The University of Sunderland and popular bakers Greggs have teamed up to encourage student marketing expertise.
The University of Sunderland hosted an event on 15th February which saw students demonstrating their marketing skills in front of an audience of regional business people, academics, fellow students and marketing experts.
As well as the University of Sunderland, the students were from Newcastle, Northumbria and Teesside Universities.
The aim of the challenge was to put forward ideas to help Greggs stay ahead in the highly competitive food-on-the-go marketplace while broadening its appeal to young people. The prize for the winning team of students was to spend a day at Greggs’ head office in Newcastle.
In addition, yesterday’s event saw two addresses from keynote speakers. Margaret Fay CBE, former chair of the regional economic development agency One North East, and Roisin Currie, people director at Greggs, both spoke about the changing face of graduate recruitment.
Before the competition, the University of Sunderland’s deputy vice chancellor, Professor Michael Young, said,
“We are delighted to be hosting this regional event, which promises to be an excellent showcase for emerging marketing talent and a great networking opportunity for companies and students.”
“We are looking forward to seeing how the students use their knowledge to deliver practical and effective marketing solutions.”
Graeme Nash, head of marketing at Greggs, said,
“Over the years we have been running the marketing challenge, we have been hugely impressed by the calibre of work and enthusiasm that the students have brought to their projects.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing the innovative ideas they come up with in response to our brief Young Adults and Greggs: Keeping the Brand Contemporary.”
Though nowadays there is a Greggs bakery in almost every UK high street, the company began as a small one-shop business in Gosforth, Newcastle. Greggs now has around 20,000 employees and 1,700 outlets. In 2016, it made a profit of £73 million.
