MICA 2013 GEPI Experiences thread

Hi folks, The final stage of the battle has begun…Share your experiences here so that others may pick up some pointers and also benifit future aspirants :slight_smile: ATB friends!

Hi folks,


The final stage of the battle has begun..
Share your experiences here so that others may pick up some pointers and also benifit future aspirants :)

ATB friends!

no one yet??? surprising!


Sab-log lagta hai wahan jaake MICA-mugdh (magan/hypnotized/enchanted) hogaye kya? 😁

guess it wud all start pouring in from tomorrow..

@chinnugadu @Zcarlett @Nipunkumar @manishdhar1987 how was it friends? :)
Share your experiences here too :)

guys please share your experiences.. And was there any change in the way GE was conducted this year? Any thing we should take care of?

hey puys,
GE was to enact a TV new channel, where it had to be satirical and the people telling the news could be a baba or a dancer and such. just a fun exercise. be wary of the time. you get 30 mins to decide and 5 minutes to enact. and the 5 minutes is included in the 30 mins!!!!
PI was alright. they asked mostly based on what you have written in your SOP. so me putting questions here wudnt make sense - asked me about my dance.. etc etc.. so prepare your SOP well. they did not ask me anything about brabds or advertisements or anything. bas personal mein hi atke the. lol.
and why MICA was a general question. they were picking on me, but others had chilled out interviews so dont take tension. just be ready to back ur SOP!!! i did not stay back to see the results so i dont know what finally happened.lol.
ATB to you guys. hope this helps!! πŸ˜ƒ

*TV news channel, sowie

btw if anyone took a pic of the results can u plz upload it

@protokal said:
btw if anyone took a pic of the results can u plz upload it
results are called out. so you should contact someone who waited till the end
@stillhopeful ok. thanks. i dont have anyone's number. is it ok to call admissions office?

Day 02| April 03
Total Interviewed : 72
Spot : 6
W/L : 38
Expected outcome(Merit list) for W/L candidates : 15th April
GE : Choose a brand ambassador for HP laser jet printer and create a jingle for the same
Was pretty good an experience
I/V panel 03 : They try to understand you well , First person to be interviewed in my panel total time 35 mins..Only personal qs from the Sop... no GK and stuff..
Hope this helps..ATB

any fresher given a spot or is named in the waitlist?

GE PI Experience Day 02| April 03 Total Interviewed : 72

Result : Confimed/waitlisted - 15th April

GE : Choose a brand ambassador for HP laser jet printer and create a jingle for the same. Come up with a suitable wardrobe and embellishments.

- This was a hilarious experience ! I mean the group was so into the whole deal . I even cut my figure (method acting 😁 ). Fun stuff.

I waited for the longest time for my interview. By the time my turn came- I was a bundle of nerves with people sharing their experiences - good and bad.


PI

Finally interview happened around 3 pm. My heart was bursting out of my chest - I had no clue why I was so nervous coz I am usually pretty chilled out before interviews.

There were three male panelists. P1, P2,P3


P1: So whats going on in your mind, you look nervous.(damn right I did - I had beads of sweat and my eyes looked like a frog)

ME : Sir right now I am wondering how to control my ridiculously fast heart beat.


Laughter all around


P2 : Why are you so nervous.

Me : Told him I was okay in the morning and then people started sharing experiences.


P1: Ok tell me something about you not in your SOP.

Me: told him something which was 50% SOP and 50% not.


P3: Nainika, what do you want from life.

Me : Told him something about me wanting to help women from under privledged sections of the society


P3 : What is poor, what has been your experience with poor . (He kept air quoting poor and he was pretty old - it looked so funny on him - 😍 )

Me: Told him that i have not observed poor from very close by but yes I have like everybody come across their lives and difficulty - as dhobis, maids . Told him something about how their employment is informal and with no benefits.


P2 : ok ok tell me what you want in five years.

Me : told. can't remember. but I din say i want to be a manager coz i doubt that is possible.


