MBA Spirits Marketing & Management (MBA2) - INSEEC Wine & Spirits Institute

An international program to manage and market spirits brands

The MBA Spirits Marketing and Management welcomes students from diverse backgrounds (university or management school graduates), as well as professionals from the spirit industry. This one-year program has a strong international orientation.

It provides students a specialization in the Spirits Industry, gaining insight through courses on brand strategy, mergers and acquisitions, development of foreign markets, consumer behavior, media, and public relations in order to meet the industry’s need for skilled management.

THIS CAREER-BOOSTING PROGRAM TAKES PLACE AT INSEEC WINE & SPIRITS INSTITUTE BORDEAUX FROM OCTOBER TO JANUARY, AND AT INSEEC LONDON FROM FEBRUARY TO MARCH.

London was chosen as a location because of the local depth and expertise in the spirits industry that offering a unique pool of experts available as lecturers. Renowned professionals working for the largest international spirits groups will share their experience and teach best practices. Various course topics and projects will also give students the opportunity to improve their English language skills in the classroom and in the vibrant city of London.

BERTRAND PLESSIS
Program Director

“Train international experts with a good understanding of the different spirits categories”
The Spirits industry has dramatically changed for the past 10 years, both in terms of size and sophistication. We now need experts, with an international dimension combined with a good understanding of the different spirits categories and of the dynamics that make them grow so fast. Ahead of us, we have much potential growth for the brands, be large ones or niche ones.
Before the creation of this MBA, companies did not have specialists and had to hire talented people from other industries. As we are dealing with brands where the cultural dimension, the heritage and the savoirfaire is so important, hiring people with this background means gaining time and efficiency at all levels.

Courses

WORKSHOPS

Personal Development
Professional Workshops: Production and Techniques, Spirits Techniques

WEB 2 DIGITAL TOOLS

From online shopping to the latest developments in social networking, a review of spirit e-strategies.
This course evaluates evolving marketing techniques and promotional technologies, and ﬁnds ways to integrate them into an effective communication strategy at the product launch stage for an established brand. It also looks at the emergence of the on line store.

MANAGEMENT IN THE SPIRITS INDUSTRY

Topics include:

Integrating a strategic approach to long term development, formulating a global company diagnostic and assessing capacity for change in a fast moving environment
Making a global diagnosis of a firm and its environment while taking into consideration its capacity to adapt to changes
Analyzing and understanding structural problems linked to establishing a strategic plan
Pinpointing the identity of an organization and analyzing the components of the company culture.

MARKETING STUDIES AND RESEARCH

This course prepares students to understand different types of studies: surveys, qualitative studies, explanatory, predicative and causal studies, descriptive studies.

MERCHANDISING

Evaluating different types of merchandising
Consumer behavior as the keystone of merchandising
Quantitative analysis of a line: optimization, value, reasons to set up, product range

DIRECT MARKETING & SALES PROMOTION

Formulating a direct communication strategy
Understanding different types of media
Stimulating product demand and improving product availability

MEDIA PRESS RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATION

Topics include:

Sources of information
Defining the various roles played by the key players in international advertising (advertisers, agencies, media, consumer lobbies)
Developing awareness of the global trends affecting the advertising of today and tomorrow
Various socio-cultural and management factors

FINANCIAL AND ECONOMY IN THE SPIRIT INDUSTRY

Choices regarding investment and financial means
Financial analysis and financial information – to know the users, the sources of information
Mastering the tools of financial analysis
Financing the assets, the production tools and the marketing development
COGS, overheads and marketing – aiming at optimizing the gross and the net margins

BRAND MARKETING AND STRATEGY

Assessing the feasibility of a new product. New product development and the launch process.

LAW, REGULATIONS AND POLICIES

This course introduces:

Legislation inside and outside of Europe, rules governing the sale and presentation of products
The naming of wines
The brand, its labelling and its promotion
Administrative constraints
Product licensing, contracts and control of brand image
Protection of intellectual property
Combating counterfeit and parallel imports
International regulatory and tax environment
Communication compliance

DISTRIBUTION POLICY

This course evaluates the different trends (economic, cultural or legal) affecting distribution:

Chainstore brands, and the new channels of distribution (internet)
Strategies for distribution – from independent agents to fully owned stores (how to control distribution, how to capture the distributions margins)
How to work in free trade or controlled distribution
The current situation in the leading markets and consequences on distribution

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

This course investigates the dynamics of human behavior and how it relates to decision-making. It helps gain understanding of consumer trends in order to better define target markets.
It will explore attitudes: from sipping alone to social drinking, from medical benefits to adverse effects, from taste enjoyment to purposeful drinking. The bright and the dark sides of the spirits industry will also be explored.
Other topics:

Social status and consumption of spirits
The versatility of spirits (straight, mixed, pairing with food)
Offering by leading brands in each category and the renewal of the offering

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING AND BRAND MANAGEMENT IN THE SPIRIT INDUSTRY

Topics include:

Managing creativity and innovation
Insights into existing and emerging markets
International brand positioning and competitive analysis
Market entry strategies, brand development and international pricing strategies
Consolidating and evaluating brand strategy
Guiding the relationship between brands and consumers
Brand building strategy
Mergers and acquisitions in the spirits industry

CRM

This course looks at how to conquer the local store and bar (street marketing), as well as how to conquer national retailers – offerings and negotiations. Using technology to organize, automate and synchronize business processes.

NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHES

Assessing the feasibility of a new product
Analyse of new product development and the launch process
Identification of the opportunities
Sequencing and planning launches
Financial and P&L aspects
Production and launches

PACKAGING DESIGN

Topics include:

Brand strategy
Visual identity
Design and packaging
Industrial design
Sales and marketing architecture

INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION

The purpose of this course is to master different negotiating techniques according to the cultural context, and learn to negotiate with a win-win approach.
The course introduces students to the different negotiation techniques with an eye to the cultural context (Europe, USA, North Africa, Asia and Latin America). Participants learn how to use a win/win approach and appreciate the importance of gaining a sound knowledge of the proﬁle of buyers. The course also stresses the importance of learning and analyzing the key points needed to succeed in negotiation.

Calendar

FALL INTAKE

Courses in Bordeaux

October to january:
3 class days / 2 company days

Courses in London

January to march
3 class days / 2 company days

Full-time internship : 6 months

April to september

Thesis

September

SPRING INTAKE

Courses in Bordeaux

In march :
3 class days

Full-time internship : 5 months

April to august

Thesis

In september

Courses in Bordeaux

October to january
3 class days / 2 company days

Courses in London:

January to march
3 class days / 2 company days

Career opportunities after the MBA Spirits Marketing & Management

PROFESSIONAL INTEGRATION

This MBA trains students to work in multiple functions within sales, export, marketing, purchasing or communication departments… It offers the opportunity to: