Showcase your skills to a leading global brand
The Pitch is CIM’s global student competition, designed to discover the marketers of the future. This year, students will take on a real-life brief from our industry partner, IBM. It’s your chance to gain practical experience, boost your employability and give you the best chance to stand out to employers in a competitive job market.
In partnership with IBM, a global leader in technology and innovation
Ready to get involved?
There are separate competitions for Undergraduate and Postgraduate students. Whether you’re a student ready to enter or a tutor looking for more details, we’ve tailored each page to help you get started.
FAQs
Our partnership with IBM gives students the chance to explore one of the most exciting and fast-moving areas in marketing today: Artificial intelligence (Al).
As part of the competition, you’ll gain exclusive access to IBM’s Al resources and expert led-webinars. Meaning you will be learning directly from the professionals who are leading the change in digital innovation.
IBM is a multinational technology giant with a profound influence on the global business landscape. Since 1911, IBM has continually innovated and shaped the consumer experience through groundbreaking technologies such as the ATM, the (UPC) barcode, and magnetic stripe card. Today, IBM remains at the forefront of technological advancement in the business-to-business and consumer space, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI), where it creates world-leading, human-centred digital marketing solutions, including through its partnership with Adobe.
To find out more about IBM, visit https://www.ibm.com/about?lnk=flatitem
To be eligible to enter The Pitch, you must:
- Be an undergraduate student in their second or third year of study
- OR an postgraduate student in their first or final year of study
- Be studying for, or who have completed, a marketing or business degree with at least one marketing module.
16 September 2025: Student team registrations open
01 December 2025: Student team registrations close
19 January 2026: Deadline for team member or team name changes
26 January 2026: Marketing Presentation submission deadline
25 February 2026: Finalists announced
10 March 2026: Undergraduate live virtual final
11 March 2026: Postgraduate live virtual final
Yes , The Pitch is open to international students. Final presentations take place virtually, so the competition is fully accessible wherever you're based.
Teams must consist of two or three students. All team members must be studying at the same academic level – either all undergraduate or all postgraduate.
No, entry to The Pitch is free.
The Pitch has two rounds:
- Round 1: Teams submit a PowerPoint presentation outlining their marketing proposal.
- Final Round: Shortlisted teams present their ideas live (virtually) to a panel of expert judges.
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