The Direct Marketing Case challenges students to think creatively and strategically in a time constrained situation. As a judge in this event, you are to assume the role of the client or company representative described in the case scenario and evaluate how effectively each team presents their analysis and recommendations to address the issues raised in the case study.
The Case Scenario
The students will know nothing about the situation or the client company before they enter the prep room. They will have 30 minutes to familiarize themselves with the situation. The students competing in this event will be expecting that the case scenario will focus on solving a marketing challenge using direct marketing strategies, which may include: building a relationship and loyalty with the targets, offering incentives, and following an interactive messaging and an integrated media approach.
General Judging Considerations
Given that the students only have 30 minutes to read and analyze the case scenario, it will be focused on solving a clearly articulated marketing challenge. Students should provide specific information about the objectives of the campaign and the target, as well as any evidence of any prior marketing communications campaigns. Hence judges will base their evaluation on the ability of the team to suggest strategies to meet the stated objectives and the creativity and practicality of such strategies to communicate with the target. Students should be able to discuss their plan using industry standard terminology.
It is assumed that each judge is from the client company.
Event Objectives
To demonstrate the students’ ability to:
- Analyze a problem situation
- Develop appropriate marketing recommendations utilizing available Direct Marketing strategies
- Justify their recommended strategies based on the marketing issue identified, target market and budget
- Present the proposal in a convincing manner
Eligibility
- All students must be from marketing or marketing-related programs.
- Please note that post-diploma, graduate certificate or degree program students are not eligible for OCMC.
- Repeat OCMC students cannot enter an event in which they previously participated.
Student Preparation
- Participants should familiarize themselves with the evaluation criteria. Please refer to the case evaluation form below for details.
- Please refer to the case schedules in the program. No changes will be made unless a conflict situation exists.
- Participants will be escorted to a secure preparation room as per the case schedule. Cell phones are not permitted.
- Paper, pens and highlighters will be supplied along with printed copies of the case.
- A Windows laptop with wired 2 button mouse and current version of Microsoft PowerPoint will be provided in the preparation and presentation rooms. A clicker will be provided in the presentation room.
- A maximum of 7 slides are permitted in the presentation deck.
- Students may bring a prepared PowerPoint template into the preparation room on a USB thumb drive (USB A Style). Team branding is permitted.
- Internet access will be available, speed and quality of the connection cannot be assured.
- Presentations must be saved on a supplied USB thumb drive which will be retained but the judges.
- Participants have 30 minutes to prepare their solution. Participants will be advised when five minutes remain.
- At the end of 30 minutes, the team will be moved to their presentation room.
Presentation
- Presentations must not exceed 15 minutes. There will be a five-minute question period following the presentation with judges.
- Participants are responsible for managing their time when presenting. Judges will be conscious of time when listening to presentations and will ask a team to stop if necessary.
- At the conclusion of the question period the students will leave the room.
- The judges will use the remaining minutes in the cycle to complete the evaluation form.
Evaluation by Judges
- Judges are to ask questions of the students (challenge the students) at the end of each presentation.
- Judges will not provide any verbal feedback to participants during the competition. They are permitted to ask questions during the official question period.
- Judges will complete an evaluation form with numerical scores and appropriate summary comments.
- Judges will rank each team from top to bottom. In the case of a tie between any of the top 5 teams, they will re-evaluate those teams to break the tie. There cannot be a tie amongst teams ranked one to five.
- Judges decisions are final!
Feedback
Each team will receive feedback from the host College approximately three weeks following the competition.
Event Scoring
| 1st Place | 10 points |
| 2nd Place | 8 points |
| 3rd Place | 6 points |
| 4th Place | 4 points |
| 5th Place | 2 points |