P2 : What is the marginal utility curve. (Commerce graduate)

Me : Explained the concept right but I was making the curve wrong . He told me to draw it, even gave options but I was still making the graph wrong.Finally gave him a live example- he was responding like a teacher prompting his student for an exam- sweet πŸ‘Ό )


P2 : Why are you trying to get through MICA - I mean we are not a regular B school. Why dont you try for IIM A and all

Me : Sir neither am I regular (his eyes narrowed - snobby much mg ). I want to take advantage of this unique blend of creative and business which MICA is offering...blah blah blah
(I couldnt believe my luck - here for the first time a panelist was assuming that I have not tried other b schools - YAY ME )


P2 : Ok tell me what is account planning.


Me : I started giving some theory- but they were cross questioning - finally I put up my hands and gave them a simple example of what exactly happens in an a/c planning job - they seemed convinced.


P3 : Do you think the revenue model is appropriate for sectors like education/health etc

Me : No sir , gave him some theory about public and welfare expenditure and how infact an optimal deficit is better than surplus.


P3 :Tell me one happy and one really sad memory.


Me: I told him one really lame happy memory about how i got selected to some school and one really really sad memory which was very personal.


Ok we are done.


15 april - come fast 😠


EDIT : Converted

🍻

GE PI Day 3| 4th April. Total candidates present 62, Spot Offers : 8, Merit List is something around 25 i guess.
GE Experience: We were a group of 8 people and had to display a scene from a current bollywood movie taking up characters like Katrina Kaif, Sharukh, Alia Bhat etc.. and do it in pre independence style. The emphasis of the professors was not on the final act but the 25 mins of preparation. Every body from my group had equally good ideas. And no one was dominant. We ended up doing a scene from Special 26 in "Kakori Train lootna" style. It was fun. πŸ˜ƒ What i realized : no preparation required at all and yes i am too bad at acting. 😟 I hate GD's but i loved GE.

PI: Had to wait but my turn was first one after the lunch break. So everything afresh. I had 3 members in my panel. 1) Man who grilled the maximum 2) A old man who didn't ask many questions 3) A lady who was just smiling all through.
The interview was based on the form (SOP). I had written social work in my likes. So they kept asking me about my work and experiences. I told a lot many stories and they seemed satisfied. The other thing they grilled me on was Why only Marketing?. I was able to convince them by the end of the day.😁
-> Prove it to us that you are better than the other 80 people sitting outside?
-> I had written reading novels in my like. So they asked me if i had read any book on marketing.
I had read a book on advertisement and told them about it. Asked a few basic questions about advertisement. Was able to convince them on all of them.
-> What according to u is a brand? I explained.. What is ur favorite brand? Told that i like vodafone ads. Explained how they always hit the rite node.
-> Added a lil more about a few more brands. And they were convinced that i knew things.
-> Added that i like Zara but they donot advertise, so they asked a few questions on that.
-> The last question was which latest book have u read. I told that i read the book " GO Kiss the World" By subroto bagchi..
--> what is the one thing that you learned from the book.. i told that " we should not restrict ourselves to where we are, we should keep looking for better and new opportunities in life."
With this the Man who grilled the most smiled and said " Ok then go get out of Infosys and come here and join MICA"
And that resulted in a Spot Offer mg πŸ‘Ό
The only and the best call of the season and yes a convert!!

DAY 03 4/04/13


GE : You are a member of a youth club .You want to spread awareness to the society , choose the issue use the old news papers and maganizines placed infront of you for the same . Posters to spread awareness and/or solutions to be prepared with the given items sketch pens , scissors , gums , etc.

We prepared on burning issue of girls .We even prepared a skit . The group was very co-operative and worked with unity .
TIPS : Stay calm and try to get involved , always remain active

PI ;There was an old man( a keen observer) , a lady (sweet) , a middle aged man ( critical -taking notes on his writing man )
What is augmented reality?
Do celebrities hamper the prospect of a brand people concentrate more on the person than the product?
Why tata sky plus is a threat to marketing ?
What marketing steps you have taken during your job ?
Other questions were all related to my job .

TIPS : Be your self and if you really want to join mica never move away frm that point they will try in various tactful ways to agree with them that you can do without MICA but you have to make them believe that MICA is your ultimate target >mg Never fall prey to their tacts

Result : SPOT 🍻 lookround 😁 πŸ‘Ό

FOR U :πŸ‘ 😁

Lemonade & Cookies: Recalling the Conversation ..

