Marketing strategy meets Unilever brands in new experiential learning opportunity

April 29, 2025

In the 2024–25 academic year, the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics launched a dynamic new experiential learning initiative within BU252: Introduction to Marketing Management, a core second-year course in the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program. Delivered in both the fall and winter terms, the project tasks students with developing a comprehensive integrated marketing communications (IMC) plan in response to real-world brand challenges.

"This challenge brings the principles of marketing to life," reflected course coordinator and associate professor of marketing, Ebrahim Mazaheri. "It pushes students to think critically, collaborate meaningfully, and create solutions with real-world relevance."

This new assignment marks a major milestone in the Lazaridis BBA program’s commitment to experiential learning. With BU252 recently moving from third to second year, the course now gives students earlier access to hands-on, industry-engaged learning—ensuring that each year of study features a real-world project that bridges classroom concepts with professional practice.

For students, the value is unmistakable: the opportunity to engage directly with industry leaders, apply classroom concepts to current business challenges, and develop the professional confidence to pitch ideas that matter while receiving feedback from industry experts.

This year, the challenges were supported by global powerhouse, Unilever, to solve real-world challenges for brands under their umbrella.

Real brands, real challenges, real feedback

In the fall term, students were asked to develop an integrated marketing communications plan for Dove Serum Body Washes—a premium skincare-infused product line with four variants: hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, collagen peptides, and ultra-sensitive.

While the product had already experienced a strong market launch in 2024, Unilever wanted students to focus on sustaining momentum through digitally driven campaigns targeting women aged 18–54. The challenge asked students to explore segmentation, product education, and platform strategy—particularly within Canada’s drug retail landscape.

In winter, the challenge shifted to Hellmann’s, asking students: “How do you grow a brand that is already number one in its category?”  Students had to think creatively about relevance, cultural resonance, and audience expansion, especially within younger demographics.

In the winter term, more than 325 students enrolled in BU252, across 8 sections, to form 70 student teams for the IMC challenge. Of those, 11 teams advanced to the final round, where they presented live to a panel of Unilever executives at Lazaridis Hall:

• Julia Boccadoro (BBA '16, Brand Manager, Dove Men+Care Skin)
• Lara Wazz (Associate Brand Manager, Hellmann’s)
• Ben Veldman (Associate Brand Manager, Ben & Jerry’s)

The judges evaluated teams based on creativity, feasibility, messaging clarity, and strategic alignment with the brand. The top three teams were recognized for their solutions. One team received a small prize, and all three finalist teams will receive official certificates of recognition from Unilever.

A winning formula from "Envoy Consulting"

Taking first place in the winter term was Group 1 from Section F, who dubbed themselves “Envoy Consulting”: Aidan Bennett, Caleb Koch, Noah Rau, Noah McLennan, and Rinchen Kalsang.

Their solution focused on helping Hellmann’s build cultural relevance with Gen Z Canadians. Their campaign—“Your Taste, Your Culture, Your Hellmann’s”—proposed a three-tiered IMC strategy:

• Disruptive social media ads featuring multicultural dishes.
• A user-generated recipe challenge showcasing cultural traditions.
• Custom packaging with winning recipes and consumer stories.

The team’s strategy was praised for its originality, alignment with Gen Z values, and its deep cultural resonance.

"Mayonnaise might be seen as a boring product at first glance," said Aidan Bennett, "But no matter what the product is, there’s always an interesting way to market it. This case showed us that the limitation is never the product—it's the creativity of the person behind it."

The team refined their approach through late-night brainstorming sessions, relentless practice rounds, and even a photoshoot with a jar of Hellmann’s mayo for their final slides. A fun moment that stood out? Creating a fake consulting acronym—Envoy—which they joked stood for Eggs, aNd Vinegar, Oil, Yolks.

"We were exhausted from rehearsals and someone just blurted it out," laughed Noah Rau. "We couldn’t stop laughing. Moments like that made the whole experience more enjoyable and reminded us that even in high-pressure situations, it’s important to have fun and stay relaxed."

Each team member reflected on how the challenge deepened their understanding of segmentation, brand positioning, and cross-channel strategy.

"It’s one thing to learn about IMC in class, but the competition reinforced key marketing concepts from my coursework, such as consumer engagement, brand positioning, and data-driven strategy development," said Rinchen Kalsang.

Beyond the podium: Real learning, real impact

Second place was awarded to Group Two from Section S: Alessia Carneiro, Abigail Altosaar, Emily Shane, Rosanne Armah-Mensah, and Kaden Doan.

Third place went to Group 10 from Section H: Muhammad Arif, Arrican Chen, Melvin Urumath, Prrajin Sathasivam, and Sarah Mercier.

Every team benefited from the hands-on experience, with students crediting the competition for helping them deepen their understanding of brand positioning, audience segmentation, and strategic execution.

"The highlight for me was presenting in front of the Unilever reps and walking them through our creative idea," said Caleb Koch, from the winning team. "It was validating to see industry professionals engage so thoughtfully with our work."

For Kalsang, the experience went beyond the case: “One of the best parts of this experience was how quickly our team bonded, even though none of us knew each other before the competition. By the end of the competition, it didn’t just feel like we had worked on a project together, it felt like we had built something meaningful.”

“Working with a global company like Unilever gives students firsthand insight into how classroom concepts translate into actual business strategy. It’s one of the most impactful components of BU252,” reflected Mazaheri.

Whether tackling skincare or condiments, Dove or Hellmann’s, these students proved that the next generation of marketers is already thinking big, working smart, and ready to lead. With creativity, strategic insight, and a few jars of mayonnaise, BU252 students showed how marketing education can be both academically rigorous and professionally relevant.

Congratulations to all teams for their exceptional work—and especially to Team Envoy Consulting for their winning solution.