On November 7th, 2025, first- and second-year MBA students in Marketing Leadership Institute (MLI) spent the day in Minneapolis, MN for our fall semester career trek. Our journey began the evening prior, on November 6th, as the commute from Grainger Hall to the Twin Cities takes about four hours. We (thankfully) drove out the night before and stayed in a hotel to avoid a 4:00 am departure time on the morning of the 7th for this experience.
While I’ve connected through MSP Airport when flying in the past, this was my first time ever visiting Minneapolis proper. As such, I was very excited to document my day during this trip! Below is our itinerary from this excursion, along with my reflections and takeaways from each stop.
November 6th
5:30 PM to 10:00 PM – Commute to Minneapolis
Due to some traffic, our bus ride to Minneapolis took about 4.5 hours! To make the most of this time, I helped first year MLI student Albert Flottmeyer prepare for an upcoming internship interview with a case practice session. I am one of six board members of the Graduate Business Consulting Association (GBCA), and since September, we have been leading weekly case interview practice sessions to help graduate business students prepare for Summer 2027 internship interview season. I was going to miss our final practice session due to this trek, so I was glad to support him. We practiced for about an hour, and I spent the rest of the ride reading for leisure (I was able to make solid progress on Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins). Upon arriving at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in downtown Minneapolis around 10pm, I was ready to get some sleep in preparation for the planned trek the following day.
November 7th
10:00 AM – Ovative Group
We kicked off our visit with a talk from company CEO (and proud Badger alum) Dale Nitschke. After 23 years at Target, Dale founded Ovative Group about 16 years ago. Today, the company differentiates itself from other creative agencies with its proprietary Enterprise Marketing Return metric (aka EMRge), which redefines how marketing success is measured. Dale’s presentation highlighted Ovative’s core values and three-year strategic plan which emphasized leadership development and employee growth. This commitment was especially evident when Dale shared that he personally interviews every candidate who wants to join the company.
One statement that stood out to me appeared on a slide outlining Ovative’s guiding beliefs: “AI won’t replace marketers, but marketers who use AI will replace those who don’t.” When I began my MBA just over a year ago, I was fairly skeptical about AI. However, through coursework and my summer internship at HP, I’ve come to appreciate its potential as a tool that enhances creativity and decision-making. This shift in perspective has reshaped how I think about the future of marketing and I now agree with Ovative’s forward-thinking approach.
We wrapped up our visit with an office tour, and Ovative’s office atmosphere perfectly embodied what I’d expect a creative marketing agency to look like. Every mural and piece of artwork had a story behind it, including the color of neon signs in the building too.
11:45 AM – Lunch (time to explore the “Cities”!)
Some fellow second year students and I ventured over to Graze Food Hall by Travail in the North Loop. The Caesar salad at Wrecktangle Pizza was great (though very large so buyer beware)!
2:00 PM – General Mills
While the General Mills campus may be unassuming from the outside, it was vibrant and full of life on the inside. After receiving gift bags with snacks from popular General Mills brands and getting a tour of the building, we attended a Q&A panel featuring alumni and current employees. During this panel, we learned more about what its like to work at this established CPG leader.
I enjoyed hearing MLI alums Elsie Raymer, Maija Inveiss, Shuting Zheng, and Corey Bell who each spoke about very diverse work experiences they’ve had as Associate Brand Managers, despite each holding the same job title. Their insights into cross-functional collaboration left me thinking I would enjoy a role in “Innovation.” With its strong overlap between marketing and R&D, this vertical aligns well with the type of role I am seeking after graduation, particularly given my engineering background prior to starting my MBA.
We ended our visit by working on a case study for the Gushers brand focused on launching new flavors in a post-pandemic landscape. I was delighted to learn that the solution my team pitched was very similar to the actual strategy the Gushers team implemented when facing this challenge a couple years ago!
4:30 PM – Networking Reception at The Freehouse
After an eventful day visiting two very different types of companies (creative marketing agency vs. traditional CPG firm), we were able to unwind and connect with alumni over heavy appetizers and drinks at The Freehouse. It was so great chatting with MLI alumni in the area who are currently working at Target and Boston Scientific.
6:30 PM to 11:00 PM – Commute back to Grainger Hall
I spent the long journey back to Madison grading assignments for MKT 300, the course I’m TA-ing this semester, and reflecting on the day by writing this blogpost. Visiting different office environments across U.S. cities can really shift one’s perspective on potential post-graduation work locations. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Minneapolis and would be open to relocating if the right opportunity arises. I would like to extend a big thank you to Alan Stoffer and Schelzia Ross (and office interns Lorelei Zinsky and Julianna Pohl, as well as Sean Her) for organizing this fun and informative trek!
