insead africa initiative: marketing plan ideas idfp january – april 2008 martinez, jorge;...

INSEAD Africa Initiative: INSEAD Africa Initiative: Marketing Plan IdeasMarketing Plan Ideas

IDFP January – April 2008IDFP January – April 2008

MARTINEZ, Jorge; RAMONEDA, Igor; SCHMIDT, Sandra; SOROKINA, MargaritaMARTINEZ, Jorge; RAMONEDA, Igor; SCHMIDT, Sandra; SOROKINA, Margarita

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AgendaAgenda

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Interviewing African students and alumni

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IDFP Project Plan – structuring the problem

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Background: Making the Case for Africa

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Suggestions for next steps for marketing

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AgendaAgenda



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Business Activity in Africa is Growing…

ODA: Official Development Assistance; FDI: Foreign Direct Investment

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0.7 1.43.8

6.88.7 9.9

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Source: UN, Previous IAI Team Analysis

Proportion of People Living in Extreme Poverty in the Developing World 2004% of population living below international poverty line of $1.00 per day

…and can have a Large Social Impact

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E. Asia

S. Asia

Middle East

Africa

S. America

N. America

W. Europe

C&E Europe

E. Asia

S. AsiaMiddle East

Africa

S. America

N. America

W. EuropeC&E Europe

Population of the World INSEAD students

Source: Loic Sadoulet

Increasing African Participation is VITAL to maintain INSEAD’s competitive advantage and positioning as

However, at INSEAD, Africa is drastically underrepresented

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0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

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Asia

Source: INSEAD internal data, Previous IAI Team Analysis

MBA Participants from Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

% MBA Participants

Sub-Saharan Africa

Progress has been made to increase Asian representation, however African representation has not improved

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Phase 1 Working Teams

Frank Brown, Soumitra Dutta

Steve Cutts Helen Henderson

Steering Committee

Financing Marketing

Local Advisory and Action committees

Loic Sadoulet+ Luk van

Wassenhove

Content

Chris Redo+ Alex Dembitz

Fund raising

Market Development

Source: Loic Sadoulet

IDFP Focus

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Client

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The Africa Initiative was put in place to increase African Talent and Content as well as to widen International Networks

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AgendaAgenda


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GOAL: Support the INSEAD Africa Initiative (IAI) marketing initiative by identifying activities to increase sub-Sahara African student representation to 50 students/year within three to five years of implementation

CONTEXT: •Project as a sub-component of INSEAD Africa Initiative

•Marketing activities done to date by Helen•Previous IDFP team’s work

•Lack of Awareness of INSEAD within Africa•Lack of Awareness of Africa within INSEAD•Africa-specific challenges

STAKEHOLDERS: •Client: Steve Cutts•Additional Africa Initiative stakeholders: Helen Henderson, Loic Sadoulet•Current & Future INSEAD students, faculty and staff•Current & Future African INSEAD participants•Alumni•Recruiters•African Businesses and Organizations

CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS: •Identification of major hurdles in marketing of INSEAD in Africa•Creation of creative solutions from interviewing students & alumni•Outline of approximate cost and implementation suggestions for each idea

OUT OF SCOPE: •Actual Implementation•Financing solution•Internship and career opportunities•Targeting entire African continent•Changing INSEAD application requirements•Establishing partnerships

BARRIERS: Potential lack of data, knowledge and expertise & funding challenges

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DESCRIPTION OF DELIVERABLE: Marketing Plan will include a several new initiatives targeting different geographical areas and adaptable for various budget levels. Ideally transferrable to areas not specifically targeted as part of this project.

Identify Eligible Population

Raise Awareness

Increase Interest/ Applications

Interview & Acceptance

Attendance

Considerations:•Geographic targeting•Socio-economic targeting•Partnerships with schools (feeder schools for long term?)•Partnerships?

Considerations:•Awareness of MBA•Awareness of INSEAD•INSEAD value proposition

Considerations:•Coaching•GMAT centres•Scholarships•Alternative options•France/Singapore (language requirement?)

Considerations:•Logistics•Visas, integration into France•Financing•Core requirements (GMAT, language, etc.) will not be changed

Considerations:•Sustainability•Ensuring success of student support network?•Alumni relations•INSEAD reputation in long-run

Out of Scope’

Area of focus of this project

Identifying the problem: Where are we loosing people?Identifying the problem: Where are we loosing people?

