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Venus Project

Background
The P&G Venus project is the result of a cooperation between two courses: “Product innovation and market creation” and “Understanding consumer ”, from the Marketing Management Master of Science, during the a.y. 2011-2012.

Brief
The projects focused on the brand Venus (Gillette) and students were asked to provide an answer to one main question: “What are the biggest opportunities for Gillette to expand in the female segment with the Venus brand?”

In order to provide an answer to this question, students (organized into 30 teams) had to run several studies and market research studies in order to: first of all, assess the competitive landscape, meaning deeply investigating the category to identify growth opportunities in the same or other segments; then, understand the target(s) to drive long-term growth of the actual and emerging products. 

Starting from the insights which emerged from these analyses, students developed new ideas and product concepts to enter the chosen segment and tested then within the target in order to identify the product to launch. A marketing mix strategy for the “winning” concept was then developed in order to support the product introduction into the market, from communication to pricing through distribution. 

At the end of the course, projects were presented to the company and evaluated by both professors and the P&G’s representatives.

The winning project, proposed by team 10 from class 7 (formed by Abbasi Shahrzad, Iatì Domenico, Marra Alessandra, Merchionne Umberto, Mudugno Viola and Pandolfi Michele), through a deep investigation of both women’s needs and attitudes and the hair removal market was able to identify four product concepts: goodness razors, emphasizing the aesthetic side of razors; Venus Travel, meeting the needs of a dynamic  target through a partnership with a Nivea brand: everything you need for hair removal, in every place and time; B-Touch, a fast, practical and inexpensive solution for pre and post-hair removal treatment; Epil Glove, a hair removal method characterized by delicacy and effectiveness with exfoliating and massaging effects, transforming hair removal in a cuddling and relaxing moment. After a qualitative and quantitative consumer concept test, the team developed a marketing mix for the launch of the most attractive concept: Epil Glove, “smooth with a caress”.   

P&G promotes from within company which means it is critical for the company’s success that we recruit only the very best talent from across the world and this is why we invest so much in training and developing them. 

For this reason, we intentionally create activities where we expose students to real business cases. Through the lens of our Consumer and Market Knowledge (CMK) frameworks, we equip them with techniques and ask them to tackle a specific business challenge. This is a very intense process where students have the unique opportunity to act as managers in P&G and have multiple contacts with the company. This helps both sides: students have direct experience if the real working environment, while P&G can better assess students’ abilities and potential.

I personally held several cases and I have always been impressed by the quality and creativity of thinking. Throughout the months of the projects, students really absorbed what is it like to work as CMK experts in such an exciting company and came up with innovative and very actionable business recommendations. I am now pleased to have as colleagues some of the students that particularly stood out during these experiences.

Given our success over the years of recruiting future leaders of our company through leading Italian universities such as Bocconi we hope to continue and develop our relationship with the establishment for many years to come.
P&G Manager


Last modified 10/12/2023 - 10:33:49