(YFL) 12 Marketing Competitions for High School Students
Discover 12 exciting marketing competitions for high school students to enhance skills, gain experience, and showcase creativity. Join the challenge today!
If you're interested in marketing, there are plenty of ways to build experience and learn how the industry works while still in high school. One of the most effective ways is to join a marketing competition. These marketing competitions give you the chance to solve complex business challenges.
You might create an ad campaign, design a brand strategy, or plan how to promote a new product. Along the way, you’ll learn how to research your target audience, think creatively, analyze data, and present your ideas clearly. Whether you win or not, you’ll gain new skills, a completed project, and something solid to add to your resume and college applications.
To help you get started, here are the 12 best marketing competitions for high school students!
12 Marketing Competitions for High School Students
Conrad Challenge
Location: Online through multiple stages; Finalists attend the in-person Innovation Summit and Power Pitch at Space Center Houston in Houston, Texas, USA
Participation fee: Entry is Free; Once you reach the Innovation Stage, there’s a $499 entry fee per team, with discounts or fee waivers available in certain cases
Dates: January 10 - April 25
Application Deadline: November 01
Eligibility: Students aged 13–18, in teams of 2–5 students with one coach aged 18+
The Conrad Challenge is a global competition where you work in teams to solve real-world problems using innovation, research, and entrepreneurship. Over several months, you’ll identify a challenge, design a solution, build a business plan, and pitch it like a startup. You’ll get access to mentors and industry experts who guide you throughout the process. There are virtual sessions, resource libraries, and even feedback rounds. Finalists present their work at the Innovation Summit, where you can meet peers from around the world and gain exposure to professionals from NASA, Dell, and other major organizations.
Diamond Challenge
Location: Virtually and at regional pitch events across the globe. Finalist teams attend the Limitless World Summit in Newark, Delaware, USA.
Participation fee: Free
Dates: February 10 - May 02
Application Deadline: January 16
Eligibility: Teams of 2–4 high school students (ages 14–18); Each team needs one adult advisor (age 21+)
The Diamond Challenge is a global pitch competition for high school students to propose business or social innovation ideas. You’ll work in teams to develop a concept, build a pitch, and present it to judges. The process focuses on real-world skills, like ideation, research, communication, and collaboration. The competition offers two tracks: Business Innovation and Social Innovation. You’ll choose one based on your idea’s focus.
You'll learn how to structure a business model, validate a concept, and pitch effectively. One key feature is access to mentorship and feedback from experienced entrepreneurs and educators. If your idea makes it past the initial round, you may be invited to pitch at the Summit, which includes networking sessions, panel talks, and cultural exchanges with peers from over 40 countries.
BPA Virtual Competitions
Location: Online
Participation Fee: Typically $10 for individual events and $20 for team events
Dates: Submissions by April 1, and the National Showcase on May 10
Application Deadline: December 1
Eligibility: Open to Middle Level, Secondary, and Post-secondary members of Business Professionals of America (BPA) who are registered and in good standing. You must be an active member for the 2024–2025 membership year to participate.
BPA’s Virtual Competitions give you a chance to test your business and tech skills through online challenges you can complete from anywhere. You’ll get to choose from different events like marketing, finance, computer programming, and graphic design. Some projects you’ll work on alone, while others will have you team up with classmates or friends.
You might be asked to create a business plan, run a social media campaign, or design a website. Along the way, you’ll build skills in problem-solving, time management, and creative thinking. If your project stands out, it could be featured in the National Showcase during the BPA National Leadership Conference.
SBU High School Marketing Competition
Location: Southwest Baptist University, Bolivar, Missouri
Participation fee: Not specified
Dates: October 16 (tentative, based on previous year dates)
Application Deadline: October 8 (tentative, based on previous year dates)
Eligibility: Open to local high schools, with up to four teams per school. Each team must include 2–4 students.
The SBU High School Marketing Competition is a team event where you solve a real marketing case study and present your strategy to a panel of professors and industry professionals. You’ll work on market research, customer analysis, positioning, pricing strategies, and promotional planning based on the case. Teams build a presentation that covers specific tactics like social media campaigns, event marketing ideas, or product launch plans. SBU faculty are available during the event for feedback on your market segmentation, messaging, and strategy execution.
DECA Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series
Location: No fixed site
Participation Fee: Not specified
Dates: Scheduled regionally/statewide each year
Deadline: Set by your local/state DECA
Eligibility: Open to all high school DECA members in the Marketing cluster
The DECA Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series is a role-play competition where you take on the role of a marketing manager in the fashion and accessories industry. You’ll be given a retail scenario and have 10 minutes to review business data, identify problems, and develop a marketing plan. Then, you’ll present your strategy to a judge acting as a company executive.
