5 teams shortlisted in race to be titled ‘Masters of their Marketing Career’

By Bryndley Walker, PR Executive, CIM

• 5 teams of postgraduate students have been shortlisted in Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Scotland competition, The Challenge.
• The shortlisted teams will take part in a face-to-face pitching process in Glasgow on 21 June.     
• The winners of the competition will be crowned the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) ‘Masters of their Marketing Career’.

02 June 2023: The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has today announced that five teams have been shortlisted for their first ever postgraduate competition, The Challenge.

The teams shortlisted for the competition include:

• Nevis-Strathclyders, University of Strathclyde
• Royal Challengers, University of Strathclyde
• TWG, University of Glasgow
• SCC - Solutions Consulting Corporation, University of Glasgow
• JJLL, Heriot-Watt University

The competition is sponsored by Highland Park single malt Scotch Whisky, a multi award-winning luxury range of whiskies, crafted at the Highland Park distillery in Kirkwall, Orkney since 1798. Highland Park is owned by the international spirits brand Edrington, who count The Macallan and Famous Grouse amongst their portfolio of brands.

Entrants were challenged with recommending a brand partnership to reinforce Highland Park’s ‘A Wild Harmony’ positioning and credentials as a super-premium brand. Teams were also challenged to outline how the proposed brands would work together to engage, inspire, and excite Highland Park’s consumer target audience. The shortlisted teams will present their proposals at the finalist pitching day in Glasgow on 21^st June.

The winning team will be announced at the event and crowned the Chartered Institute Marketing’s ‘Masters of their Marketing Career’. They will also be invited on an all-expenses paid day trip to Orkney, with a distillery tour and team lunch. A one-year CIM membership for each team member and a two-hour individual mentoring session by a senior marketer is also part of the winning prize.

Discussing the competition Paul Condron, Brand Director at Highland Park said: “The shortlisted teams have done incredibly well to make it to this point in the competition, the quality of the teams going into the final is amazing. It has been inspiring to see so many postgraduate students from across Scotland display such talent and enthusiasm for the task at hand. I am excited to see which team is crowned ‘Masters of their Marketing Career’.

Ellie Murphy, Chair of the CIM Scotland Committee, said: “Congratulations to all the shortlisted teams who have worked extremely hard on their proposals. The Challenge was created to offer postgraduate students in Scotland the opportunity to highlight their knowledge of marketing in a real-life brief. We have seen a profound knowledge of marketing from all the entrants and have been impressed by the innovative ideas presented. I am excited to see the final presentations of our shortlisted teams and I am sure that every single one of the team members will go on to do amazing things”.

In its inaugural year, The Challenge is a nationwide competition designed to recognise and reward the marketing talent amongst postgraduate students. It sees students from across Scotland compete to respond to a real-life marketing challenge, in a bid to win the title of ‘Masters of their Marketing Career’.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

About CIM:
For over 100 years, CIM has supported the marketing sector. With over 20,000 members in more than 100 countries, CIM strives for business leaders and opinion formers to recognise the positive contribution professional marketing can bring to their organisations, the economy and wider society. We support, develop and represent marketers, organisations and the profession all over the world. Our ability to award Chartered Marketer status recognises a marketer’s commitment to staying current and abiding by a professional Code of Conduct. While our diverse range of training courses and world-renowned qualifications enable modern marketers to thrive in their roles and deliver long-term success for businesses. Find out more about CIM by visiting www.cim.co.uk

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For further information please contact the Chartered Institute of Marketing regional press office at Pelican Communications on michael.bennett@pelicomms.co.uk or 07788 744001.

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James Delves 
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James.delves@cim.co.uk  

Bryndley Walker  
PR Executive, CIM
Bryndley.walker@cim.co.uk