Two teams scoop CIM 'Marketers of the Future' prize

Teams from King’s Business School, King’s College London and the the University of York have both scooped first prize at this year’s Chartered Institute of Marketing global student marketing competition, The Pitch, a competition designed to find the “Marketers of the Future”.

Now in its fourteenth year, The Pitch sees students from leading UK and international universities compete to respond to a real-life marketing challenge. The competition aims to equip students for a professional role in marketing, empowering them to drive meaningful change.

This year’s competition, which was run in partnership with Dogs Trust, challenged students to create an effective marketing plan to grow Dogs Trust’s Companion Club membership scheme. They then presented their idea to judges from across the industry in a live virtual final.

The winning undergraduate team from King’s, AdEd (Elliot Davey and Demir Timuray), commented: “The Pitch was a challenging experience for us and also a very rewarding one. We were proud to represent London and King’s College London’s Business School. This experience has given us the opportunity to drive social impact for a great cause and will help to equip us in our future careers in marketing.

The winning post-graduate team from York, Paws and Claws Crew (Sandra Xu and Zephyr Zhang), added: “We are delighted to have been named the winners of The Pitch 2025 postgraduate competition, following in the footsteps of some very talented marketing professionals. Throughout this process, we have been able to develop some key skills, whilst also creating a valuable marketing plan for a noble cause.”

CIM’s ‘Marketers of the Future 2025’ will receive a whole host of prizes including a team voucher for CIM training, a one-year complimentary CIM professional membership for each team member, and the opportunity to name a litter of puppies from Dogs Trust.

Dogs Trust interim group head of individual giving Stacey Conway-Jones added: “We have loved partnering with the CIM on this year’s student competition, and supporting the next generation of marketers as they embark on their journey to becoming established professionals.

“The work produced was so impressive! Thank you for your dedication and hard work in creating such an exceptional proposal for Dogs Trust’s Companion Club. It has been a pleasure to witness everyone’s enthusiasm, and see their visions for our charity come to life in the final. A huge thank you to CIM for including us in The Pitch – it’s been a brilliant experience.”

CIM chief executive Chris Daly said: “We would like to congratulate all the incredible participants in this year’s final. Seeing their passion and ingenuity as they presented their ideas was truly inspiring. I was beyond impressed with their creativity and strategic thinking – balancing the two skills is no mean feat.

“The Pitch embodies CIM’s dedication to empowering the next generation of marketers to reach their full potential. As we conclude the 14th year of this competition, we at CIM remain committed to nurturing young talent and igniting a lifelong passion for marketing amongst the next generation. A huge congratulations to all for their award-winning ideas.”