Kennedy Crawford and Alyssa de Hoop from the University of Guelph took home first place on Tuesday at Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec, an annual case-study competition that challenges students to create a business plan for a brand.
Billed as “the best class you’ll ever take,” the program, which is now in its seventh year, is aligned with a major brand – this year it was Chevrolet – and asks participants to plan a multi-million dollar integrated campaign. This year Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec received 114 submissions from 30 universities, including McMaster University, Ryerson University and the University of Alberta.
“We are truly inspired by the intelligence and innovation demonstrated by this year’s finalists,” said Kevin Williams, president and managing director, General Motors Canada, in a release. “We wish them well in their future careers and we are looking forward to welcoming those who will be joining Chevrolet as interns this year. ”
Crawford and de Hoop each went home from the celebration, held at Toronto’s Intercontinental Hotel, with a new car – Chevrolet’s Cruze LTZ RS.
Second Place winners Carolyn Saunders and Nick Pateras from Queen’s University took home $2,500 in scholarships from Chevrolet plus a Microsoft prize pack. The third place team of Telly Carayannakis and Mishba Bholat, both from York University, won $1,000 courtesy of Chevrolet.
The top 10 finalists, from business schools across the country, also had the chance to interview with General Motors, PepsiCo and Canadian Tire for an internship.
