Thomas Cooper and Adam Dickson (Winners of The Pitch 2020)

“While we might not be able to celebrate in person, we are so pleased to have been awarded this year’s title. Both of us jumped at the chance to put into practice many of the theories and marketing techniques that we’ve been studying since starting University. And now to be recognised for our thinking by a panel of respected marketing professionals is the confidence boost we needed, as we start to apply for graduate jobs.”

Evie Johnson (Winner of the Pitch 2017)

“Graduates can’t afford to take a back seat in marketing and as placements become more and more common, they need to find other ways to have an edge. I think The Pitch is a great start and it’s good fun. The money has come in really handy for my relocation too”.

Sam Willian (Marketing Manager, StudentUniverse)

"Partnering with the CIM for The Pitch, as sponsors in 2017 and as a judge in 2018 has been a hugely valuable experience for StudentUniverse. Hearing fresh, innovative ideas from talented young marketers, who are also right in our target demographic allowed us to gain unique brand insights, that continue to inform our marketing strategy and campaigns. Be prepared for an honest critique of your brand's shortcomings but with twice as many ideas on how to overcome them.

It also allowed us to develop some great collaborative working relationships with students who had been part of the campaign. Siobhan Glover, who was runner up in 2017, and her partner went on to set up and run an Instagram account @backpacksandbeyond. We recently worked with as part of a partnership campaign with Visit Victoria, who approached to help position the state as a student backpacker destination. We knew Siobhan and Andy were perfect candidates for the job, to get off the beaten track and show us everything the state had to offer through Instagram stories and their own authentic approach to influencer marketing. We had the added bonus of them already knowing the StudentUniverse brand through The Pitch - it certainly won't be the last time we work with them.

Being a part of this initiative has also led to us reviewing our hiring policy, and as a business will be looking to bring in marketing staff at a graduate level for the first time. The future of marketing is in safe hands!"

Sarah Wood (Marketing Director, Wilkinson Sword)

“It’s been a revelatory day for me. According to the returning judges, the standard of the pitches was higher than ever before. For me, the level of professionalism was there – some of the ideas were better than we might expect from an agency. The pitches that really worked well were insightful and used targeted market research, with considerations of our audience, to go the extra mile. Those were the concepts I can see us using in the future”.