Building the Perfect Beast: What Really Happens in Brand Management

By Neil George

Building the Perfect Beast captures the exciting and often difficult life and career of a brand marketer inside the fictional world of Golden Globe Consumer Products, an FMCG company that makes shampoos and cosmetics. Set in the company's headquarters in London, the protagonist, Don George and his four freshman colleagues on joining the firm, are immediately confronted with a very difficult lady boss, tight deadlines for a new product launch and an office eco-system made up of an intriguing, suave international workforce that loves to work hard and party hard. Early missteps and naivety of this group of new hires quickly gives way to a more confident and colourful take-off for their careers. A unique attempt, this graphic novel presents the various elements of brand management like market research, new product development, in-store activity and advertising shoots like no other book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperBusiness
• Release date: Dec 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9789353020392

Neil George

Neil George is an experienced marketer with an international career that spans twenty-one years with successful stints at three of the world's greatest consumer goods companies - Beiersdorf, Procter & Gamble & Reckitt Benckiser. He holds an MBA from the London Business School.

Book preview

To interns and bosses – the most interesting people I have ever worked with.

To Papa, Mama, Preethi, Alexis and Ethan.

Seven years of creativity is dedicated to all of you.

DID I EVER REALIZE

WHAT I’VE BECOME?

Business lounge. Dubai International Airport.

Business flight to Hamburg takes off in about half an hour.

I down my last pint as a little voice inside my head whispers,

‘Building the Perfect Beast is part of my narrative, it very well may be my story.’

However, I think the basic themes of my comic will resonate with each one of you.

Whether you are an intern about to start your career at a big company or a retiree reminiscing

about your glory days spent with the big boys in a corporate boardroom.

The next two hours may raise interesting questions about your own career – gazing back

or looking forward. I hope that Building the Perfect Beast forces you to ask yourself:

‘Have I been polluted by the power, fame and the money?

Have I enjoyed the ride in the corporate chariot so far?

Do I still see the same person that joined the firm many years ago?

Have I become more kind, gentle and temperate?

Or have I become the Perfect Beast?’

Neil George

PREFACE

It all started with some friendly mentoring.

It is important to provide the historical background and context behind Building the Perfect Beast (BTPB). Back in 2010, after completing roughly fifteen years of marketing consumer goods, I decided to take a mini break and join a private equity-backed venture in Europe. Around the same time, a number of previous direct reports, friends and relatives (of friends) came to the wonderful conclusion that I may be the perfect sounding board (read mentor) for all issues related to career management within the consumer goods industry. After multiple conversations with these mentees over many months I realized that I was dishing out similar advice to all of them. And then I asked myself a question, ‘Why not download all this career advice and information into one easy to read book? The title perhaps could be The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Internship for Dummies’.

Thankfully, very soon I realized that I couldn’t write for nuts.

It all went well until (after