Unapologetic Marketers blog about pitching to a national competition

University of Wolverhampton Business School students blog about their experience of pitching to a prestigious competition.

Participating in extracurricular competitions and challenges during university is crucial for professional development, it is an opportunity for students to apply knowledge acquired during their studies.

Therefore, our team did not miss this opportunity when we received the invitation to participate in the prestigious Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) The Pitch competition. Applying our knowledge and skills was one of the factors that led us to participate, it has been one of the most important and relevant experiences we have had, especially being amongst the top ten finalists.

Moreover, our team recognised the significance of improving our experience and expertise through a trustworthy organisation such as CIM, which gave us a splendid opportunity to put our passion for marketing into practice.

What is the Pitch CIM Competition?

The Pitch is a challenge undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in partnership with a leading global brand. It is an international competition and is designed to recognise and reward the marketing talent of the future through a competition that allows students to apply their learning. This year the challenge was to showcase the partnership between Boots and The Prince’s Trust through the development of a creative marketing campaign. The principal aim was to raise awareness of this partnership among consumers.

Link: https://www.cim.co.uk/events/the-pitch/students/ 

The Creative Marketing Campaign Experience 

The challenge of creating a creative campaign for a world-leading brand was an impactful experience. First, we conducted analysis and research to obtain relevant information and find out the companies' and the partnership’s objective. This was one of the main points in order for us understand the importance of this campaign and how we would develop our project. Soon after, we started to develop the project with the material collected by the team, and many online and face-to-face meetings were held to gather ideas and develop the marketing campaign. Therefore, we can also testify that creating this project in the middle of our assignments was not easy. Still, we know that our personal and team effort would be worth it because the knowledge and skills developed during this time would benefit our future professional careers. Besides, the experience of working in a team provided the ability to deal with different forms of thoughts. As a result, our collective action supported our performance in the development and completion of the project. 

Furthermore, the responsibility of participating in a national competition and representing the University of Wolverhampton kept us focused on developing a project with quality and professionalism. Our tutors were also fundamental in helping us to carry out the campaign. They supported us from the beginning, and their advice and ideas were essential for creating a successful campaign. Hence, being among the ten finalists was an overwhelming experience, and at this moment, we are preparing for the finals and we are hopeful that our project will be successful.

Personal Experience: 

Bruna: “Overcoming the challenge and the practical application of theoretical knowledge was one of the most valuable experiences for me. Teamwork also enabled the exchange of knowledge and greater agility in meeting goals and objectives to develop the campaign, helping me to fuel my creativity and learning. It was a great way to gain more knowledge in Marketing and what it is like to compete with other students who have similar skills. This was a great opportunity to apply in practice the content learned at the university and add value to my future career."

-Bruna Ianicelli, International Business Management Student. 

Gioan: “The pitch competition organised by CIM was an excellent opportunity to utilise all the gained knowledge that I have learned from my course and put it into practice.  I strongly believe that the key decision-making factor was to challenge myself to become more confident and demonstrate my skills into a real-life project. Concurrently, I enjoyed the whole journey and I already feel that we have won the competition because the number one reason that I entered was to build relationships, develop my team working skills and add value to such an incredible endeavor by the collaboration of Boots and Prince Trust to support the young generation."

-Gioan Peloumpi, Business and Marketing Management Student.

Samira: “Since starting at the University of Wolverhampton, I have had great opportunities to put the abilities I have learnt in my studies to the test. Working on the CIM project has given me a greater understanding of how large organisations operate in real-time as well as increased my research skills. The entire experience was filled with learning and applying what we had learned in university from the previous two years into practice. I am honored to be a part of this group of people who appreciate and have enhanced this experience. The University has recognised our efforts, encouraging us to do our best to represent the University. I am thankful for our lecturers that believe in us and have taught us, allowing us to compete with national universities."

-Samira Abdullahi, International Business Management Student.