On November 8th, MBA and select BBA students in the Marketing Leadership Institute took on a unique opportunity in Chicago to meet with two incredible companies: McDonald’s and DDB Advertising Company. Despite differences in industry, these two companies share similar roles being leaders in expanding market growth, having a deep understanding of their consumers, and formulating campaign strategies that drive business growth.
As a junior BBA student, I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to visit the headquarters of such respectable companies and learn about the different opportunities within the marketing world. With there being so many different pathways in marketing, I have found it crucial to learn about the different opportunities through career treks like this.
Morning at McDonald’s
Just after 9:00 am, we arrived at McDonald’s corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago. Heading into the office space, we were welcomed by MBA Class of 2024 alumnus, Libby Gormely, External Advisory Board representative, Kyle Papanikolas, and McDonald’s Archive Expert, Michael Bullington. An especially interesting piece was the presentation from Michael where he shared the history of McDonald’s and their mission in “making those feel good moments easy for everyone”. As an undergraduate student, it’s extremely beneficial to learn about the ups and downs of industry leaders and how they’ve recovered and used those events to continuously improve their business strategy. One of the many things that I found interesting on this visit was their innovation kitchen where they could reformat and practice recipes that are made throughout the world. So, if they are making a special meal that is intended for the Japanese marketplace, they can transform the kitchen to resemble the McDonald’s in Japan and analyze and test ways to increase efficiency and optimize resources. From here, we explored their headquarters before going down to the attached restaurant to try their international menu!
Afternoon at DDB
After tasting special menu items from Sweden, Japan, Great Britain, and more, we made a journey from the heart of the West Loop to the Magnificent Mile to visit Doyle Dane BernBach (DDB). Here, we learned about the agency side of marketing and the influences they have on big companies and organizations. One of these organizations that DDB is partnered with is the United States Army. In learning about their campaigns and initiatives in increasing enlistment rates, we also learned about DDB as a whole and their mission. It was cool to experience the behind the scenes and reasoning behind each advertisement. Especially since I have seen a couple of the commercials that were presented to us. Noelle Baer, Group Strategy Director, exuded passion and enthusiasm for the campaign and it was cool to dive into their application and description of the brand-building framework, most specifically the character and guide aspects of each.
Evening Networking at Sweetwater Tavern
After a long day of learning, we had an awesome time at Sweetwater Tavern, just down the
street from DDB, where we networked with alums, board members, and friends of the MLI in the Chicago area. The MBA students had the opportunity to connect with recent alumni in the area, as well as fellow classmates. As a BBA student, it was an opportunity to strengthen connections with MBA students and hear their stories and experiences. I was also happy to be reconnected with other alums that I met through other events at the business school. This included start-up business owners, MLI External Advisory Board members, and more.