UNB Students Canada s Next Top Ad Executives
Author: Liz Lemon-Mitchell
Posted on Apr 6, 2009
Category: Student Highlights
Two of Canada's next top ad executives are students at the University of New Brunswick.
Elizabeth McCleave and Matieu Daigle, students in the master of business administration (MBA) program at UNB Fredericton have won Volkswagon's national marketing competition, beating out teams from universities across Canada.
The students will each receive a new Volkswagon Golf and will be offered internships with ad agencies for winning the competition, Canada's Next Top Ad Executive.
A second team of UNB students, Mitchell Bernard and Laura Noseworthy also made it to the top ten contestants in the final round.
The students were selected from among 143 teams, representing 36 different universities from across Canada. All of the top ten finalists will be offered internships with ad agencies.
Winning this national competition, where so many teams from so many universities across the country participated, directly speaks to the outstanding qualities and skills of Matt and Liz, said Daniel Coleman, dean of the faculty of business administration. It also speaks to the quality of our programs.
The theme of the marketing campaign had to be consistent with Volkswagen Canada's positioning strategy for the Routan, and the marketing campaign had to stay within a $250,000 budget.
The competition was conceived and hosted by the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and required the students to deliver a 30-minute marketing pitch to a panel of academics and industry experts.
Liz and Matieu will also see their marketing strategy in action as Volkswagen Canada unfolds it over the next few months.
Elizabeth-Anne, 24, and Matt, 23, as well as Laura, 22, and Mitchell, 21, all traveled to Toronto to compete. The teams of students were picked from 143 applications and made it through the top 25 phase. The winners were announced at an awards dinner on March 31, 2009.
Established in 1785, UNB is one of the oldest public universities in North America. One of the top five comprehensive universities in Canada, according to Maclean's, UNB has more than 12,000 students from more than 100 countries. As the largest research institution in New Brunswick, UNB conducts 80 per cent of the province's university research. The university has more than 3,500 faculty and staff, and an annual operating budget of more than $160 million. UNB's two main campuses are located in Fredericton and Saint John, N.B.