The Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) case challenges a team of two students to think creatively and strategically in a realistically time-constrained situation. Students will receive their briefing (the case study) one week prior to the meeting with the client (OCMC competition). The judges for this event will assume the role of the client in the case study scenario, and will evaluate how well each team’s IMC plan solves the challenge presented in the case, and the effectiveness of the team’s presentation.
The Case Scenario
Student teams may work with a faculty coach as they prepare for the event in general terms. One week before the meeting (competition), student teams will receive the case study, which includes the specific challenge they will address. Once the case study has been received, students must work on their own, with no input from faculty, peers, or industry professionals. Students will have access to generally available resources, but will be instructed not to contact the client organization. The case study scenario assumes that the students have received a brief outlining the client situation, but have not yet met the client.
General Judging Considerations
The students’ role in this event is to present an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan. Students will be expected to identify the key challenge(s), propose objectives and recommend strategies to address those challenges and ultimately provide an execution plan for the client. Through practical application of integrated marketing communications components, typically the situation will be based on a B2C market and will call for a strategic and creative IMC plan. 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 Integrated 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 participating students must be from diploma-level marketing or marketing-related programs. Post-diploma, graduate certificate or degree program students are not eligible for this event. Repeat OCMC students cannot enter an event in which they have previously participated.
Student Preparation
- Participants are advised to familiarize themselves with the evaluation criteria for the case (please refer to case evaluation form).
- Once they have received the case (one week prior to the competition), students must work on the analysis and plan on their own, with no input from faculty, peers or industry professionals.
- While they may research the company website for information, students are not permitted to contact the client company in any way.
Presentation
The presentation must not exceed 15 minutes, and will be followed by a 5-minute question period. There is no limit on the number of PowerPoint slides students may use during the presentation, and student teams are permitted to bring a leave-behind or other physical presentation aid to the meeting.
Participants are responsible for managing their time during the presentation (judges will ask the team to stop, if necessary, once the 15-minute timeframe has been reached). Judges will ask questions only during the 5-minute Q&A following the presentation. Students will leave the room following the Q&A while judges complete the evaluation form.
Evaluation by Judges
- Judges will ask questions (challenge the students) at the end of each presentation.
- Judges will not provide any verbal feedback to the participants during the competition.
- 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, judges will re-evaluate those teams to break the tie. There cannot be a tie among teams ranked one to five.
- Judges’ decisions are final!
Feedback
Each student team will receive a feedback form from the host College approximately 3 weeks following the competition.