Target Case Competition 2010 Winners

School of Management Names Winners in Target Case Competition
(http://mgt.buffalo.edu/home/about/News/TargetCase2010)

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A team of three seniors and one junior in the UB School of Management will share a $3,000 prize as winners of the fourth annual On Target Undergraduate Case Competition.

Assen Petrov and Tae Hyun Moon of Buffalo, Matt Stabel of Williamsville and Ho Wing Chan of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., comprised the winning team.

The competition, sponsored by Target, is intended to help undergraduate students hone their analytical, problem-solving and teamwork skills by proposing solutions to a real-world business challenge.

Fourteen teams representing 47 students originally entered the competition. For the final round of the competition on Feb. 26, the top five teams presented their analyses and recommendations for a case involving how Target can improve its merchandise and sales in home-industry products, as that category has faced declining revenues for the last decade.

Five individuals from Target served as judges for the final presentations: Peter Firestone, district facilities manager; Randy Joseph, district team leader; Caitlin McCraken, assets protection business partner; Ben Gregory, store team leader; and Adam Fatzinger, investigations team leader.

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at more than 1,600 stores nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

The Wall Street Journal has ranked the UB School of Management No. 9 in the nation among schools with strong regional recruiting bases. In addition, BusinessWeek has ranked the school as one of the country’s top 5 business schools for the fastest return on MBA investment, and Forbes has cited it as one of the best business schools in the U.S. for the return on investment it provides MBA graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

Google Online Marketing Challenge 2010

I am currently a captain of Team University at Buffalo in the Google Online Marketing Challenge 2010. My team is competing against over 10,000 students from 500 universities around the world in the challenge. There are six members including myself in the Team University at Buffalo, and Professor Alan Dick has been helping us as an advisory professor. My team was provided $200 worth Google AdWords money so that we can utilize the money to promote a local company by running Adwords campaigns on Google. Since February 2010, my team has developed strategic marketing plans including keyword lists, by which we have promoted the company to current and future customers on the online. There is no such a financial award for the challenge, but my team members and I have put our efforts and time in it because we value experience that we will gain and honor of representing our school in the world competition.

Target Case Competition Winner

The Target marketing competition, sponsored by the Target Corporation, is intended to help undergraduate students hone their analytical, problem-solving and teamwork skills by proposing solutions to a real-world business challenge.

I have participated in the with three other members, and it was held by the Target Corporation. The case of the competition was how to improve the Target’s merchandise so that it can remain competitive in the home industry. I was in charge of developing price and product strategies for our marketing proposal.

I did research for home products of Target’s competitors and the current market trend in the home industry. With hard work of each member and creative ideas based on solid research, my team won the competition and was awarded $3000. During the competition, I managed to further improve my knowledge and marketing skills gained through my education.

You will see my strong research and analytical skills will contribute to discovering hidden value in the market and providing invaluable information to the clients. Moreover, this internship will be a great opportunity for me to gain hands-on experience and become a future asset to the company.