Niagara College students tie best showing ever at marketing competition

Niagara | Niagara on the Lake | Welland | Education |

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Published December 12, 2022 at 1:48 pm

Students from Niagara College’s School of Business and Management win second place at OCMC 2022, held in Toronto. (Supplied photo)

Niagara College’s Business and Management students have come second in a pressure-cooker provincial marketing competition – five times, in fact – but the college was quick to point out this was their most diverse group of competitors.

Of the 18 Niagara College students competing in the Ontario Colleges’ Marketing Competition (OCMC) 2022, held in Toronto’s Seneca College, 15 of them were International students.

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.

While the college has participated in OCMC for more than two decades, Professor and Program Coordinator Terri Champion, who has been coaching their OCMC teams for 20 years, said this year’s competitors was its largest and most diverse.

“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.”

In addition to the college’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.

“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 April Tyrrell, Associate Dean, Business and Management.

“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.”

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