This spring, some UD students were watching March Madness games while four were practicing their skills for another bracket-style competition, the National Collegiate Digital Marketing Championship.
Abby Purdy, Colleen Skiles, Emma Schlueter and Julia Kirkpatrick represented UD and the UD Marketing Club at the March 2025 competition at Baylor University.
“It’s important to take our studies outside of UD,” said Purdy, a senior marketing and management major. “We got to apply our technical knowledge within a team and think quickly on our feet. One of my favorite parts of the competitions was watching the final round to see the presentations from the case study. It was eye-opening to see other teams’ approaches; it made me hungry for the possibilities for next year.”
These case study presentations were the main events. Each round, two schools would receive information about a client and their analytics. They spent 30 minutes developing a digital marketing campaign strategy, and then pitched their strategy in 20 minutes. They were graded on building rapport with the client, technical knowledge, data insights, clarity, client-centric approach, professionalism and integrity.
There were additional opportunities for individuals to accumulate points for their teams, including a 200-question test that covered web design, analytics, search engine optimization, paid searches, display advertising, social media, online reputation, mobile marketing and digital strategy.
Lissa Cupp, UD digital marketing senior lecturer and UD Marketing Club faculty advisor, attended the event with the four students. She said it was a great opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills as well as network with companies.
“They felt very proud UD was investing in them and sending them somewhere to represent their school,” she said.
Before the group could even consider their cases or compete in the mini events, they had to pay for the trip. Support of donors through the team's Flyer Funder campaign got them across the finish line. The School of Business Advisory Council even made a donation when two UD Marketing Club representatives attended a meeting and included a QR code for their Flyer Funder page.
“I would have had a difficult time affording to pay my own way for the competition,” Purdy said. “The UD community helped me do something that would allow me to grow. Even people I didn’t know helped us go on this trip and get this experience.”
The competition, which started two years ago, hosts 32 schools and representatives from companies such as Dell and the Dallas Cowboys. In 2024, UD landed in second place. This year, the team’s only loss, again, was to the winner, but this loss occurred in an earlier round so they did not place. Cupp says it was all worthwhile to experience the challenge of a competition.
“This competition is very challenging, considering teams have to master and present their material within a tight deadline," Cupp said. “Regardless of where you place, this process under that pressure provides opportunities to connect with marketing leaders from top brands and agencies, sharpens professional skills, and gives our students valuable experience and confidence."