StudentUniverse and Tourism NT Announce Winners of the DMA’s 2020 Marketing Challenge

StudentUniverse and Tourism NT Announce Winners of the DMA’s 2020 Marketing Challenge
30th June 2020 James Brooke

StudentUniverse and Tourism NT Announce Winners of the DMA’s 2020 Marketing Challenge

Northumbria University’s ‘Cubed’ team receives the top prize in the competition hosted by the Data & Marketing Association, StudentUniverse and Tourism Northern Territory.

The winner of this year’s Marketing Challenge has been announced by StudentUniverse, Tourism Northern Territory (NT) and the Data & Marketing Association’s (DMA) Talent division. The winning team, ‘Cubed’, includes Daria Ansari Saeid, Laura Alice Garcia, Laura Charlton, Laura Cunningham, Olivia Anderson, Rod Forbes, all students from Northumbria University.

Students across the UK were tasked with devising a marketing campaign for StudentUniverse and Australia’s Northern Territory, to help grow awareness of the destination and increase bookings from 18-30-year-olds. Team ‘Cubed’ was up against 60 other teams from universities and colleges across the UK for the 2020 crown, all putting forward their marketing plan to the expert panel.

The victors have won £300’s worth of StudentUniverse travel vouchers each, to use in any number of worldwide destinations. They will now have the opportunity to work alongside StudentUniverse and Tourism NT to execute their campaign.

Upon announcing their decision, the judges reiterated how impressed they were with the winning team’s in-depth response to the brief, high-level strategic thinking into the customer journey, impressive KPI analysis and delivery of the campaign brief.

Sam Willan, General Manager of International Markets, StudentUniverse, commented: “I was incredibly impressed by the winners understanding of the customer journey and their multi-layered marketing strategy to effectively engage 18-30-year-olds. Our final decision was based on which campaign we believed was not only strategic and innovative, but who demonstrated an understanding of the motivators and pain points of our target market.”

Lucy Pares, Marketing Executive, Tourism NT added, “The winning team conveyed an in-depth awareness into what makes Australia’s Northern Territory such a desirable destination for young, aspirational travellers. Their extensive research and intricately detailed three-phased plan to encourage young travellers to visit the Northern Territory was very impressive.”

The Marketing Challenge works with Higher Education institutions to give university students the chance to work on a challenging and real-life marketing brief, provided by the supporting client. The process offers students priceless, practical experience and, for the finalists, the opportunity to meet leading marketers and to win the top prize. The brief is also used by lecturers across the country as a valuable teaching aid on marketing and business courses.

Kate Burnett, MD of DMA Talent, said: “During such a difficult time for students across the UK, DMA Talent are delighted to recognise and reward the hard work, strategic insight and creativity of these talented young professionals. Initiatives like our Marketing Challenge provide students with invaluable marketing experience and that all-important connection to the workplace, enabling them to harness key skills such as creativity, analytical thinking and problem-solving.”

-Ends-

For further press information, please contact:
Baillie Horwood
Rooster PR
E: [email protected]
T: 0203 440 8930

About StudentUniverse
StudentUniverse is the world’s leading travel booking service for students and youth, headquartered in Boston, with offices in London, Brisbane and the Philippines. They empower students and young people to travel the world by offering student discounts, youth fares, and top deals on flights, hotels, tours, groups, and more. Millions of students use their service every year either to travel the world or simply book cheap flights home in the holidays.

About DMA Talent
DMA Talent champions young people as the future of our industry. Our goal is to attract a new generation of fresh thinkers by raising awareness and showcasing the sector’s inspiring and dynamic range of career opportunities. We nurture aspiring marketers by providing the roadmap, skills and connections to kick-start their professional journey, and by instilling our customer-first principles, we drive our industry forward in a responsible and sustainable way.

About the Data & Marketing Association
The DMA is the UK trade association for the data and marketing industry led by customer-first principles and a Code of ethics. The DMA has over 1,000 member organisations across the UK and almost a century of experience pioneering approaches in industry. Through the IDM, it continues to drive for marketing excellence through development and learning opportunities. DMA Talent’s range of initiatives is inspiring the next generation into the data and marketing industry to help meet the needs of today and tomorrow.

The DMA offers access to industry-leading events, the latest insight, advocacy, legal support and guidance. It anticipates and campaigns for the needs of the data and marketing industry through its close relationship with government and regulators. From the classroom to the boardroom, the DMA is driving the force of intelligent marketing, moving the data and marketing industry forward – for the good of marketers, businesses and most importantly, customers.

About Tourism NT
Tourism NT is a Northern Territory Government statutory authority responsible for promoting the Northern Territory as a must-do, unique holiday destination. The role of Tourism NT is to market the Northern Territory as a desirable visitor destination and facilitate the sustainable growth of the tourism industry in the Northern Territory. They aim to increase the desirability of the Northern Territory as a travel destination, inspiring more people to visit, stay longer and spend more.