On November 15, three Conestoga Advertising and Marketing Communications students placed second in Wilfrid Laurier University’s first ever MadHawk advertising competition. The event was presented in partnership with Rethink Communications and the driving service Uber.
Conestoga students Melissa Dlugokecki, Kelly Kroetsch and Laura Moore scored a second place win at Wilfrid Laurier University’s MadHawk advertising competition on November 15. They were the only college team to participate.
MadHawk was created through a group at Laurier called AdHawk. The student-run organization provides digital and print media advertising for local enterprises and non-profits free of charge. The work gives students opportunities to gain industry experience as graphic designers, copywriters and account executives.
“We decided to participate because we felt very confident that we had the right skills,” said Conestoga student Laura Moore. “We wanted to show that Conestoga's Advertising and Marketing Communications program could compete with any Laurier business program. We also knew it would be an incredible learning opportunity, regardless if we placed or not.”
Teams at MadHawk were comprised of three students that were assigned to the roles of strategist, designer and presenter. Of the 20 teams that entered, Moore - working with Conestoga teammates Melissa Dlugokecki and Kelly Kroetsch - formed the only college team. They were required to build a marketing plan for Uber, design creative artwork and present their plan within a two-hour time constraint.
Kroetsch credits her team’s second place win to the skills acquired through Conestoga: “We knew each other's strengths and work ethic; I think that was very helpful for us in the competition. Our projects over the past three semesters also helped. Courses in presentation skills, creativity and design, marketing, advertising, layout theory and sales really prepared us.”
Having worked to meet a tight deadline, the team was both thrilled and surprised to place second. “I was a little shocked with the win,” admitted Dlugokecki. “And the only reason I say that is because we had two hours to complete our marketing plan, along with our creative elements, and that left no time to process what we did in those two hours. We understood our campaign and the idea behind it, but there was no time to rehearse - only room for confidence in the work we created.”
The team celebrated with a $225 award.
Conestoga's Advertising program emphasizes the integration of creativity and planning by blending projects and assignments throughout the courses. Students learn about advertising principles and advertising sales management and develop advertising concepts from idea to finished product. They are also introduced to the principles of public relations, media planning, web design, event planning and entrepreneurship.
For more information, visit the program page