SPJIMR Mumbai Wins HUL L.I.M.E Season XIII; Team Bags INR 10,00,000 And A Ticket To Unilever Future Leaders’ League

“I remember getting a call from my teammate a few days after the HUL L.I.M.E Season XIII Grand Finale. It was a moment of jubilation as the three of us realized the magnitude of this achievement. We had emerged victorious in the entire country in one of the most elite marketing competitions in the world, with the help of our unique idea and strong pitch. It is a monumental win that will live in our memory for a long time”, says Debrup. Here is the story of how team Lemonade from SPJIMR Mumbai emerged as the winners of HUL L.I.M.E Season XIII.

As the news settled on us, we realized what lies ahead, a chance to represent India on the international stage through Unilever Future Leader's League. The perk of being associated with HUL as a L.I.M.E alumnus along with the monetary rewards was a great way of acknowledging this feat! We informed our family and close friends of this success and they were ecstatic to hear the news since they had seen the sacrifices and efforts we had put into the competition. Lastly, it was a proud moment for us to bring home the coveted title of L.I.M.E back to our institute SPJIMR Mumbai which supported our team immensely to prepare for the competition.

Getting in the L.I.M.E. light with our winning strategy 

As a team, we prepared for a duration of 1.5-2 months for the entirety of the competition. The initial submission of single-slider took a long time, as it was key to come up with the right idea for this round. We worked on the problem by focusing on the consumer problem that our idea was capable of solving. Then came the product characteristics followed by the consumer strategy and the marketing campaign strategy, ending with the financial feasibility of the product idea. 

What distinguished our idea from other finalist teams was the category we chose. While other teams targeted the sentiment of health and wellness, we were the ones who focused on the ice cream category to connect food and travel. This was something that hit the right note with the jury, as all of us have missed the experience of traveling and tasting the local flavors of dream destinations. In my opinion, this relatability resonated with the panelists and helped us win the finale.

Well, when life gives you lemons, you make Lemonade!

The virtual way of working was indeed a major challenge, as the ideas didn't flow so naturally initially when we were not together in the same place. Next, it took us a while to get to the required level of comfort as a team, in the online environment as the preparations began in the first term of our MBA journey. It was critical to identify each other's strengths and to brainstorm as many ideas as possible before going forward, and the online meetings did not hasten that. 

Added to that was the need to balance academics and other commitments along with the competition deadlines. The most challenging phase was the semi-final, as there was no scope for any errors in that round. We had to perfect all our creatives, financials, and overall presentation. We worked hard to perfect our pitch through constructive criticisms of our ideas, rehearsed practice of delivery, and feedback from marketing experts, college alumni, and high achievers in the previous seasons of L.I.M.E.

Ultimately, we can say that the common goal of doing well in L.I.M.E helped us overcome these challenges, as the three of us were equally determined to excel in this competition. That common desire to succeed helped us develop the right product innovation idea which ultimately won us the competition! 

Umm…not all things are lemony 

We also faced conflicts! Yes! There were definitely disagreements in the initial stages of the competition, but they were all healthy arguments that led us to the winning idea. In the execution stage, there were valuable debates on the best way to present our creatives to the jury.

Additionally, the financials took us a while to figure out, as there were many discussions to interpret what the numbers revealed and whether they were feasible for our pitch. Our differences were minute compared to our ambition, and we overcame these 'conflicts' through focused internal conversations and external feedback from expert well-wishers.

Marketing lessons from L.I.M.E

The learnings have been immense from L.I.M.E. The competition indeed lives up to its name, Lessons in Marketing Excellence. From the L.I.M.E journey, we learned the power of good ideas, how they can overshadow other elements of a presentation. We were also exposed to how consumer segmentation is executed and the way a marketing campaign is strategized end-to-end. 

L.I.M.E was the perfect platform to translate theoretical learning to real-world implications. We also learned how to build a short video ad that succinctly captured our product offering. Through the experience of L.I.M.E, we have definitely started to think laterally in my marketing ideas, keeping the consumers and their needs in the center.  

The L.I.M.E moments

We would like to share three special moments of our L.I.M.E journey. The first was the Eureka moment we had when we realized we had hit the right note with our product innovation idea. The second was the fun time we shared while making the video advertisement, with Pranjali acting in the ad along with my voiceover. 

The third special moment was when we made it to the final of L.I.M.E. It was a surreal moment that gave us an immense confidence boost to go and win the title after weeks of preparations. It was an honor to make it to the grand finale of L.I.M.E and the moment we received this news, it was really a special moment for our team!

And we are team Lemonade!

Our team's forte was the unanimity we shared with the idea that we finally presented in the competition. The three of us believed in our idea with equal determination, and that was reflected in our run-up to the competition finale. Individually, we all came with our set of strengths. 

Pranjali Rao offered her creative flair that distinguished our presentational with a video advertisement we built from scratch, while Nuzhat Tai perfected all the number crunching in the financial analysis that made a strong case to back up the success of our pitch. Debrup’s marketing acumen and the experience shared in HUL's Changemakers Program, was the last piece in the puzzle, that helped the team to match up to HUL's expectations in L.I.M.E. 

Overall, the strength of our idea was the USP of our team, coupled with the desire to succeed in this elite competition, which made us go all the way to clinch the trophy!

About HUL L.I.M.E Season XIII

We loved the structure and pattern of L.I.M.E, where the importance is on the quality of the idea and not aptitude skills of acing an MCQ test. The initial submission was in the form of a single-slider in which we had to briefly answer a set of questions prepared by HUL. The subsequent rounds were framed and organized well, with each round adding a level of complexity and increase in deliverables, which made the experience more challenging and rewarding at the same time. 

We were very happy to receive mentorship and support from senior leaders of HUL before the grande finale which had an amazing panel of highly respected industry stalwarts ranging from advertising, e-commerce to FMCG, technology, and media. Throughout the L.I.M.E experience, there was timely information provided by HUL. Kudos to the CNBC-TV 18 team for hosting and conducting the entire competition seamlessly in a virtual environment. 

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