Assistant Brand Manager

You:

  • are working in marketing at a company that makes household products. 

  • Before studying for your MBA you worked for Unilever, known for its innovative product portfolio. 

  • At Unilever, you did some high profile financial analysis that led the company to launch a new product. 

  • In the eight months since you’ve been at your job, you’ve done the financial analysis for another project that has made the company $600,000 dollars already. 

  • This experience marked you as high potential in the organization. 

Before this meeting:

  • Through your business school relationships, you identified an important opportunity. 

  • Some R&D labs are developing a spray-on laundry detergent that doesn’t require water or a washing machine.  

  • According to your financial models it could make the company over $10 million in profits per year. 

  • There are also risks: the quick entry of competitors with similar innovations. Therefore, you need to move fast.

Your Brand Manager and has already convinced senior management to buy the technology. 

You want:

  • to be put you in charge of leading the new team that develops this product. 

Why?

  • This would be a big opportunity for you and a change in your responsibilities. 

  • Also you feel that you deserve the opportunity to lead this project as it was your idea.

Pros & cons:

  • You have not managed a team like this before, but you  did manage project teams in business school in many of your classes. 

  • You have also been a strong team contributor in all of the teams you’ve been a part of at your company. 

What are you worried about:

  • The brand manager may decide to make him/herself the project head and keep you as a junior member of the team. 

  • This would be disappointing and  require additional work and risk on your part for with little access to rewards/positive exposure. 

  • If the project is successful the recognition would go to the brand manager.

  • If you are not selected to be the project head, you will have to decide if you will stay at the company or leave. 

  • You are worried about being stuck in a role and in a department reporting to someone who cannot support high potentials and give you the responsibility you deserve. 

You would prefer staying in the company but, if turned down, you’re prepared to investigate better opportunities elsewhere. 

There are various roles you could have on the team:

  • Project Head (your preference)

  • Market & Competitive Analysis

  • Finance

  • Product Design

  • Advertising Plan

  • Something else?