Lara Marto: MBA PepsiCo Intern

Hello everyone! I have a very dear friend in the MBA program who wanted to share her internship experience with all of you, and hopefully you will enjoy her perspective from an international internship! So without further ado, I introduce you to Lara Marto, 2nd year MBA student from Jordan who is concentrating in marketing. Enjoy!

Now that my internship is approaching its end, I’m reflecting on my 8-week summer internship and thinking of the opportunities ahead. The idea of interning in my home country, Jordan, was interesting but when I got accepted to intern for one of the biggest companies internationally, PepsiCo International, I was very pleased. I must say that it is far less stressful when you’re starting an internship at home, because you know what to expect, where you’ll stay and how to get around. Nonetheless, the experience you get is different and unique.

Located in the heart of the capital city Amman, the PepsiCo building comprises all of the company’s functional departments except for the operations department which is concentrated in PepsiCo’s production plant located 45 minutes away by car.

The first 2 weeks of my internship were very stimulating; I had orientation sessions concerning different functions in the company and how overall objectives are fulfilled in a  Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) company. This gave me a new perspective on how marketing can differ from industry to industry, and PepsiCo’s were very different than my previous experience in the telecommunications industry.

 

PepsiCo in Jordan produces beverages only; food products are imported from neighboring countries. PepsiCo brands in Jordan are the leaders over Coca Cola brands due to their earlier introduction to the Jordanian market which therefore provided higher shares and consumer loyalty. In the marketing department, I had various responsibilities ranging from visiting the market to making agreements with strategic partners to data analysis. As it is summer time, sponsorships and branding comprise the biggest chunk of work, in addition to monitoring the monthly KPIs and figures related to media and advertising.  After spending some days at the advertising and media agencies that PepsiCo works with, I got the full picture of how the final products are introduced to the market while maintaining the spirit and look and feel of the products and parent company.In preparation for the football (soccer) EuroCup Championship, Pepsi products and giveaways, such as horns and clappers, were given away for free at different events and viewing parties in order to achieve the highest presence and reach to consumers. I was engaged in market visits to assure proper implementation and protection of brand values. Getting feedback first hand from our customers and consumers is the key to future planning and meeting market needs. This is essential during promotions and activations specifically, which aids in analyzing sales, relationship surveys, and getting a better understanding of the customer at that point of purchase.

The last couple of weeks I mined data from monthly reports and prepared PowerPoint slides showing relationships and trends featuring the past two years in the Jordanian market. This was much appreciated as my manager welcomed a fresh outlook on the business.

My overall experience was very insightful, I got to learn about the business, share my own ideas and make friendships.

See you soon in Syracuse!

Lara Marto