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

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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. Initially open to select premier B-Schools from the county, the challenge today allows participation from all national and select global B-schools,

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 15 years! In this span of time, the competition for this case study has grown tremendously.

While the competition opened in the year 2010 for 12 prestigious MBA institutes in India, it gradually pivoted into the phenomenon it is today. It was in Season 10, when it first hosted on Unstop, that L.I.M.E opened the registration window to encompass 18 top B-Schools. Finally, it 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 15th season with 20,486 registrations, 28,26,093 impressions, and 57 PPI offers!

Unstop slides into the frame

It was five years back when HUL joined hands with Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) to build and grow the legacy of L.I.M.E with its tenth season. 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. has continuously risen 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 three 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 for all colleges outside a list of some premier colleges.

HUL L.I.M.E.: The Round Details

• 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. It 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 in the country, including advertising and marketing specialists and academicians.

The outcome

The results of the last five seasons of HUL L.I.M.E have made a number of points apparent. 

• The Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete) promotion and execution team helped strengthen the foundations of HUL L.I.M.E., making the challenge today 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 and made 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 globally. With a 15-year legacy and continued collaboration with Unstop's ever-growing student community, HUL L.I.M.E’s glorious journey is set to reach even greater heights. 

Looking for a novel engagement for your branding or hiring needs? Then reach out to coffee@unstop.com