CIM opens global push to find 'Marketer of the Future'

While agencies vie to attract school-leavers into entry-level jobs, the Chartered Institute of Marketing is aiming to woo more university students with the launch of its annual competition, The Pitch, which challenges teams to develop a creative campaign from a live client brief.

Now in its 11th year, the competition is open until December 3 to university students from across the world, offering the chance to win a cash prize of £1,500 and the title of ‘Marketer of the Future’.

This year’s competition is sponsored by Boots, with entrants challenged to raise awareness of the partnership Boots has with The Prince’s Trust, in a creative way that brings to life the expertise and ‘behind the scenes’ support for young people.

The students will be challenged to develop a consumer-facing creative campaign that raises awareness of both brands while engaging the hearts and minds of customers and team members.

Each team will have an imaginary £200,000 budget to develop a campaign that takes advantage of earned, owned and paid media channels.

Boots chief marketing officer Pete Markey said: “We are really looking forward to seeing the entries for The Pitch competition and encourage all eligible young marketers to give it a go.

“Our partnership with The Prince’s Trust intends to empower the next generation by providing meaningful opportunities for young people, echoing the sentiment of this global competition giving young people the chance to stand out from the crowd and show off their creativity.

“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 ideas.”

The competition is open to second and third-year 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 March 18 2022 to present their ideas to judges from across the industry, including representatives from Boots, CIM and leading brands. The ultimate winners will be announced at the end of the live final.

CIM marketing director Gemma Butler said: “We’ve been running The Pitch competition for eleven years now, but every year I continue to be inspired by the brilliant ideas presented by the marketing students.

“Recent research of ours found that more than a third (35%) of young people aged between 16 to 24 have undertaken additional training in the last two years due to concerns around the job market. Being crowned ‘Marketer of the Future’ is a brilliant way to bolster a CV and stand out from the crowd in an even more competitive job market.

“Boots is a well-loved British brand, and we hope its partnership with The Prince’s Trust will present young marketers with an exciting opportunity to challenge their creativity, whilst developing critical business and life skills.”

Last year’s winners were a trio from Leeds Beckett University, who impressed judges with their situational analysis of Samsung’s brand positioning and identification of channel opportunities for its Generation Z target audience.

The initiative is now integrated into the syllabuses of many universities across the UK, including Bournemouth, Leeds Beckett, Hull and Swansea. The Pitch is also part of a wider initiative that runs alongside the CIM Accredited Degree partnership programme, which maps marketing and business degrees against learning outcomes within CIM qualifications.