Club Markup, with its first event in the academic year 2011-12 – Mark Roadies – whipped up an overwhelming enthusiasm that made it a grand success. With Mark Roadies, the freshers were introduced to yet another dazzling facet of life at IMT Ghaziabad.

Mark Roadies always whip up excitement. This time round it rose to a crescendo with 170 participants divided into 57 teams. Nails were bitten to the cuticles, tension mounted. Fits of laughter momentarily dissolved the pressure when it got too hot to handle.

The first round of tests had participants examined on their knowledge of the four Ps – product, packaging, promotion and pricing. They had to be creative without losing sight of the practicality and workability of their product. Tough call. Each team was tested on their knowledge on product promotion, pricing and sales with activities such as advertisement creation, price guessing, sales pitch and puzzle solving.

Competition was fierce. Skills displayed were awesome. Finally of the 57, seven teams qualified for the next round – no cakewalk by any standards.

Since we had top marketing talent on our hands of which only one could emerge the winner, the challenges were difficult and complex. The theme – Beyond Basics. All seven teams had to develop a product based on the needs of IMT Ghaziabad students. The key skills being tested were many. Each of the products had to evolve after the teams understood customer needs and customer behavior based on market research. Product innovation and hence development had to be arrived at by also keeping in mind product sustainability and profitability. A week’s duration was given to the teams to develop a prototype and showcase their ideas. This proved to be the real battleground for IMT’s budding marketers. It tested teamwork and their focus towards the end goal.

Finally, a week later, all seven teams were ready. Each of the presentations was wonderfully prepared. Our judges – Dr. Lawrence L. Garber, visiting faculty at IMT from the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business at Elon University, and Dr. Bikramjit Rishi, marketing faculty at IMT Ghaziabad – were very impressed with the work done by the participants. They congratulated Team Markup for their tireless efforts in successfully completing Mark Roadies 4. The event gave the new batch a feel of the real world of marketing, they said.

Team Zingaro bagged the first prize. They were awarded the title of The Mark Roadies for academic year 2011-12. Their product, the durable and multipurpose Pillow Cover was simple and very innovative. It suited the need of most IMT-ians. I am sure they have already received some orders in advance! Team “Mark Roadies” stood runner’s up with their delicious and innovative JPC Cold Mint Coffee – a product that could well give our on-campus Nestle stiff competition. Some other ideas that stood out were the much needed Cool Friend – a Mini Bucket AC, the Mini Cooler, an interesting Mechanical Washing Machine, a cute USB Fan and a Management Software.

Overall, everyone had a great time participating in some delightful and satisfying activities. IMT is truly a hub of frenetic activity as something or the other is happening all the time. For Mark Roadies 4, the teams were seen running around looking for clues, promoting and selling their products. When they were not doing that, they were busy solving puzzles, conducting market research or holding brainstorming sessions that would result in them arriving at a brilliantly unique product that would take off into the future. Imagine, if just one single event could whip such a storm in terms of fun, thinking, innovation and strategy, what would the other events hold? Many surprises, I’m sure and bigger, better events.

Prity Jha
PGDM Marketing 2011-13 | IMT Ghaziabad
Member, Club MarkUp

 

Source: lifeatimt.com