About the role
Description-
Some products do not fail because they stop working. They fade because people stop seeing a reason to care about them. Bringing such a product back takes more than attention. It needs a clear idea of who the product is for, why it matters to them and how the brand can earn their trust.
Branding, the brand strategy competition of Passion'26 at IMT Ghaziabad, asks teams to take on that challenge. Teams begin with a quiz on branding and marketing fundamentals, move on to a case in which they must relaunch a forgotten product through an unlikely personality partnership, and finish by presenting their campaign to a panel of industry leaders. The competition rewards clear positioning, sound judgement and ideas that can work in the market.
Rounds Structure-
The Brand Sprint-
- Format: Online quiz hosted on Unstop with 15 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 10 minutes. Only the team leader will be allowed to take the quiz.
- Objective: The quiz will assess participants' knowledge of branding, advertising, consumer behaviour and positioning, and their ability to apply these ideas to real brand situations. This round serves as the preliminary filter.
- Marking Scheme: Each correct answer carries 1 marks. There is no negative marking, and unanswered questions carry no marks.
- Evaluation: The teams will be shortlisted by score to qualify for the next round. In case of a tie, the team that took less time to complete the quiz will rank higher.
The Unlikely Alliance-
- Format: Online case deck submission (PPTX/PDF).
- Objective: Teams that qualify will receive a case on relaunching a forgotten product for India's Gen Z audience through a personality partnership, and must submit a brand identity and integrated campaign that is credible, memorable and commercially viable.
- Task: The presentation should have 5-8 slides, including the title and appendix slides. The first content slide must be an executive summary, and the deck must include a justification of up to 150 words for the chosen pairing.
- Evaluation: Submissions will be judged on the clarity of the brand positioning, the strength of the personality and brand fit, the relevance of the brand identity and campaign idea, and the feasibility of the budget and distribution plan. Original ideas will be given credit when they suit the audience.
The Pitch Room-
- Format: Shortlisted teams present their campaign live in online mode to a panel of senior industry leaders.
- Objective: Participants must defend their campaign under questioning.
- Task: Shortlisted teams from Round 2 will deliver a case presentation, followed by a Q&A in which the judges will test their assumptions, budget and proposed campaign.
- Evaluation: Teams will be judged on how they handle questions, their commercial judgement, the clarity of their narrative, their command of the brand and its numbers, and their delivery. The team with the highest average score from the panel will be declared the winner.
Note: Teams are not allowed to mention the name of their institution, or use its logo, anywhere in their submissions or during the presentation.
General Rules & Regulations:
- All rounds will be held online.
- Multiple registrations by the same participant will lead to disqualification.
- In case of any dispute, the decision of judges and the organizing committee at IMT Ghaziabad will be final.