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Water wise students win water efficiency award – University of Reading

Three students from the University of Reading have made a splash by winning Thames Water's Water Efficiency Marketing Award. The "Planeteers" team, made up of students Nick Blewden, Andy Frost and Tom Pollard, created a media campaign around water efficiency in the garden to promote water conservation. The judges were particularly impressed with the team's ideas to recommend water efficient plants to budding gardeners, working in partnership with garden centres. Four teams of business studies undergraduates presented their water saving ideas to a panel of judges at the Madejski Stadium for the chance to win £1,000. Taking the second prize of £250 was the "Water Works" team, made up of students George Georgiou-Botaris, Parisa Nedjati-Gilani, Robert Whipple and Daniel Wong-Chi-Man, who based their campaign on a schools programme to encourage youngsters to be water wise. Each of the runner-up teams received £100 for their eye-catching campaigns. Both "Creative Fish", (Alina Abelianova, Cyril Frances and Audrey Julienne) and the Brainstorm team, (Vicky Bostock, Ruth Edmondson, Kate Jackson and Jasmine Nijjer) aimed their water saving ideas at their student peers. The project, launched last November, accounts for 50 per cent of the marketing module coursework in the business studies course. Working in small 'companies', more than 70 students took part to design and produce an original marketing campaign to promote saving water. Lynn Launchbury, Water Efficiency Campaigns Manager at Thames Water, said: "We were extremely impressed with the standard and content of all the entries. The highly creative presentations from all of the students made it difficult to choose a final winner. It was the Planeteers' imaginative ideas to develop links with gardening that really stood out, and the important message that saving water in the garden can make a big difference. "Everyone at Thames Water involved in the project has enjoyed working with the students and we hope that it has provided a real-life insight into marketing and the value of water efficiency." Dr Christine Phillips, of the University's Department of Management in the Business School, said: "This has been an exciting project to work on with Thames Water and we have found it to be of great benefit for all concerned. "Our students have really made the most of this opportunity to work on a real-life marketing campaign, coming up with original and creative ideas, planning the campaign and working within a budget. They have been given the type of experience that will prove valuable when they leave University and move into the workplace." An award ceremony and celebration party was held at the University of Reading on Wednesday (25 February) evening to present prizes to the winners, runners-up and participants. end For more information contact Thames Water's press office: Liz Almond on 0118 373 8920 or liz.almond@thameswater.co.uk Notes to editors: Awarding Judges: • Andy Tunstall, Consumer Marketing Manager, Thames Water • Boyd Butler, Marketing Director, Reading FC • Stewart Baxter, Group Director, The Reef • Professor Jim Pemberton, the University of Reading