What is The Pitch?

The Pitch is back, and the challenge has been set, but have you got what it takes to impress our panel of industry leaders?

The Pitch is a nationwide competition designed to recognise and reward the marketing talent of the future.

Each year we task undergraduate marketing and business students in their second or third year of university, with a real-life marketing challenge. This Challenge is set by a leading global brand which provides students the opportunity, in teams of two or three, to apply their learning from their degrees. The top 10 teams will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas and demonstrate their ability in front of true business professionals on 28 February 2020. If they impress the panel, they’ll be in the running for the winning prize to kick-start their marketing career with the top three teams being invited to CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards 2020.

We are delighted to announce that our sponsor for 2020 is one of Europe’s leading food retailers, Lidl.

The Challenge

"By 2022, Lidl’s own brand plastic packaging will be reduced by 20%. How can we keep our customers informed of our commitment and progress in the lead up to 2022, whilst helping customers to reduce their plastic use?"

Sponsor: Lidl

Register now

Entries for The Pitch 2020 are open. To register, please select the correct option below and complete the required form. All registrations must be received by 01 November 2019.

Students Universities

Judges

Karen Dowse

EMEA Commercial Development

More…

x
Karen Dowse

Karen is SVP, EMEA Commercial Development at Mintel overseeing client services and custom projects for Mintel’s prestigious portfolio ranging from the world’s leading consumer brands through to emerging innovative new market entrants.

Prior to joining Mintel, Karen held marketing posts within the IT industry and more recently Verdict and Corporate Intelligence. With almost 30 years marketing and commercial experience within the B2B environment, Karen is passionate about driving customer engagement that creates mutual value and longer-term partnerships.

She’s a (very) amateur triathlete who is desperately trying to swim, cycle and run as fast as her two daughters.
Claire Farrant

Marketing Director, LIDL

More…

x
Claire Farrant

After completing her degree, a BSc in Food and Nutrition, Claire moved to London to start her career. For several years she worked for food suppliers whom supplied products to the Big 4. In 2003 she joined Woolworths, where she got a real taste for retail both across food and non-food, working across the Big W concepts.

Claire wanted to continue in retail and after a relocation went to join Tesco to help set up the business venture, Tesco Direct. During her ten-year tenure here, she worked in several departments: Buying, trade planning and then Brand & advertising. She also led the new high profile Tesco brand transformation project alongside the property department, which rolled out to the entire Tesco store estate.

After consideration, Claire then left Tesco in 2015 and sought a new adventure with Lidl as an executive consultant for the marketing department. Soon after, she was promoted to Marketing Director and has been in this position for nearly 3 years.
James Farmer

Head of Brand and Marketing Communications, CIM

More…

x
James Farmer

James is Head of Brand and Marketing Communications at CIM, leading the Events, Marcomms and Creative departments. He joined CIM from Sky where he was Brand Controller across a range of their leading TV Products, driving brand strategies and delivering ATL campaigns.

Prior to that he spent over 15 years agency-side working on a range of Entertainment and Telco clients. He’s passionate about customer-centric marketing that draws on juicy audience insights to create compelling comms.

He has a Graphic Design degree, a strategic mind and a strong commercial focus, so enjoys working with pictures, words and numbers.

The Prizes

This year we have a selection of career accelerating prizes available. At the Marketing Excellence Awards 2020 our top three finalist teams will find out who will be walking away with the following prizes:

1st place
- £1,500 for the team
- Winner of the ‘Marketers of the Future’ award at CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards 2020
- A VIP ticket to CIM's Marketing Excellence Awards 2020 for each team member (up to three) and one ticket for the tutor or university
- One year complimentary CIM membership for each team member
2nd place
- A VIP ticket to CIM's Marketing Excellence Awards 2020 for each team member (up to three) and one ticket for the tutor or university
- One-year complimentary CIM membership for each team member
3rd place
- A VIP ticket to CIM's Marketing Excellence Awards 2020 for each team member (up to three) and one ticket for the tutor or university

All finalists
- Specially-produced finalist certificates

What to expect

The best people to tell you about The Pitch are our previous student teams, judges and sponsors. Click here to read their experiences and gain an insight into what's in store this year