Win fuelled by passion and drive

AFTER three long months, Taylor’s University emerged the winners of the Shell FuelSave College Competition 2013.

Taylor’s University was one of six participating schools challenged by Shell Malaysia to execute a multi-channel communications plan that drives fuel efficiency, smarter mobility and makes smart spending choices”.

The contest was organised by Shell Malaysia in an effort to reach out to tertiary students and offer them a first-hand experience of the corporate world, as well as the processes of conceptualising a campaign from scratch.

The competition required students to come up with a range of communications to build awareness and drive their peers to make smarter spending and driving choices.

The six schools had to present their proposals to a panel of judges who were from Shell Malaysia, its international communications agency partners and the media.

“This year, in line with Shell’s efforts to cultivate a future of smarter drivers and smarter mobility, we invited students to conceptualise and execute a 360 communications campaign to drive fuel efficiency and smart spending choices amongst their peers,” said Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Shell Timur Sdn Bhd managing director Azman Ismail.

The judges were impressed with the proposals that clearly showcased the students’ maturity of thought and understanding of fuel efficiency in today’s day and age.

The keen participation and interest garnered amongst their fellow students also spoke volumes of the effort that they put into their project.

Once the proposal stage was out of the way, the competition’s ambassador Fahrin Ahmad and judges from Shell Malaysia visited each campus to see how the students had brought their ideas and plans to life.

Fahrin kept things lively during the visits by playing the role of actor, emcee and contestant.

Taylor’s University had engaged Fahrin’s assistance in fielding a few FuelSave questions to the crowds.

Fahrin said he found this year’s competition quite tough which was why he was happy to pitch in and lend his support to all the schools.

“It’s good to see the passion, enthusiasm and spirit that these students invest in their campaign and I think that Shell Malaysia is going down the right path by instilling smart spending and saving habits into these young Malaysians while they are still impressionable,” he added.

Azman added that the competition was stepped up to make it more challenging especially with the incorporation of social media.

“With social media, the teams were able to interact with their viewers and followers in real-time, allowing them to approach their campaign in a more dynamic way.

“Looking at how they have used the best of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to capture the attention of their peers, I must say that I’m very impressed,” he said.

Taylor’s University was pronounced winner after deliberation by the judges and industry experts.

The winning team walked home with a RM15,000 cash prize, a championship trophy and potential internship opportunities with Shell Malaysia and its media and international communications agency partners.

The team from Tunku Abdul Rahman College and IACT College were the second and third prize winners respectively.