Published : Wednesday, 26 August, 2015 04:35 PM
Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (PG), Pune, conducted SIMChallenge, Maggi: In a Soup, a national level case study competition. The competition provided a platform for top B-Schools to devise a strategy which would bring the noodle-giant back on the shelves. The judges were eminent industry personalities such as Mr. Tathagata Chatterjee, VP & Strategic Planning Director, Blue Hive India, Ms. Sudha Singh, Executive President, Ogilvy Public Relations, Mr. JaibalNaduvath, Vice-President, Perfect Relations and Mr. Rajesh Pant, Director& Founder, Kandor Solutions.
The event began with an address by the keynote speaker, Mr. Rajesh Pant who spoke in detail about the dichotomy of business decisions. “In business, there are no right or wrong decisions, there are only outcomes,” he told the participants and the audience as they geared up for the event to commence. Eleven teams the likes of JBIMS, SIBM, IMT Ghaziabad among others presented their strategy to the panel of judges.
As the judges analyzed each presentation, it emerged that all participants had a grip on their marketing concepts with the capability to align them to the case. “The presentations clearly reflected each team’s learning with respect to their chosen professions,” said Pooja Dhar, first year student, MBA, Communication Management, SIMC, Pune. Ideas ranging from repositioning the product to revamping the promotional tactics were up for debate with the audience taking an active part in the discussion as the judges evaluated the feasibility.
With each team surpassing the other, Muggleheads, a team from SIMC, Pune emerged as the winner for their simple and distinct take on the case. Garnering positive reviews for their efficient planning, extensive research, and fluid storytelling through the presentation, Challengers were the first runner up followed by Three Marketers from IMT Ghaziabad who came third while Firebolts from SIBM were awarded the fourth place.
“The competition has been an immense success,” said Karishma Changlani, organizer of SIMChallenge, “We are overwhelmed with the response and the degree of creativity displayed on this platform.”
When quizzed about their winning strategy, Jhanvi Thakkar from Muggleheads said, "Our PR and marketing strategies were designed to appeal to both the left and right brained consumers. We strongly feel that Nestle should be extremely proactive, keep its tone quiet, swing into damage control mode and approach each and every customer through every available avenue to bring the masala back into our lives, where it belongs."
Commenting on the concept and format of the competition, Seema Chawla from team Challengers said, “Having industry speakers critique our campaigns is very impactful as they provide a 360 degrees perspective and relevant insights.” Her view was echoed by all participants.
As SIMChallenge 2015 wrapped up successfully, Ms. Sudha Singh congratulated all the participants before imparting final words of wisdom, “The trick is to treat this as an opportunity and not a problem. It is a wonderful opportunity for the company to experiment with their brand.” Her advice will surely reflect in the next cycle of SIMChallenge that is due to happen in 2016.
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