LOreal is a large CPG company and has built, maintained, and adjusted its marketing capabilities over time. Students are to examine the top capabilities of LOreal, probing why and how these strengths emerged. Think about potential tradeoffs that come with those choices. Think about comparison firms (i.e., Proctor & Gamble (P&G)) and executing different strategies or capabilities, as well as potential competitor reactions. Also think about the blend of efforts and investments needed to build capability, including time, metrics, and monetary investment.

(1) What are the cornerstones of LOreals marketing?

(2) How is LOreal executing the strategy?

(3) What are the tradeoffs?

(4) What are the trends in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) marketing?

(5) What type of marketing (performance-driven or emotional) is more effective?

(6) How are CPG companies doing in experimenting with digital advertising?

(7) Compare LOreal to another CPG firm in terms of each firms marketing capabilities. How does the role of marketing and the firms marketing capabilities drive innovations, strategy, and determine differentiating characteristics of a product?

(8) What happens if competitors imitate LOreals marketing? How should, they react?