Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1997

From left: Sam Hung, Venus Wong and Lau Kam-yiu BANK MARKETING AWARD CHAMPIONS V enus Wong, SamHung, and Lau Kam- yiu will be the envy of other business students in Hong Kong this summer as they don their suits for a three-month summer internship at Citibank. And it isn't any run-of-the-mill summer job either: they will be interacting wit h the bank's marketing executives to formulate real business strategies. The three, all second-year BBA students, have earned this valuable opportunity by winning the Citibank University Marketing Award held on 15th February 1997. By winning, they have also upheld a certain 'tradition': students from the CUHK Faculty of Business Administration have wo n the award in all the three years it has been held. Each year the competition invite s business students from local universities to submit marketing proposals on a set topic. The proposals are first screened internally by the universities, w i th feasibility and effectiveness being the main criteria, and one proposal is chosen to represent each participating institution. A similar process comes into play at the external competition, wherein the three best proposals are selected for presentation and defence by the teams in front of a panel of judges. This year, the students had to chalk out a year-long plan to attract 1,200 new customers to Citibank's 'Home Financing Service' within a promotional budget of HK$3,000,000. Since the budget was relatively small, the CUHK team adopted a target marketing tactic. Starting from scratch, the students delved into relevant literature and news on the ever-fluctuating property market. They thoroughly analysed mortgage and residential property in Hong Kong and scrutinized the characteristics of each, before finally identifying their target market — profitable mid- to up-market residences. During their two-month-long research and write-up, the students were given advice by lecturers and past winners of the award on presentation skills and proposal-writing. They were advised, for example, to liven up their presentation through changes in intonation and the use of interesting visual aids. Their exhaustive research and impeccable presentation impressed the panel of judges, which consisted of representatives from Citibank, an advertising agency, and the property field. Venus Wong and Lau Kam-yiu have their minds set on a career in marketing or related fields while Sam Hung has yet to make up his mind. A ll of them however believe that their summer internship will be valuable training in interpersonal skills. And how are they going to use their HK$15,000 worth prize money? 'On language courses and travelling' is the unanimous reply. Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 1997 18