In Summary

  • Swinburne advertising students have won an advertising competition open to over 100 students
  • Team One Idea presented the winning pitch to convenience store giant 7-Eleven and advertising agency Leo Burnett

An idea to introduce new Slurpee flavours to appeal to a broader range of ages has won four Swinburne students a national 7-Eleven advertising competition.

The winning Swinburne team, One Idea, impressed judges for the global convenience store when they pitched a plan to introduce new Slurpee flavours as well as new products such as frozen tea.

In coming up with their winning idea, the team concluded that the current Slurpee flavours were predominantly targeted towards young people which limited its potential for an older, more mature audience.

Over 100 students from Swinburne and the University of Queensland were given the opportunity to pitch an advertising campaign solution to 7-Eleven and international advertising agency Leo Burnett.

One Idea is made up of Swinburne advertising students Rebekah England, Felicia Leong, Ruby Mazzocco and Daniel Vesel.

Ms Leong says the winning the competition means a lot for the team.

“It’s an absolute honour, it’s a great feeling having your team’s hard work recognised and appreciated,” she says.

“Especially from individuals who already work in the professional industry.”

One Idea looked at current brand perception, specifically for 7-Eleven’s popular frozen drink Slurpee.

Ms Leong says that while the competition was tough at times, the experience was well worth it.

“It gave us a little taste of the advertising world, it was rather challenging but in the end a rewarding experience” says Ms Leong.

“It’s a bit of a confidence builder and shows that hard work pays off.”

Laura Davis, Brand Manager at 7-Eleven, praised One Idea for having a professional and well-presented pitch.

“Their presentation skills were an important factor in the way they delivered the presentation.” she says.

“But also the presentation itself was extremely polished, minimalistic and consistently branded with the ‘natural’ aesthetic they were trying to convey.”

When judging pitch ideas, the panel were assessing the understanding, clarity and execution of presentations.

“It was important that the teams clearly defined the problem, their objective and the benefit that either their product or promotion would deliver for Slurpee,” Ms Davis explains.

“We considered the amount of market research the teams conducted and the quality of the marketing and advertising materials, as well as the media plan.”

Team One Idea’s Ms Mazzocco believes the experience has put her in good stead for life after studying.

“I think the best thing about it (the competition) is just the experience it’s given us,” Ms Mazzocco says.

“We had to pitch it three times in total, that’s great for presentation skills but it’s also just a huge confidence boost.

“It makes me really excited to graduate and go out there job hunting knowing I’m capable!”

If you are interested in pursuing a career in marketing or advertising, visit the Swinburne Study Options page to find out more.