Three students from Ealing’s University of West London have been crowned winners of a global marketing competition after impressing judges with a campaign tackling myths around artificial intelligence.
The team – calling themselves “3 Marketeers” – won the undergraduate category of The Pitch 2026, an international student competition organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in partnership with IBM.
Students Bethany Taylor, Clarice Pugales and Ranveer Thakur beat teams from universities across the UK and overseas after presenting a campaign promoting IBM as a trusted expert in responsible AI.
Now in its 15th year, the competition challenges students to respond to a real-world marketing brief. This year’s contest attracted 155 teams from 77 universities, with students from 13 countries taking part.
Bethany Taylor, Clarice Pugales and Ranveer Thakur said in a joint statement: “Winning The Pitch has been an incredible experience for us as a team. The challenge really pushed our marketing knowledge, but it was absolutely worth it for what we’ve achieved today.
“We honestly didn’t expect to reach the final given the number of entries from around the world, let alone win it – so we’re incredibly proud to be crowned the undergraduate winners.”
A separate postgraduate category was won by a team from the University of Birmingham.
Maggie Jones, director of qualifications and partnerships at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, said: “The standard of thinking and professionalism demonstrated by students this year was exceptional.”
The winning UWL students will receive a one-year CIM membership, access to a professional e-learning course and a mentoring session with IBM experts.
