Draftfcb-Ulka’s Comstrat 2012 finale on 22 December

The finale of the seventeenth edition of Draftfcb-Ulka’s communication strategy competition Comstrat will be hosted in Mumbai on 22 December. The case study contest for management schools involves a live case each year, and this year’s competition is on energy drink Burn from the Coca-Cola stable.

The competition is organised in association with K J Somaiya Institute of Management, and the finale will be hosted there.

Six shortlisted teams from business schools will present before a jury panel for top honors; the shortlisted teams this year are from IIM Indore, JBIMS (Bajaj), MICA, SIBM Pune, SIMC Pune, and SIMSR (Somaiya). Every year, Comstrat invites institutes to send a brief synopsis on the chosen case, of which six are shortlisted for the final round. The jury for this year includes Ajay Kolane, senior manager - brands, Coca-Cola India; Kinjal Medh, national head - strategic planning and COO, Cogito Consulting; Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar, senior vice president, head - strategic planning, Draftfcb-Ulka Advertising (West and South); and Dorab Sopariwala, consultant - consumer behaviour, and editorial advisor to NDTV.

Cogito’s Medh, a long time jury member of Comstrat, said, “Over the years, many management institutes and renowned companies across various industries have extended their enthusiastic participation and helped Comstrat become one of the most successful and popular case study competitions.”

He added, “Comstrat has become a huge success with increasing participation and stronger competition from India’s leading B-schools. Students relish the opportunity to spar with real life communication challenges and the industry benefits from inspiring out-of-the box solutions from fresh young minds.”

On the quality of case studies submitted by institutes this year, he noted, “I’m quite pleased with the quality of case studies submitted this year. Like every year, this year too we are going to see six strong contestants compete on a case study (Coke Burn) which is very interesting – and one which is very exciting for youngsters.”

Some of the live cases in the past at Comstrat have been on Hutchison Max (1997), Tata Indica (1998), Cadburys Bournvita (2000), Marico Parachute (2001), Philips (2003), Indian Oil Corporation (2004), Colgate Cibaca (2006), Hero Honda Pleasure (2007), Tata Sky (2008), Titan Octave (2009), Nokia C3 (2010) and Bru World Café (2011). Past winners include teams from IIM Calcutta, MICA, JBIMS (Bajaj), NMIMS, KJ Somiaya and IIT Bombay (SOM).

This year’s winners will get a cash prize of Rs 25,000, besides which there are a host of gift vouchers to be awarded. Sponsors for the 2012 edition are Amul, Act II Popcorn,  Croma, Kansai Nerolac Paints, ITC Sunfeast, Wipro and Zodiac Clothing Company.

Disclosure: Campaign India is the exclusive media partner for Comstrat 2012.