March 2022 - Vol 2. Issue 3
March Madness
Picking Super Bowl boxes is a fairly easy practice that doesn’t rely on any football knowledge. But picking college basketball brackets is a whole other science. Twenty - three student teams signed up for the 9th Annual March Madness Data Crunch competition sponsored by Deloitte. Student teams work with data from past NCAA men's basketball tournaments, aiming to predict accurately the results of this year's NCAA tournament. First round games start March 15 and culminate in the Final Four (April 4-6). Student winners will be announced at that time. For marketers, it’s another big opportunity to showcase their Brands to large audiences. This article has more information on NCAA corporate champions and partners. You can also check out this live bracket dashboard to keep track of your own March Madness picks.
Great Time with Fordham Basketball
While Fordham’s Men & Women Basketball teams may not get calls for the NCAA Tournament, MSMI students with Dr. Peter Johnson, Marketing Instructor Linda Luca and Aida Lahood Marketing Area Program Manager, turned out to support both teams for their final games and everyone had a great time.
MSMI Team Wins in Mindshare Advanced Analytics Hackathon
Beyond basketball, our MSMI students enjoy other kinds of competition and they have another big win to boast about.
The Fordham-Gabelli MSMI team won the one-week-long Mindshare Advanced Analytics Hackathon against teams from Columbia University, University of Rochester, Baruch College, Rutgers University and the University of Delaware. Students cleaned and analyzed a large and ambiguous dataset related to online and digital advertising and analyzed marketing expenditures for a luxury SUV brand Octantis T800. The team worked together harmoniously to develop a compelling proposal, presented it to industry experts and answered tough questions. Team members said "The Mindshare Advanced Analytics Hackathon was a challenging experience that really put all our learnings from our marketing analytics-related classes to a test.”
The winning team included Siddharth Bhuptanim, Shambhavi Chaturvedi, Ken Coseto, Jerome Dominguez, Noah Duke, Anahita Hirani, and Rosaline Wang. This was a repeat win for MSMI. Back in December, another team won the 24-hour Mindshare Hackathon.
MSMI Brand Agent Competition
Do you want to put your social media marketing skills to the test? Join the MSMI Brand Agent Competition!
Apply your social media and content creation skills to raise the profile of the Gabelli School’s MSMI program. Working in teams, develop a social media and content strategy utilizing channels such as Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Winners will get official certificates for representing the MSMI program and a $100 gift certificate.
Learn more about the Brand Agent Competition here.
Challenges for Marketers Never End
Marketers are facing even more new challenges this month. The tragic war and heartbreaking events in Ukraine will further accelerate inflation and supply issues. Rising gas prices will affect consumer behavior which will dampen the recovery of the travel and hospitality industry along with other related consumer segments. This article provides a good action plan for marketers.
While “consumer” issues may seem small in the face of human tragedy, Brands are stepping up and using their powerful platforms to help the Ukrainians in a meaningful manner whether through donations or offering free services. Airbnb is offering ways to help refugees while the community members of Airbnb are finding ways to provide direct aid.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Ukraine.
Wednesday Snap Chats: Ankur Jaluria and Careers in Media Agencies
Ankur Jaluria (MSMI' 2015), Director of Decisions Science at UM Worldwide and Adjunct Professor at Fordham Gabelli School of Business, spent an afternoon sharing insights and background on the challenges and rewards of a career in the media planning and buying industry. Students learned about the different career paths available in the media industry and how to prepare for their job search.
Join our upcoming Wednesday Snap Chats to learn about the e-commerce and beauty industry or customer loyalty programs and marketing careers in the financial services industry.
Upcoming Snap Chats:
March 9, 2022 - 12 Noon
Join us for a casual conversation with Carly Guerra, Executive Director Global Ecommerce at La Mer & Adjunct Professor Digital Marketing as she shares insights and background on pursuing a career in e-commerce and the beauty industry.
RSVP here.
March 23, 2022 - 12 Noon
Join us for a casual conversation with Paul Kramer, Founder of The Loyalty Advisors, a loyalty program consultancy and Adjunct Professor of Marketing as he shares insights and learning on a career in marketing, managing customer loyalty programs for financial service companies as well as consulting.
RSVP here.
Events: Save the date!
March 25: Alumni Career Panel
April 27: Spring MSMI Event - NY Botanical Gardens Orchid Show