^^ the link to the blog post where I have put down almost the complete conversation.. Day 1 - I was Shortlisted.. Read only if you have enough time 😁 It is a long post! ATB to all! πŸ˜ƒ

Date: 6th April

Score:
CAT: 97.79
XAT: 93.66
GMAT: 92
Work ex: 9 months at Webchutney, Digital advertising agency

GE: Street play aimed at rural audience, theme to be around preventing female foeticide.
Did well. I thought we came up with a good idea, me and this one more chap came up with a couple of songs. Scripted it and we were so happy that we clapped. All of us at the end. 😐

In other institutes experience I would have written PI straight but me and other aspirants discussed every advertising campaign under the sun. Somehow everyone in the room (or so I think. Illusions of grandeur) by then, came to know I work in Advertising and know all the ad campaigns by heart along with the ad agencies behind it. 😠
I could see people pointing at me from a couple of corners saying, "Yeh ladka toh spot lejayega. Saari ads pata hain."
Bah. Illusions of grandeur

PI: My flight was at 7:50. In order to board the flight I had to reach at 7:05 latest.
MICA to Airport is exactly an hour. 6:05 latest.
Was sitting outside the interview room for about half an hour until 5:30. Number on list: 9.
By then I was frigging red with anxiety. What if I miss my flight
Or will it be a SRK-esque thing that last minute I somehow catch the flight or maybe catch it like Batman did in Dark Knight. 😐
All my concentration was lost. The admission guy said "Its ok" thrice. THRICE.
I was red with anger. 😠 😠
To make matters worse, the guy told the panel inside that I was in a hurry.
I almost wanted to yell at him when he came out. But I communicated to him that he should not have, That's another impression that they have now "Jaldi se niptana hai"
He said "Sorry" thrice to me.

Was sitting outside the interview room and voila I could hear every word of my SOP, they were reading it aloud while i was waiting outside.
I think one of the females rubbed her fingers when she read, Advertising. AHAN!
Another exclaimed WOW! At "Poetic Genius Society - Member" in extra-curricular.

Excruciating.

Hearing people make opinions about you lookround splat




W1: You have 10 words. Tell me who you are?

Me: Stumped. Looking around. Said something (Gibberish)


W1: What can MICA offer you?

Me: Blah blah. Why Mica basically


W1: Ok. What can you give to MICA?

Me: Different profile, help peers blah blah.


W2: Okay. So you work in Advertising (I think she could smell blood)

Me: (Timidly) Yes.


W2: What sort of advertising do you think you are most knowledgeable about? TVC toh hum buddhe logo ke liye hai

Me: (Wanted to say TVC. But bah the impression she had created) Um


W2: This is NOT a trick question.

Me: (In my head) YEAH RIGHT!


Me: Um TVC and digital. I follow afaqs and digitalbuzzblog religiously. It's almost sacrosanct in my organization.


W2: What clients do you handle?

Me: Coke, Bacardi, Microsoft. Just closed MS yesterday. My first acquisition. (Smiling ear to ear)


W2: What do you do for them?

Me: Answered.


W2: What Bacardi brands ?

Me: Grey Goose, Eristoff, Dewars


W2: Social media ?

Me: Yes that too. Grey Goose and Breezer


W2: What is the total no. of fans on Grey goose right now?

Me: (First mistake) I dont know 😠 😠 😠 😠 😠 😠 😠 😠


W2: You work on the brand?

Model answer: No I dont

Me: (In full on pfaff mood due to the flight thing) Yes


W2: Okay.


W2: But then you guys dont do anything. Main line agencies come up with the idea, you do squat

Me: NO!

(For the next 5 minutes) Explain about a campaign called - Walk the line, done by my agency for Bacardi. Its a really nice campaign, yeah my opinion is biased.

Heres the link: Bacardi India: Walk The Line | Ads of the Worldβ„’

So I go on, blah blah blah blah blah blah for 5 minutes

Also, I will like to defend the Grey goose fiasco, I wasnt handling the account for the last 3-4 months so I dont know. Just won the pitch so no clue. But best guess is 20k when I saw it last.

