The A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research

The A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research

A message from Kristin Branch, director of the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research

Year in Review 2013–2014

Information about our program, our students, and our alumni

Applied learning and class highlights

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

KRISTIN J. BRANCH Director of the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research

Wisconsin Greetings!

It’s hard to believe another academic year has come and gone! We are pleased to present this Year in Review, which highlights the year’s activities here at the A.C. Nielsen Center.

We continue to recruit and educate phenomenal students in the field of marketing research and consumer insights. Our students are graduating with great jobs at leading marketing-driven firms, like best-in-class consumer packaged goods manufacturers and leading retailers, pharmaceutical firms, and strategic research provider firms. You will see our strong internship and full-time job placement results with hiring firms listed in this annual report.

Our industry connections are essential for the Center’s continued strength, and we are grateful to our alumni, our External Advisory Board, and our industry partners for their tremendous support.

Please continue to share your industry successes and struggles, speak in our classrooms, mentor and hire our students, and help us continue to improve the premier marketing research MBA program!

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Enjoy the 2013–2014 Year in Review. Please reach out to me or Neeraj Arora, A.C. Nielsen Center academic director, if you have any questions or if there is anything the Center can do for you.

All my best, and Together Forward!

Kristin J. Branch Director of the A.C. Nielsen Center

ABOUT THE A.C. NIELSEN CENTER

History of the A.C. Nielsen Center The A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research, part of the Wisconsin MBA Program at the Wisconsin School of Business, was established in 1990 and is built on the legacy and funding of the Arthur C. Nielsen Jr. family, pioneers in the field of marketing research.

Housed in the A.C. Nielsen Center, the premier marketing research MBA program is developing the consumer insights leaders of tomorrow.

Mission of the A.C. Nielsen Center The mission of the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research is twofold: 1. Train MBA students in the specialized ideas, issues, and techniques of marketing research to develop valuable business contributions 2. Discover and disseminate new marketing research knowledge

NEERAJ ARORA Academic Director for the A.C. Nielsen Center

“The A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research continues to attract intellectually curious students who aspire to become leaders in the consumer insights industry. Our faculty and staff, dedicated advisory board, and extended family of loyal alumni are proud to help shape and mentor these bright, young minds.”

We’re delighted to announce that Sarah Kervin has joined the A.C. Nielsen Center as the program’s assistant director!

Sarah comes to the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. There she was academic and research specialist, and before that she worked as a logistics and planning coordinator for George Washington University. As you can see, she has a passion for higher education and is very happy to be returning to Madison, where she got her undergraduate degree in history.

“I am very excited to be back at UW and working with such amazing students, staff and faculty. I’m looking forward to a great first year and of course… On, Wisconsin!”

SARAH KERVIN

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THE CLASS OF 2016

INCOMING CLASS

2013

2014

2015

2016

49

39

46

50

Percent Admitted

26.5%

33.3%

43.4%

28%

Percent Accepted

84.6%

76.9%

60%

64.3%

ADMITTED STUDENTS

2013

2014

2015

2016

Average GPA

3.51

3.39

3.43

3.35

Average GMAT

693

696

677

670

Average Years of Work Experience

5.00

4.23

4.54

3.92

Percent Female

36%

70%

33%

33.3%

Number of Applicants

Curriculum for the Wisconsin MBA in Marketing Research SEMESTER 1

SEMESTER 2

Financial Accounting (3) Intro to Financial Management (3) Data Analysis & Decision Making (3) Marketing Management (3) Team Effectiveness & Management (2) Marketing Research (3) Current Topics Seminar (1)

Business Strategy (3) Operations Management (3) Economics for Managers (3) Quantitatively-Based Marketing Insights (3) Qualitative Models in Marketing (3) Current Topics Seminar (1)

SEMESTER 4

SEMESTER 3 Ethics & Social Responsibility (1) Consumer Behavior (3) Current Topics Seminar (1) Plus Customizable Electives

Red: Marketing Research–specific curriculum

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Scaling, Factor, & Cluster Analysis (3) Developing Breakthrough New Products (3) Marketing Strategy (3) Current Topics Seminar (1) Plus Customizable Electives

THE MBA DEGREE MARKETING RESEARCH The curriculum supporting a Marketing Research MBA from UW–Madison is truly outstanding.

