Salford students reach the final of prestigious Chartered Institute of Marketing competition

The global competition, known for kickstarting the careers of participants, sees entrants develop a marketing strategy for charity Every Youth, known for their support of homeless young people.

Becky Leigh and Hophny Saint Fleur, aka Team BWH, 2nd year undergraduate Business Management with Marketing students from Salford Business School successful booked their place in the final of The Pitch after a compelling presentation to a panel of industry judges.

Becky and Hophny decided to use the trends of viral marketing and social media platforms like TikTok to inform their strategy. The idea is to encourage people to take part in an activity that scares them, to raise awareness of the work of Every Youth and the fear homeless young people may be feeling. The idea was established following extensive research of Every Youth and the political, economic and social factors which make up the current global landscape.

Creating a hashtag, #FaceYourFearsForThem, Becky and Hophny showed impressive business acumen and knowledge of social media marketing and the power of viral trends to boost donations for the charity.

The competition, delivered by the CIM in partnership with Hays, is divided into two categories for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Team BWH are one of only six undergraduate teams from across the UK to be selected for the final.

Now, Becky and Hophny must present their idea to a panel of experts including representatives from Every Youth, Hays and the CIM. The final takes place on Friday 15th March 2024.

“I’m really pleased to have made it to the final, and thanks to my tutors for encouraging myself and Hophny to enter this competition,” says Becky. “It’s really made me think more critically and helped to build my skills in terms of creating a concept for a real-world challenge. I want to pursue a career in marketing, so The Pitch competition has helped me to gain skills which hopefully I can put to the test after graduation and in the industry.”

Hophny Saint Fleur added: “Working on a challenge like this has helped me to understand all of the work that goes into creating a marketing strategy. The context was really important for us: we know that many people in the UK are struggling financially with the cost-of-living crisis, so we wanted to create an idea which was fun as well as beneficial for Every Youth.”

Dr Michael Evans, Interim Programme Leader for undergraduate Marketing courses, commented: “It’s great to see our students so engaged with this competition, and with such a prestigious organisation like the CIM backing their ideas, I really feel they could go all the way. At Salford, we are all about preparing our students for the working world by fostering a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship, which is why this competition is integrated as part of the Advertising Strategy module.”

Dr Sean Chung, Subject Group Head for Marketing at Salford Business School, added: “For many students, employability is one of the key things they look for when choosing to go to university. Experiencing real-world challenges like in The Pitch competition allows our students to test the skills they learn in the classroom in a true-to-life setting. I’m extremely proud of Becky and Hophny: good luck for the final pitch!”

The winning team will claim the coveted 2024 ‘Marketers of the Future’ Award, as well as other prizes including a virtual session with the Chief Marketing Officer at Every Youth.

To find out more about The Pitch competition from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, visit: The Pitch student marketing competition | CIM.