Scenarios focus on tasks like launching a seasonal product line, adjusting pricing strategies, planning in-store promotions, or improving customer loyalty programs. You’ll apply skills in product positioning, inventory planning, visual merchandising, and customer relationship management.
FBLA High School Competitive Events
Location: Various U.S. cities, year to year
Participation fee: Every stage has a fee
Dates: June 29 - July 2
Application Deadline: Varies by state. Check more details here.
Eligibility: Must be a high school FBLA member (grades 9–12)
FBLA offers business competitions where you take on real marketing and sales challenges. You choose from events like advertising, public relations, business marketing, or sales presentations. Some events ask you to write reports or marketing plans ahead of time. Others involve live role-play sessions where you respond to business problems in front of judges. You’ll work on things like market research, media planning, customer targeting, pricing, and sales strategy.
DECA Automotive Services Marketing Series
Location: Varies by local/regional/state DECA
Participation Fee: Typically depends on your school’s DECA chapter and the level of competition
Dates: January 21 - April 29
Application Deadline: Regular: January 21; Late: January 24
Eligibility: High school DECA members in relevant programs, approved by the advisor
In DECA’s Automotive Services Marketing Series, you take on the role of a marketing professional in the car industry. Each round gives you a real-world scenario involving auto products or services. You’ll have 10 minutes to come up with a plan, then another 10 minutes to explain it to the judges.
They’ll focus on how well you understand the situation and how solid your marketing ideas are. This event is about helping you get comfortable in business situations. You’ll learn to think on your feet, talk through your ideas clearly, and figure out how to connect with customers. The focus stays on branding, promotions, and how marketing works in the auto world.
Wharton Global High School Investment Competition
Location: Fully online
Participation fee: Free
Dates: September 18 - April 25
Application Deadline: September 12
Eligibility: High school students (grades 9–12, ages ~14–18) from the same school or, if homeschooled, from the same co-op or district.
The Wharton Global High School Investment Competition is a free, online program where you and your team manage a $100,000 virtual investment portfolio over 10 weeks. You will work in a group of 4 to 7 students to build a long-term investment strategy based on research, risk analysis, and financial reasoning.
You’ll learn how to analyze stocks, track market trends, and manage risk. You will write detailed reports that explain the reasoning behind every investment decision your team makes. Judges review your strategy, how you approach problems, and how clearly you present your ideas.
Virtual Enterprises National Business Plan Competition
Location: Youth Business Summit, New York City
Participation Fee: Not specified
Dates: March 13 - April 08
Application Deadline: March 03
Eligibility: Currently enrolled in a Virtual Enterprise program and active members (“student‑employees”) of a VE firm.
The Virtual Enterprises International Business Plan Competition is a national event where you and your team create and present a complete business plan. You’ll develop a company idea and build detailed marketing, operations, and financial strategies using real market research and business data.
You’ll submit a written business plan and deliver a live presentation to a panel of judges made up of business professionals. They’ll review your financial projections, market analysis, and business model. If your team makes it to the finals, you’ll present at the Youth Business Summit in New York City and get direct feedback from industry experts on your work.
Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition
Location: Fully virtual
Participation fee: Free
Dates: Judging Period: March–April; Winners Announced: Around May
Application Deadline: February 22
Eligibility: High school students aged 14–18
The Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition is an international pitch competition where you identify a real business problem and propose a clear, practical solution. You’ll write and submit your pitch online for a chance to win cash prizes and gain global recognition. You’ll learn how to use concepts like value innovation, customer targeting, and market analysis. You’ll also get to connect with student entrepreneurs from more than 140 countries taking part in the same challenge.
Paradigm Challenge
Location: Entirely online
Participation fee: Free
Dates: May 1
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Students aged 4 to 18 at the time of submission
The Paradigm Challenge is an international competition for students aged 4 to 18 where you create original ideas to solve real problems. Topics include home fires, waste reduction, health, and food security. You can enter on your own or with a team and submit your idea as a video, prototype, drawing, or written plan.
You’ll build skills in research, creative problem-solving, and clear communication while working on an issue you care about. Many projects focus on product designs, community programs, or awareness campaigns. Winners receive cash prizes and public recognition, and top ideas are highlighted for their potential to create real change.
Global Youth Entrepreneur Challenge
Location: Online
Participation Fee: Free
Dates: April 12 - June 05
Application Deadline: March 21
Eligibility: High school students aged 14-18
In this six-week online program, you’ll join a team with students from around the world to create and pitch a new product idea. You’ll tackle real business challenges, learn how startups work, and build your pitch from scratch. You’ll improve teamwork, public speaking, and creative problem-solving while hearing from industry experts and judges who review your work. The program is supported by the Institute of Competition Sciences.
One more option - Young Founders Lab
If you’re looking for an incubator program that helps you build a startup in high school, consider the Young Founders Lab!
The Young Founders Lab is a start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X.
You can access the application link here!