“Banpu NEXT” and the “Marketing Association of Thailand” (MAT) announce the results of the 31st J-MAT Award Marketing Plan Contest organized under the topic of “Smart e-TukTuk, Driven The Future by GenNEXT”. Recognizing innovation ideas from young generation, Banpu NEXT also unveils a plan to create a Smart e-TukTuk platform where the award-winning idea will be further implemented in order to drive the comprehensive EV adoption in response to transportation in the future of smart cities and low-carbon society.

Electric vehicles are not just a trend. Rather, they are the future of modern mobility in which the world is gearing towards the goal of becoming smart cities and Net-Zero emissions. Banpu NEXT and MAT therefore join hands to inspire and encourage young people to broaden their experience and to be aware of the importance of the new approach to transportation. With that said, Banpu NEXT’s “Smart e-TukTuk and service platform” was transformed into a challenge at the 31st J-MAT Award in which entries were submitted by a total of 239 teams from 69 institutions nationwide. Throughout the contest, young participants had an opportunity to sharpen their critical thinking, planning, marketing strategy, identifying people’s pain points and analyzing needs of the target groups as well as professional marketing and budget allocation, risk management and future business plans. The contest allowed them to develop new business plan as if they were professional entrepreneurs or startup operators. This year’s contest was the first-time university students from various institutes were allowed to participate. Here they worked as a team and incorporated various expertise and their own potentials into the development of creative New S-curve business plans which cover the first to the last process of the business. Their ideas were able to executive microtransit transportation that responds to business requirements and pain points as well as promote sustainability value based on ESG principle and the low-carbon society mega trend. The winner’s marketing plan will further be implemented for the development of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) for Banpu NEXT in the future.

Based on unanimous results from experienced judges, the “Bannipuni” team which comprised students from Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University and Chiang Mai University, brought home the first-prize royal trophy from H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and scholarship of 130,000 baht and a regional award for the northern region. The “Natasha” team was crowned the first runner-up while also won the Creative Award. The “Tuk Pui Mui” team, the second runner-up, bagged the Best Problem-Solving On Stage Award and a regional award for Bangkok and neighboring provinces. Honorable Mention went to the “Nang TukTuk Laew Hua Perng Tae Tha Pom Dueng Cherng Ah Tid Jai” team, the “TukTukOne” team, the “Banpu Drive to Future” team and the “e-TukTuk Buntuk Leader”.

First-prize winner the Bannipuni team, revealed, “This year’s competition was a real challenge because Banpu NEXT would like us to go beyond being just a marketer. Therefore, we needed to paint a bigger picture, focusing on the organizational management, mission and vision of Banpu NEXT in order to analyze how best we could respond to the challenge and fix problems at the right spot. The fact that we were given an opportunity to create a marketing plan for Smart e-TukTuk enabled us to expand our horizons with regard to clean energy. We believe that various businesses will incorporate such a clean energy approach into their operation in the future. Last but not least, for those interested in joining the next J-MAT competition, it is paramount to get out of their safe zone and jump into the challenge to learn new things and enhance their own potential so that they truly become the GenNEXT.”

First runner-up the Natasha team, revealed, “We learned how to work as team and new skills beyond classroom such as editing software, time management and under-pressure decision-making. In terms of the business plan, we would like to promote the transportation business so that it is widely recognized and becomes more than just an ordinary service for passengers but to allow clean energy to create good experiences and memories for users. This will subsequently gear business and the world towards sustainability. We hope our marketing plan will be further developed and implemented by concerned tourism or transportation organizations as we believe Smart e-TukTuk will be able to meet business requirements and create experiences in various perspectives.”

Banpu NEXT and MAT along with all the judges would like to express their admiration for all GenNEXT teams who were capable of excel their out-of-the-box critical thinking skills and potential. All young participants also had an opportunity to broaden their experiences beyond classroom, get a solid grasp of teamwork, put their idea into practice and create an efficient marketing plan which will certainly lead to positive changes in the society in the future. All entries in the competition were a reflection of the full potential and capabilities of Thai youth who are to become high-quality marketing experts and will serve as a significant driving force towards the low-carbon society and smart cities in Thailand.

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