Nine students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Administration pitched to a panel of professional judges at the Target Case Competition held Friday, April 19, 2013. The competition, which was held at CBA, included three student teams made up of three students. The winning team received a $1,500 grand prize.
 
“Students made 20-minute presentations to a five member panel from Target including Kevin Oswald, director of recruiting for this area and his boss Rob Ruetten, the district team leader for Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa,” said Rob Simon, associate professor of practice of marketing. “After each presentation, the judges had 10 minutes to ask questions.”
 
Simon initiated the competition at UNL based on similar competitions held at other schools. Each team looked at the same case study provided by Target.
 
“Students were told to look at the case study, be creative and present a professional presentation that contains a realistic solution focusing on student research,” Simon said. “Our Ph.D. students also helped mentor the teams.”
 
Simon would like to increase the size of the competition next year and also increase connections between Nebraska students and Target.
 
“Target recruits a lot of our students right now who become executive team leaders, and who typically become store managers within three to five years. It’s also a way for Target to give back to the community and for the students it looks great on their resumes.”

• Target Case Competition photo album on Facebook

Student teams included:
 
First Place Team ($1,500 prize)                    Hometown                                     Major
Philip Kapalka                                                     Apple Valley, Minn.                        Marketing
Shelby Jacobs                                                     West Des Moines, Ia.                     Marketing
Taylor Holland                                                    White Bear Lake, Minn.                 Marketing
 
Second Place Team ($500 prize)
Kelly Jefferson                                                   Geneva, Neb.                                   Marketing
Allison Jackson                                                  Herman, Neb.                                  Business Administration
Seonmin Bae                                                     Busan, South Korea                        Marketing
 
Third Place Team
Carly Williams                                                    Lincoln, Neb.                                    Economics and International Business
Natasha Doty                                                     Lincoln, Neb.                                    Marketing
Natalie Dones                                                    Lexington, Neb.                               Marketing Published: April 23, 2013