Byrum School of Business students brought home multiple awards in their inaugural appearance at the American Marketing Association (AMA) International Collegiate Conference held March 16^-20 in Chicago, Illinois. The signature event of the conference is the Marketing Case Competition, sponsored by Amazon Prime Student.

A team of Byrum School of Business students placed second and brought home a $2,000 award after presenting their plan to Amazon executives and their marketing agency. More than 1,000 students gathered to hear the competition results. “This experience allowed us to apply what we’re learning about marketing to a real problem. Listening to Amazon executives complementing our work showed us how well the Byrum School of Business has prepared us as future marketers and leaders,” said Jenny Rodriguez ’24, presenter and creative team leader for the competition.

The competition begins each fall by challenging students to develop a marketing strategy and tactical plan to address a real-world marketing objective. University faculty and industry professionals judge submitted written marketing plans from more than 100 student teams from the United States and several other countries. This year the 11 top-scoring plans were selected to present at the conference.

Lori Rumreich, assistant professor of marketing and the team’s faculty advisor, said, “It was a very challenging case that required equal amounts of creativity and analytical thinking. A centerpiece of our students’ strategy was a strong, integrated message that included a focus on social responsibility,” she added. “They applied the skills and values they’ve learned as Marian University students, and we are thankful for this recognition of their hard work.”

In addition to Rodriguez, the Byrum presentation team included Ben Kompar ’22, Alexis Patenaude ’23, and Matthew Riehle ’24.

Temple University’s Fox School of Business placed first. Other finalists in the competition, included the British Columbia Institute of Technology, University of Nevada Las Vegas; University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras, among others.

Additional highly coveted individual and team awards won at the conference included:

• AMA Chapter Exhibit competition, second place, Jenny Rodriguez ’24 and Peyton Turner ’22
• Sales Role Play Competition sponsored by Sherwin Willams, third place and $100, Alexis Patenaude ’23
• Sales Role Play Competition sponsored by Sherwin Willams, third place and $100, Matthew Riehle ’24
• Perfect Pitch Competition sponsored by C. H. Robinson, Honorable Mention, Peyton Turner ’22