The Pitch, now in its fifteenth year, challenges students to respond to a real-world marketing brief set by a leading industry organisation. This year’s competition attracted 155 teams from 77 universities, with entrants from 13 countries taking part. Students were tasked by industry partner IBM to address emerging opportunities in artificial intelligence, with postgraduate teams developing strategic plans positioning IBM as a global leader in Green AI.
Verdis AI progressed to the live finals, held virtually on 10–11 March, where teams presented their proposals to a panel of senior judges from CIM, IBM, Hays and Mintel. The team was comprised of three students from Loughborough Business School, Alan Zheng, Tung Bui and Noah Heron-Brett.
Discussing their participation, Noah said: “It was a great experience to be in the finals and represent Loughborough at this level. The competition has been a really valuable opportunity to apply what we’ve learned in our degree to a real-world challenge.”
The Pitch provides students with a valuable opportunity to gain practical experience, build industry connections and strengthen their employability through exposure to real-world marketing challenges.
This year’s winners were the University of West London’s 3 Marketeers in the undergraduate category, and the University of Birmingham’s Pitch Perfected in the postgraduate category. Loughborough’s Verdis AI team demonstrated a strong performance in a highly competitive field, characterised by rising standards and increasing global engagement.
Maggie Jones, Director of Qualifications and Partnerships at CIM, highlighted the exceptional quality of work seen in the competition, noting that the level of strategic thinking continues to advance each year.