GMA/NET Impact Marketing Case Competion

The Graduate Marketing Association (GMA) and the Illinois MBA Net Impact hosted the first annual Marketing Case Competition last month. The goal of this year's competition was for current MBA students to provide expertise to a local non-profit organization. This year, GMA and Net Impact worked closely with the Illinois Green Business Association (IGBA), a local organization started by U of I alumni. The organization seek to help businesses in the Champaign-Urbana area green their organization through areas such as operations.

This year's winners were Jennifer Schmidt (MBA '11) and Nick Timpone (MBA '11).

The MBA program was happy to provide our personal and prior knowledge about small businesses and environmental practices to assist the local Illinois Green Business Association. Though it was a competition, we recognize that the combined contributions of all the teams will greatly assist this valuable student lead organization in fulfilling its mission. Fortunately for us, Jennifer’s expertise in environmental consulting and Nick’s knowledge within the local small business community combined to provide several “valuable ideas and concepts.” Anthony Santarelli – Director of Program Development for IGBA – said that he greatly appreciated all the teams hard work and creative ideas. He particularly liked Jennifer’s idea of “using recycled materials to construct the IGBA certificates.”

This was a great opportunity for us to represent the IMBA and apply academic concepts learned in the classroom into real-world solutions for an organization doing such important work. Best of luck Illinois Green Business Association in “greening the community one business at a time” and thanks again to all those who participated!