HUL L.I.M.E. Case Study | Bringing The Brand Purpose Alive And Taking The Most Famous B-School Case Study Competition Global!

A heritage of over 80 years in India makes Hindustan Unilever Limited, a subsidiary of Unilever, the country’s largest FMCG company. With a broad portfolio consisting of 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as detergents, soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, skincare, deodorants, tea, coffee, cosmetics, packaged foods, water purifiers, and ice cream, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that 9 out of 10 Indian households use HUL products on a daily basis. 

The L.I.M.E. Story

HUL L.I.M.E. - Lessons in Marketing Excellence is famous as the country’s largest B-School challenge! Not only does it get televised on CNBC-TV18 but it also receives countless registrations from students across India. Open to select premier B-Schools of the country initially, this challenge brings together the brightest minds of the country, by providing participants with the opportunity to work on real-life and live business challenges. In an attempt to look out for the best young marketers, HUL L.I.M.E. has evolved over the years into one of the most sought-after challenges among students in business schools. 

This is not it though! HUL L.I.M.E. holds a precious legacy of 14 years! And in this span of time, this case study competition has grown tremendously. While the competition opened in the year 2010 for 12 prestigious MBA institutes in India, it gradually pivoted into the phenomena it is today by opening the gates to encompass 18 top B-Schools up until season 10 and finally, opened its doors for any and every B-School student in India in Season 12 through Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete). Not only that, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) helped HUL take the case study competition global! Today, the company has successfully concluded its 14th season with 21,136 registrations, 17,98,854 impressions and 36 PPIs offers!

Unstop slides into the frame

It was about three years back when HUL joined hands with Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) to build and grow the legacy of L.I.M.E. This was when Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) shared insights on how the pioneers in the B-School circuit can improve their brand purpose. Earlier, the name - Lessons in Marketing Excellence did not reflect the actual course of the competition, which is where Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) suggested that they rope in experts to talk about their beloved brands. This gave the audience a better picture of how brands were built from scratch and how brands like Dove became Dove in the first place.

Since then, the flag of HUL L.I.M.E. only rises higher every season. In fact, from Season 12 onwards, all the seasons witnessed a tremendous change when HUL L.I.M.E. in collaboration with Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) decided to take the competition global to include the Ivy League colleges. Along with this, at Unstop’s behest, the structure of the challenge was revamped, and thus elaborated to as many as 3 rounds apart from the virtual case launch. 

Another big change was the elimination of campus rounds, all colleges were at the same level throughout the competition. Earlier there used to be a concept of WILD card entries that was for all colleges outside a list of some premier colleges.

HUL L.I.M.E. encapsulated the following rounds

• Virtual Launch Event and Case Study Reveal: The event is launched virtually along with the release of the case study. 

• Stage 1- Opening Round: Sub-divided into A - Case Submission and B - Case Presentation, all registered teams were required to submit a one-slider solution and consequently a detailed PPT of their solution. The top teams got an opportunity to present their solutions to the jury consisting of senior leaders from HUL and CNBC-TV18.

• Stage 2 - Virtual Semi-Finale: A brief about the semi-finals was shared with the shortlisted teams which involved the logical steps in helping the participants sharpen their proposed ideas. Selected teams got the chance to present their solution to the jury comprising senior leaders from HUL.
  
  
• Stage 3 - Virtual Grand Finale: With a brief shared for the virtual grand finale, shortlisted teams had to tweak their ideas and then present their solutions to the final jury that comprised some of the most revered names of the country including advertising and marketing specialists and academicians.

The outcome

The results of the 12th, 13th, and 14th season of HUL L.I.M.E  have made a number of points apparent. 

• Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) promotion and execution team helped in strengthening the foundations of HUL L.I.M.E. such that the challenge today is considered one of the best amongst the B-School fraternity. 
• Students connected with their mentors and leaders from HUL which brought them closer to the organization, making them better understand the vision and mission of Hindustan Unilever Limited.

Amazing accomplishment! In Season 12, the registration count soared with the case study competition reaching a global audience. The challenge received such an overwhelming response on the global front that even the winning trophy of HUL L.I.M.E. 12 was bagged by the students of London Business School! 

HUL L.I.M.E. has upped the ante with a sizeable footprint on the global front. The challenge that earlier was restricted to a few premier B-Schools in India has today turned into the largest marketing case study competition to be conducted in the country and ranks amongst the best on the global level. And this is just the beginning of HUL L.I.M.E’s glorious journey. With 14 years in their pocket already, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) is all set to welcome future seasons of HUL L.I.M.E with a promise to deliver only the best!