Queen's Marketing Association Conference
This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Queen's Marketing Association Conference (QMAC) for the first time. Since the beginning of my University experience, I’ve heard my peers rave about the conference. They encouraged me to go and this year, I did.
The first day began at Second City. We heard from the sponsors Unilever about “owning a brand” along with the opening keynote of Lauren McDonald , Chief Marketing Officer of IKEA Canada. She was an engaging storyteller who shared her marketing journey along with how she used her creativity to launch some of IKEA's most memorable campaigns such as a pride campaign where Drag Queens created runway looks out of IKEA products. Another advertising she highlighted was the revision of the most popular IKEA ad which you can watch here . The revitalized ad showed how times have changed and highlighted the importance of recycling. IKEA being aware of the items they put out and how they affect the environment, encourages reusability of their products. It also played off of the original commercial which was so successful. Creating a part 2 was a risk but ultimately paid off due to the nostalgia it brought and the message it sent of how IKEA has evolved. What I loved most about her was how candid she was in sharing the highs and lows of her journey while showing videos throughout her presentation and explaining their significance which made the keynote more comprehensible and relatable.
After the keynote, we had a Beer and Cheese event presented by Molson Coors. A beer connoisseur taught us about the science behind beer along with how to drink beer to enhance the taste and pick up on the notes. Afterwards, we had dinner where Dan Mackenzie, VP & Managing Director of the NBA spoke about sports marketing, which included the importance of using sports as a platform to promote brands. I’m taking International Sports Marketing this semester as a class, so I’m excited to see if his presentation helps me better understand sports marketing.
The second day of the conference was hosted at District 28 where we heard about Smucker’s and its marketing strategies along with the warm and open corporate culture. That was followed by an outstanding speakers’ panel which consisted of Jennifer Howard, VP Marketing, Digital Payments, Cards & Banking at RBC, Peter Furnish, VP Marketing, Category & Digital Experience at Starbucks and Taylor Jenkins, Head of Marketing at YouTube Canada and was moderated by John Wilshire, President & CEO of the Canadian Marketing Association. They discussed how marketing has evolved and how companies are now focusing on creating tailored relationships with consumers. It also begged the question of how far can personalization go before it gets invasive.
Following the panel was a workshop hosted by Loblaw. There we learnt about how Loblaw customers use flyers before, during and after the shopping experience. We brainstormed ideas of how Loblaw can move flyers to a digital platform while keeping customers happy and engaged. We presented our ideas and were treated to a box of delicious PC cookies. Afterwards, we had “Inspiration Hour” hosted by MindShare which focused on the creative side of marketing and taught me a lot about globally known ad agencies.
The day continued with the Marketing Trade Show which was one of the main reasons I wanted to go to QMAC. The trade show offered delegates the opportunity to network with company representatives to learn not only about the company they work for, but the company's culture. Making the personal face-to-face connections helped me feel more knowledgeable about the companies and more confident as to understanding what I can do to stand out as a marketer and job hunter.
To end off the night, we traveled to Mill Street Brewery where we had a Fireside with Ian Mandell, Managing Partner and President of LEVEL5 Strategy Group. It was interesting to hear how Ian’s career has progressed and how he desired to create his own business later on in his career. He was extremely reassuring to those of us who were seeking a job which was comforting to hear. He gave great book recommendations which I really appreciate because it’s a way for us to continue learning outside of the conference.
Saturday was hosted at the TELUS office at 25 York Street which not only offered a gorgeous view of the city but was the perfect location for the mini-case competition. Each delegate was put in a team where we had 55 minutes to complete a case competition and present it to representatives of the company. I had a wonderful group who was not only creative, but had great time management and presentation skills. I was thrilled to have won the RBC Mini-Challenge with my team. To make matters even better, each winning team had at least one Ryerson delegate on it, proving how Ted Rogers School of Management (TRSM) students are able to generate great ideas and present them in an exciting and engaging manner.
The night ended off with a delicious dinner presented by Canadian Tire where the 2 finalists from the QMAC challenge presented their case live followed by a speech by Greg Shelly, VP Enterprise Digital Marketing from Canadian Tire. He spoke about how he landed in marketing and emphasized how the job you’re preparing for doesn’t even exist yet and how the future of marketing is so unknown. We’ve gone through rapid changes with the emergence of the internet and social media and he explained how that was a change in the industry that truly shaped it in a way like never before. This was really personally relevant to me due to my interview with CBC Radio where we discussed how students can prepare for jobs that don’t exist yet.
Finally, at the delegate awards, I was proud to have my close friend Stanley Sik win the “Best Campus Ambassador” award. He was one of the people who really encouraged me to apply, so it was great to see him win the award. QMAC surpassed my expectations. From the insightful speakers, ratio of industry professionals to students, and quality of the events, I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. To make matter better, I’m proud to be a TRSM student as my conference ticket was fully funded by the Ted Rogers Students’ Society (TRSS). Being a student who lives downtown, my living expenses can be overwhelming so I’m incredibly grateful to have a school which covered the cost of my ticket. I’m also proud to have won the case competition to show TRSS that they made the right decision in funding me since I was able to represent Ryerson well and highlight the creativity and eagerness to learn that TRSM students have.