Competing against a record number of contestants, a team of three MISM students won the winter 2007 Omniture Web Analytics Competition hosted by the Rollins Center for eBusiness.
Jimmy Zimmerman from Sandy, Utah; Ben Robison from Lehi, Utah; and Benjamin Swanson from Stow, New York — all graduating this April — were members of the winning Webtacular team. The judges awarded them first place and $5,000 for their extensive research, strong presentation and valuable business recommendations.
“Each semester we have participated with the competition, we’ve seen more and more sophisticated entries,” says Cameron Barnes, an Omniture best practices consultant and one of the judges. “The teams that excelled had concise strategic assessment, deep analysis and recommendations that included the potential positive business results.”
Contestants, including Webtacular, used Omniture’s software SiteCatalyst to analyze the Costume Craze Web site. No experience using SiteCatalyst was necessary to enter the competition. Omniture, a company based in Orem, Utah, specializes in helping online companies optimize their Web sites and e-business procedures.
“Online marketing is a red-hot area,” says Stephen Liddle, director of the Rollins Center for eBusiness. “Increasing resources are being invested in online activities and it pays to know how to measure the results of these resource expenditures. Students who participated in the competition came away knowing how to drive, rather than be driven by, these forces.”
The four finalists were selected in a preliminary round from 38 teams. Webtacular, Lightning Brigade, Steven Wirig and Purple Cobras presented to a full house the last day of the competition. Judging was handled by a trio of professional Web analysts from Omniture including Barnes; John Mellor, senior vice president of business development; and Matt Belkin, vice president of best practices.
The Rollins Center for eBusiness sponsors the competition each semester. The competition is open to full-time students of all majors. The next competition will be fall semester 2007.
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally ranked programs in accounting, business management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The mission of the Marriott School is to educate men and women of faith, character and professional ability who will become outstanding managers and leaders throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Camilla Hodge