Indiana University

News Release

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Last modified: Wednesday, May 4, 2005

IU's Kelley School of Business and Procter & Gamble partner to bring new buzz to MBA recruiting

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P&G reinvents the way it recruits management talent by using new marketing strategies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2005

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Procter & Gamble Co., which is changing how it markets to its own consumer products audiences while taking advantage of the evolving media landscape, is applying the same updated marketing approach to how it recruits technology-savvy first-year MBA interns at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.

P&G and the Kelley School's Graduate Career Services Office have crafted a strategy for intern recruiting that mirrors the consumer giant's new approach to marketing: pinpointing prime prospects and surrounding them with messaging when and where they are most receptive. This represents a marked departure from the usual "mass marketing" tradition of on-campus group presentations that recruiters use as their mainstays.

After several years of declining student response to traditional recruiting efforts, P&G recruiters decided to alter their approach. They sought a partnership with the Kelley School's MBA program, which has a successful marketing program. At the same time, the Kelley School's Graduate Career Services Office was looking to stimulate the recruiting round tables and presentation format it had been using for years. The office also hoped to better connect companies with students who had specific interests.

"We needed to come up with new, more engaging ways to recruit, and we wanted to help P&G reach talented MBA students," said Laurie Stearn, senior associate director for professional development in the IU Graduate Career Services Office. "Two aspects of our program that we realized we could capitalize on are that all students have wireless capabilities at all times and that we have the Consumer Marketing Academy, a group of self-selected, interested marketers."

P&G recruiters started their efforts with the Consumer Marketing Academy, which is designed for students who are interested in careers in consumer marketing. With contact information for these prime prospects, P&G recruiters could link directly with interested parties. They also had permission to be creative with the content and timing of their messages to recruits. Over time, P&G built relationships with these students, who were greeted with humor, personal messages and friendly invitations to come visit the P&G campus. Previously, these students would have had to rely on their own preconceptions about what it was like to work at the company.

P&G also hosted a field trip to its headquarters to give recruits first-hand knowledge of the workplace.

"Our new approach has allowed students to get a better sense of who P&G really is today and why working for P&G is a smart career move. Our brand camp gave us the opportunity to show a lighter, more creative side of our marketing team, and the students had the chance to explore our environment in a non-stressful experience," said Scott Mautz, associate marketing director and a recruiter at P&G.

"Our total 'surround sound' approach to recruiting allowed us to be much more interactive with students, especially since we were careful to communicate with them when and where they were most receptive. As a result, we've been getting great feedback and seeing super results," Mautz added.

A survey of Kelley MBA recruits indicates that the new outreach methods are having an impact -- 23 percent more students this year felt the P&G marketing recruiting activities were noticeably different than those of other marketing organizations.

Other P&G tactics included sending students lighthearted, campus mailbox communications and holiday greetings, and making personal phone calls to help them prepare for upcoming interviews with the company. The message was clear: "P&G Marketing equals career rocket fuel."

About P&G

Two billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Bounty®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Actonel®, Olay® and Clairol Nice 'n Easy®, Head & Shoulders®, and Wella®. The P&G community consists of almost 110,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About the Kelley School of Business

The Kelley School of Business has been a leader in American business education for nearly 85 years. With an enrollment of over 5,000 students, it is among the premier business schools in the country and is consistently ranked in the top tier by U.S. News & World Report. The Princeton Review this year ranked the school No. 1 for "best-quality MBA teaching." Its students are among the favorites of corporate recruiters who are looking for promising managers, marketing talent and finance graduates. The Kelley School of Business can be found on the Web at https://www.kelley.iu.edu/ .

Editors: To speak with a student who went through the recruitment process and will be at P&G this summer, contact Anne Auer at the Kelley School. Her contact information is included with this release.


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