Smith Undergrads Excel in Wake Forest’s Undergraduate Case Challenge

A team of undergraduate students from Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland participated in the 21st Wake Forest Marketing Summit - Undergraduate Case Challenge, sponsored by VF Corporation. The competition was held at Wake Forest University on February 3, 2011 and the other schools participating were Emory University, Northeastern University, Brigham Young University, and University of Pennsylvania. The case focused on developing strategies to use the digital ecosystem to drive sales and build loyalty for the VF Corporation's Nautica® brand.

Vidya Sathyamoorthy (finance and marketing), Chris Coraggio (marketing, operations management and information systems), Brett Cullen (marketing and finance), Prannoy Nambiar (marketing and finance) represented the Smith team of undergraduates.

Sathyamoorthy said, “Our team’s strength lay in its balance and dynamic – two boys, two girls; two juniors, two seniors; two veterans, two newcomers.” The diverse majors of each member helped the team view the case from different angles and allowed them to come up with many productive ideas. The team had 36 hours to prepare their response and to come up with a strategic solution to the challenge presented. The team put together a comprehensive and an integrated marketing and communications solution to make an impact on Nautica® brand, and won the third prize while competing against some of the best marketing talents in the nation.

This was also a great opportunity for the students to network with teams from other schools. It gave them a chance to learn from each other and to appreciate the opportunities available to students at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. As Nambiar said, “Being able to associate and network with students and professionals from across the globe was both a humbling experience and a huge confidence booster.” The team returned back with another honor for the school, some great memories and an unforgetful experience.

“The 10 cups of coffee, catnaps on the classroom floor, and presentation at the brink of exhaustion were completely worth it – the team walked away from the Summit with a mountain of experience, new friends, and $1,000,” said Sathyamoorthy.

Nabeel Jawad, MBA Candidate 2011, Smith Media Group