The sixth edition of the flagship event of Bangladesh University of Professionals Business and Communication Club (BUP BCC) -- CreADive-- kicked off this year on September 24, 2020. Since its inception, this event has made quite a name for its challenging nature. CreADive started its journey in 2014 as a nationwide marketing and ad-making competition. Shortly afterwards, it became a renowned name in the arena of business competitions for undergraduate students across the country.
Sponsored by Perfetti Van Melle, CreADive 2020 took place completely online due to the ongoing pandemic. With the onset of online case submissions from almost 200 different teams, the event started with quite a flair. Among them, only 48 teams made it through to the second round which was all about strategising the right marketing tactics and implementing them with a 360-degree marketing campaign for Chupa Chups. After a fierce battle, only 18 teams moved to the third round. This was one of the most rigorous rounds for the participants who had to perform product activations for Center Fruit. Finally, the top six teams were chosen to compete in the grand finale. At every round, participants had to tackle the challenges thrown by the 'Curveball,' a plot twist that makes the given case even more intricate.
The six finalist teams were assigned to design a one-year long impactful awareness campaign under Perfetti Van-Melle that addresses the mental well-being of children and parents alike during the global pandemic. Participants were tasked to bring up innovative ideas along with a comprehensive business model. The idea was to reduce the mental toll children had to undergo during this difficult time and focus on their overall development.
The grand finale took place on October 30 in the presence of the chief guest Sumitava Basu, managing director of Perfetti Van Melle. The finalist teams consisted of Team Crossover and Team Wu Tang Clan from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Dhaka University (DU), and Team Mudblood, Team Wolfpack, Team Gameplan, and Team KAR-98 from BUP. After a head to head battle, Team Crossover took the trophy home along with a prize money of Tk 150,000. The first and second runners-up were Team Mudblood and Team Gameplan who bagged a prize of Tk 90,000 and Tk 60,000, respectively. The esteemed judges panel consisted of Allen Ebenezer Eric, marketing director, Marico Bangladesh Ltd, Neamul Mukit Ahmed, head of brand, Banglalink, and Maria Huq, director HR, BRAC.
When asked about the experience of this year's Creadive, Abrar Islam from the champion team said, "I teamed up with two people with whom I never interacted before and somehow, it played out properly. The challenges and curveballs in each round pushed us to our limits and beyond. In the end, CreADive 2020 gave me a championship and two new friends with a worthwhile experience."
The writer is studying at Bangladesh University of Professionals. She can be reached at nafnawal29@gmail.com