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2010 Annual Kellogg Marketing Competition

Convincing someone to buy buy your product can be difficult. Not only do you need to sell yourself, while not coming off as too much of a salesperson but you also need to sell your product, while not forcing people to buy something they may not want or need. And it’s even more difficult when you have to sell a product you may not know that well, such as cereal, detergent, or mouthwash. It’s a delicate balancing act. Well, a lot of students had to manage that balance at Kellogg just last Friday, as that was the weekend for the Annual Kellogg Marketing Competition.

At long last, the Annual Kellogg Marketing Competition finally came for the class of 2012. There’s been a lot of buzz about about it for the past few weeks, and some teams had even begun talking about it months ago. Teams self-selected as soon as school began, submitted a formal application to enter the competition a few weeks later, and began marketing themselves and their products the week before heading to TG’s Mega sales day (i.e. Mega Mart) this past Friday.

As a little background, the Kellogg Marketing Competition is one of the biggest annual events here at Kellogg, and it’s one of the best ways to watch many of your classmates shine, many that came from marketing companies before Kellogg, and many who came to Kellogg as a first step to embark on their long-term goals of becoming marketing executives.

Teams of students each take on a real product donated by CPG companies and are challenged not only to market it to the Kellogg student body but also to create brand awareness and present a business plan to the list of judges. And they worked tirelessly day and night to do well.

They worked in teams to write their business plan. They brainstormed ways to create buzz with friends and section mates. They developed email, YouTube, and other viral marketing campaigns. And finally, they stood in hallways, study rooms and the atrium to execute those plans by selling to the student body.

Teams who performed head and shoulders above the rest seemed to be those whose members had the most energy and those had had good price points, enabling them to show the students the value in their products. TG. On the other hand, there were still a other things, such as posters, flyers, music, and samples also played a part in convincing us students to purchase. And for each student, I’m sure the point of sell was different.

In the end, it was not only a great opportunity to see the marketing prowess harnessed here at Kellogg, but it was also a great venue showcase how much fun everyone has at Kellogg. Thanks to all the teams for providing us with a great Friday evening.

And a special congratulations to Ziplock and Cleanwipes,who came in 1st and 2nd in the competition.