BOND with Pidilite National Winners’ (SIBM Pune) Amazing Insights!

Pidilite, a consumer-centric Indian-origin company with a presence in 71 countries across the globe and 8+ manufacturing facilities outside of India is known for its pioneering products. And in a bid to reach the top talent in the nation, the Indian giant conducted BOND with Pedilite 2022, a business case competition. The participants here had the golden opportunity to solve real-life business challenges and walk away with exciting PPOs and PPIs. The competition saw 26,35,223 impressions and 9087 registrations. The event was a magnanimous success with Team Infinite Warriors from SIBM Pune sweeping away the winner's trophy. Below is a descriptive account of the journey from the champions themselves.

BOND with Pidilite was a call out to first-year students from 39 premier B-Schools in India. It was an opportunity that would let us prove our mettle in solving real-life business challenges and come up with innovative solutions to live problems. Pidilite is known for its marketing brilliance and we wanted to be a part of its expedition to excellence. So we- Isha Chauhan, Shantanu Sachdeva, and Sarthak Gupta, students from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) Pune banded together for this enlightening experience. Our team- Infinite Warriors consisted of the right mix of intellect and street smartness, and our 'never give up' attitude is what brought us to victory. Here is a brief of the journey that we took through this competition and what we gained out of it.

The Competition was Structured Well

We all loved the way the competition was conducted and structured. The implementation was also top-notch and everything went off without a hitch. It consisted of the following rounds:

1. Live Session- We got the opportunity to interact with Pidilite leaders, understand the case better and work on our solutions accordingly.
2. Round 1 (Case Submissions)- In this round, we had to submit a 2-pager solution for the given case problem.
3. Round 2 (Detailed Presentation and Ad Making)- Here we had to submit a detailed presentation of our solution, along with creating a social media ad of not more than 60 seconds
4. Round 3 (Finale Submission)- For the finals, we were required to submit our Final PPTs along with Ad submission.
5. Round 4 (Grand Finale)- In the finale, we presented our solution in front of Pidilite leaders.

During the competition, one of the panelists remarked, "The kind of knowledge they have about the products, it looks like someone gave them a cheat sheet." This was a special moment for us and it felt as if all the effort we put into conducting primary research had been rewarded. In the final submission round, the critical points highlighted by the judges were amazing, and they helped us better understand our research and process it optimally. Their feedback was golden and very insightful. This competition was also unique in a way that we had to prepare an advertisement, and this our creativity and innovation abilities to test. 

Conducting Ground Level Research

When participating in real-life business case competitions, having a deep understanding of the case problem is of utmost importance. So our strategy was to first understand the problem statement and the pain points of the stakeholders involved. For this, we conducted ground research in Pune where we connected with multiple dealers and architects for a week. The idea was to go beyond the surveys and get real information. We wanted to go to the ground level and understand how various stakeholders were dealing with various problems. A lot of market research was involved which culminated in the final result spanning over more than a month.

Once we were satisfied with the research, we started identifying ways to improve the market shares of Roff. The challenges we faced were mostly because the stakeholders were hesitant to give out more information and it took a lot of effort. But we managed to get all the required information through hard work, dedication, and persistence. It proves that ground research really does make a difference in producing the perfect solution and consequently winning a national-level case competition.

Insights we Gathered Through the Competition

There was a steep learning curve in the competition, something that we took full advantage of. We learned how crucial it is to conduct extensive primary research and comprehend the consumer journey in order to propose the best solutions. Things on the ground are generally quite different from what is normally perceived, hence understanding the stakeholder's plight in their own words gives the best view of the problem at hand. This exercise and thought process helped us get a practical understanding of how to address problems in the real world.

Also, the competition's structure was really unique and enlightening. For Round 2, we were required to design an ad campaign for social media. Preparing for this round gave us a lot of insights with respect to what goes into designing such campaigns and how to convert raw ideas and thoughts into ads. It was really fun to don our creative hats and prepare the ad campaign. As far as the competition goes, we loved the ad prepared by FMS Delhi, which was amazing and showed that they too had conducted thorough research.

How Team Diversity and Teamwork Led us to Victory

Our team's biggest plus point was that we had diversity in terms of skills and strengths. We all possess unique strengths, and distinctive perspectives and are what you’d call a mixed bag. Sarthak Gupta for example was the pusher in the team who took care of all the deadlines. He has a mathematical bent of mind which is why he handled all the financial aspects of the project brilliantly and was also the PPT designer. Shantanu Sachdeva brought bundles of creativity to our campaign and gave out amazing content. Last but not the least, Isha Chauhan was good at balancing the team and bringing out the crux of everything. She has a critical eye and was perfect at weighing the pros and cons. 

Each one of us will always treasure the opportunity to work together. We were good friends and shared a special bond, to begin with, but through this competition, we grew even closer. There were very few moments when we had a dispute among ourselves. This win was possible only because we managed to combine different points of view and when necessary give each other helpful feedback. It's safe to say that when teammates are empathic and understanding, conflict resolution is simple. We always accepted one another's contradictory viewpoints when they were supported by sound reasoning, and this made it possible for us to come to an agreement. 

Final Words About the Competition

The best moment for us during the whole competition was definitely the winning moment. All three is us were sitting in the same place. We were so excited when we heard our name, Team Infinite Warriors being announced that we jumped out of our chairs and got entangled in the wires. 

We’d like to add that the judgment quality was really good. The jury consisted of some of the most esteemed professionals from Pidilite including CXOs. Interacting with them and getting their feedback was the cherry on top. And to think that we were almost so close to not submitting our PPT for the finals. But as fate would have it we just went for it and finally won. This goes to show that it is very important not to give up till the very end. But also remember to have fun along the way. We kept each other grounded and focused. And also kept each other entertained throughout; there was never a dull moment. Words are not enough to summarize how amazing the BOND with Pedilite 2022 journey was for us. 

Had a fun time reading this inspirational story! Check out the following interesting articles as well:

1. Tips From 1st Runner-up (IIM B) Of The Governance Challenge 2022
2. How To Win Amazon ACE Challenge 2022 - By Team Pulsars (ISB)
3. Invaluable Insights From J&J Quest Season 10 Winners- Team NITIE
4. Mahindra Rise Challenge IIFT Winner Nishchal Pasari’s Story
5. ABFRL ShowStopper And Its Show Stopping Winners!