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• Focus on two countries (Nigeria and South Africa) as ‘hubs’ for South Africa and West Africa

• Develop plan that can be rolled out to other countries, as desired

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Market Sizing

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Rationale behind Country Choice

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Focus

• GMAT centres• Geopolitical Stability• Alumni & Student population• Business maturity & future potential• Potential partnerships

• Existing business schools – profile (size, price, location)• Other international business schools - % African student population• Benchmarking of other business schools Africa Initiatives

We recommend that the marketing effort focus on Nigeria and South Africa for the first one to three years and then expand to other African countries

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Not SSA

GMAT

stable

v. stable

Easy

Moderate

Ease of doing business

INSEAD relationships

• GMAT centres exist in multiple Sub-Sahara African countries…

• …however, only some countries are currently geo-politically stable…

• … with some countries portraying more advanced current business practices as well as quicker future growth potential

Source: doingbusiness.org; gmac.edu; economist.com; IAI team analysis

Country specific issues

• Alumni

• Current Students

• Potential partnerships

• South Africa • 310 Alumni • 63 MBA Alumni• 4 current MBAs

• Nigeria • 91 Alumni• 7 MBA Alumni• 5 current MBAs

• Kenya • 30 Alumni • 8 MBA Alumni

• Undergraduate Institutions

• Graduate Institutions

• International Organizations

• Companies

Nigeria and South Africa are ideal first choices for focus of marketing effort

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Top Business Schools in South Africa:Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School ofBusiness University of StellenboschWits Business School(Various other MBA programs are offered at other AABS

accredited schools across Africa)

Current international demand – few students go abroad

Source: Worldbusinesslive.com; AABS; mba.co.za, IAI team analysis

Great local schools exist

• Harvard (2% of class of 900; 2 years; $74K*2)• Wharton (4% (incl. ME) of class of 800; 2 years; $73K*2) • Stanford (unknown% of class of 380; 2 years; $75K*2)• LBS (5% (incl. ME) of class of 540; 15-21 months; $88K

[£45K])• HEC (unknown% of class of 200; 16 months; $88K

[€60K])• IMD (8% of class of 90; 1 year; $63K [58K CHF]• INSEAD (2% of class of 2*460; 10 months; $73K [€50K])

• Lower Fees: between €3,000 and €12,000• Duration: 1 – 5 years, part-time; full-time; distance learning (flexibility)• Application Requirements: virtually all require either GMAT or an alternative test, English•UCT ranked by FT as emerging market top 5 and global rank #63

• <2% of MBA students are African students at other top schools• Equates to <100 students/year• ~30-35 students in Nigeria and S. Africa complete GMATs with >650/year•International schools are significantly more expensive

In S. Africa, ~4,000 MBAs/year are granted (growing steadily). Internationally, ~100 African students/year at top MBA programs

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0% post-MBA jobs in Africa

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Harvard Business School: • 2 admission events in Africa per year • Africa Business Club (1997)• Africa Trek • Annual Africa Business Conference (800 people incl. prominent African figures)

Wharton Business School: • 6 admission events in Africa per year • WASA (Wharton African Student Association, 1999)• African Business Forum & Speaker Series • African Global Immersion Program (3-weeks field trip) and case about Africa in MBA program

London Business School: • 3 MBA Admission events in Africa per year• 1 scholarship for African students• Alumni association activities in SA and Nigeria

Stanford Graduate School of Business: • 3 admission events in Africa per year • Africa Business Club • Black Community Service Centre

While most top b-schools have an Africa Initiative like program, these are run with various degrees of success and generally feel like ‘high hype, low return’

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AgendaAgenda

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INTERVIEW PROCESSWe focused initially on interviewing African MBA students and alumni to identify the root causes of the dearth of Sub-Sahara African applications and the major bottlenecks in the application process

Eligible Population

Aware of MBA

Not Aware of MBA

Interested in MBA

Not Interested in MBA

Aware of INSEAD

Not Aware of INSEAD

Not Interested in INSEAD

Interested in INSEAD

Financial Reasons

Location Reasons

Other Reasons

Not considered a personal option

Doesn’t know what an MBA is

Alumni (6)

Current Student (10)

Prospective

Profile

Awareness

Application Process

Choice

Who should INSEAD target during the marketing process?

How should INSEAD target the eligible population? What channels should we use to increase awareness?

How can INSEAD facilitate the process for potential candidates?

What is INSEAD’s value proposition ?How should INSEAD communicate its value proposition?

