Top marketing students win a trip to Cape Town

Posted on October 07, 2016

Bridgestone South Africa, which acted as industry partner for the third-year Marketing Management students’ Practical Project module for 2016, provided students with the opportunity to practically apply theory to the marketing field. This year the students were required to develop a marketing communication plan to create awareness and grow the sales of Bridgestone and Firestone tyres via the Supa Quick franchise distribution channel.

 

To conclude this exciting project and celebrate the students’ achievements, a prize-giving function was held on 15 September at the Tuks Monate function venue. The theme for the prize-giving function was ‘Cape Town’, since the final prize is an all-expenses paid weekend away to Cape Town.

 

The function began with Prof Yolanda Jordaan, Head of the Department of Marketing Management, explaining how the project came to be and thanking Bridgestone for their dedication and involvement throughout the project. Dr Gerhard Heyns, the Bridgestone Regional General Manager of Inland North, thanked the students for all their hard work and delivered a presentation showing students which of their ideas will be implemented in the near future.

 

A project summary followed, presented by Dr Michelle van der Merwe (lecturer), to show some of the highlights and achievements of the Bridgestone Practical Project during 2016. The winning teams of the first and second assignments were also given an opportunity to thank Bridgestone for their prizes and to share their experiences with the class.

 

Feedback on the first assignment included sharing the purpose of the first assignment, namely to obtain a better understanding of the tyre industry in terms of what competitors are doing (particularly in-store) as well as how consumers make decisions when purchasing tyres. On Wednesday, 17 August, the winning team of the first assignment – the student group called Sticks and Stones – was treated to a 4x4 driving experience to the value of R2 500 each. The winning team members were Electra Piagalis (team leader), Bianca Meiring, Christopher Brown, Cassandra Mayer, Sabrina Ive and Lisa Hendon.
 
Sticks and Stones (Team 11), from left to right (top): Cassandra Mayer, obstacle 1 at the Rhino Park Bidvest McCarthy 4x4 Club, Lisa Hendon and Sabrina Ive.
 
From left to right (bottom): Christopher Brown, the Sticks and Stones team, Electra Piagalis and Bianca Meiring.
 
 

During the feedback session on the second assignment, the Dynamic Treads team reminded everyone that the purpose of the second assignment was to develop a digital marketing campaign concept to create awareness and knowledge of Bridgestone products available at Supa Quick. The winning team members were Geena van der Vyver (team leader), Jennifer Came, Robyn de Wet, Georgia-Anne Essey, Andrea Ingle and Samantha Tutton. Each member received a BMW advanced driving course valued at approximately R2 500, which they made use of on 28 September.

The Dynamic Treads (Team 4), left: The team standing beside the race track.

From left to right (top): Group photo on the skid pan: Dr Michelle van der Merwe, Robyn de Wet, Andrea Ingle, Jennifer Came, Guthrie Blaine, Charl Kruger, Geena van der Vyver, Samantha Tutton and Georgia-Anne Essey; the skid pan.

From left to right (bottom): Georgia-Anne Essey, Jennifer Came and Andrea Ingle; group photo with the instructor: Robyn de Wet, Andrea Ingle, Lukas Monyanyedi (instructor), Jennifer Came, Samantha Tutton, Geena van der Vyver and
Georgia-Anne Essey.

 

Then came the big moment that everybody was waiting for – the announcement of the 2016 UP-Bridgestone Practical Project overall winners. The purpose of the final assignment was to create awareness of the brand synergy between Bridgestone South Africa and the Supa Quick franchise distribution channel by developing a traditional interrelated marketing communication campaign and point-of-sale marketing material.

 

After a lot of hard work and dedication from all the students, the Dynamic Treads walked away with the overall prize – a two nights, all-expenses-paid stay in Cape Town (bed & breakfast), including a visit to a place of interest (eg Table Mountain/Robben Island) and a sundowner cruise on the Bridgestone Yacht in Table Bay. Congratulations to the team on a job well done. Sticks and Stones (team 11) came in second place and there was a tie for the third place between the Flintstones (team 3) and the Mechanics (team 6).

The winning Dynamic Treads team, from left to right: Samantha Tutton, Andrea Ingle, Mr Shaun Wustman, Georgia-Anne Essey, Robyn de Wet, Dr Gerhard Heyns, Geena van der Vyver (team leader) and Jennifer Came.

The Practical Project class of 2016

At the end of a very successful Practical Project module, the Department of Marketing Management would like to thank the Bridgestone team, namely Shaun Wustman, Dr Gerhard Heyns, Tony Burns, Shin Shimonishi, Christo Janse van Rensburg, Armand Shekyls, Jan Maritz, Kelly Fester and Chantel Baxter, for giving the third-year marketing students an opportunity to work on their brands and giving them an experience that they will never forget. It has been an absolute pleasure!

 

 

 

 

- Author Department of Marketing Management

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