Also(just to show off knowledge. Note: Do not do this in the interview!) add this recent statement by Nitin Paranjpa, HUL CEO, that Digital is going to be mainline SOON. HUL, for crying out loud! Here it goes:

"However, in times to come, digital will become mainstream and then marketers would look for integrated agencies, he predicted." Source: afaqs


W2 listens intently without say anything at ALL.


W2: I know everything about the campaign, WTL.



Me:

😲 😲 😲 😲 😲

(Insert awkward silence for the next 2 mins)


See closely, you will see only W2 in the above conversation.


W2: I have worked in Advertising for 15 years.

Me: embarrased embarrased embarrased embarrased embarrased embarrased embarrased embarrased embarrased


W2: So tell me some good twitter campaign.


Me: 2nd mistake 😠 😠 😠 😠 😠

(Blank. I can name at least 100 campaigns at the drop of a hat, Forgot everything maybe cause of the flight thing again.)

(Sometime later)

Er, Allen Solly had done a campaign in which shirts were falling at the drop of tweets. (I sounded so stupid. Didnt remember full campaign so stopped). Here it goes:

Ogilvy creates Tweeple campaign for Allen Solly

😁😁 😁


W2: Ok facebook.


Me: Gangs of wasseypur. Done by Ignitee. Loved how they built up the campaign. There was a Wasseypur daily too.


W2: (In her head) Bas bacchu bach gaye kisi tarah




M1: I say all ads are misleading and there is no truth in them. What do you say?


W1, W2: Joining in chorus. What do you say?


Me: Um Not really sir.


M1: okay 95%. I give you this stapler and I put kangaroo on it. You think its value becomes 10 rupees instead of 5 Rupees


Me: Um as an agency I cannot tinker with the product at all. Neither with the pricing, nor the product. I will just compare what the 10 rupee offers better and I think that requires creativity. Let the end consumer decide for himself which one is better.


Everyone really satisfied.


M1: Ok. So Take this folder (no name. Nothing on it. Blank as shit)

Give me the 360 degree marketing campaign for this.


😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲

Me: (I get 2 weeks at least to do that in the agency. Here i get 2 mins. :/)

Can I take 5 minutes?


M1: Sure.


W1's phone rings. Everyone looks at her.

I catch a glance at my watch. 5:50 pm. I better be packing now. Like REALLY.


Me: (in 2 minutes instead of 5) Just like Coke is associated with Happiness. So I'm just going to give you the strategy without the copy.

I'll call it "See through" for the lack of better words.

We do TVC, Digital, Print, OOH everything around this central theme. (Like "Happiness" is for Coke)

We could do some sort of an expose, like a Civil disobedience ala Arvind kejriwal that electricity bill is inflated since the TG would like to be seen as socially conscious.
Also, we could do simpler concepts like show how an aspirant is rejected of a seat/job and then the recruiter somehow glances through the file and sees the mistake he has made.

Everything ties back to the product since the folder is see through.


W1, W2: (Swoon) Really nice idea. Really really nice! πŸ‘ πŸ‘ πŸ‘


M1: Wait a minute.


M1: Do you see any brand on this folder?


Me: No.


M1: So do you think you can ever advertise something without a brand


Me: (Inception music starts playing in the head) 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲

(The obvious answer is NO! But let's do something different, I say)






(2 mins pause)

Sir I say this at the risk of being completely wrong. (Glance at W1,W2)

I'd like to disagree with you.

I recently saw a campaign "If you give a little love, you can get a little love of your own" (Love this campaign)

It had no advertiser at the end.


M1: Correct! (Hes really happy somehow!) 🍻 🍻 🍻 🍻 🍻 🍻 🍻 🍻 🍻 🍻


M1: Another example "Sunday ho ya monday roz khao Ande"


Me: err sorry sir. But wasn't that for NECC?


M1: (Sort of embarrassed)Yes but no brand you see.


Me: lookround lookround (Not convinced.)


Um So maybe I could keep this as a Pro bono ad campaign.



W1, W2, M1: Nod simultaneously so hard. They almost feel like hugging me. embarrased


W1, W2: Really nice campaign. "See through". I like it!


W2: Do you have any questions?


Me: er Just like to know course structure of Digital


M1: Answered in great detail.


Me: Thanks.


Look at the clock : 6pm.



RUN FAT BOY RUN. RUN LIKE NO TOMORROW!

