|
Two UNB students have beaten out 143 other teams from across Canada to be named Canada’s next top ad executives.
Elizabeth-Anne McCleave and Matt Daigle, both students in the MBA program at UNB Fredericton, were given the title
on March 31
for their bilingual ad campaign for Volkswagen’s new minivan, the Routan.
For their efforts 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, both in the BBA program also made it to the top ten contestants in the final round.
"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.”
"It’s been quite surreal to be honest,” said McCleave when asked how it felt to win the competition. “We worked so hard, and really gave it all we had, and it paid off. It’s been a great feeling, and we’re just so thankful for all the help we got. We had so much support throughout the entire process. I’m looking forward to seeing what will come out of it – and seeing the car obviously.”
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.
McCleave and Daigle will also see their marketing strategy in action as Volkswagen Canada unfolds it over the next few months.
"We both knew that we had a great campaign and the chance to present it in front of an industry panel was a huge opportunity in itself. But the experience went above and beyond our expectations when we were approached by several individuals, many of them CEOs of some of the top ad agencies in Toronto,” said Daigle.
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.
|
