IEM TSU Students Became Winners and Prizewinners of the Marketing Communications Olympiad
The Olympiad was held remotely in several rounds: individual testing, team case-solving, and a battle of finalists. Thirty-nine teams competed for victory, solving more than 100 theoretical tasks and 6 business cases.
Sofia Cheban became the absolute winner of the Olympiad. Three other IEM participants became prize-winners in individual sections: Ksenia Zemlyanova took 2nd place in the "Integrated Marketing Communications" section, Ksenia Kosenko took 2nd place in the "Digital Marketing" section, and Maria Panasyuk took 3rd place in the "PR" section.
"When we started forming teams and inviting the students to participate, we saw great interest. It's nice to see such involvement! The Olympiad was online, and students had to balance between their studies and active participation—they tried to do everything. Participants had to go through three stages: each team prepared a video business card and sent it along with the application for participation. Then the students took individual tests and worked in mixed teams on case solutions from Krasnoyarsk companies. The Olympiad finalists, based on the results of all rounds, competed in eloquence on the topic 'Media Landscape Adaptation Strategy: The Art of Being Heard in an Era of Change.' They had half an hour to prepare reasoned arguments and two minutes to convey their ideas. Sofia Cheban brilliantly handled this and won the debate," says Maria Brusyanina, Associate Professor of the Department of Strategic Management and Marketing at IEM TSU.
Sofia Cheban shared that she particularly enjoyed working on the case study and participating in the scientific battle.
"We developed a communication strategy for an entire eco-neighborhood; we had to turn the idea around from different angles and find our own solution. Such tasks draw you into the process, and you forget that it's a competition. I am grateful to my team for their engagement. A big plus was that as a winner, I was able to participate in the scientific battle. It's a different level: more dynamics, live communication, and the opportunity to test how your ideas are perceived in real time. The format is generally very cool and modern, but frankly, I would have liked a little more specifics about the format itself at the start. Sometimes there was a lack of clear understanding of the criteria and expectations. But even with this experience, I remain very satisfied," says Sofia.
For Ksenia Zemlyanova, participation in the Olympiad was also a valuable experience.
"I especially liked the testing stage: many questions were based on current and widely discussed news topics, which made them more understandable and interesting due to immersion in the context. In the case stage, we had to develop a communication strategy for a small brand with a limited budget—a task as close as possible to real business conditions. It was nice to learn that the proposed solutions pleased the client and will be implemented in practice," said Ksenia.
Ksenia Kosenko noted that the Olympiad provided an opportunity to work on tasks in an unusual format.
"This week provided an opportunity not only to gain new knowledge through masterclasses but also to apply existing skills in practice when solving the final task. I would particularly like to note the teamwork: interacting with participants from different regions of the country was not only useful in terms of experience exchange but also provided pleasant, live communication. The Olympiad allowed me to demonstrate creativity, look at important topics from a new angle, and feel like part of an engaged professional community," admitted Ksenia.
Maria Panasyuk emphasized that it was especially useful to communicate with students from other cities.
"The Olympiad was held in a format wh ere teams from different universities were mixed. It was interesting to communicate with students from other cities and build communication remotely. During the process, we were able to talk with the marketing director of a confectionery company in Krasnoyarsk; it was a very useful experience," noted Maria.