The dynamic partnership between UP’s Department of Marketing Management and Italtile – industry leaders in premium porcelain tiles, bathroom ware, and stylish home accessories –continues to bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world application. Now in its eighth year, this collaboration gives third-year Marketing Management students invaluable hands-on sales experience, immersing them in real-life challenges and strategic problem-solving within the Personal Selling module.

To kickstart the project, students had an opportunity to meet the client, where they received Italtile-branded welcome boxes filled with goodies and were briefed by Nicole Russell, Italtile Marketing Manager. The students have the opportunity to get first-hand insights into the brand’s ethos, vision, mission and organisational culture. This was followed by sales training from Annabelle Johnson, Managing Director at McCormick Training, who offered valuable advice on managing difficult customers in a sales environment. Students also had the opportunity to engage in interactive sessions with both directors of Italtile. One online session, presented by Paul Couzis, focused on product training and offered a deeper understanding of the tile and sanitary ware manufacturing processes. Another, presented by Sergio Galli, explored sales management and provided a behind-the-scenes look at what drives success in the industry

Sales training: Pk Shozi, Elizabeth Muchenje, Annabelle Johnson (MD: McCormick Training), Rebecca de Burgh and Livingston Banda

These sessions laid a strong foundation for the various deliverables throughout the semester, which included: an observational analysis of Italtile’s showrooms and online presence; role-play scenarios where students acted as Italtile sales reps dealing with challenging customer interactions; and a sales pitch exercise for a fictional Italtile customer, enabling the students to demonstrate product knowledge and tailored client solutions. The experience culminated in a final exam presentation to an exam panel where students were required to develop and deliver a comprehensive, customer-oriented sales strategy to bring together everything they had learned in a truly industry-relevant practical project. The panel consisted of the module lecturers, Dr Jade Verbeek and Mafandedza Makumbi, Prof Cilliers (external examiner from Unisa), and the Italtile team, Jane Askew, Hayden Hochfelden and Nicole Russell.

The objective of the exam brief was to develop a brand awareness and sales strategy that will empower Italtile to maximise its sales. As always, the students excelled and impressed the panel with innovative yet strategic campaigns, some of which were strong in terms of storytelling, customer journey and tactical brand activations.  After each presentation, the panel was able to ask probing questions and give feedback, creating a unique and interactive learning experience for the students.

Some of the Marketing Management students with some of the exam panel members: First row on the right: Nicole Russell (Marketing Manager, Italtile), second row on the left: Jane Askew (Italtile), and back row on the right: Hayden Hochfelden (Italtile)

To round off another successful year of collaboration, Italtile hosted a celebratory prize-giving event at their Menlyn showroom. The evening, themed “Big Ideas, Small Bites”, honoured the dedication and creativity of all student teams throughout the semester. Top-performing teams included:

• Team 4 – The Tile Standard, recognised for their strategic campaign “Space of Reminiscence”
• Team 5 – Clique Gallery, celebrated for their customer-focused concept “Casa del Mondo”
• Team 10 – Ctrl + Alt + Elite, commended for their range of innovative ideas, including “Heart of the Home – Real stories. Real spaces”, “Your Legacy Begins Here” and “The Grand Tour – Live Inside the Luxury”.

The Italtile team also recognised three students for their exceptional presentation skills during the final exam presentation: Simbarashe Jaja, Claire Truter and Rebecca de Burgh. In addition, the top performing student for the module in 2025 was honoured for their outstanding overall performance – congratulations to Tatum Oliver.

Team 10 Ctrl + Alt + Elite (Kyara Clifford, Jeandre de Bruyn, Jenna McLeish, Ineke Meyer, Khuthi Nthulane, Casey O'Neill) with Nicole Russell (Italtile Marketing Manager) and Dr Jade Verbeek (Lecturer)

Team 5 Clique Gallery (Aaliyah Adrus, Yusuf Essat, Luqmaan Ismail, Kholo Malatji, Zanda Ndlazi, Tatum Oliver) with Nicole Russell (Italtile Marketing Manager) and Dr Jade Verbeek (Lecturer)

Team 4 The Tile Standard (Simbarashe Jaja, Elba Magani, Relebohile Mohlomi, Elizabeth Muchenje, Mackenzie Rimmell, Joshua Warmenhoven) with Nicole Russell (Italtile Marketing Manager) and Dr Jade Verbeek (Lecturer)

Dr Jade Verbeek (Lecturer), top performer  Tatum Oliver, Nicole Russell (Marketing Manager) and Mafanedza Makumbi (Lecturer)

Mafanedza Makumbi (Lecturer), Nicole Russell (Marketing Manager) with top presenters in the exam Claire Truter and Simbarashe Jaja

The lecturers are proud of all the students as they stepped confidently from the classroom into the showroom by applying theory, showcasing creativity and embracing the realities of the professional marketing world.