Nottingham Trent wins IDM Student Competition

First prize in the IDM's 10th Annual National Student Competition was awarded to a team from Nottingham Trent University at a ceremony attended by some of the biggest names in direct marketing,

Second prize went to the University of Leeds, while a team from De Montfort University was placed third.

At the IDM's 20th anniversary Gala Party, the winning team of Natalie Rothwell, Holly Whinnerah and Billie Jade Whitmore, were presented with the gold award for their proposed solution to a live marketing brief drawn up by Lexus GB and agency Partners Andrews Aldridge.

Their prize was £1,500 cash, while the team's lecturer and mentor, Christine Hardy, wins a trip to the DMA conference in Chicago.

In a surprise announcement during the presentation, Partners Andrews Aldridge also offered the winning team a one-month placement at the agency.

The competition brief was set by both client and agency in an annual contest open to all UK final year and postgraduate marketing students.

Student teams were invited to pitch for the launch of the new Lexus LS 460 luxury saloon - with the primary objectives of building a prospect database of 10,000 non-Lexus customers and of delivering 3,000 warm leads to Lexus dealerships.

A three-tier judging process culminated in a nerve-wracking pitch before senior personnel from both the client and agency.

The eventual winners were selected on the strength of their presentation as well as the quality of their proposal.

Of the winning entry, Matt Button, Lexus CRM and Database Marketing Manager, said: "The standard of all the finalists' entries this year was extremely high - and very tough to judge, but this was a truly deserving win.

"The amount of work, enthusiasm and professionalism that went into Nottingham Trent's proposal was extraordinary - it was also a real pleasure to see such impressive insights about Lexus from all the finalists".

The IDM Annual National Student Competition forms part of the Institute's Education Programme, whose mission is to inspire the brightest and most talented students to enter the direct, data and digital marketing profession.

The achievements of all the students from this year's programme were celebrated at the ceremony, including the 30 students who graduated from the Institute's annual Summer School and the winners of the first ever IDM 6th form competition.

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