2013 Rice MBA Marketing Case Competition

Overview

You are invited to join the 2013 Rice MBA Marketing Case Competition on Saturday, April 6th, sponsored by Cameron. This competition is an opportunity to network with executives from a Fortune 500 company, show your strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and win prize money.

You may register as an individual or as a team of four to five students. Those registering individually will be randomly assigned to a team. Teams will analyze a business case and will present their recommendations in front of a panel of judges.

Compete to win cash prizes:

• First place: $2000
• Second place: $1000
• Third place: $500

Platinum Sponsor:

About Cameron:
Cameron is a leading provider of flow equipment products, systems and services to worldwide oil, gas and process industries. Leveraging its global manufacturing, engineering and sales and service network, Cameron works with drilling contractors, oil & gas producers, pipeline operators, refiners and other process owners to control, direct, adjust, process, measure and compress pressures and flows.

• 177 years of continuous business history
• $ 6 + billion in annual revenues
• 2/3 of business non-USA
• 60 + strong product brands
• 23,000 + employees globally
• 300 + locations around the world
• Five operating groups and 10 divisions
• Headquartered in Houston, Texas, USA
• NYSE: CAM

For more information about Cameron, visit: http://www.c-a-m.com

Agenda

All events will take place at McNair Hall at Rice University. Additional information will be provided prior to arrival via e-mail and at check-in.

Saturday, April 6
	7:30am	Breakfast
	8:00am	Case distributed
	8:00am – 12:00pm	Teams work on cases
	12:00pm	Team presentations due
	12:15pm – 1:15pm	Group Lunch
	1:30pm – 4:30pm	Team presentations
	4:30pm – 6:30pm	Awards ceremony/Networking Reception

Rules and Procedures

Rules:

1. To be eligible to participate in the Rice MBA Marketing Case Competition, students must currently be enrolled in an MBA program at an accredited institution in Texas or Louisiana.
   
   
2. Participants may register as individuals or teams. If a student registers as an individual, he or she will be randomly assigned to a team by the organizing committee. If a student registers as a team, the Team Leader must register all team members in one registration form. All teams must have a minimum of four members and no more than five members.
   
   Teams must register by April 5, 2013 at midnight. Registration fees will be processed by April 5 for those teams selected to participate in the competition.
   
   
3. Each school may have multiple teams. However, each student may only register as part of one team.
   
   
4. A copy of the case will be distributed to the teams on Saturday, April 6 at 8:00 a.m. The team leader is responsible for distributing the case to the rest of the team.
   
   
5. Teams are not allowed to contact the sponsor/judges other than during the question and answer portion of the opening reception. This will be the only time teams are allowed to clarify points in the case and ask general questions of the sponsor/judges.
   
   
6. Once the case has been distributed, team members are strictly forbidden from obtaining assistance from anyone outside of their own team. This includes other students, faculty and outside business or professional agency personnel – including employees of the sponsor company. There is to be no illegal contact with anyone outside the team.
   
   Illegal contact can be defined as assistance with any aspect of the case itself – offering assistance in analyzing the case, listening to the team’s presentation and offering feedback, etc. If a team is found to have breached these rules, the team will be automatically disqualified from the Competition.
   
   
7. Teams are encouraged to conduct research outside the case including, but not limited to, the internet, academic, marketing, industry journals/text/book and library, as long as participants do not violate any of the rules mentioned therein. Teams are not allowed to plagiarize – all sources must be cited on the last slide of the presentation.
   
   
8. Teams are permitted to conduct primary research as long as participants do not violate any of the rules mentioned therein. If a team chooses to conduct surveys, personal interviews, or focus groups, all participants must be people they did not know prior to the Case Competition. Teams cannot contact students from the participants’ home school(s), and cannot be obtained through referrals from anyone outside of their team.
   
   
9. Teams are not allowed to bring in special financial or other templates prepared before the competition. All analysis must be done in the time allotted.
   
   
10. Teams must use their own laptops; computers will not be provided.
    
    
11. Wireless Internet access will be available throughout McNair Hall. If there are any technical problems, please immediately notify a Marketing Case Competition co-chair.
    
    
12. For presentation purposes, a PowerPoint presentation is highly recommended. No previously completed PowerPoint presentations may be used.
    
    
13. Electronic copies of all presentation slides are due at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2013. Students must save their documents to a USB memory drive and submit it to Jennifer Lewis, Case Competition Co-Chair. Jennifer will return your USB memory drive once she downloads the information. Hard copies of these documents will be distributed to the judges. All documents will become property of the Platinum Sponsor and the Rice MBA Marketing Club.
    
    
14. Each team member must be involved in the presentation and should be prepared to answer questions from the judges. Attire for the presentation is business formal.
    
    
15. Creative presentation aids are strongly encouraged, but are up to the discretion of each team. Art supplies (markers, poster board, etc.) or video presentations are allowed. Teams have permission to use any services provided by the University Copy Center or other copy centers. If you are uncertain about a particular item, please consult one of the Rice Marketing Club Co-Chairs.
    
    
16. Edits to the team PowerPoint presentation will not be permitted after submission of materials at 12:00 p.m.
    
    
17. Team members will not be allowed to view the presentations of competing teams until the final presentation portion of the program. At this time, the top two teams will be required to repeat their presentations to all participating teams and judges.
    
    
18. At no time before the judges make their final decisions at 4:30 p.m. may a team divulge to the judges which school they represent. Teams are to be referred to by team alias only.
    
    The Rice University Jones School of Business enforces an Honor Code, as do most business school programs. All teams are on their honor to adhere to the Case Competition rules and procedures. Please verify any uncertainty you may have with the Marketing Co-Chairs before taking action.

Procedures:

1. The presentation order will be randomly drawn and announced at the opening breakfast on Saturday, April 6, 2013. The first presentation will begin Saturday, April 6, 2013, at 1:30 p.m.
   
   
2. Teams will have 5 minutes for presentation set-up. Presentations will last 15 minutes with 10 minutes for questions from the judges. Teams will be provided with a three-minute and one-minute warning by a student timekeeper during the presentation. Teams will be penalized for going past 15 minutes in length.
   
   
3. Each team will be assigned a meeting room at Jones School for their usage. It is not mandatory for teams to use their meeting room. However, teams will have to arrive 20 minutes prior to their presentation time. Teams are required to be in their assigned meeting room 20 minutes prior to their team presentation.
   
   
4. Although the presentation room is open to public viewing, participating teams are not allowed to enter this room other than when they are presenting.
   
   
5. Following all presentations, the judges will make their final decisions. This information will be sealed and submitted to the Marketing Case Competition Committee.
   
   
6. The judges’ decisions will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded. The judges’ decisions are final.