[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/TopAdExec09.jpg” caption=”DeGroote marketing lecturer Mandeep Malik with Top Ad Exec winners Elizabeth-Ann McCleave and Matt Daigle. Photo by Justin Kwan Lee.”]Canada's Next Top Ad Exec (CNTAE), a national marketing competition conceived and organized by the DeGroote School of Business, concluded recently, with two students from the University of New Brunswick winning new Volkswagens.

The competition, which began at McMaster in 2006, challenges students to develop a real-world marketing campaign for a company and gain hands-on experience in the marketing field.

This year's competition, entitled “Face the Fear,” was about overcoming the intimidation of a blank page to create sheer brilliance. It offered students the opportunity to develop a campaign for the Routan, the latest car by Volkswagen. Students work through a three-step process of developing an elevator pitch, creating a platform and delivering a presentation to industry experts.

“The goal of CNTAE is to bridge the gap between traditional curricula and industry needs with a 'beyond the classroom' approach to learning,” said Mandeep Malik, marketing lecturer at the DeGroote School of Business. “We can see from the success and exponential growth of the competition that students are eager for this type of challenge and the opportunity to test capability in a real world real rewards setting.”

The competition drew the attention of major Canadian marketing agencies and students from business schools across Canada. This year's CNTAE began with 143 teams from 36 Canadian business schools. Ultimately, Matt Daigle and Elizabeth-Ann McCleave from the University of New Brunswick were selected as the winners. Daigle and McCleave received two VW Golfs as well as internships.