University of West London team crowned winners of CIM's The Pitch 2026

We're delighted to announce that '3 Marketeers' from the University of West London have been named undergraduate winners of The Pitch 2026, CIM's annual global student competition.

Following in the footsteps of last year’s undergraduate winners, team AdEd from King’s Business School, Bethany Taylor, Clarice Pugales and Ranveer Thakur have brought the title back to London once again.

Now in its fifteenth year, The Pitch challenges students from leading UK and international universities to demonstrate their skills by responding to a real‑life marketing brief. The competition is designed to identify and celebrate the Marketers of the Future, while giving participants valuable, practical experience in a professional pitch environment.

This year’s competition was run in partnership with global technology brand IBM, which tasked undergraduate teams with creating a bold, content‑led campaign to tackle common myths around artificial intelligence and position IBM as the go‑to expert for practical, responsible AI.

Commenting on their win, the undergraduate winners said:

"Winning The Pitch has been an incredible experience for us as a team. The challenge really pushed our marketing knowledge, but it was completely worth it for what we've achieved today. From the brilliant resources and support we received, to the live final where we had the opportunity to present our ideas to the judges, every stage brought real value and gave us meaningful, practical experience in a true pitch environment."

As part of their prize, the winning team will receive a one‑year complimentary CIM Affiliate Professional membership, a place on a CIM virtual e‑learning course, and an interactive session with IBM experts. All finalists will also receive a certificate recognising their achievement and participation in the competition.

For more information about The Pitch and how to get involved, visit the The Pitch webpage.