Marketing team rise to national challenge

The Marketing Association National Brand Challenge lived up to its name -- but in a good way -- say the four Marketing Honours students who represented Victoria at the recent event.

23 April 2024

The Marketing Association National Brand Challenge lived up to its name -- but in a good way -- say the four Marketing Honours students who represented Victoria at the recent event.

Matthew Barnes, Harry Calverley, Kane Landers and René Versteegh travelled to Auckland to put their marketing skills to the test, with Dr Michelle Renton and Dr Kate Daellenbach from the School of Marketing and International Business as advisers.

The students, who placed third out of seven New Zealand universities, say the inaugural competition was a "fantastic challenge", and one of the highlights of their time at the University.

Each team was given 10 days to analyse a business case study from by Frucor Beverages and prepare a branding pitch.

The Victoria team came up with a product idea to solve the issue presented in the case study, along with a supporting digital and social media strategy, which they pitched to a panel of industry professionals.

"Our product concept and strategy were well received and I feel our team presented strongly," says team member Matthew Barnes.

"Although our pitch wasn’t what the panel were after, we presented well and rigorously backed up our pitch idea, for which we received wide accolades.

"The experience of the Brand Challenge was amazing, with the opportunity to meet industry experts and connect with professionals and other students from all over New Zealand."

Kane Landers agrees: "Being able to present our ideas to industry professionals as well as some of the top marketing students from other universities has definitely been a highlight of my time at Vic. I would highly recommend this to students next year -- it is an outstanding experience."

The School plans to send another team next year, and more details will be announced in Marketing classes next year. The event was sponsored by the Marketing Association, Frucor, Genesis Energy, IAG, Farmers Trading Company and the ANZ Bank.