While here, students receive a foundational MBA made up of core classes in accounting, finance, economics, and operations. But from their very first semester on campus they also take classes in their study of focus, like Marketing Research and Quantitative Models in

Marketing, taking the learning to a depth not offered by general MBA programs. We also offer our Current Topics class in all four semesters. Current Topics shows students how learning in the classroom is being applied at Fortune 500 companies. The classes also provide in-depth information about areas in which students are likely to be working after they receive their MBAs.

Current Topics Highlights CHICAGO FIELD TRIP WITH ORBITZ

PRICING! WITH PROFESSOR NOAH LIM

After consulting Orbitz.com (where we found some spectacular deals), we decided to visit Orbitz-Chicago and see how they market to their consumers! And oh, what a wonderful day of learning we had. Not only did we discover how their consumer insights and marketing departments worked together, but we were also treated to tips from a panel of executives on how to be a strong leader. Lots of people can say they are leaders, but understanding the characteristics recruiting teams look for really helped students create a game plan for how to gain that experience and then leverage it.

In Spring 2014 we brought in the renowned Professor Noah Lim to teach a special session to our students about pricing. He led an exercise where the students were immersed in a prisoner’s dilemma—do you cooperate or compete? The results of the session were staggering, with all teams deciding to compete. Professor Lim did a great job adding layers to the session above and beyond the typical prisoner’s dilemma to really twist a student’s perception of how to understand value price. It was a great learning experience.

Field trip with Orbitz and the Brand Center Pricing applied learning with Professor Noah Lim

KYLE NAFF (MBA ’15)

“When to use marketing research? In discussing this question, Orbitz told us they did not use marketing research to choose which famous fictional character’s persona to use in advertising or to test certain ads. There are times, they said, when the creative and brand teams need to make decisions based on where they want the brand to go, because research may sometimes keep teams from pursuing riskier strategies. It was very interesting.”

BRUCE COURTNEY (MBA ’14)

“The most important price is the first price. It sets the tone for your positioning, your product’s success, how competitive you are, and your brand. Focusing on your EVC from the beginning is key in understanding a customer’s willingness to pay for your product or service.”

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CLASS PLACEMENT

CLASS OF 2014 FULL-TIME PLACEMENT

BRUCE COURTNEY

TRACY DION

JUSTIN HAWKINS

MARINA MALLER

BONNIE PUTNAM

SALLY SA

TED SUN

ELIZA SWEDENBORG

Seeking in China

JOANNA WEISS

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AMY WOULFE

Sponsorship to Singularity University

CLASS OF 2015 INTERNSHIP PLACEMENT

KELLY GOLDTHORPE

STEPHEN GRIFFITHS

ASHISH KHANDELWAL

XIAOFEI LI

KYLE NAFF

FIONA SEVERSON

TR SNYDER

JEREMY SOUTHARD

JENNY ULVESTAD

SIMON LI

ZACH SMITH

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ALUMNI UPDATE

GRADUATING CLASS

2011

2012

2013

2014

Class size

12

14

11

10

Job placement*

12

13

11

8

Median base salary

$81,425

$86,792

$94,273

$95,600

Median signing bonus

$15,368

$15,615

$18,291

$27,017

*Includes placement within three months of graduation

INTERNATIONAL 11% 26 alumni

MIDWEST 57% 144 alumni

EAST 13% 32 alumni

WEST 12% 29 alumni

SOUTH 7% 18 alumni

GAIL CASEY Consumer Insights Associate, General Mills (MBA ’12)

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“I knew the Nielsen Center was for me because of its focus on marketing research. It’s the perfect blend of a general full-time MBA and a very specialized degree in marketing research. It really brings it all together.”

EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD

The A.C. Nielsen External Advisory Board is made up of executives who ensure the Center stays up to date on what’s important to the marketing industry. They guide the Center in making sure we’re providing our students with the best education possible, and they also advise students on their careers. The Board is truly what sets our program apart.

Karen Ba (Alumni Rep) Partner StrataVerve

Vidyotham Reddi Consumer Insights Director General Mills

Bill Bean WW Director of Global Shopper Insights & Trade Research Colgate Palmolive

Tanya Schooley Director, Consumer Insights & Strategy Kraft

Beth Bubon Director of Analytics PepsiCo – Quaker Division

Greg Smith Associate Director Johnson & Johnson – McNeil

Yogesh Chavda Global GRMA Director, Family Care Kimberly-Clark

Diane Surette Executive Vice President, Client Services Burke, Inc

Steven M. Cooley Executive Director Market Research & Analytics Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois

Stacey Symonds Sr. Director, Consumer Insights Orbitz Worldwide

Merrill Dubrow President and CEO M/A/R/C Research

Bryan Vaughn Director, Global Business Insights Johnson & Johnson – Ethicon

Jim Greco Senior Vice President – North American Professional Services The Nielsen Company

Ron Weidemann Partner & Client Services Manager Answers Research

Lisa Gudding Executive Vice President GfK Custom Research

FRIENDS OF THE CENTER

David Guenthner Senior Director, Insights & Consumer Strategy Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Anshu Gupta Director, Global Market Research Eli Lilly and Company Amy Harding Associate Director, Customer & Market Knowledge Procter & Gamble Randall Janisch Manager, Advanced Product Research Ford Motor Company Jim Lane Vice President – Client Service Directions Research, Inc. Elaine Madansky Senior Strategist Global Consumer & Market Insights Wrigley

Dennis Degeneffe Owner & Principal Consultant Consumer Centric Solutions, LLC Ann Dencker Director of Insights & Strategic Research Hiebing Jeff Drake Retired Bob Drane Partner Growth Catalysts, Inc. Jay Luttrell Managing Partner GrowthSpeed Partners, LLC Donna Neal Retired

Paul Metz Senior Vice President C&R Research Services, Inc. Kyle Nel (Alumni Rep) Head of Innovation Labs Lowe’s Home Improvement Lynn Ray Director, Global Strategic Insights Johnson & Johnson – Vision Care, Inc.

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JOIN US AT THE A.C. NIELSEN SUMMIT

SAVE

THE DATE APRIL 23–24, 2015

2015 Alumni & Friends Summit: The New Marketing Research Frontier DATE: April 23–24, 2015 LOCATION: 975 University Avenue, Grainger Hall, Madison, WI 53706 Every other year, the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research invites our alumni and select friends back to the University of Wisconsin–Madison for continued learning on current topics and trends in the marketing research industry. The 2015 Alumni & Friends Summit will focus on showcasing

emerging research methodologies and changing technologies at the forefront of marketing research.

Speakers and workshops will address a wide variety of topics including big data mining, neuroscience, mobile technologies and much more.

Learn More: go.wisc.edu/acnielsensummit2015

WHY SHOULD I ATTEND? • Reconnect with classmates and alumni • Experience in-depth learning, networking, and community building in an intimate setting • Hear fresh perspectives from leading industry experts • Improve leadership skills • Network, make new contacts, and share ideas

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WHO IS INVITED? • • • • •

Marketing research alumni Current marketing research students UW–Madison’s marketing faculty External advisory board Industry partners

RECRUITING PARTNERS

A special thanks to our notable recruiting partners from this past year:

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STAY IN TOUCH CENTER STAFF

ACADEMIC POLICY COMMITTEE

NEERAJ ARORA

NEERAJ ARORA

JACK NEVIN

John P. Morgridge Chair in Business Administration and Academic Director for the A.C. Nielsen Center narora@bus.wisc.edu 608-262-1990

John P. Morgridge Chair in Business Administration and Academic Director for the A.C. Nielsen Center

Professor Emeritus and Academic Director for the Grainger Center

JAN HEIDE

KRISTIN BRANCH

Irwin Maier Chair of Marketing Professor of Marketing

Director kbranch@bus.wisc.edu 608-262-9116

NOAH LIM

CRAIG THOMPSON Gilbert & Helen Churchill Professor of Marketing

Associate Professor of Marketing

SARAH KERVIN Assistant Director skervin@bus.wisc.edu 608-263-4804

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