On December 18, the first Marketing Contest (in English) on GIS promotional strategies and GIS Bumper ads (6-second commercials on YouTube) was held and 6 teams from Professor Fukuoka’s seminar participated. This year’s contestants faced a different type of challenge to previous years: devise strategies to enhance the PR activities of GIS. In previous years, Professor Fukuoka’s seminar students have entered the Marketing Competition Japan (MCJ), and for 3 years running won top prize, beating off stiff competition from many other universities. This year, the seminar students put their knowledge and learning into practice and delivered impressive presentations, naturally all in English. The judges agreed that all of the proposals were well-researched, logical, unique and feasible, and undoubtedly will contribute to GIS’s future PR strategy.

Zenjiro Koga, a member of the winning team (Team TWO) for Promotional strategies said that, “The whole contest was very eye-opening. At first, I thought I was capable of creating a project with my team that could be practical and truly beneficial for the department, but in fact everything turned out the opposite way. We struggled until the very last week of the presentation day to compose a logical yet impactful project. But thanks to my group members who pushed through difficulties, and others that gave us advice about our proposal, it turned out to be a success. I was able to see my weaknesses and strengths from this contest, and I will work to improve myself in the future.”

“A good presentation in English requires many elements such as analytical skills (logical reasoning, and data analysis, etc.), creativity, posture, and voice inflection, all of which are necessary to play an active role in the global arena.” said Dr. Fukuoka, the organizer of this event, who emphasized the significance of the presentation contest being held in English.

Dr. Stevie Suan, Head of the PR committee of GIS and one of the judges for this event said, “They were all well-researched, organized, and introduced creative ideas, so it was very hard to decide the winners because the quality was so high for all the participants.”

The whole event really showed the types of opportunities available only at GIS. Due to our small class sizes, GIS students were able to receive in-depth and individualized instruction from our experienced and knowledgeable professors; and it is through our diverse student body and faculty that creative ideas are fostered. Furthermore, it is exactly because we have a close-knit community that the students feel empowered and motivated to invest their time into these constructive endeavors.

Participating teams (alphabetical order)
-Team ALICE
-The DUNDANTS
-Team GisiU
-Team Kasumi-chan
-Team MAYU MAYU
-Team TWO

Judges
Yu Niiya (Dean of GIS)
Stevie T Suan (Head of the PR committee)
John Melvin (Member of the PR committee and the steering committee)