Hackathons have been the bastion of engineers for so long! Considered an event that’s right up their alley; engineers and developers have practically staked their claim to it. Having witnessed countless successful hackathons for almost 3 years since I work for HackerEarth which offers hackathon software for organizations, I had a strong feeling that the format would work wonders for marketers as well. The reason was the structure of the format which allowed participants to solve pressing issues and churn out new ideas to achieve the objectives… both non-negotiable for any marketing function to succeed. In my mind I had clear objectives to create impact for the business, but in the same breath I was slightly unsure because I had never tried the format at first hand. While hackathons can help companies develop new products and services, the benefits reach far beyond the output of a single hackathon. We’ve seen companies use hackathons to promote cultures of innovation, to change the operating norms at the most senior levels of a company and to rally support around major initiatives.