【学部ニュース】全国大学生マーケティングコンテスト（英語）で法政GIS福岡ゼミから出場したチームが7年連続優勝！/ Team from Hosei GIS Fukuoka Seminar Wins National University Marketing Contest for 7th Consecutive Year!

2024年12月14日（土）に神戸市外国語大学主催の英語で行われる第13回全国大学生マーケティング・コンテスト（Marketing Competition Japan）決勝大会が神戸酒心館にて開催され、GISの福岡ゼミから決勝に出場したチームが優勝（Team Ochoko: 村越 真美/石山 晴楓/村岡  玲奈）と3位（Team La Dolce Sip: 上原 陸/ 伊藤 陽香/竹村 優花）になりました。福岡ゼミから出場したチームが優勝したのは、2017年から7年連続になります（2020年はCovid 19により大会の開催なし）。

今回のメインスポンサーは、株式会社神戸酒心館でした。酒心館は1751年に創業された伝統ある日本酒「福寿」の醸造元です。神戸酒心館の敷地内には、伝統的な製法で酒造りを行う「福寿蔵」、蔵元ショップ「東明蔵」、酒と料理を楽しむ「蔵の料亭さかばやし」、落語やコンサートなどが開催される多目的ホール「酒心館ホール」などがあり（注）今回のテーマは、神戸酒心館への来場者増加～酒蔵ツーリズムの振興を通した地域経済活性化に関するマーケティングプランを企画立案することでした。

注）MCJ2024年大会概要から引用

〈ゼミを担当する福岡賢昌教授のコメント〉
日本の伝統的酒造りがユネスコの無形文化遺産に登録されたタイミングでの開催であり、また地域活性化が日本の大きな課題である現状を踏まえ、今回のコンテストは非常に意義深いテーマでした。この活動を通じて、ゼミ生たちは日本の伝統文化や地域経済の活性化に対する理解を深め、大きな学びを得ることができたと思います。
優勝したチームは、最初の企画段階で私から『つまらない』と言われたことをバネにし、見事に改善を重ねて素晴らしい企画を完成させました。本番のプレゼンテーションでは、練習を重ねた成果がしっかりと現れた、堂々とした発表を披露してくれました。
今回、3チームが決勝大会に進出し、そのうち2チームが優勝と3位という素晴らしい結果を収めました。しかし、予選で惜しくも敗退したチームもまた、試行錯誤を重ねて素晴らしい企画を考え、決勝進出チームを多角的にサポートしてくれました。この支援がなければ、今回の成功は成し遂げられなかったと思います。
ゼミ生全員が互いに助け合い、学び合いながら挑戦する姿は、非常に誇らしいです。優勝や3位という結果以上に、彼らが示してくれた努力、チームワーク、そして成長に、心から拍手を送りたいと思います。

〈優勝チームTeam Ochokoのコメント〉
村越 真美 / Manami Murakoshi 
I’m so glad that we were able to win MCJ 2024 by combining our strengths. This wouldn’t have been possible without the participation of every single person in our team. I’d like to express my gratitude to Dr. Fukuoka and to the organiser of MCJ for giving us this opportunity.

石山 晴楓 / Haruka Ishiyama
I am very glad to have this wonderful experience in my final year of my university. I believe that it is thanks to our team members, classmates and Dr Fukuoka that we achieved this amazing result!

村岡 玲奈 / Lena Muraoka
I am very grateful and happy that our hard work has paid off. Though it was challenging, this was a truly rewarding experience and I am thankful to have shared it with my teammates. Achieving first place wouldn’t have been possible without their dedication together with the support we received from Dr. Fukuoka. 

〈3位Team La Dolce Sipのコメント〉
上原 陸 / Riku Uehara
I really appreciate my teammates, the other students in our seminar, and Dr. Fukuoka! I am very proud that we won third place, and at the same time, I'd like to turn this valuable experience into fuel for my future growth :-)

伊藤 陽香 / Haruka Ito
For me, it was such a wonderful experience that our team won third prize. I really appreciate my teammates.

竹村 優花 / Yuka Takemura
I am really honored and happy to have achieved third place. This was all thanks to my teammates, Dr. Fukuoka and everyone else in our seminar class. I think that we all learnt a lot of things from this competition, so I’ll make sure to think on the advice we got and try to get first place next year!

On Saturday, December 14, 2024, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies hosted the final round of the 13th Marketing Competition Japan (MCJ) at Kobe Shushinkan Brewery. Two teams from Professor Fukuoka’s seminar class at GIS made it to the final round, and they managed to secure 1st place (Team Ochoko: Manami Murakoshi, Haruka Ishiyama, and Lena Muraoka) and 3rd place (Team La Dolce Sip: Riku Uehara, Haruka Ito, and Yuka Takemura). This marks the 7th consecutive 1st place victory for teams from the Fukuoka Seminar since 2017 (excluding 2020, when the competition was not held due to COVID-19).

The main sponsor of this year’s event was Kobe Shushinkan Brewery, a historic sake brewery founded in 1751 and renowned for producing traditional Japanese sake called “Fukuju.” This company features a special Fukuju brewery where sake is produced using traditional methods as well as its Toumyougura store which sells its products. In addition, they also have their own restaurant called Sakabayashi, where visitors can enjoy sake and Japanese cuisine and a multipurpose venue called Shushinkan Hall where events like concerts and traditional rakugo storytelling are held.

This year’s theme challenged participants to develop marketing plans aimed at attracting more visitors to Kobe Shushinkan, thereby promoting sake tourism and revitalizing the local economy.

<Comment from Professor Takamasa Fukuoka>
“This year’s competition was held at a significant moment when Japan’s traditional sake brewing was inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The competition addressed a highly meaningful theme together with the ongoing challenge of regional revitalization in Japan. My seminar students deepened their understanding of Japan’s traditional culture and the importance of regional economic revitalization through this fantastic experience.

The winning team used my initial feedback—when I called their early proposal ‘boring’—as motivation to refine their ideas, and they ultimately created an outstanding plan. Their final presentation was delivered with confidence and clearly demonstrated the results of their hard work and practice.
Three teams from my seminar made it to the finals this year, with two of these teams achieving 1st and 3rd place. However, I want to emphasize that the teams who didn’t advance beyond the preliminary round also made incredible efforts, and they created thoughtful plans through trial and error. I believe that they played an invaluable role in supporting the teams who made it to the final round, and that without their contributions the success of the finalists would not have been realized. 
I am extremely proud of all my seminar students and beyond the awards, their dedication, teamwork, and growth throughout this journey deserve the highest praise.”

昨年度の全国大学生マーケティングの記事はこちら：全国大学生マーケティングコンテスト（英語）で法政GIS福岡ゼミから出場したチームが6年連続優勝！