Sponsors and Participating Teams for 22nd Annual Wake Forest Marketing Summit Announced
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Jan. 24, 2011—The Wake Forest University Schools of Business Center for Retail Innovation announced Hanesbrands Inc. and BB&T will be the official case sponsors of the 22nd Annual Wake Forest Marketing Summit.
The eight MBA and six undergraduate teams selected from more than 60 different applicants this year were also revealed. The three-day case competition is the inaugural event for the new Wake Forest Center for Retail Innovation, and will take place Feb. 16 – 18 on the Wake Forest campus.
The Wake Forest Marketing Summit attracts talented marketing minds from the top MBA and undergraduate business programs across the globe, as well as executives from a wide variety of local, national and global corporations. The student case competition teams will be challenged to develop solutions for real-world business issues currently facing Hanesbrands and BB&T. Students have 36 hours, starting Thursday night Feb. 16, and ending Saturday morning, Feb. 18, at 8:00 a.m., when teams present recommendations to a panel of corporate judges representing the case sponsors and other global corporations. While the challenges are provided by the corporations, a team of Wake Forest MBA students worked with the sponsors to write the two cases.
“Hanesbrands is a proud partner of the prestigious Wake Forest Marketing Summit. We look forward to seeing how the student competitors will approach our case and expect that we will be able to implement some of their recommendations,” said Richard A. Noll, Chairman and CEO, Hanesbrands.
“We are honored and excited to sponsor the undergraduate case competition. The Wake Forest Marketing Summit attracts some of the brightest and best students in the world who will walk away with valuable practical experience,” said Steven Wiggs, Chief Marketing Officer, BB&T.
This year’s participating MBA schools include: Wake Forest, Brigham Young University, University of California at Los Angeles, University of Chicago, George Washington University, London Business School, University of Michigan; and 2011 winner, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
Competing undergraduate schools are: Wake Forest University, Brigham Young University, University of Maryland, Northeastern University (2011 winner), University of Pennsylvania, and College of William & Mary.
Other sponsors in addition to Hanesbrands and BB&T this year include: Frito-Lay, FedEx, Cheerwine, Altria Group, Sam’s Club, Mullen, Inmar, SymphonyIRI, Fleishman-Hillard, Embassy Suites, and Marriott. Companies sending judges include Procter & Gamble, IBM, Unilever, the Association of National Advertisers, CVS Caremark, Bayer and Abbott Laboratories.
The Wake Forest University Schools of Business Marketing Summit is the premier student-run marketing case competition in the world with a record purse of $106,000 awarded to case competition winners.
For more information, please visit 22nd Annual Marketing Summit.
About Hanesbrands
Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) is a leading socially responsible manufacturer and marketer of everyday basic apparel under some of the world’s strongest apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, JMS/Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra and Gear For Sports. The company sells T-shirts, bras, panties, men’s underwear, children’s underwear, socks, hosiery, casualwear and activewear produced in the company’s low-cost global supply chain. Hanes has approximately 55,000 employees in more than 25 countries and takes pride in its strong reputation for ethical business practices. More information about the company and its corporate social responsibility initiatives, including environmental, social compliance and community improvement achievements, may be found on the Hanes corporate website at www.hanesbrands.com. Hanes is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2010 and 2011 and ranks No. 150 on Newsweek magazine’s Top 500 greenest U.S. company rankings.
About BB&T
BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $174.6 billion in assets and market capitalization of $17.5 billion, as of Dec. 31, 2011. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates approximately 1,800 financial centers in 12 states and Washington, D.C., and offers a full range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance products and services. A Fortune 500 company, BB&T is consistently recognized for outstanding client satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Greenwich Associates and others. More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at www.BBT.com.
