Let the marketing games begin

The journey for the BComHons (Marketing Management) class of 2015 kicked off on 3 February 2015 with a fun, sporting class. The theme of the welcome lecture was “The Marketing Games” and, prior to the first class, students were informed to dress for the welcome lecture representing a sport of their choice. The students rose to the occasion and impressed with their creativity in reflecting the theme. Below is a photo of one the students, Mr Bayly, who won the prize for dressing to the theme, with Dr Gene van Heerden, one of the honours lecturers.

The main message of the evening was to “Make Marketing Matter”, linking to the UP theme of “Make Today Matter”. The honours lecturers played the role of coaches for the evening  and Dr Van Heerden and Prof Wiese shared some ‘fitness skills’ any good athlete needs to be successful as well as the ‘rules of the game’ to ensure that students moved from being mere spectators to active participants in the honours programme. The students was left with the idea that champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for the event.

Staying within the theme, each of the 55 students received an energy drink and energy bar and afterwards had to form teams by finding other students with similar energy drinks. Their creativity was further challenged as each group had to decide on a group name and logo by only using the snacks they received, while keeping the theme in mind. As true marketers they came up with creative names, such as ‘Original Blueberry Olympians’, ‘Mixed Dynamics‘ and ‘Multihyd8’. Given the enthusiasm with which the students participated in the evening-, this group will not disappoint in the year to come.