PRESS RELEASE

FUTURE TALENT: SHORTLIST REVEALED FOR NATIONWIDE STUDENT MARKETING COMPETITION

• The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s The Pitch competition shortlists top ten teams
• Judging panel includes representatives from LIDL, Microsoft and CIM
• £1,500 cash prize available for winners of the competition supported by leading brands, LIDL and Mintel

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has announced its shortlist of ten teams from across the UK going through to the final round of their student competition, The Pitch.

Now in its ninth year, The Pitch sees students from leading universities compete to respond to a live client brief in a bid to win £1,500 and the title of 'Marketer of the Future'. This year, teams put forward ideas to show how leading retailer Lidl, can most effectively market its commitment to a 20% reduction of its own brand plastic packaging by 2022.

The judging panel this year includes marketing experts from LIDL, Microsoft, Mintel and CIM.

The shortlist will now be narrowed down to three, with the finalists being taken through to the 2020 CIM Marketing Excellence Awards on 2 April. The overall winning team will then be announced and presented with the ‘Marketers of the Future’ award. 

The university teams shortlisted in this year’s The Pitch competition include:

• Newcastle University, #deplastic
• University of Strathclyde, Cooper & Dickson
• University of Chester, Eugene and Paul
• University of Brighton, Gaeia Consultancy
• University of Chester, L2M
• Birmingham City University, Lidl on Waste
• Cardiff Metropolitan University, Met à la Mode
• Newcastle University, NCL Eco-Marketers
• Bournemouth University, Paradigm
• London College of Fashion - UAL, The Plastic Free Bet, LCF Will Get

Gemma Butler, marketing director at CIM said: “We’ve been inundated with high-calibre applications this year. It’s been fantastic to get a glimpse of the student talent across the UK and we’re very much looking forward to seeing the finalists bring their ideas to life in the final held at Moor Hall on the 28^th February.”

Ellen Grieve was a student at Strathclyde Business School when she entered the Pitch with fellow classmate, Roxanne Colinet. Since winning, they have both gone on to enjoy success in marketing roles, working as a Marketing Assistant at Gordon Ritchie Marketing and a Brand Manager for FIXR respectively. Discussing the competition, Ellen said:

“Not only did The Pitch give me confidence in my marketing ability, it also boosted my CV. Having the opportunity to work on a live brief and put into practice my knowledge was fantastic and something I had not had the chance to do before. It was great to share our enthusiasm for marketing with respected industry leaders.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

For more information on The Pitch, please view here: https://www.cim.co.uk/events/the-pitch/students/

About CIM

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is the world’s leading professional body for marketing, with over 28,000 members worldwide, of which there are over 2,500 Chartered Marketers. CIM’s mission is to create a marketing advantage for the benefit of professionals, business and society with a focus on export, data and skills. CIM believes marketing is the critical factor in driving long term organisational performance.

CIM provides members and organisations with five key benefits: 

• Partnership – CIM is a professional and organisational partner to support performance and career development
• Education – CIM allows individuals and businesses to continuously upskill
• Information – CIM keeps members up to date with the latest marketing thinking, and keeps organisations at the forefront of practices
• Connection – CIM provides access to services, expertise and peers
• Recognition – CIM is the global benchmark of professional competence

For more than 100 years, CIM has supported, represented and developed marketers, teams, leaders and the profession as a whole. There are 120 CIM study centres in 32 countries and exam centres in 132 countries worldwide. In the last year, over 7,500 people registered at over 230 UK CIM events. Find out more about CIM by visiting www.cim.co.uk.

Media contacts

James Delves
CIM Head of PR and External Engagement
james.delves@cim.co.uk 

Corinne Lavictoire  
PR Executive
corinne.lavictoire@cim.co.uk