Kent Business School once again has been showcasing the skills and knowledge of its marketing students in its latest Pitch It Challenge.
Charles Buchanan, Managing Director of Manston Airport was invited to share with our students a marketing challenge faced by the airport. With the recent launch of the Dutch Airline KLM’s new daily flight service to Amsterdam from Manston Airport, Charles is keen to ensure the opportunities created are maximised and customers are encouraged to engage with this new service.
Three groups of students pitched their marketing ideas to win a cash prize and an opportunity to work alongside the professional marketing team at Manston Airport during a summer work placement. With this fantastic incentive in mind, the students undertook some comprehensive and detailed research and analysis of consumer and market data, customer and competitor profiles, brand awareness, as well as a review of communication messages and channels.
“I was particularly impressed by the quality of the research that went beyond the obvious. It was exactly the sort of thing we would be doing in investigating just these sorts of opportunities ourselves. So it was a very impressive and professional job”
Charles Buchanan, Chief Executive Officer, Manston Airport Ltd
Working under the direction of Dr Dan Petrovici, lecturer in Marketing at the Kent Business School, the students impressed the panel with their creative thinking and practical solutions that could be implemented by Manston Airport’s marketing team.
“It’s been helpful for me in terms of marketing. I’ve heard some great ideas and great research. I’m definitely taking on board working with the Business School and students in general. I think working with the Business School and students in general brings so many opportunities that I’ll be in touch. All in all a very good exercise”.
Sian Errington, Marketing & Promotions Coordinator, Manston Airport Ltd
Over and above the great ideas that came out of the presentation, the students were able to gain valuable experience in pitching to a real life business. As Teodora Stanojevic from the winning student team told us
“We are all third year students, and this is really constructive for us now because we are going to go out [into the job market]. We need this kind of experience, so Pitch It is a great opportunity”.
Pitch it! is a great way to get new ideas, both highly innovative and practical for organisations to consider back at base. In the past, business pitches have looked at branding, market segmentation analysis, media & communication plans. Broader management themes for consideration include strategy, finance and human resources.
View the latest Pitch it video
For more details about Pitch it! and other student projects and opportunities to partner with Kent Business School, visit the Pitch it! web page.