Case competition to play a role in Concordia Stingers rebranding
The John Molson School of Business (JMSB) is set to host some of the top executives in sports later this week as the 20th annual John Molson Sports Business Conference, the largest student-run event of its kind in Canada, begins on November 5.
The three-day conference—which will attract 300 student delegates from over 20 universities across North America—is organized by the John Molson Sports Marketing Committee (JMSM), a group of JMSB students with an interest in the business of sports.
A unique feature of the conference is the JMSM Case Competition, now in its fifth year. Drawing on JMSB’s rich case competition history (the school runs the largest case competition program in the world and hosts some of the best-regarded competitions on the circuit), participating students will form teams to analyze a real sports industry business case and present their recommendations to a panel of judges.
This year, JMSM has collaborated with the Concordia Stingers and marketing communications company Cossette to create a case about the recent Concordia Stingers rebranding.
JMSM co-president William Chan explains that the organizing committee was looking to find a new way to engage with students on a local level. “When the opportunity to collaborate on the case competition with the Stingers was brought up, we immediately jumped on it,” he says. “Not only is it a once-in-a-generation type of case but one that is naturally very relevant to sports business.”
“This is a very exciting time for our student-athletes, coaches and staff members,” says Patrick Boivin, director of Recreation and Athletics. “Our work with Cossette in revitalizing our Stinger brand was a first significant step in addressing some of our marketing and communication issues. Now, this case competition is an opportunity to give our brand revision extra mileage and also give the student population a voice in potential ways that Athletics can address some of its pressing needs in the coming years.”
The case, written by JMSB alumnus Matthew Starek, was presented to participating teams on October 14. “The groups have been developing their recommendations for the last two weeks,” explains Boivin. “Four teams will be chosen to present their plans to a panel of judges on November 6.”
The 20th anniversary John Molson Sports Business Conference runs from November 5 to 7.
Some of the event's headliners are:
- Geoff Molson, owner, president and chief executive officer of the Montreal Canadiens
- Ken Holland, general manager and executive vice-president of the Detroit Red Wings
- Ned Colletti, special advisor to the president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Michael Schulman, chief executive officer of the Anaheim Ducks