New York (December 2, 2019) -- Effie United States, which recognizes marketing effectiveness, has announced that its 10th Effie Collegiate program will be in partnership with IBM. Modeled after the Effie Awards, the Effie Collegiate program calls on the next generation’s brightest marketers to research, ideate, and execute comprehensive marketing plans to address real world business challenges. 

For the 2020 brand challenge, IBM will invite college students across the U.S. to develop a non-traditional integrated marketing campaign focused on IBM and The Weather Channel app, the world's most downloaded weather app. The campaign should drive relevance for the IBM brand and showcase the interesting and surprising ways that IBM and The Weather Channel (an IBM Business) affect consumers' daily lives.

"The Effie Collegiate program provides IBM the opportunity to inspire and give back to the next generation of marketers. The Effie program unearths young, fresh, and diverse talent whose ideas benefit IBM as we get a unique perspective on our brand and benefits students who gain invaluable experience. It's a fantastic opportunity for both our brand and the students and we can't wait to see all the great thinking that comes out of this program!" said Ann Rubin, VP Corporate Marketing, IBM.

IBM has earned many Effie Awards globally through the years, and was most recently a recipient of the 5 for 50 Effie Award, honoring the five marketers who most effectively adapted, stayed relevant and sustained business success for the brand over time. IBM also partnered with Effie U.S. on the 2017 Effie Collegiate program.

“For both the students and their future employers, starting marketing careers with a focused lens on effectiveness will only have a positive impact on our industry. Having the support of IBM, with decades of proven effectiveness, is an incredible opportunity for our industry’s future talent to gain real world experience. I look forward to seeing the great ideas that emerge from this semester’s program,” said Traci Alford, President & CEO, Effie Worldwide.
 
Entry materials for the 2020 Effie Collegiate IBM Brand Challenge will be available in December 2019 and Call for Entries will launch in January 2020. The challenge is open to students enrolled in full/part-time graduate, undergraduate and portfolio programs at accredited educational institutions. The competition is free to enter and the entry deadline is April 2, 2020.

Competition finalists will be invited to pitch their campaigns to the IBM brand team at their New York headquarters.

For complete details on the Effie Collegiate competition, please visit www.effie.org/effie-collegiate. Details of the challenge will be released in the coming weeks.
 
About Effie®
Effie is a global 501c3 non-profit whose purpose is to lead and evolve the forum for marketing effectiveness. Effie leads, inspires and champions the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness through education, awards, ever-evolving initiatives and first-class insights into marketing strategies that produce results.  The organization recognizes the most effective brands, marketers and agencies, globally, regionally and locally through its 50+ award programs across the world and through its coveted effectiveness rankings, the Effie Index. Since 1968, Effie is known as global symbol of achievement, while serving as a resource to steer the future of marketing success.  For more details, visit effie.org.
 
About IBM
For more information about IBM, visit https://www.ibm.com.

Media Inquiries:
Rebecca Sullivan
for Effie Worldwide
rebecca@rsullivanpr.com
617-501-4010