Fortunately caught the flight too.πŸ˜ƒ


2 HUGE Mistakes. 😠 😠 😠 😠 😠


Verdict: Merit List.


Day's stats: 35 Merit list. 10 Spots.

GREAT GREAT batch of people as seen through the result!

Slightly disappointed.

Couldn't deliver the Spot offer and I know exactly why.

Congrats to all those who did! :-)


It was great meeting you all!



PS - Sorry for writing so much. Really passionate about advertising.

@Nipunkumar

Date: 6th April

Score:



CAT: 97.79



XAT: 93.66



GMAT: 92



Work ex: 9 months at Webchutney, Digital advertising agency



GE: Street play aimed at rural audience, theme to be around preventing female foeticide.



Did well. I thought we came up with a good idea, me and this one more chap came up with a couple of songs. Scripted it and we were so happy that we clapped. All of us at the end.



In other institutes experience I would have written PI straight but me and other aspirants discussed every advertising campaign under the sun. Somehow everyone in the room (or so I think. Illusions of grandeur) by then, came to know I work in Advertising and know all the ad campaigns by heart along with the ad agencies behind it.



I could see people pointing at me from a couple of corners saying, "Yeh ladka toh spot lejayega. Saari ads pata hain."



Bah. Illusions of grandeur



PI: My flight was at 7:50. In order to board the flight I had to reach at 7:05 latest.



MICA to Airport is exactly an hour. 6:05 latest.



Was sitting outside the interview room for about half an hour until 5:30. Number on list: 9.



By then I was frigging red with anxiety. What if I miss my flight



Or will it be a SRK-esque thing that last minute I somehow catch the flight or maybe catch it like Batman did in Dark Knight.



All my concentration was lost. The admission guy said "Its ok" thrice. THRICE.



I was red with anger.



To make matters worse, the guy told the panel inside that I was in a hurry.I almost wanted to yell at him when he came out. But I communicated to him that he should not have, That's another impression that they have now "Jaldi se niptana hai"



He said "Sorry" thrice to me.



Was sitting outside the interview room and voila I could hear every word of my SOP, they were reading it aloud while i was waiting outside.



Another exclaimed WOW! At "Poetic Genius Society - Member" in extra-curricular.



Excruciating.



Hearing people make opinions about you



W1: You have 10 words. Tell me who you are?



Me: Stumped. Looking around. Said something (Gibberish)



W1: What can MICA offer you?



Me: Blah blah. Why Mica basically



W1: Ok. What can you give to MICA?



Me: Different profile, help peers blah blah.



W2: Okay. So you work in Advertising (I think she could smell blood)



Me: (Timidly) Yes.



W2: What sort of advertising do you think you are most knowledgeable about? TVC toh hum buddhe logo ke liye hai



Me: (Wanted to say TVC. But bah the impression she had created) Um



W2: This is NOT a trick question.



Me: (In my head) YEAH RIGHT!



Me: Um TVC and digital. I follow afaqs and digitalbuzzblog religiously. It's almost sacrosanct in my organization.



W2: What clients do you handle?



Me: Coke, Bacardi, Microsoft. Just closed MS yesterday. My first acquisition. (Smiling ear to ear)



W2: What do you do for them?



Me: Answered.



W2: What Bacardi brands ?



Me: Grey Goose, Eristoff, Dewars



W2: Social media ?



Me: Yes that too. Grey Goose and Breezer



W2: What is the total no. of fans on Grey goose right now?



Me: (First mistake) I dont know



W2: You work on the brand?



Model answer: No I dont



Me: (In full on pfaff mood due to the flight thing) Yes



W2: Okay.



W2: But then you guys dont do anything. Main line agencies come up with the idea, you do squat



Me: NO!



(For the next 5 minutes) Explain about a campaign called - Walk the line, done by my agency for Bacardi. Its a really nice campaign, yeah my opinion is biased.



Heres the link: Bacardi India: Walk The Line | Ads of the Worldβ„’



So I go on, blah blah blah blah blah blah for 5 minutes



Also, I will like to defend the Grey goose fiasco, I wasnt handling the account for the last 3-4 months so I dont know. Just won the pitch so no clue. But best guess is 20k when I saw it last.



