MAA Worldwide 2011 Global Academic Challenge
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Since 1986, MAA Worldwide has been recognizing the Best of the very Best in Promotion Marketing across all corners of the globe, via the annual GLOBES Program.

Four years ago, as part of an initiative to start recognizing our future Marketers, the MAA Worldwide Global Academic Challenge was launched, whereby teams of students studying Marketing at Universities and Business Schools, became “Promotion Marketing Agencies” and answered a brief, provided by a fictitious client, to be executed in the Team’s own Country.

Since inception, Global Academic Challenge Teams have answered briefs on: Fighting Childhood Obesity, Changing Climate Change, Kick-starting Tourism & Giving Youth a Helping Hand.

The Challenge now runs in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, Israel, Russia, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Romania & Australia. 650 Marketing Students have been awarded with the GLOBE, Silver, Bronze & Orders of Merit.

The 5th Challenge is “Open Source Workforce. Your Country’s immediate Challenge to re-engage & maintain the employment and potential of their workforces”. Full details to follow.

The Prize

The winning Promotion Marketing Team, as judged by a panel of Academia & Clients, will win one MAA GLOBE and GLOBE Certificates for each team member. One member of the winning Team will be invited to Rio de Janerio, Brazil to receive the MAA GLOBE at the Fall Conference of MAA Worldwide and also to attend the conference as a delegate.

This year we also launch the MAA Academic Challenge Alumni designed for Marketing Students who have taken part in the Challenge in the past. This Alumni group provides networking opportunities among their peers and MAA Worldwide Members.

We hope your Education Institution is interested in taking up this year’s Academic Challenge.

The very best of luck!

Mike Da Silva
VP Marketing, MAA GLOBES
Past President. MAA Worldwide
email: mdasilva@mdsa.com.au

2011 Global Academic Challenge Invitation
Open Source Workforce. “Your Country’s immediate Challenge to re-engage & maintain the employment potential of their workforces”

Considerable numbers of workforces have been made redundant by the global economic crisis, in countries all around the world. These people are of any age, gender, and job role/career and are putting pressure on Government Welfare. This situation is also causing considerable issues with those who are 45-50+ who find themselves too expensive for the market, or their careers redundant. Those who are nearing retirement, this diminishing prospect of work is putting pressure on drawing on their pension or superannuation schemes, a really tough outcome for their families.

The Client for the 2011 MAA Worldwide Academic Challenge is the Government of your Country and the task for each Promotion Marketing Team is to plan how you would develop a no cost online marketing service which would offer out of work workforces a chance to get back into the workforce again, in their own career, or a new one, in full time employ or part time employ, which may suit a new set of family circumstances in the city/town where the workers currently live, or perhaps in a new city or town in partnership with the local town/city council.

Your Team will need to give this “Open Source Workforce” online concept a Project name, and develop and execute a Promotion Marketing plan for year 1. Your Proposal must incorporate at least 5 of the following elements:

  • Information and advice on how to look for the other jobs in their own career, or what new jobs are there which are worth considering in complimentary or totally new careers.
  • How to establish & run a self managed new business. What are the ‘new’ vocations which weren’t around 10 years ago? Even those which could service existing workforces. (Like providing home help, or supporting local businesses).
  • An online Linked-in style network so members of the Project can keep in touch, asking questions and sharing information or success stories. Recognizing successful Case Studies.
  • How to work from home and/or work to different hours. You may wish to create a totally new employment paradigm for workforces over 50, or those nearing retirement. Or you could develop a new performance system for younger workers or for women who have decided to have children and work from home part time. Or work with the Council or Governing body of a Town or City outside the City who might offer incentives for workforces to relocate to work in that Town or City. Totally new Industries could even be established in these locations.
  • Including education and mentoring opportunities. In every Country there are successful business people, willing to ‘put back’ by helping others.
  • How media partners (TV, Press, Magazines, Radio) could share the news of the Program via Promotion. A Cable TV network has agreed to donate a TV channel for this Project. How would you involve them?
  • Apple has agreed to promote an App on their iPhones. How would you present & maximize this facility?
  • How Corporate Partners like search Engines like Google or Yahoo, Online Recruitment portals like Seek or Monster & a Telco could become involved to spread the word and help distribute information.
  • How would you involve social marketing tool & techniques to promote the concept & involve participants?
  • Unemployment can involve Governments in the form of reduced company & personal taxation and unemployment benefits. Can this concept provoke, or even a even radical involvement by Government?

