A team of University of Aberdeen students are hoping to be pitch perfect as they enter the finals of a prestigious marketing competition.
Postgraduate students Victoria Law, Zhaohan Li and Laura MacKinnon, who make up team M&M’s, have been shortlisted for the Marketers of the Future award at The Pitch, a global marketing competition for students run by The Chartered Institute of Marketing.
In teams of two or three, students apply their learning to a real-life marketing challenge set by a charity, enhancing their employability and practical marketing skills.
This year the challenge has been set by charity EveryYouth, a charity that supports teenagers and young adults experiencing homelessness.
Postgraduate teams were asked to develop a volunteer engagement marketing strategy designed to attract and retain volunteers who are committed to the charity's mission, including strategies to recruit, train and retain volunteers, as well as recognition and reward programmes.
After making it to the final, Team M&M’s now have the opportunity to present their strategy to a panel of industry judges – a strategy that remains top secret until after the presentation.
Laura MacKinnon said: “I had heard about The Pitch through the CIM talks during the Professional Development Weeks over the year, but it wasn't until Zhaohan mentioned it to me that I really thought about giving it a shot.
“Our team formed rather naturally. The three of us worked together on multiple group assessments during the course and always found ourselves on the same page when it came to our academic expectations and the quality of work we were submitting.”
Zhaohan Li said: “I'm surprised and thrilled to be shortlisted. As an international student, I've sometimes felt lacking in confidence due to my lack of academic background in marketing and being a non-native English speaker. However, being shortlisted made me realise that breaking the limits I set for myself and daring to try can lead to such extraordinary experiences.”
Victoria Law said: “I am very grateful to the lecturers who have enhanced our learning experience as well as the knowledge provided by the international marketing and digital marketing modules. Not only have these courses given us theoretical foundations, but they have also given us the confidence to use them in real-life scenarios.
“Our team is excited to have reached this great milestone and can't wait to refine our concept and share it with the judging panel.”
The winners and runners-up will be announced after the virtual final, which takes place on 15 March.
Winners of the competition will receive CIM’s ‘Marketers of the Future’ award, a one-year complimentary CIM professional membership for each team member, a complimentary ‘Specialist Award’ qualification from CIM Academy, a virtual one-hour session with HAYS Chief Marketing Officer Inken Khulmann-Rhinnow, as well as a virtual CV writing workshop, the chance to feature in a case study posted on the CIM website and a digital winner’s badge issued by CIM.