International School Students Win Big in 35-Hour Eat-Sleep-Rest Challenge with Real-Life Media Campaign

The event took place over 2 days, May 10-11, organized by Le Bros Company in collaboration with British University Vietnam (BUV) andeducational partners in Hanoi, for final year students and recent graduates who want to do internships in the marketing - communications industry.

Nearly 150 students from universities and colleges in Hanoi participate in the InternPitch Camp 2025 program

The program is notable for being built on a hackathon model - a short-term innovation competition. Students are divided into groups of "simulated agencies", learning from experts and applying knowledge to build and present Integrated Communications Campaigns (IMC), based on real-life topics from businesses in "hot" fields such as industry, finance, and telecommunications.

Stress before G hour

Immediately after receiving the assignment, the “agencies” began to enter the “race” under great time pressure. Each group had less than 20 hours to turn a rough brief into a complete IMC plan, meeting both brand and practical requirements.

No longer the usual group exercises, students are “put into gear” like a real agency. The roles are clearly divided: market research studies the market and “digs” for insights, planners come up with creative ideas and define strategies, creatives come up with ideas and visuals, media considers implementation channels, while accounts play the role of managing progress and connecting the group with mentors.

Students discussed enthusiastically to choose a good big idea and a key message that was “catchy” enough to match the brand positioning. Many groups had to work overnight to complete the proposal and prepare the pitch. Under pressure, professional thinking and team spirit helped the students “transform” every hour.

A group of students discuss to build a communication plan.

“Studying and working continuously for more than 30 hours, sometimes the teams felt exhausted, but in the end, the whole team still sat down, encouraged and supported each other to produce a plan that the whole team was proud of,” - Sau Xanh team shared.

Heated debates

On the afternoon of May 11, the atmosphere at the British University Vietnam campus became lively and tense as student groups entered the pitching round. During the 20-minute session, each group took turns presenting their plans with a well-structured format. The groups all demonstrated confidence, good critical thinking, and flexible situation handling skills.

With the topic of raising awareness of sustainable development (ESG) for the industry, the 5 "bidding" groups all presented ideas that were commented by experts to be very practical. In which, Coc Coc Team was highly appreciated with the idea of ​​"Investing for a green future" - clearly demonstrating the brand's commitment to ESG. The group also made good use of the strategy of using Leader Talk (expert discussion) as the main activity, focusing on the requirements of the business.

The presentation was highly appreciated by the judges of Coc Coc Team.

The ideas for the finance and banking topic also impressed by cleverly connecting the green lifestyle of GenZ with traditional cultural materials. The Sau Xanh group stood out with the big idea “A green color”, exploiting the image of Co Doi Thuong Ngan and a communication strategy that captured the information reception habits of young people. The plan contributed to positioning “green” as the new identity of GenZ, associated with financial behavior appropriate to the product.

Green Crocodile Team Wins With Unique and Inspiring Idea

The telecom industry judges also took a long time to decide on the two winning agencies out of five plans that were all rated excellent. The Metafour team came up with an idea that evoked emotions from the 2G to 5G journey, incorporating nostalgia and transformation. Meanwhile, Can Bros proposed a stronger direction with live technology events that focused on user experience and won.

Can Bros Group and the scoring question answering section

Practical academic playground

A common point that is easily seen in the winning groups is that they all have the participation of students from international universities in Vietnam, showing that their new, creative thinking and ability to approach problems in a multi-dimensional way have contributed significantly to helping the project achieve high rankings.

“This is not exactly a competition, but the purpose is to help interns get acquainted with the real working environment and fierce competition, preparing them with the mindset and experience to enter professional life and start a new career.”, Ms. Do Thi Hai Dang, General Director of Le Bros, representative of the Organizing Committee emphasized.

Speaking at the event, Professor Rick Bennett, Vice President and Vice Chairman of the BUV Board of Directors, said: “We believe that the most effective learning method is to directly experience and apply theory to practice. This 35-hour program is an opportunity for students to challenge themselves, express their ideas and explore their own potential.”

It can be said that InternPitch Camp 2025 provides opportunities for students to practice strategic thinking, teamwork and flexible response - core skills required in the current marketing communications industry. In addition to InternPitch Camp 2025, British University Vietnam also accompanies and organizes many practical experience activities every year, aiming to train a generation of students who are both good at academics and ready to integrate into the labor market.

PV

Source: https://tienphong.vn/sinh-vien-truong-quoc-te-thang-dam-trong-thu-thach-35-gio-anngu-nghi-cung-chien-dich-truyen-thong-thuc-chien-post1742553.tpo