Marketing Strategy Competition

DETAILS:

Hello strategists! In this competition, you will be competing in pairs to win a (fake) business’ contract for Q4. Each pair will receive a marketing prompt the day of the competition that includes the information about the business and the problems they’re looking for help with.

Once you receive this prompt, you will have a limited amount of time to prepare an effective marketing strategy (no visual aid needed). Each pair will have 3 minutes to pitch the plan and wow the judges with their quick strategy turnaround.

Some aspects (but not all) the judges will consider are:

• Professionalism

• Confidence

• The validity of the strategy

• Whether or not the strategy solves the problems

While the items above are essential for your strategy proposal, think creatively and propose your strategy as if you were trying to win their business.

Each team MUST have 2 students within their pair.

How to Apply

1. Go to the AMA WRC website and find the Marketing Strategy competition

2. Apply for the competition using this Google Form.

3. Once you apply, you will be entered into the pool of competitors

   1. Determined on a first come, first serve basis.

   2. You will be notified if you are included in the competition by October 20th.

4. The day of the competition you will receive the competition brief and information on your time slot, Zoom link, and confirmation - this way all applicants have an equal amount of time to work on their strategy.

ELIGIBILITY:

• Only one team per school - choose your best!

• Everyone is eligible to compete, regardless of status in education or otherwise

• Only those who have submitted the form by October 15th and have indicated that they were interested in competing in a competition are eligible to compete

• Incomplete submissions will not be accepted

HOW IT WORKS

• Pre-Competition

  • You will be notified if you have been chosen on October 20th

  • You will receive an email at 7 AM on the day of the competition that includes

    • The marketing prompt & business information

    • The Zoom room link

    • Your pairs time slot

• Round One:

  • Do NOT enter the room until you are notified by the judge/ student rep

  • You will receive exactly 4 minutes to go over your marketing strategy with the judges. You may NOT go over time, and once time runs out, so does your strategy proposal.

  • In this stage, the top 3 scores will move on to round two where you will have a chance to answer any questions the judges have about your strategy.

  • Once you complete your proposal, please exit the room.

• Final Round (If chosen as a finalist):

  • Three pairs will be chosen for the final round in which the judges will have 10 mins to ask your group any questions they may have and solidify the order of the top 3.

  • You will be notified via email or phone call.

RULES AND GUIDELINES

• Please dress professionally as if it were a real strategy presentation

• You may NOT go over your allotted meeting time.

• Groups that go over the entire session time will be penalized.

• You may not have outside help aside from your own 2 members.

• Do NOT include any of your schools branding in your zoom background

IMPORTANT COMPETITION TIMELINE:

• September 16: Ticket sales begin and attendees are now eligible to indicate whether they are interested in competing

• October 2 : Ticket sales with competition eligibility ends

• October 5-9: Teams are notified if they are eligible to compete (First come, first serve basis). You will be receiving further competition registration details (DATE SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

• October 25: Teams receive their marketing brief at 7 AM and compete.

• October 25: Teams are notified of the top 3, and overall scores are released

JUDGING:

*Those who don’t make it to round 2 only have a maximum possible score of 90/10. The top 3 will have a chance to score perfectly by making it to the final round and answering questions.

Judging Criteria

Points (Out of 100)

Professionalism 10

Confidence 10

Ability to Address the Marketing Problem 20

Level of Innovation / Creativity 20

Strategy Validity (Is it feasible?) 20

Stayed within the Time Frame 10

Ability to Answer Questions 10

* If you have any questions, comments or concerns, contact CSU Channel Islands AMA President, Matt Martinez (Matt.Martinez783@myci.csuci.edu)