What is The Pitch?
The Pitch is a nationwide marketing competition for students, designed to recognise and reward the marketing talent of the future. In teams of two or three, you have to tackle a marketing challenge set by student travel company - StudentUniverse. Pitch it to real industry leaders and if you impress our panel, you will be in the running for an array of career-accelerating prizes.
Who can enter?
Second and third year students at UK universities studying a marketing degree or business degree with a marketing module.
Why take part?
- Enhance your CV
- Build professional networks
- Gain real-life experience
- Enjoy a unique experience
The Challenge
In North America, StudentUniverse is the number one choice for student and youth travel; having now launched into the UK, what marketing plan would you undertake to achieve similar success in this market
How to enter
In order to successfully register for The Pitch 2017, you need to enter a team of two or three. Each member of the team needs to be a second or third year student at a UK university studying a marketing related degree.
You will need to register your team by 16 December 2016 in order to receive your competition materials, which will outline what you need to include in your 2500 word marketing plan.
The sooner you register, the more time you will have. The final submission deadline for your marketing plan is 29 January 2017.
If you and your team make it through to the final 12, you will be invited to a live judging final on the 09 March 2017, where you’ll have to present your plan to our panel of judges.
Terms and Conditions apply.
Judges
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Henry Clifford Jones
LinkedIn
More…
xHenry Clifford Jones
A leader in the marketing field, Henry was the first and now longest serving member of the LinkedIn EMEA team. He joined the company in 2008 and leads the Marketing Solutions business in UK, DACH and ES which helps marketers identify, target and engage with world's professionals.
Prior to LinkedIn Henry was the European General Manager for Europe at Vibrant Media helping to establish and grow the business in the region.
Henry holds a degree in Geography from University of Bristol, and is a well-respected leader in the world of marketing.
He lives in Surrey with his wife and four children and is soon adding a dog to the family! He’s also an avid sports fan and keen cook.
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Michael Rudman
Head of Marketing, Close Brothers
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xMichael Rudman
Michael is Head of Marketing at Close Brothers. He makes sure that everything is created with the customer in mind from the products developed to the overall marketing strategy. He is driven to deliver the best customer experience.
He joined Close Brothers in 2012 and moved to the Close Brothers Retail Finance team in 2015. Previously, he worked for various insurers across Personal, Commercial and Health insurance products in Product Management and Commercial Development roles.
Loves all things sport although is terrible at taking part but spends his time trying to watch it (three daughters means it’s difficult!) He has a number of mentees who he’s helping to develop as well as looking for charitable organisations to help after completing his trustee leadership programme.
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Steve Charlton
President, Mintel
More…
xSteve Charlton
Steve is President of Mintel's commercial operation across the EMEA region. The prestigious portfolio spans the world's leading and emerging brands across all consumer categories, as well as agencies, financial services, retail and academics.
Steve and his team are passionate about supporting and growing this portfolio and work in partnership with the clients to deliver unique business insights, which uncover new opportunities and drive growth.
With more than 20 years at Mintel, Steve has enjoyed a variety of commercial and general management roles, including five years running global marketing and three years living in Chicago focused on growing our US operation - he still misses their summers...but not the winters.
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James Farmer
Head of Marketing, CIM
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xJames Farmer
James is Head of Marketing Communications at CIM, leading the Events, Marcomms and Creative departments. He joined CIM from Sky where he was Brand Controller across a range of their leading TV Products, driving brand strategies and delivering ATL campaigns.
Prior to that he spent over 15 years agency-side working on a range of Entertainment and Telco clients. He’s passionate about customer-centric marketing that draws on juicy audience insights to create compelling comms.
He has a Graphic Design degree, a strategic mind and a strong commercial focus, so enjoys working with pictures, words and numbers.
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Sam Willan
Marketing Manager, StudentUniverse
More…
xSam Willan
A Yorkshireman by birth and a recent CIM graduate, Sam started his career in marketing recruitment before his wanderlust lead him to a career in travel. He has seven years’ marketing experience across a variety of travel brands and currently oversees the complex marketing strategy for StudentUniverse and gapyear.com.
When he’s not working, you’ll find him somewhere outside of the UK, generally on a ski slope.
The Prizes
The top 12 finalists will be invited to a live judging day on 9 March 2017 to present their pitches to a panel of industry leaders. The judges will then decide who will be walking away with the following prizes:
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1st place
- £3000
- Winner of the ‘Marketers of the future’ award at CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards
- VIP Tickets to CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards
- One year complimentary CIM membership for each team member
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2nd place
- £3000
- Winner of the ‘Marketers of the future’ award at CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards
- VIP Tickets to CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards
- One year complimentary CIM membership for each team member
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3rd place
- A ‘Fitbit Blaze’ for each team member
- VIP Tickets to CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards
- One year complimentary CIM membership for each team member
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All finalists
- Specially-produced, framed finalist certificates
- Promotion on www.cim.co.uk in ‘The Pitch’ hall of fame
What to expect
See the highlights from The Pitch 2016.
Enter now
If you’d like to take part in The Pitch 2017, complete the form below with your team’s details and you’ll receive your competition materials within 1-2 working days.
Contact us
For more information, please contact:thepitch@cim.co.uk