Opportunity brief
Event Overview: Mark-o-Mind is a three-round marketing competition testing knowledge, creativity, strategic thinking, communication, and competitive decision-making — from a marketing quiz, to a creative legacy-based pitch, to a head-to-head brand strategy challenge.
- Round 1 — Mind Over Market: Marketing & Business Knowledge — 30 MCQs
- Round 2 — Legacy Pitch: Creativity + Marketing Strategy — Pitch + Q&A
- Round 3 — Brand Standoff: Competitive Brand Strategy — Discussion + Cross-questioning
General Rules:
- Participants must complete registration/check-in before the event begins.
- Follow all instructions from organizers, volunteers, and judges throughout the event.
- Teams must remain together unless an organizer permits otherwise.
- Unfair assistance, plagiarism, copying, impersonation, or unauthorized communication may lead to disqualification.
- Maintain professional conduct and respectful communication at all times.
- Organizers reserve the right to modify timings or procedures as required.
- Organizers' and judges' decisions on rules, scoring, penalties, and qualification are final and binding.
Round 1 — Mind Over Market:Objective: Test knowledge of marketing, business, brands, advertising, consumer behaviour, business personalities, current trends, and general business knowledge.
- 30 MCQs; each correct answer = 1 mark, incorrect = 0 marks.
- 1 minute per question — total round duration 30 minutes.
- Covers brands, ads, campaigns, consumer behaviour, business personalities, trends, and general business knowledge.
- Mobile phones, laptops, internet access, notes, or external assistance strictly prohibited.
- Answers must be submitted/recorded as instructed by organizers.
- Ties affecting qualification/ranking may be resolved via a tie-breaker question or rapid-fire round.
Round 2 — Legacy Pitch:Objective: Combine creativity, strategic thinking, cultural understanding, and marketing knowledge by transforming an ancient Indian game into a modern marketing concept.
- Teams are assigned (or may select) an ancient Indian game as directed by organizers.
- Teams develop a modern marketing concept inspired by the game, covering: Target Audience, Core Marketing Idea, Brand/Product Integration, Promotional Strategy, and Social Media/Digital Marketing Idea.
- 30 minutes preparation, followed by a 5-minute pitch and 5 minutes of Q&A.
- Phones/laptops may be used for research and presentation, subject to organizer instructions.
- Props and creative presentation techniques allowed if permitted by organizers.
- Concepts must be original — copied or substantially plagiarized concepts may lead to disqualification.
Judging Criteria:
- Creativity & Innovation — originality, freshness, and quality of the idea
- Marketing Relevance — application of sound marketing principles
- Strategic Thinking — clarity and logic of the proposed approach
- Presentation & Communication — structure, confidence, clarity, and delivery
- Brand Integration — how naturally the brand/product fits the concept
- Time: 30 min prep • 5 min pitch • 5 min Q&A. Judges' decision is final and binding.
Round 3 — Brand Standoff:
Objective: A real-world competitive marketing situation where participants analyse competitors and build a convincing strategy to gain competitive advantage.
- Each team is assigned a brand/category and its competitor by organizers.
- Teams analyse the competitive landscape and develop a strategy covering: Target Customer, Pricing, Promotion & Advertising, Digital/Social Media, Distribution, and Brand Positioning.
- 25 minutes preparation, followed by a 10-minute competitive discussion and 5 minutes of cross-questioning.
- Laptops/phones may be used for research during preparation, as permitted by organizers.
- Teams must be ready to defend recommendations and respond to counter-questions from the opposing team and/or judges.
- Arguments must stay professional and marketing-focused — personal attacks or inappropriate content will not be tolerated.
Judging Criteria:
- Strategic Thinking — quality and logic of the proposed competitive strategy
- Market Understanding — insight into customers, category, competitors, and market dynamics
- Creativity — distinctiveness and effectiveness of ideas
- Feasibility — practicality and realistic execution
- Competitive Advantage — ability to create a meaningful edge over the competitor
- Presentation & Defence — clarity, confidence, rebuttal, and response quality
- Time: 25 min prep • 10 min discussion • 5 min cross-questioning. Judges' decision is final and binding.
Disqualification & Penalties:
- Use of prohibited devices or unauthorized external assistance in Round 1.
- Cheating, copying, plagiarism, or misrepresentation of another team's work.
- Repeatedly exceeding allotted time or refusing to follow organizer instructions.
- Misconduct, abusive language, personal attacks, harassment, or disruptive behaviour.
- Use of offensive, discriminatory, defamatory, or inappropriate material.
- Any action that, in organizers' judgment, compromises fairness or integrity of the competition.
Depending on severity, organizers/judges may issue a warning, deduct marks, restrict further participation, or disqualify the team. The decision is final.
Event Timeline:
- Round 1 — Mind Over Market: 30 minutes
- Round 2 — Legacy Pitch: 40 minutes
- Round 3 — Brand Standoff: 40 minutes
- Transitions/coordination / contingencies: Approx. 25–40 minutes
- Expected total event duration: Approx. 2 hrs 15 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Learning Outcomes: Participants build marketing knowledge (brands, advertising, consumer behaviour, trends), creative and strategic thinking, brand-building skills (positioning, differentiation, promotion), communication and presentation confidence, competitive thinking, real-world application of classroom concepts, and teamwork under time pressure.