Fabulous five bake it happen
A team of MSc Marketing Management and Advertising students won the Ginsters/HAT national competition with their 'Bake it Happen' idea in the postgraduate category.
The team: Luyang Chen, Ceren Erden, Kayleigh Long, Jasmine Mirza and Katherine Vasile successfully pitched their ideas to an industry judging panel in London on 22 April after going through the first round of the Ginsters/HAT 'Bringing heritage into the Future' student challenge.
The team was one of two shortlisted teams out of the seven that registered an expression of interest in taking part in the competition. According to Dr Sally Chan, Marketing Lecturer and Advertising and Media Planning Module Leader;
“Leeds is one of the first institutions that took part in this pilot with the History of Advertising Trust (HAT) - the world's largest advertising archive and educational charity. It was crucial for the educational charity to raise its profile amongst the academic community through this national university competition… our students just knuckled down and got on with the brief after attending an information session with Dr David Clamplin from HAT at the beginning of February. As part of the brief, students learned to interrogate the Ginsters brand and positioning; connect the brand to its history and heritage; devise a strategy to target customers, drive sales, build brand equity and pitch their proposal.”
Cathy Myles, Pro-Dean for Student Education, Leeds University Business School commented:
“With the support of our amazing colleagues in our Marketing Department, I’m delighted to learn that our team of MSc Marketing Management and Advertising students won with their ‘Bake it Happen’ idea despite tough competition from multiple universities. Pitching at the Institute of Practitioners (IPA) headquarters in Belgravia in London must have been such an exciting opportunity, and the team obviously held their nerve brilliantly and walked away with the top prize. Congratulations to you all! We look forward to watching you all thrive as you build your careers in this vibrant industry.”
The winning team received a prize box of product samples and Ginsters Merchandise, as well as formal certificates of participation.
Comments from the winners:
Kayleigh Long (MA Marketing Management and Advertising 2025/26):
“I joined the competition to boost my CV, but it turned into so much more. Working with such a talented, creative team was the real highlight, and winning was just a bonus. From pitching under pressure to tackling delayed trains and tube strikes, we learned to think on our feet and bring our master’s learning to life on a real brief. Presenting to people who inspire me made it all worthwhile, and we are proud to have done the University of Leeds justice. Team Bake It Happen really did bake it happen!”
Jasmine Mirza (MA Marketing Management and Advertising 2025/26):
“I joined the competition wanting to push myself, but it ended up being an experience that genuinely shaped how I think about creative work. Our team clicked from the start, working collaboratively to spark ideas that drew on all of our different experiences and perspectives. That mix of voices is what made our thinking stronger, and it taught me a lot about how powerful true collaboration can be. The process pushed me to pitch with more clarity, trust my instincts, and appreciate just how much craft goes into great advertising. Winning was a brilliant outcome, but the real impact came from everything I learned along the way.”
Luyang Chen (MA Marketing Management and Advertising 2025/26):
“At first, I joined the competition out of curiosity about the advertising industry and a desire to gain some hands-on experience. Looking back now, what I gained and the outcome itself turned out to be far more rewarding than I had ever expected. The competition gave me many valuable opportunities to push beyond my limits. For the first time, I worked with a real client brief and developed a comprehensive campaign, which deepened my understanding of the theories we learned in class. I also experienced cross-cultural collaboration for the first time, which brought broader perspectives and more interesting angles to our brainstorming. Presenting our pitch to industry professionals was another first, it not only strengthened my ability to perform under pressure and think on my feet, but also taught me to express myself with greater confidence. Watching our ideas evolve through multiple iterations and finally come to life, I truly felt the joy of creative advertising. I’m deeply grateful to my school and teachers for the opportunity and their continuous support, and to my talented and inspiring teammates for their encouragement, we persevered and grew together. I would also like to thank the judges for their time, attention, and recognition.”
Katherine Vasile (MA Marketing Management and Advertising 2025/26):
“As an international student, I joined the competition to gain real world advertising experience in the UK. The experience exceeded my expectations and ended up being one of the most rewarding parts of my graduate school experience. Working closely with my teammates to shape and refine our ideas was energising, and pitching our campaign pushed me to think creatively about a modern challenge in a way that felt both fun and meaningful. The experience gave me a deeper appreciation for the creativity of the advertising world and a clearer sense of what professional standards look like in practice. I’m very grateful for the opportunity and for the support of the Leeds University Business School, as well as the collaboration of my teammates throughout the process.”
Ceren Erden (MA Marketing Management and Advertising 2025/26):
!I joined the competition to better understand how projects are developed within UK companies and to gain a valuable experience that would strengthen my CV. Throughout the process, I developed a clearer understanding of what is expected in a professional project and how to pitch ideas from a brief that needed a lot of analysing, but what stood out most to me was how enjoyable the creative process became when working as part of a team. Coming up with multiple ideas in such a short time and refining them together, running to our delayed train, constantly checking train tickets and tube strikes was both challenging and exciting. Although I felt confident and proud of the final presentation we delivered, winning still came as a delightful surprise. This experience not only gave me practical insight into the industry but also showed me how much I enjoy collaborative creativity. I’m very thankful to the Leeds University Business School for this opportunity and my teammates for making it such a positive, motivational, supportive and memorable journey.”
Comments from the judges:
Ross Richardson, Brand Manager, Ginsters:
“It was great to see such insightful and engaging presentations from all of the students who took part. A brilliant showcase of emerging talent in our industry’.”
Tom Knox, Chair of Trustees, the History of Advertising Trust:
“I was very impressed with the overall standard of the students’ thinking and presentations. It was great to see HAT’s educational charitable purpose being delivered so powerfully thanks to our friends at Ginsters and the IPA.”
David Clampin, Education and Outreach Specialist, the History of Advertising Trust:
“In devising this competition, HAT were determined to make the experience as challenging and authentic as possible. Having a brief written by Ginsters, one of our key clients, and addressing their actual marketing objectives was a crucial part of that. However, we also wanted to put finalists into a genuine pitch situation. The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising provided the impressive backdrop and corporate feel. Our panel of judges, each senior figures within advertising and marketing, called on presenters to defend their proposals as they would any team making a pitch looking for an investment. Each team that presented did an excellent, professional, and highly polished job. They knew their stuff and presented tangible and viable plans. Making the final decision was a tough call but team Bake It Happen of Leeds University clinched the postgraduate award, whilst Proper Pasty of Newcastle University triumphed in the undergraduate category.”