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The Types of Questions asked during Interview Process to identify focus areas for marketing

• Nationality• Education• Experience

• Of MBA Programs• Of INSEAD• Sources of information (fairs, press, university, company, relationships…)

• Main barriers & difficulties (GMAT, financing, coaching, VISA)

• Criteria for choosing INSEAD vs. other schools (reputation, time, geography, global exposure, networking, scholarships...)

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Profiles of Interviewees: The INSEAD African alumni and student population is diverse in terms of nationalities as well as educational and professional backgrounds

Nationalities: •S. Africa

•2 alumni•4 MBAs

•Nigeria•1 alumni•1 EMBA alumni•3 MBAs

•Zimbabwe•1 alumni•1 MBA

•Kenya – 1 alumni•Ghana – 1 MBA•Cameroon – 1 MBA

Backgrounds: •Masters in Engineering - 3•Electrical Engineering - 2•Mechanical Engineering - 2•Chemic Engineering•Information Systems•Computer Science•Physics•Economics & Philosophy

Undergraduate Institutions: •UCT (ZAR) – 2•University of Natal - 2•Obafemi Awolowo University (NGA) – 2 •USA (2)•UK (1)•Nairobi University (NGA)•Schlumberger Well Completion School (NGA)•Cape Town University (ZAR)•Pretoria University (ZAR)•National University of Science and Technology (Zimbabwe)

Companies: •Accenture – 2•Celtel•Ericsson•Exxon Mobil•Schlumberger•Shell•SPAR•Unilever•Mining

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Results from the Interviews indicated that the main problem was one of lack of awareness of INSEAD

Identify Eligible Population

Raise Awareness

Increase Interest/ Applications

Interview & Acceptance

Attendance

PROBLEM ARISES AT THE AWARENESS JUNCTURE IN THE FUNNEL-Once a student has decided to pursue the MBA at INSEAD, the remainder of the funnel process is less challenging

-Financing is important but a manageable hurdle. Scholarships must scale up in tandem with more African students. Potential for financing solutions are important condition during application process

-GMAT process is manageable. Eventually development of coaching/preparation would be helpful.

-Visa issue is manageable. More administrative support during the acceptance process, especially from alumni would be helpful. INSEAD has some relationships to help with this.

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Interviews shed light on some of the main reasons for choice of INSEAD

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Alumni (ambassadors,

"success stories")

Corporate partnerships

(ExecEd network?, cases?)

Media & PR (financial journals &

online)

Academic institutions (satellite

school, guests)

Improve funding communication

Govt. Alliances

Interviewees suggested various channels for Africa Initiative marketing

Target "pipeline" (undergrads, also in

Europe)

South Africa

• INSEAD on par with local, well established school

•Financing: Govt. FULL support (tuition & living) for S.

Africans studying locally

•Local programs allow flexibility (part time)

•Word of mouth (esp. alumni)

•Niche awareness (Nedbank)

•MBA ≠ salary jump

•Confusion due to recent proliferation of ‘bad’ B.S.

•Demand is there (75% of CEOs from S. African stock

market have MBA, but all local MBAs)

Nigeria

•Less well established local

schools

•MBA = “elite culture" only

•Niche awareness (oil

industry)

•INSEAD = French !!

•Visa (easier than in UK)

•Financing (easier in UK)

•Word of mouth (esp.

alumni)

Other countries

•Similar to Nigeria

•Level of English

(TOEFL) can be barrier

in non-ex English

colonies

•Financing, GMAT,

interviews, VISA more

of an issue than in

Nigeria and S. Africa

Other issues

•Most MBA students want to come back to Africa, but not immediately after MBA

•Content: while more POSITIVE content on Africa would be appreciated, there are not enough “success stories” from developing worlds (BRIC, etc.)

•More post MBA career choices in Africa – not just oil, consulting or banking

•INSEAD students are unrepresentative of African population – interviewing non-INSEAD alumnus/student population is recommended

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Interviews highlighted differentiated challenges for marketing in each country

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AgendaAgenda





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Analyzing the Awareness Issue more closely, we thus recommend focusing marketing on different areas for each country:

1) people who would benefit from an MBA but are not interested/unaware of the MBA proposition; 2) people who want to do an MBA but either don’t know INSEAD, have incorrect information or don’t

understand the value proposition

Raise Awareness

Eligible Population

Aware of MBA

Not Aware of MBA

Interested in MBA

Not Interested in MBA

Aware of INSEAD

Not Aware of INSEAD

Not Interested in INSEAD

Interested in INSEAD

In South Africa, the Problem is one of INSEAD brandingThere is sufficient demand to pursue an MBA, INSEAD is however not able to capture the market that exists

