Canada’s next top ad execs … from Concordia
Charles and Gabriel Rondos thoroughly impressed the judges at Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec with their marketing campaign aimed at first-time new vehicle buyers.
The brothers, students from the John Molson School of Business (JMSB), walked away with the keys to a pair of new Chevrolet vehicles and $5,000 for JMSB’s Career Management Services.
Hosted by McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business, Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec is the nation’s largest advertising and marketing case competition. It is open to undergraduate business students, undergrads completing a business minor and MBA students across Canada.
Charles Rondos describes the competition as “absolutely life changing.”
“We learned how to fully analyze a target market, gather insights on consumer behaviour and use this to put together a fully comprehensive marketing pitch,” he says. “Also, the recruiters at the competition were top notch — I made contacts that I would never have otherwise.”
A marketing major graduating at the end of the term, Charles has job interviews lined up with recruiters at both General Motors and PepsiCo — two contacts he made at the competition.
Both Charles and Gabriel feel that having participated in the JMSB case competition program gave them a leg up on their opponents in terms of their analytical and presentation skills.
“I can’t stress that enough,” says Gabriel, who’s majoring in finance and is a member of the Institute for Co-operative Education.
“That’s where we applied what we learned in the classroom to a real-world setting,” he says. “It also helped us realize the level of detail and commitment required for success.”
“The program teaches you how to go above and beyond your mandate by taking risks, pushing yourself to the limit and really stepping out of your comfort zone,” adds Charles.
Last year’s winners were undergraduates Jesse Carmichael and Anthony Esposito. The back-to-back victories mean that JMSB’s Career Management Services (CMS) will benefit once again from the cash prize awarded to the career services department at the winners’ school.
Mai-Gee Hum, director of CMS, has indicated that the funds will be used to renew a subscription to Management Consulted, an online tool that increases the competitiveness of JMSB students and alumni seeking employment in the field of management consulting.
“We began using the tool in the summer of 2015 and user feedback has been extremely positive,” says Hum.
“The award makes a huge difference and has already yielded concrete placement results,” she says. “One student who used it was presented with offers from McKinsey and Company and the Boston Consulting Group, the world’s top two management consulting firms.”
Watch Charles and Gabriel Rondos discuss their win on Global Morning News.
Find out more about Concordia’s John Molson School of Business.
