The Pitch
On the 26th March 2010, BPP’s Business School – alongside
CIM
and Virgin Limited Edition’s The Roof Gardens –
launched The Pitch. This intensive one-day competition pitted
marketing students of varying levels against one another in a fun
and engrossing challenge to alter the public perception of The Roof
Gardens, devising a concept to help boost perception, audience and
revenue within the winter months.
The participants worked in teams of three, developing strategy
and a creative proposition, handling the budget and, finally,
presenting their ideas to a panel of experienced judges. This was
followed by an in-depth Q & A session, during which they had to
justify the minutiae of their choices and decisions. The winning
team of three – calling themselves The Alan Sugar Babes – each won
a BPP Business School
MBA programme worth £16,500, a year’s membership to the CIM and
membership to the Kensington Roof Gardens. Please scroll down for a
full list of the participants, judges and the task.
And, in 2011, we’re doing it again. A new
venue and a new challenge await new participants, each competing
against rival study centres from all over London for prizes which
could greatly boost their careers, as well as the event itself
which could take pride of place on any marketer’s CV. We plan on
making our next Pitch even bigger and better than the first, enough
to stretch the capabilities of even the most dedicated CIM student
– although in the 2010 Pitch the close runner-ups were CIM Diploma
candidates, showing that everyone has a chance to win.
In order to apply for the Pitch you need to be
currently studying a CIM course. To register your interest in the
2011 Pitch please send your details to christytraore@bpp.com or
kevintewis@bpp.com.
2010 judges:
Chris Brady (Dean of BPP Business School), Philip Preston
(Regional Director of CIM), Jason Gardner (General Manager of The
Roof Gardens, Virgin Limited Edition), Jacky Brandreth (Marketing
Director of BBC) and Michael O’Donohue (Marketing Director of
Tesco).
2010 teams:
Winners: The Alan Sugar Babes – Laura
McCracken, Rubecka Anwar and Sherice Harris, The Marketer’s Forum,
Professional Postgraduate Diploma, “You won’t find a glitch in our
pitch, our pitch will go without a hitch!!!”
Runner-ups: The Marketing Firecrackers –
Rhiannon Bates, Emily Grose and Selena Mirams, The Marketer’s
Forum, CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing, “Pick us, we’re
Practical, Punchy, Precise, Perfectionists... add us to your
marketing mix and we’ll give you a Polished Pitch!”
Axialent: Alina O'Keeffe, Katrina Glazyrina,
Olly O'Conor, LSBF Professional Diploma in Marketing, “We have all
it takes to stand out even among the most talented marketing
individuals: a desire to learn, a passion to create and an ability
to communicate with the target audience.”
Cocktail Induced Marketeers: Sally Harvey, Kai
Bleul, Emma Howcutt, BPP Business School, Professional Diploma in
Marketing, “Cocktail Induced Marketeers (CIM) – the team which can
bring your business ahead of your competition with the most
innovative ideas marketing can produce.”
Megan, Sally and Luella: Sally Griffith, Megan
Roberson, Luella Pu, BPP Business School, MSc Marketing, “We are
three MSc students who want to put our academic knowledge to the
test in a real life situation.”
Optima: Suzanne Summerfield, Umardeep Sappal,
Sonia Soorma, BPP Business School, MSc Marketing and Prof Diploma
in Marketing, “Let us prove how much you CIM has taught us, make a
pitch to win this competition and continue to become the marketers
of the future!”
2010 task:
The Roof Gardens and the Babylon Restaurant
are most popular during the summer months, specifically from May
through until September. December is also a prime month due to
Christmas parties.
The Roof Gardens has always been perceived as
a summer venue because of the gardens and outdoor space. For events
at the Roof Gardens, evening receptions and parties are popular but
it is not always the obvious choice for day meetings and
functions.
The Babylon Restaurant offers a discount to
key local companies to encourage lunch bookings and, with jazz on
Thursday evenings plus the Club on Friday and Saturday evenings,
the key focus for development would be early week.
Without discounting the brand and keeping
within the Virgin ethos, each team had to create a marketing
concept to help overcome these perceptions and to communicate the
message that the Roof Gardens & Babylon Restaurant are all year
round venues.