In Nigeria, the problem is lack of awareness of the MBA as a value proposition

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Step 1: Educate corporations on benefits of partnering with INSEAD through EMBA, ExecEd and AMP programs

Sales pitch (short < 2hr) at major South African corporations emphasizing value proposition of INSEAD

Leverage strength of existing partnerships & alumni base Potential for case-study work at successful S. African companies to reinforce

relationships and to create relevant African content Needs to be done frequently & consistently

Step 2: Leverage strong alumni base from Executive programs in order to increase awareness of benefits of an INSEAD MBA in comparison to a local MBA

Word of Mouth – bringing INSEAD Top of Mind when a student is considering an MBA

Understanding of leaders & corporations in S. Africa of benefits of INSEAD’s value proposition, facilitating choice of INSEAD over local MBA

Encourage interaction of EMBA/ExecEd programs with MBA students when on campus to highlight INSEAD MBA benefits

In South Africa we recommend focusing marketing efforts at creating the buzz ‘top down’ by initially targeting potential Executive Education candidates

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Step 1: Selection of 80-100 participantsPreselected candidates:

Top five students at local undergraduate & graduate schoolsGMAT takers with scores above 650 30 “High potential” candidates identified and recommended by local alumni (ExecEd, EMBA and MBA)

Media campaign candidatesCampaign to be launched 2 months prior to event Advertising in Business section of local newspapersRadio advertising: INSEAD sponsorship of relevant business / news broadcastsAdvertising on INSEAD website

Step 2: Program for “A day in the life of an INSEAD MBA” Offered twice a year in Lagos – 120/130 people event

Attendance of INSEAD faculty (2); current MBAs (2); INSEAD recruitment/marketing staff (1); local alumni (10+)Program:

- 1 open lecture by INSEAD faculty- 1 interactive class with case study and group work. Include prize for winning team. - Overview of the structure and content of MBA program: academics, international dimension, social life- Presentation of personal experience at INSEAD by current MBA students and local alumni - Admission coaching session (GMAT, application, recommendation letters, interviews, visa requirements) and strong emphasis on financing options

- Q&A session + networking with faculty, alumni, current student and INSEAD admission / marketing team

Partnership / co-hosting with local strong corporation

In Nigeria, we suggest highlighting the benefits of an MBA in general and INSEAD in particular by offering “A day in the life of an INSEAD MBA”

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Corporations & Partnerships

Governments & International Institutions

Academic Institutions

Alumni

Initial focus Initial focus on increasing on increasing awareness of awareness of INSEAD brandINSEAD brand

Media & PR

• Local Newspapers• Local editions of Business Journals• Undergrad/grad newsletters• Radio• Internet

INSEAD should also leverage “traditional” channels to increase awareness

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Develop a clear strategy for IAI as a whole and receive buy-in from key internal stakeholders

Dedicate a full time employee to support INSEAD Africa Initiative

Allocate an ‘earmarked’ budget for African initiative separate from marketing budget

Increase awareness of Africa within INSEAD by hosting an ‘Africa Day’ and publicizing the Initiative and its background & rationale internally – leverage Ujamaa (African Club) and partnerships with corporations

Improve the financing options (scholarships, student loans, agreements with corporations) to minimize its effect as the main hurdle to recruitment

Conduct additional interviews, especially with students who did NOT choose to attend INSEAD, to better target marketing plan

Develop a clear strategy for IAI as a whole and receive buy-in from key internal stakeholders

Dedicate a full time employee to support INSEAD Africa Initiative

Allocate an ‘earmarked’ budget for African initiative separate from marketing budget

Increase awareness of Africa within INSEAD by hosting an ‘Africa Day’ and publicizing the Initiative and its background & rationale internally – leverage Ujamaa (African Club) and partnerships with corporations

Improve the financing options (scholarships, student loans, agreements with corporations) to minimize its effect as the main hurdle to recruitment

Conduct additional interviews, especially with students who did NOT choose to attend INSEAD, to better target marketing plan

Next Steps

insead africa initiative: marketing plan ideas idfp january – april 2008 martinez, jorge;...

Documents

africa suggestions

marketing of insead

marketing slide

africa lack of awareness

interviewing african

african representation

margarita slide

improved slide