The student team members are: Faith Fullerton (President), Hannah McMullin, Emma Richards, Liam Bracken, Radine Kruisselbrink, Hannah Symington, Michael Dekort, Joe Rastapkevicius, Janelle Gras and Patrick MacCarthy. Courtesy Photo

By Sandy Casselman
AgriNews Staff Writer

GUELPH – Ten of Canada’s University of Guelph students took first place in the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA)’s North American 2021 Virtual Student Marketing Competition.

Sponsored by AgReliant Genetics and GROWMARK Inc., this was the first year for the three-day competition to be held virtually via Zoom. With 24 teams from NAMA member universities throughout North America, the competition consisted of three rounds of 20-minute presentations followed by five-minute question periods by various judges. Each team also supplied a written executive summary.

The winning team from University of Guelph included, in alphabetical order, Liam Bracken, Michael Dekort, Faith Fullerton, Janelle Gras, Radine Kruisselbrink, Patrick MacCarthy, Hannah McMullin, Joseph Rastapkevicius, Emma Richards, and Hannah Symington. The 20-minute presentations, which included PowerPoint slides, were hosted by Bracken, Kruisselbrink, McMullin, Richards, and Symington. Each round – preliminary, semi-final, and final – included a five-minute question period from a different combination of judges. The Guelph team was ready with extra slide, as well as clear and complete answers.

The Ontario team made their presentation performing as the Gryphon Consulting Group presenting a marketing strategy for ImmunoGo, a yogurt, for the product owner, Stoneroad Dairy Board of Directors. The group’s seven-page executive summary included photos, graphics, statistics, financials, graphics, charts, and more.

The 10-student Guelph team was guided by their advisor, University of Guelph professor Mike von Massow. It was noted that 31st Line Strategic Communications developed the creative for the ImmunoGo product.

As a new NAMA chapter member, this was the first year for University of Regina students to compete. Students from the University of Saskatchewan also participated in the competition. Kruisselbrink, a member of the University of Guelph team, placed third in the NAMA Sales Competition.

Awards and scholarships were announced on April 22. University of Regina student Arslan Azeem, Student Chapter President, won one of several $1,000 NAMA scholarship awards.

To view the recorded presentations and executive summaries of the competitors, visit NAMA’s website (nama.org/2021-marketing-competition.html). NAMA has been serving agri-marketing professionals for more than 60 years. NAMA has more than 3,500 students and professionals. NAMA “helps members grow their agribusiness careers locally and nationally.”