Also(just to show off knowledge. Note: Do not do this in the interview!) add this recent statement by Nitin Paranjpa, HUL CEO, that Digital is going to be mainline SOON. HUL, for crying out loud! Here it goes:







W2 listens intently without say anything at ALL.



W2: I know everything about the campaign, WTL.



Me:





(Insert awkward silence for the next 2 mins)



See closely, you will see only W2 in the above conversation.



W2: I have worked in Advertising for 15 years.



Me:



W2: So tell me some good twitter campaign.



Me: 2nd mistake



(Blank. I can name at least 100 campaigns at the drop of a hat, Forgot everything maybe cause of the flight thing again.)



(Sometime later)



Er, Allen Solly had done a campaign in which shirts were falling at the drop of tweets. (I sounded so stupid. Didnt remember full campaign so stopped). Here it goes:



Ogilvy creates Tweeple campaign for Allen Solly





W2: Ok facebook.



Me: Gangs of wasseypur. Done by Ignitee. Loved how they built up the campaign. There was a Wasseypur daily too.



W2: (In her head) Bas bacchu bach gaye kisi tarah



M1: I say all ads are misleading and there is no truth in them. What do you say?



W1, W2: Joining in chorus. What do you say?



Me: Um Not really sir.



M1: okay 95%. I give you this stapler and I put kangaroo on it. You think its value becomes 10 rupees instead of 5 Rupees



Me: Um as an agency I cannot tinker with the product at all. Neither with the pricing, nor the product. I will just compare what the 10 rupee offers better and I think that requires creativity. Let the end consumer decide for himself which one is better.



Everyone really satisfied.



M1: Ok. So Take this folder (no name. Nothing on it. Blank as shit)



Give me the 360 degree marketing campaign for this.





Can I take 5 minutes?



M1: Sure.



W1's phone rings. Everyone looks at her.



I catch a glance at my watch. 5:50 pm. I better be packing now. Like REALLY.



Me: (in 2 minutes instead of 5) Just like Coke is associated with Happiness. So I'm just going to give you the strategy without the copy.



I'll call it "See through" for the lack of better words.



We do TVC, Digital, Print, OOH everything around this central theme. (Like "Happiness" is for Coke)



We could do some sort of an expose, like a Civil disobedience ala Arvind kejriwal that electricity bill is inflated since the TG would like to be seen as socially conscious.Also, we could do simpler concepts like show how an aspirant is rejected of a seat/job and then the recruiter somehow glances through the file and sees the mistake he has made.



Everything ties back to the product since the folder is see through.



W1, W2: (Swoon) Really nice idea. Really really nice!



M1: Wait a minute.



M1: Do you see any brand on this folder?



Me: No.



M1: So do you think you can ever advertise something without a brand



Me: (Inception music starts playing in the head)



(The obvious answer is NO! But let's do something different, I say)



(2 mins pause)



Sir I say this at the risk of being completely wrong. (Glance at W1,W2)



I'd like to disagree with you.



I recently saw a campaign



It had no advertiser at the end.



M1: Correct! (Hes really happy somehow!)



M1: Another example "Sunday ho ya monday roz khao Ande"



Me:



M1: (Sort of embarrassed)Yes but no brand you see.



Me: (Not convinced.)



Um So maybe I could keep this as a Pro bono ad campaign.



W1, W2, M1: Nod simultaneously so hard. They almost feel like hugging me.



W1, W2: Really nice campaign. "See through". I like it!



W2: Do you have any questions?



Me: er Just like to know course structure of Digital



M1: Answered in great detail.



Me: Thanks.



Look at the clock : 6pm.



RUN FAT BOY RUN. RUN LIKE NO TOMORROW!



Fortunately caught the flight too.



2 HUGE Mistakes.



Day's stats: 35 Merit/wait list. 10 Spots.



GREAT GREAT batch of people as seen through the result!



Slightly disappointed.



Couldn't deliver the Spot offer and I know exactly why.



Congrats to all those who did! :-)



It was great meeting you all!



PS - Sorry for writing so much. Really passionate about advertising.


@Nipunkumar : You had a nice interview. You'll convert man. no second thoughts about that.

Do you know who all converted on spot? and waitlist? form panel 4? I am one of those 10. 😁