The consumer packaged goods industry (CPG) is an appealing choice for MBA students considering their many career options. Brand management is a viable option for those who love marketing, leadership and product development.
Here are five major easons CPG brand management appeals to brilliant future business leaders the world over.
1) A big slice of pie. According to Investopedia, the CPG industry is valued at about $2 trillion in North America alone. Consumer goods have been in demand for decades and the industry shows no signs of shrinking any time soon.
2) It’s real. One major benefit of CPG is its tangible nature. In contrast to software products of the technology industry, for example, consumer products in the CPG line of work are physical objects. As such, brand managers get to work with products they can hold in their hands. This tangibility provides numerous advantages when it comes to marketing the products. Physical items make more appealing gifts for consumers’ loved ones. Also, tangible products offer the consumer a sensory experience through touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound–something that is much more difficult for software products to achieve. As such, physical products connect more powerfully to consumer emotions, memories and meaningful experiences than do intangible software products.
3) Leadership opportunities. In many CPG companies, marketers and brand managers are put on leadership tracks. This means ample leadership opportunities from the start. If these employees demonstrate growth and consistent results, promotions could lead them all the way to the executive level. At Proctor & Gamble, the CEO is almost always selected from among the company’s existing pool of talent, rather than hired from the outside.
4) Good reputation. Annual Surveys performed by The Reputation Institute consistently rank CPG companies in the top 25 most reputable companies in America.
5) Growth. The consumer packaged goods industry boasts large margins and strong balance sheets. While not recession-proof, CPG companies have performed well during hard times compared to other industries. CPG is a large industry that shows fairly consistent, steady growth over time.
These are just a few of the many reasons to love the consumer packaged goods industry as well as brand management. To learn more about CPG, stay tuned for my upcoming series “Know Your CPG”, which will highlight the MBA must-knows of the most influential CPG companies in the world.