SUU Takes Second at 2021 MarketStar Sales and Analytics Champion Competition
Published: October 26, 2021 | Author: Lyndsey Nelson | Read Time: 3 minutes
In their first year attending the competition, Southern Utah University students took home an incredible victory at the 2021 MarketStar Sales and Analytics Champion Competition held at Utah State University. SUU was awarded second place and cash prizes of nearly $2,500, as well a variety of prizes from various personal awards to the members of the team.
“I am thrilled for the students who participated in the MarketStar Sales and Analytics Competition,” said Mary Pearson, dean of the Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business at SUU . “Their hard work and determination, along with the faculty who helped mentor and prepare them for this competition has brought about fantastic results and I could not be more proud!”
Sponsored by MarketStar, the MarketStar Sales and Analytics Champion competition brings together marketing, sales and data analytics into one incredible multi-university event. Students have the opportunity to analyze a marketing/sales or analytics case and present to professionals from MarketStar and their brands, including Logitech Gaming and Samsung.
The competition was composed of challenges for sales and analytics alike. The sales competition focused on student prepared presentations based on a sales case study. SUU students Matthew Matheson, Shadrac Reyes, Brittany Warner, Nicole Clarke, and Landon Slaughter created a 20 minute presentation, which included a detailed launch strategy of how Logitech Gaming could successfully get their products into bookstores across the nation.
“Our plan in particular was to provide education pricing on Logitech Gaming (10% specifically) for all college students and preface every fall semester with a Logitech Gaming gaming event where you can try our their products and acquire 20% off select bundles,” said Shadrac Reyes. “We estimated that, after overhead, Logitech Gaming would see revenue of $4.5 million every year.”
“I wanted to get my foot in the door and prove to myself that I could do difficult things,” said Nicole Clarke, a strategic communications major who joined the competition to gain greater experience in marketing. “I didn't realize how amazing our business departments were until our knowledge was applied. Knowing that I can push myself and that my work would be recognized by multimillion dollar companies allowed me to understand that SUU has set me up for success.”
This was SUU’s first ever time attending the MarketStar competition, which they were invited to thanks to the help of Marketing Club advisor Travis Simkins.
“I know the professor who helped to start the competition at Utah State University,” Simkins explained. “The competition has been growing every year, and we were honored to be the first school outside of the Northern Utah region to be invited to participate.”
“Travis Simkins, Kurt Wainker, and Paige Gairdner all played an important role in helping us perfect our presentation and strategy,” said Clarke. “Not only that they were so willing to sacrifice their time and efforts in such a short amount of time, they were so friendly and supportive and that really made the difference.”
In a week and a half of hard work, the team spent over 40 hours putting together their presentation.
In addition to a second place win overall, Matthew Matheson was awarded one of four MVP awards in the competition and Nicole Clarke tied for first place in her division in the personal pitch competition, which she joined after encouragement from her teammates.
“The weeks leading up to the pitch, life threw me a curve ball and I was unable to prepare one and wasn't planning on presenting,” said Clarke. “About 10 minutes before the competition started, my teammates encouraged me to participate to gain experience. “The whole event was a blur but everything became clear when I heard my name being announced.”
SUU’s first year competing in the MarketStar Sales and Analytics Competition has set a precedent of success for SUU Marketing, Sales, and Business students. Learn more about SUU's Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business.
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