The word “Maestros” means “masters” and “Biz” is a mnemonic for “Business;” combining the two, you get business masters. Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL) presented students the unique opportunity to “experience the thrill of real business” as it rolled out the fourth instalment of Unilever BizMaestros this year. Through this marketing case competition, the participants who final year university students got the firsthand chance to apply their classroom knowledge in a real life setting.
Unilever BizMaestros seeks to identify high performing graduates who aspire to join the league of Unilever managers by providing students a unique opportunity to work on live and practical challenges that UBL itself is encountering. This year BizMaestros was taken to newer heights with the incorporation of “point of sales” (POS) activities which the finalists had to conduct.
After few weeks of conducting the on-campus roadshows to shortlist the top team from each university, the grand gala took place on October 6 where the finalist teams from NSU, IBA, IBA-JU, EWU, IUB, BUET, BRAC, Khulna University and Dhaka University competed on the last round to earn the coveted title.
The finalists were examined by the esteemed panel of judges comprising UBL Chairman and Managing Director Kamran Bakr, Human Resource Director Mononita Syed-Haq, Home Care and Foods Brand Building Director KSM Minhaj, Personal Care Brand Building Director Zaved Akhter, and Customer Development Director Mohsin Ahmed.
Each team’s strategy was carefully scrutinised by the judges. The finalists impressed not only the judges but all present with their display of talent. The teams were asked to summarise their strategy and come up with innovative ideas for point-of-sales materials using their knowledge of consumer insights obtained from the outlet challenge. These POS materials were displayed during the grand finale.
Talking about the contestants, Mononita said: “We were awed by the creativity shown by these participants. Some of the suggestions these students have come up with regarding the POS are outstanding and unique.”
Most winning teams developed highly futuristic campaigns, making great use of social media, audio visuals and augmented reality concepts.
After much deliberation, the title of Bizmaestros 2013 was awarded to the team from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka because of their Innovative and strategic mindset, rational execution and customer orientation. The first runner-up and second runner-up of the competition was from North South University and Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Jahangirnagar University respectively.
The finalists of Bizmaestros 2013 received the kind of experience that would inevitably push them further. After the intense competition, they are equipped with a real understanding of not only strategising in business but also executing those strategies. Business at the end of the day is all about winning in the marketplace and the Bizmaestros 2013 competitors have learned through real world experience ahead of their peers.