Over 20 marketing students from Durham College’s (DC) Faculty of Business put their skills to the test last month during the 2023 Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition (OCMC), the largest and most prestigious marketing competition for college students. This was the first time DC had a full team attend the competition and compete in all 11 categories – placing in three of them.

The DC team had many notable accomplishments during the competition – including ranking second in the Prospect Pitch category, third in the Retail Marketing category, and fifth in the Marketing category. For the first time, DC’s high-ranking team included two first-year students, including Shara James, a mature learner from Jamaica who’s completing her first year of DC’s Business – Marketing diploma program.

“Being a member of the OCMC team was an awesome experience, especially since I was only one of two first-year students ever chosen to represent DC in the competition,” said James. “Not only did I place second in the Prospect Pitch category with fellow-student Chiara Moore, but I also made some amazing friends. When I decided to enter, I never imagined it would have been such a life changing experience.”

OCMC attracts more than 300 participants from 13 colleges across the province. A dozen different case categories challenge the competitors to think creatively and strategically within set guidelines, testing their ability to work well under pressure and to leverage the skills they’ve gained inside the classroom.

Jonathan Carrigan, marketing professor and program coordinator at DC, said the experience of competing at this event is a great way for students to test their marketing expertise, enhance their confidence and resiliency, and develop critical skills that they will rely on in their future fields.

“I’m extremely proud of the outstanding work our students displayed at OCMC this year,” said Carrigan. “Witnessing a full team compete at OCMC was very rewarding and it goes to show the level of enthusiasm and passion our students have for what they do.”

Carrigan also praised the team lead, Meghan Scanlon, who was instrumental in organizing the team’s participation. “Meghan was the driving force behind this year’s recruitment efforts, she led the design and production of our team sweaters, organized team spirit initiatives, helped with critical communications, and so much more,” he added. “Meghan has proven herself to be a true leader, a fierce competitor, and an amazing human being.”

Scanlon credited the team’s success to the hard work from each member, “Seeing the amount of hard work, effort, and dedication that each team member put in was tremendous, they should be proud of themselves,” she shared. “They all dominated the competition, showed a high level of ambition and left a mark that made all of us #DCProud.”