MALCOLM RADKE
News Writer

Marketing students at the University of Saskatchewan recently set to the task of selling ultimate Frisbee with the goal of winning cash.

The Marketing Students Society hosted its sixth annual William Joseph Case Competition Jan. 24 to 28. The competition tests students’ abilities to market hypothetical cases. Eleven teams of two competed for the $1,000 prize over the course of two weeks.

“First off, it’s about letting students have the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classrooms to real world situations,” said MSS president Devon Hennig. “Secondly, it’s about networking with members of the business community.”

Participants were required to present a marketing recommendation to help a fictitious non-profit ultimate Frisbee club that was losing members in the face of a new competing ultimate Frisbee league. It’s a scenario very similar to those that business students will face in their careers. They only have a week to draft a solution for the case.

While it seems like a straightforward problem to solve — simply spam all your Facebook friends with status updates and throw an ad in the Toronto Star, right? — these marketing students proved why they are the experts in this field, crafting full-scale, cost effective marketing strategies with creative ways to get customers back to the club.

Fourth year students Leanne Smith and Laurel McBride won the competition by recommending an interactive strategy targeting young professionals and university students.

The plan involved purchasing a van to deck out with built-in booths and plastered with colourful decals. They’d also need to dress up a group of Frisbee players in super-fan spandex suits and give out “Smells Like Team Spirit” shirts, all in an effort to sell the ultimate Frisbee experience.

Patrick Fusick and Krystyna Olchowecki earned second place with their recommendation to target Gen X-ers with a “Catch On” slogan posted to themed billboards and sponsoring consumer fitness and wellness trade-shows.

The top two teams were selected to present their proposals in front of a panel of expert judges at the final banquet on Feb. 3. The panel included professors from the Edwards School of Business and marketing professionals from the competition’s sponsors.

On top of the cash prize, Leanne Smith and Laurel McBride will also get to spend three days in Calgary shadowing the William Joseph Communications team and gaining real world experience.

“It’s about exposure to different areas of the agency and how it actually works,” said William Joseph CEO Ryan Townend.

“We will throw them in some client meetings and presentations so that they can see what it’s like when the client actually starts grilling you.”

Townend emphasized the learning experience as a key takeaway for participants.

“For students starting out, it’s difficult to find opportunities where classroom knowledge can be applied to real business problems. Working together as a team and presenting your work to people who quite literally judge it is how the marketing world works.”

This year marked the case competition’s most successful yet. “We’ve had more participation than we’ve ever had before. More sponsors, more students competing. It’s been awesome,” said Hennig.

Event organizer Paige Gignac highlighted that in addition to turnout, the quality of competition was high this year.

“There has been lots of great feedback from the professors and the business community [saying] that there is a very high calibre of students this year,” said Gignac. “It reflects well on the university.”

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image: Pete Yee