CIM begins global search to find marketing young guns

The Chartered Institute of Marketing has kick started its annual search to attract the new bright young things of marketing, opening its student competition The Pitch to international marketing undergraduates.

Now on its 12th year, the competition challenges university students from across the world to respond to a live client brief, in a bid to win a cash prize of £1,500 and the title of ‘Marketer of the Future’.

This year’s competition is sponsored by WeAre8, a social media app that aims to make a positive impact on people and the planet every day by sharing ad revenue with citizens, creators, and charity partners.

Entrants will be challenged to explore ways WeAre8 can scale up and show that social media can be a kinder, better place – looking at building the base of consumers and content creators and overall engagement, which leads to collective action to drive positive change.

The undergraduates will be challenged to develop a consumer-facing creative campaign that raises awareness of WeAre8, while engaging the hearts and minds of customers. Each team will have a theoretical £200,000 budget to develop a campaign that takes advantage of earned, owned and paid media channels.

WeAre8 chief community officer Gemma Butler said: “We’re really looking forward to seeing the entries for The Pitch competition and encourage all eligible young marketers to give it a go. At WeAre8 we celebrate and champion good, and work to have a positive impact every day, so we’re excited to see some fresh thinking on how to boost our impact even more.

“Based on the calibre of previous years, we’re expecting to see exceptional entries, so we’d encourage competitors to think outside the box and come up with creative ideas that will resonate with young like-minded people. We wish all the competitors the best of luck and look forward to seeing their campaigns.”

The competition is open to second and third-year undergraduate students at universities across the world who are studying for a marketing degree or a business degree with a marketing module.

In teams of two or three, entrants must devise a marketing plan and present it to the judges. The top ten teams will be invited to a live virtual judging final on the March 17 2023 to present their idea to judges from across the industry, including representatives from WeAre8, CIM and leading brands. The ultimate winners will be announced at the end of the live final.

CIM marketing director Natalie Spearing said: “Every year we continue to be inspired by the brilliant ideas presented by the marketing students. It is an industry full of individuals with exciting creative talent and cutting-edge technical abilities, both of which showcase the art and science of marketing.

“Recent research of ours found that three-fifths of young people consider marketing a career choice, with good salary and career progression the top incentives to enter the industry. Being crowned ‘Marketer of the Future’ is a brilliant way to bolster a CV, stand out from the crowd in an even more competitive job market, and start your journey in the profession.”