Level Up is a virtual marketing simulation competition for undergraduate college and university students! This competition provides an opportunity for students to work together in teams to develop a successful marketing and business strategy using Hubro's Marketing Simulation.
During our 2022 competition, teams of up to 4 students competed against other teams from across the United States to analyze the market, design products, manage promotion and distribution, set prices, and invest in technologies to create equity in their virtual business. Teams also completed a written exercise focused on developing content offers with the theories of Inbound Methodology in mind.
This competition provided an excellent opportunity for students with an interest or academic background in principles of marketing, marketing management, marketing strategy, and entrepreneurship to compete for prizes and practice their marketing skills in a realistic scenario.
It was very interactive and so much fun. There were so many different things to look at and make decisions about; it really was anyone's game. Personally, I love looking at data analytics to create marketing strategies, so this competition fit really well with my interests.
I really liked being able to collaboration with my team and bounce ideas off of one another trying to assume what our competitors were doing, etc.
Before the simulation I didn't know what to expect. After I tested the simulation, I was not expecting it to be so fast paced. That's what made it super exciting!
SO MUCH FUN!!! Please do this again, it was the highlight of my month.
See our winner's reactions and hear what strategies they used to excel in this year's competition!
Special thank you to Esme Brandal-Canns, International Higher Education Consultant from Hubro Education who supported our competition and shared feedback with our winning teams.
Colby Wynn
University of Southern Mississippi
Tiana Ly, Fiona Affronti, Jeffrey Mun
University of California Santa Barbara
Linh An, Jamie Lee, Melissa Tran, Cynthia Liang
University of Southern California Santa Barbara
Benjamin Li, Jena Lakhani, Arianna Fuentes, Dhanu Navaneethan
University of Texas Austin
Each team will manage one company. To win the competition you will be measured on a combination of:
The competition will begin promptly at 10:00 AM CT and teams will have 4 hours to complete the simulation. Teams are encouraged to take breaks as needed during the competition.
Program Schedule
10:00 AM - Competition Kickoff & Teams Check-in
10:15 AM - Welcome & Competition Overview
10:30 AM - Competition Begins
12:30 PM - Lunch Break
1:00 PM - Competition Continues
3:00 PM - Competition Ends, Networking, and Score Review
3:30 PM - Winners are Announced
Professors from participating institutions are invited to assign students to teams. If your professor has not done this, students are welcome to self-select a team of up to 4 people.
4 is the ideal number of teammates for this simulation, however, teams of 2 or 3 are also acceptable.
All teams must apply together and submit one application per team.
One week prior to the competition, teams will receive access to a test simulation. It is important that you explore this test simulation thoroughly. It will introduce you to your virtual business and allow you to familiarize yourself with the simulation platform.
We also encourage you to review fundamentals from your marketing courses and research HubSpot. Helpful resources include:
All competing students will need access to a computer to access the simulation.
HubSpot certifications are not a requirement for the competition. However, students who are familiar with HubSpot tools and Inbound Methodology will be able to earn competitive advantages.
No, students can create a team with a mix of students from different colleges and universities. However, at least one student from the team needs to have a professor in HubSpot's Education Partner Program.
If you are unsure if your professor is a part of the Education Partner Program, reach out to cboyce@hubspot.com
First Place
Second Place
Third Place