Your Promotion Marketing Team doesn’t have a budget and you are not expected to provide market research or results. You may wish to include some creative for a Project logo but the quality of any artwork won’t be scored.

The Judges will need to see how your Team captures the concept of “Open Source Workforce” and how your team will develop, market and maintain involvement in the concept, by your audiences in year one addressing an overall target of a significant increase in full time employment in your country.

Your final task involves your Team’s actual Presentation to the International MAA Worldwide Judging Panel.

News of the success of the “Open Source Workforce” Project has spread globally, and your Government Client has asked your team to prepare a Proposal which it will present to other Countries with a view to exporting the concept. So your Proposal needs to present and sell your Project.

The Prize

A Member of the Winning Team, selected by the team, will be invited as a guest of MAA Worldwide to present their Team’s concept to Members of MAA Worldwide during the 2011 Fall Conference in Rio De Janeiro in October 2011, during which they will be presented the GLOBE.

Terms & Conditions

(i) Who is eligible to enter

Students currently studying any Marketing subject in Universities and Business Schools in any Country. There is no cost of entry.

Students can enter in teams of 3 or more. Entries are not permitted from individuals.

Entries can be received from more than one Team in any participating University or Business School, but only one entry is permitted from each Team.

(ii) Parameters upon which your entry will be judged

You are not expected to provide results, but your entry will be judged for:

  • Your Promotion Strategy - 30 points
  • Your Marketing Concept, your ideas, your creativity in addressing the brief - 40 points
  • How your Team will execute the Promotion and evaluate the results - 30 points

Teams may provide artwork to support their concept, but this material will not be judged on quality.

(iii) Entry specifications

Each Team will enter as a Promotion Marketing Agency and will need to provide their Agency Name on the entry form.

Each response will need to be prepared in English and in a PDF format. Audio or Visual elements are not needed.

An online entry form must be completed for each Promotion Marketing Agency.

The copyright of all entries will remain the property of each Entrant. MAA Worldwide reserves the right to publish all or any part of any entry.

(iv) Closing date

All entries need to be lodged on the MAA Worldwide Academic Challenge website: www.maaacademicchallenge.com before 5pm (local time in each entrant’s country) on 31 July 2011.

(v) Judging

The Promotion Marketing Agency whose entry achieves the highest score, as judged by the Academic Challenge International Panel of Judges representing Academia, Clients and Promotion Agencies, will win a MAA Worldwide GLOBE, the pinnacle in global Promotion Marketing excellence for 25 years.

The decision of the Judging Panel is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

(vi) Prizes

The Grand Prize

A MAA GLOBE will be awarded to the Promotion Marketing Agency which attains the highest score as awarded by the International Judging Panel.

One member of the Winning Promotion Marketing Agency, chosen by themselves, will be provided a return economy airfare and accommodation, to attend the 2011 MAA Worldwide Fall Conference and GLOBES Award Ceremony in October 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The GLOBE will be retained by the Winning University or Business School. Each Member of the Winning Promotion Marketing Agency will receive a GLOBE Certificate. Additional copies of the GLOBE can be purchased by Members of the Winning Promotion Marketing Agency from the MAA Worldwide Secretariat.

The Silver & Bronze Certificates

Silver and Bronze Certificates will be awarded to each Member of each of the Promotion Marketing Agencies, with the second and third highest scores.

Order of Merit Certificates

Order of Merit Certificates will be awarded to each Member of the Promotion Marketing Agencies, whose entries the Judging Panel feel are worthy of this recognition.