Students from the University of Florida took first place at this year’s Student Marketing Competition, sponsored by Monsanto. The competition was held April 16-17 in Kansas City.

The University of Florida team had 11 students involved with this year’s project to market “Masher Meals.” The team spent the last several months doing market research, writing the marketing plan and developing a presentation.

The top six marketing teams this year were: First place, University of Florida; Second place, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Third place, University of Tennessee – Knoxville. Other finalists included: University of Delaware, Iowa State University, and New Mexico State University.

Students decide on a project and develop a plan to successfully bring the product or service to the marketplace. In developing their marketing plan, students follow the same practices and principles used by today’s marketing professionals. Teams submit a written plan summary prior to the competition and then make a formal presentation of their marketing plan to a panel of judges at the competition. The judges’ panel consists of marketing and agribusiness professionals.

Overall, 31 student NAMA chapters participated in the marketing competition. The competition is part of the annual Agri-Marketing Conference. Over 300 student members attended the conference.

For a complete list of all Student Awards and Scholarship Winners visit, www.nama.org and click on the “Students” button on the left.