ease of product usage) to emotional (benefits of soft skin). The introduction of the ‘V’ sign in Veet advertisements is an attempt to create a mnemonic. Considering the launch of various product variants in the market, it is important to shift the focus in advertising campaigns with the passage of time, with an emphasis on functionality as it core.

Since Veet has successfully created its brand equity in the market, it is now focusing on innovation which has led to breakthrough concept executions like the ‘Veet Super Model’ contests along with other BTL activities. Importance of subliminal messages in the ads and ad evaluation techniques were also discussed.

He also spoke to the students about Indian advertising, strategies used when marketing sensitive products, rural penetration and the issues faced, sales orientation, industry scenario, the allocation of advertising budgets, and the competitive landscape.

The session proved to be a highly interactive one, packed with real life learning that students can undoubtedly put to practical use. It ended with Mr. Jami Moiz thanking the guest speaker and presenting him with a memento, on behalf of IBA and the IBA Marketing Club.