Marketing and Sales Competitions
Put your marketing and sales knowledge to the test!
Academic competitions play an essential part in learning for students. Participation offers a unique opportunity for students to use the knowledge they have gained in the classroom and apply it to real-work situations. These competitions are great for building skills, including leadership, teamwork and communication. They can also be a great way to make new connections and friends. If you want to further your education and knowledge, consider signing up for an academic competition today.
National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC)
Matthew Wilson, AAF-UNI Faculty Advisor
319-273-6046
NSAC is one of the largest advertising competitions for participating college chapters of the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Each year a corporate sponsor provides a difficult marketing challenge detailed in an extensive case study for students to solve. Students are given access to high-level marketing research tools such as Experian Simmons OneView, AdMall, SRDS, and Nielsen ratings data. Student teams complete extensive research and develop an integrated communication campaign for the client - including the media plan, messaging strategy and creative ad executions.
The team selects five presenters to pitch the campaign concepts they developed to a panel of judges at the AAF District 9 competition in Kansas City in April. The district winners advance to compete in semi-finals, and the top eight teams in the country compete at the AAF national conference.
BIZ INK
Chris Schrage, International Programs Coordinator
319-273-2126
BIZ INK is an international, undergraduate, business-student competition that challenges students around the world to develop professional skills and practical knowledge using "real-life" business cases. It requires a goal orientation, creativity, social consciousness and the capacity to work effectively and efficiently in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams. BIZ INK strives for a global perspective on business, with a special interest in Latin-American companies, which face a fast changing region politically, socially and economically. The BIZ INK finals, known as the INK CHALLENGE, take place at the EAFIT university campus in Medellin, Colombia.
Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE)
Marty Hansen, Instructor of Marketing
319-273-2630
Members of the UNI chapter of PSE, Epsilon Theta, compete in numerous categories at the PSE Regional Conference and National Convention. Competitions include the Pro-Am Sell-a-Thon, Speakers Competition and the Boss Games. Winners at the regional level go on to compete at the National Convention.
International Collegiate Case Competition
Kathleen Porter
The Collegiate Chapters Council of the American Marketing Association (AMA) runs an annual International Collegiate Case Competition that began in 1986-87. The Case Competition is open to undergraduate teams at schools that have an affiliated AMA Collegiate Chapter. The AMA Collegiate Case Competition is a yearlong event that brings together top marketing students to work on a marketing challenge submitted by a sponsoring organization. The Case sponsor provides a detailed marketing problem for which it is looking to gain the perspective of AMA's best students, who will compete by developing a marketing strategy in a nationally recognized competition.
AMA Collegiate Chapter Website Competition
Kathleen Porter
The AMA Collegiate Chapter Website Competition sponsored by Wix is one of the AMA's most valuable competitions. Submissions are made by late fall of the academic year for judging. Faculty advisors from across the U.S. judge the website as if they were an internal or external customer. Sites will be evaluated on Aesthetics, Content and Functionality, Engagement, and other required elements. Winners will be announced during the Annual International Collegiate Conference Awards banquet held in the spring of each year.
Northwestern Mutual Sales Competition
Kathleen Porter
The Northwestern Mutual Sales Competition is an opportunity to compete one-on-one against other AMA marketing students testing their abilities to close the sale - and win cash prizes. The competition takes place on site of the International Collegiate Conference. Each competitor will present a prepared sales presentation (approximately 8 minutes). Finalists will be chosen to compete in the final round of competition. Winners will be announced during the Awards dinner at the conclusion of the International Collegiate Conference.
SABRE Business Simulation Competition
Kathleen Porter
SABRE™, (which stands for Strategic Allocation of Business Resources), is a market simulation developed by IIBD and used in IIBD's executive courses, and in MBA programs worldwide, including Wharton, University of North Carolina, University of Michigan, and abroad.
The SABRE Business Simulation takes place on site of the AMA International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. Teams may add and withdraw products from the marketplace as well as advertise, price, distribute and design those products to best fit varying market segments. Teams have decision periods to make a series of strategic decisions. Participants must make their decisions in the face of uncertain market conditions, including competitor's moves. Each team has an equally fair chance of succeeding depending on the strategies and tactics they employ.
Marketing Strategy Competition
Kathleen Porter
This competition taking place at the AMA International Collegiate Conference will challenge participant's wit, speed, and presentation skills while leveling the playing field for all schools - big, small, commuter- many resources to no resources! This one is all about the students and using their knowledge and experience to react quickly to come up with a case solution.
In teams of two participants will receive the same minicase (1 page) based on a fictional company. Teams will then have 20 minutes to create a strategy to solve the problem within the case before going in front of the judging panel to present their ideas. The oral presentation will be 7 minutes max (no visual aids) - it's solely based on students' ideas, knowledge and ability to communicate those ideas.
At the end of the presentation, judges will have the opportunity to follow-up with questions based on the team recommendations. The best presentations will advance to a semi-finals and finals round on Saturday morning of the International Collegiate Conference.