Marketing students have beaten teams from leading universities – and an artificial intelligence marketing bot – to win the SAS UK Digital Marketing 2026 Challenge.
The MSc Digital Marketing students secured first place in the national competition, which was held at the SAS headquarters in Marlow and brought together students from Royal Holloway, the University of Reading and Henley Business School.
Teams were challenged to develop, launch and market three new products using a live marketing simulation platform, testing their ability to make strategic decisions in a fast-paced business environment.
The BNU team not only outperformed their university rivals but also achieved stronger results than the AI competitor!
Hajrija Dergic, Senior Lecturer in Marketing & Sustainability at BNU, said the challenge gave students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in realistic business scenarios.
“Throughout the intensive challenge, students created and executed email marketing campaigns using the SAS email system, pitched innovative strategies to a Dragons’ Den-style panel, delivered live media interviews and even competed directly against an AI-powered marketing bot – outperforming it by a significant margin,” she said.
The event was organised by Dr Anabel Gutierrez in partnership with SAS and has been running since 2017. It aims to give students practical experience of the challenges facing modern marketing professionals while encouraging collaboration and competition between universities.
Dr Gutierrez said the winning team’s preparation and teamwork stood out throughout the event.
“Congratulations to the outstanding students on a well-deserved win. Their energy, preparation and teamwork were evident throughout the day, and they set a very high benchmark for everyone involved,” she said.
The victory highlights BNU’s focus on providing students with hands-on industry experience and preparing graduates for careers in the rapidly evolving digital marketing sector.