We are delighted to share the news that four of our MSc in Marketing & Creativity (MMK) students won prizes at the 2015 HEC Business Game event.

The HEC Business Game is designed to reveal and develop individuals capable of making a difference in business, both now and in the future. Participants were given real-life problems faced by companies today and challenged to solve them in a limited time as part of a team. The key to success was not only a creative approach to the problems at hand, but also a strong understanding of multicultural management and team-working skills.

Ceara Crawford, Martinho Miranda, Veronica Kiejnich and Noura Skaf attended the event in Paris on 10^th and 11^th April. Just 150 participants were selected from many more applicants worldwide.

Ceara and Martinho won the Lufthansa Innovation challenge, and Noura and Veronica the Maybelline & Air France challenge.

We asked Ceara to share the team’s experience:

“The games were very well attended by participants from around the globe. 150 participants were in attendance for the entirety of the weekend and, of the 150 attendees, Bocconi had the highest turnout of 50 students. Naturally, HEC had a large delegation of participants as well. The remainder of the participants were from schools all over the globe- Benelux to the United States!

“We all agree that this experience greatly increased our international understanding. Each of us worked with people from around the globe. Perhaps due to the lack of restrictions on EU nationals being able to study across Europe, we had the opportunity to hear many languages and learn about many different cultures. Our teams worked with people from Russia, Lebanon, Hungary, Italy and more!

“We were provided with ample time in which to network. Over meals and after the games each day, everyone from our team took the time to speak with the organisers, sponsors, and participants of the event. We spoke directly with representatives of Lufthansa and Lagardere, as well as other students. The entirety of the delegation, organisers, and support staff were so welcoming and friendly. This, partnered with the beautifully green campus, excellent and constant food, and the sunshine all weekend truly allowed us to appreciate France. We are all so looking forward to our next term of the MMK in Paris!

“The challenges themselves were highly competitive. Our initial challenge led us all to believe that we may not be up to par in terms of numerical sense – EBITA, Term Multiples, and so on. However, we were able to learn plenty from our teammates as to how to understand and work through the pages of Excel documents we were supplied with. Groups of six were crucial here to ensure the full skill set was utilised.

“Then came the negotiation, sponsored and led by Credit Agricole, which naturally we all prospered in. For this challenge, Martin and I had a very diverse group while Noura and Veronica were partnered with other ESCP Business School students, in teams of six. Obviously Noura and Veronica came out on top here, with their amazing win. Without the team function and communication skills we have honed at ESCP Business School none of us would have gotten through this competition. Noura and Vero have been very explicit about this challenge and where their strengths lay – that is in building the argument for brand valuation and the interpersonal negotiation skills. The skills we recently learned in our business to business class also aided this merger and acquisitions challenge. Noura and Veronica were able to keep greed and competitive advantage clear from their minds in an effort to make a fair and valuable proposition for both parties. The prize for winning this challenge was fancy football tickets to finals in Paris.

“On Saturday morning we found ourselves in teams of four working on innovation in the workplace for the Lufthansa-sponsored challenge. Martin and I started off with our typical MMK approach – brainstorming on flip chart paper. The giant room hosting our delegation buzzed with people walking around and looking for inspiration from other teams. Thankfully for us, our writing is so messy no one could read our ideas! Our team was completed by two Russian girls from Bocconi, and Martin impressed us all with his patience regarding the slight language barrier and skill at explaining ideas. We worked very well as a team and won!

“What won us this challenge were our all-encompassing ideas. That is, not one specific tactic; rather planning for their consolidated future. We went slightly off brief to show how the entire group, workplace, and eventually international brand image would be altered. They appreciated our forward thinking and explanations. We were chosen to verbally “pitch” this idea to six other teams. Our presentation was made directly to a strategy manager from the Lufthansa, who asked rather pertinent questions about our long-term ideas. The prize was very impressive, too: our team will be flown to the group’s headquarters in Frankfurt to present our case on innovation and receive tours of their corporate offices, cargo headquarters, and catering headquarters. We are very excited about this, and dates and details will be released soon.

“All in all, the HEC Business Games were very educational and allowed us to put our group work skills into practice while also showcasing our creativity. We each learnt that a good idea must be backed with a strong, long-term strategy, and that we do in fact bring value to the business place. Despite our initial concerns of not being up to par with the more technical students, our win rate proves that we add tangible value to any team in any tasked environment.

“Noura, Veronica, Martin and myself would like to thank Marie Taillard (MMK Academic Director), Peter Stephenson-Wright (MMK Programme Director), and Enrico Cocchi (Head of Student Careers, ESCP Business School London campus) for their support. Without yourhelp – financial sponsorship, classroom dedication, and the push to make us strong ESCP Business School students – we would not have attained the 100% success rate that we did.”

About the MSc in Marketing & Creativity

ESCP Business School’s MSc in Marketing & Creativity is an 18-month programme taught in English at our London and Paris campuses. Its groundbreaking curriculum integrates traditional lectures and creative industry seminars, as well as a professional internship, thesis, direct experience in a developing market, and consultancy project for a corporate client. The programme begins every January.

Aimed at postgraduates holding Honours degrees in any discipline, the MSc in Marketing and Creativity course offers all the elements of a high-level MSc programme and an innovative approach which places creativity at its very core. Our graduates excel in their subsequent dynamic careers by learning to unleash the value of creativity both in themselves and in those around them.

The creativity element is infused throughout the MSc in Marketing and Creativity’s 18-month programme and reflected in the illustrative cases and best practices from the creative industries. Specialist seminars on fashion, design, architecture, film, music, language, art, theatre and advertising are built in throughout thanks to our partnerships with UK and European beacons of creativity. Students benefit from studying in both London and Paris, two of the world’s recognised centres of creative excellence, as well as from the support of the School’s outstanding world-class faculty.

By pairing this unique focus with almost 200 years of expertise, we provide MMK students with one of the most striking, thought-provoking and – above all – career-broadening Marketing masters currently available.

About the HEC Business Game

The HEC Business Game is a competition that is organized by students from HEC Paris with the help of students from the Solvay Brussels School. The Solvay Business Game was created in 2007 by students and gathers annually 400 participants from all around Europe. Working with them, HEC Paris students decided to bring this concept to France to organize the first HBG edition in the2014-2015 academic year. Last year, the concept was also implemented in Switzerland where the Business Game St. Gallen was created.
The HEC Business Game takes part in the growing Alliance of European Business Games to contribute to the development of this strong network.

Useful links:

MSc in Marketing & Creativity
Creative London Summer Course