MBA students compete to win Mashreq Marketing Plan competition
| Mashreq bank, a leading financial institution in the region, awarded a cash prize of AED 5,000 to ‘the Murketeers’, a group of Murdoch Dubai MBA students, for winning a marketing plan competition part of their Marketing Management unit. An awards ceremony was organized to announce the winning team and recognize the efforts of other teams on Tuesday 30th November. The competition, jointly organized by Mashreq and Murdoch University, invited Murdoch’s MBA students to provide marketing solutions aimed at increasing Mashreq’s share of the remittance market in the UAE. All groups were given 12 weeks to come up with a comprehensive plan, which was presented to Mashreq Executives during a three-day assessment at Murdoch campus. The competition was fierce, with students displaying articulacy and intelligence in their proposals. Murdoch’s marketing lecturer, Zana Azeredo, said: “choosing a winning team was not an easy task.” The students did extensive research on their original and practical ideas. Some of the more exceptional ideas included creating a debit remittance card usable in ATM’s or providing a dedicated counter for money transfer at branches. One of the groups suggested a value card, rewarding regular users with prizes once a certain amount is transferred. Various groups displayed ‘out of the box’ ideas, such as producing commercial videos, using print marketing material or designing a state-of-the-art marketing plan in their pitches. Commenting on the winning group, Azeredo said it was a “combination of good presentation skills and a strong marketing strategy that led to a clear winner. The competition was a rewarding experience for Murdoch’s young marketing savants. This is a unique opportunity for students to experience the real life challenges of data gathering, marketing analysis and team work and will definitely enhance both their learning ability and their readiness for real marketing jobs.” All students were presented with certificates at the ceremony for their engagement in the project. Murdoch Dubai’s Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor John Grainger took the opportunity to recognize the significance of the partnership. “This marks the beginning of an important period in the lifestyle of Murdoch.” He reminded the MBA students that “this is what the MBA is all about, challenging students and challenging teachers with difficult but rewarding projects.” “The initiative with Mashreq has given our students the opportunity to experience and work on a real-life case study exposing them to the competitive market out there. They have done exceedingly well and we are proud of the ideas they have put forward. We hope to replicate the success of this competition by hosting many more in the future.” The winning team ‘The Murketeers’, composed of MBA students Afzal Checkar, Carol Pinto, Grace Kenny and Syed Munawwar Ahmed, were awarded a total of AED 5,000. Ahmed, speaking on behalf of the team, said, “It was intellectually stimulating and quite a challenge working on the Mashreq plan. We’ve certainly enjoyed working on this project and would like to thank Murdoch and Mashreq for this unique opportunity.” Mohd Ayman Al Atassi, Mashreq’s Head of Corporate Communication, commented, “Mashreq has always believed in the significance of education and empowering students. These projects play a vital role in enhancing student experience and self-development. The experience definitely puts them one step ahead of their peers. This will certainly equip them with the tools required to tackle challenges in their career. Our partnership with Murdoch has been extremely fruitful and has allowed Mashreq to reaffirm its commitment to the education sector." “The education industry in general is required to offer students with real-life experiences, aside from the basic general curriculum. This will have a positive impact on the industry and additional thoughtful leaders are always a requirement in any successful organization.” |
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