A team of students from the University of Illinois has placed in the top six finalists at this year’s national marketing competition hosted by the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA). The competition was held April 18-19 in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Every team participating in the marketing competition does an excellent job in developing a thorough marketing plan, a process that takes most teams the majority of the academic year to complete,” said Kristen Marshall, NAMA Careers Committee Chair. “Those teams that advanced to the finals truly did exceptional work on their projects. Each year I am amazed by the talent of these teams.”
The University of Illinois team had 14 students involved with this year’s project to market Zapple – a caffeinated apple. The team spent the last several months conducting market research, writing the marketing plan and developing a presentation.
The University of Illinois is in only its second year of competition after a more than 15 year hiatus of participating in the competition. In the late 1980s and early 1990s teams were active in the competition. Student members pushed to re-invigorate the club and are instructed by Dr. Nick Paulson, Assistant Professor in Agricultural and Consumer Economics, and Theresa Miller, Academic Advisor in the department.
The top six marketing teams this year were: Arizona State University, University of Madison – Wisconsin, Kansas State University, University of Minnesota, Iowa State University and the University of Illinois.
Students decide on a project and develop a plan to successfully bring the product or service to the marketplace. In developing their marketing plan, students follow the same practices and principles used by today’s marketing professionals. Teams submit a written plan summary prior to the competition and then make a formal presentation of their marketing plan to a panel of judges at the competition. The judges’ panel consists of marketing and agribusiness professionals.
Overall, 29 student NAMA chapters participated in the marketing competition. The competition is part of the National Agri-Marketing Association’s annual conference and trade show. More than 350 student members and 1100 marketing professionals attended the conference.
