A team NC Business and Management students put their marketing skills to the test and rose to the challenge of a pressure-cooker provincial marketing competition, with a second-place trophy.
Eighteen NC students were part of the winning NC team at the Ontario Colleges’ Marketing Competition 2022. The annual case-based competition draws the best and brightest business students from colleges across the province to compete in case-based business challenges, a quiz bowl tournament and more.
Most of the participating students from NC were second-year students from Business – Sales and Marketing and Business Administration – Marketing (Co-op) programs, while others were from programs including Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (International Commerce and Global Development), Business and Business Analytics.
“How inspirational it was to be there and see the pure joy and emotions of our NC students and the pride of our amazing faculty that helped them achieve this tremendous outcome,” said NC’s Dean of Business, Tourism and Environment, Alan Unwin.
“OCMC provides students with the opportunity to develop their understanding of sales and marketing. The students not only gain knowledge about the industry but also develop their self-confidence,” said Associate Dean, Business and Management, April Tyrrell. “It is a high-pressure environment as they have a short amount of time to prepare a presentation and then must prove to the judges that their solution to the case is the best.
“Their ability to focus and present their ideas boldly will serve them well as they enter the workplace.”
While NC has participated in OCMC for more than two decades, Professor and Program Coordinator Terri Champion, who has been coaching NC’s OCMC teams for 20 years, said NC’s 2022 OCMC was its largest and most diverse, with 15 international students.
“For many of international students, competing in this event is very challenging as they are often not always as confident in their language abilities as well as sometimes unsure about some of the cultural references and marketing industry practices unique to Canada/North America,” said Champion.
“This group surpassed our expectations in every way and were a very hard-working group that fully embraced the challenge.”
Champion noted that while taking home a second-place trophy is an accomplishment for a college smaller than some of the participating colleges from the Greater Toronto Area, the focus is on the impact the experience has on participating students.
“The more important ‘win’ is being able to witness the sense of accomplishment and confidence that students come away with after participating in OCMC,” said Champion. “It is, hands-down, the best student experience for a college marketing student in Ontario.”
“As we often say, OCMC changes lives – period. The experience is truly motivating and a great reminder of the difference we can make in the lives of our students.”
Students competed in 11 different events, in pairs for most events, and individually for two.
Judges ranked the competitors at each event and awarded first-, second- and third-place finishes – each with a points value. Students who were in the top three received an actual award and were recognized on stage for their achievements. Those who placed fourth or fifth were given an honourable mention and contributed to overall points for their college.
Second-year Business – Sales and Marketing student Richelle Billones (Niagara-on-the-Lake) said she joined OCMC as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Billones, who is originally from Philippines, said she was proud to represent NC at the competition. As an international student, she also felt good about winning first place with a teammate in the Retail Case.
“Not only has it enhanced my skills, it also opened endless opportunities and broadened my network for my future career,” said Billones. “The most fulfilling experience I gained from the entire event is the gift of friendship … I am thankful to have met and become a part of a team of amazing people.”
Second-year Business Administration student Erica D’Amore, a lifelong St. Catharines resident, jumped at the opportunity to compete at OCMC. She won first place with teammate Billones in the Retail Case, and second place with teammate Isabelle Wartabedian in the Entrepreneurship Case.
“My main takeaway from the OCMC experience was being able to present confidently in a short period of time and being able to think on my feet,” said D’Amore. “I feel that these skills will carry over into many aspects of my life, both professionally and personally.”
“I am extremely proud of my teammates and our final result; we all worked so hard and it really showed. Everyone was also very supportive of each other during and after the competition.”
For Gabriel Alexandre (St. Catharines), participating in OCMC was an opportunity to put his marketing skills to the test and a chance to improve his marketing knowledge.
“I am still blown away by the results. Getting to go up there on the stage and receiving the trophy for the event I participated in was one of the best moments for sure, but also seeing my teammates being recognized for their work was fantastic,” said Alexandre.
The second-year Business – Sales and Marketing student, originally from Brazil, valued the experience he gained as well as the helpful feedback he received preparing for it.
“OCMC was definitely the best moment I had in my academic career so far; I learned so much,” said Alexandre. “Before the event itself, we had coaching sessions with our professors, which enabled us to grow our skills exponentially in such a small period of time, and that was a big takeaway for me.”
NC coaches included several faculty members from the School of Business and Management: Terri Champion, Chris Treschak, Stefan Johnson, Monique Finley, John Sustersic, Paula Reile, Susan Ehlert, Rob Madronic, David Pastirik and Verne Milot.
“We are so proud of our coaching team and appreciate their commitment to the success of our students.” said Associate Dean, Business and Management, Lisa Mendez. “They dedicated so much of their time and expertise to support the students during the months leading up to the competition, and during the event.”
Students applied to be in the Marketing competition team last spring. Those who were selected for the team began training in September. Many of the students also took a Strategic Marketing Decision Making course which uses the case method of teaching to provide students with the skills and abilities to learn how to analyze marketing challenges, develop marketing strategy solutions and present their recommendations convincingly.
In addition to NC’s overall second place win, many students were recognized for individual achievements at OCMC 2022, including:
- First place award – Marketing Case – Niny Plaza and Ana Maria Granda Ospina;
- First place award – Retail Case – Erica D’Amore and Richelle Billones;
- Second place award – Entrepreneurship Case – Isabelle Wartabedian and Erica D’Amore;
- Second place award – Prospect Pitch – Brittany Davies and Catherine Ball;
- Third place award – Job Interview – Gabriel Paulino Alexandre;
- Fifth place – Advanced Marketing Case – Roberto Villao and Sobhanjana Bose; and
- Fifth place – Market Research Case – Juan Velasquez Palma and Tania Escobar Gomez.
NC’s OCMC 2022 team also included:
- Direct Marketing Case – Bianca Braz and Filippo Carattoli;
- Sales Presentation – Ana Carolina Diaz;
- Integrated Marketing Communications Case – Gabriel Paulino Alexandre and Isabelle Wartabedian;
- International Marketing Case – Igor Muniz and Dany Barrera; and
- Quiz Bowl – Francisco Acuna Galinda, Niny Plaza, Ana Maria Granda Ospina, Tania Escobar Gomez.
Hosted by Seneca College, OCMC 2022 was held December 1-2, in -person and virtually at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto. Twelve Ontario colleges participated in this year’s competition.
This was the sixth time that NC placed second overall at the OCMC – including last year.
For details about OCMC 2021, visit ocmc.ca
For information about NC’s School of Business and Management, visit niagaracollege.ca/business.
