AIM is regional champion in Google and Hult Prize competitions

MANILA, Philippines - Two student teams from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) were named as regional champions in the recently concluded Google Online Marketing Challenge 2013 and the 2013 Hult Prize. AIM MBA students Kaushal Pilikuli, Madhu Konanur Venkataram, Santgamesh Desai, Matthew Chua, and Pratik Piyush were named the Asia-Pacific winners of the Google Online Marketing Challenge 2013. The team worked with Happily Unmarried in India, which specializes in selling unique lifestyle products. “The Google Online Marketing Challenge involves developing and running an online advertising campaign using Google AdWords for a business or a non-profit organization over a three-week period with a $250 budget provided by Google,” explains Kaushal Pilikuli. “We chose to work with Happily Unmarried due to the unique products that they sell and due to our familiarity with the company.” He adds, “Developing an effective advertising campaign for unique lifestyle products required us to understand the business and consumer behavior, providing us with a very good learning opportunity. The concepts we learned during the marketing course at AIM helped us choose a unique company and also effectively implement a campaign. The various written assignments during the MBA course contributed to our disciplined approach to developing an effective report.” Meanwhile, fellow AIM MBA students Raj Bordia, Ravindra Rapeti, Saurabh Bathla, and Shivesh Gaurav were named champions in the Shanghai regional finals of the 2013 Hult Prize, eventually competing in Boston for the grand finals. The students founded a social enterprise called Poshnam, which will create food security based on a new efficient supply chain. The Hult Prize is a program for aspiring social entrepreneurs, where students from various schools and universities across the globe pitch their ideas for a chance to win US$1 million to start their own social enterprise.