Many fans of sports and entertainment would say it’d be a dream come true to pitch partnership marketing ideas for major teams and event production companies, directly to their executives. That’s exactly what students in George Brown College’s (GBC) Sport and Event Marketing (B400) program did earlier this year, with big results for their career development.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s (MLSE) Global Partnership Division hosts an annual business case competition for student teams to pitch integrated partnership marketing programs featuring brands of their choice with select teams from MLSE — the Toronto Raptors, Maple Leafs, Toronto Football Club (TFC) and Argonauts. GBC has participated since 2022, making it an exciting Fall semester extracurricular in the program.
In the most recent competition that ran from last fall to this January, over 100 teams from more than 15 post-secondary institutions from across Canada participated. GBC was represented by three teams, with one placing in the top 10, and one making it to the final 4. As part of the successes from these pitches, two GBC students scored summer internships with MLSE, including Abby McLean, who will be helping with the management and services of suites and membership lounges at BMO Field and Scotiabank Arena.
McLean’s team — which also included Liana Forsyth, Ella Korne and Cristina Diamontouros — made it to the top ten with two proposals: the first for the Raptors and a confectionary company, the second for the Maple Leafs and a tire manufacturing company. Pitches took a week to prepare, covering conducting a category analysis to identify brands and matching the chosen brand with the most appropriate MLSE property, then compiling insights, marketing tactics, investment details and more.
For McLean, being a part of this competition offered an exciting opportunity to apply her skills and knowledge from GBC in a real-world setting, meet industry professionals and learn from the best of the best.
“Participating in this competition has been very helpful in shaping my professional development” she said. “I was able to apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios and work on skills crucial for my internship, such as analyzing partnership strategies and crafting pitches. These experiences also provided me with opportunities for self-awareness of my strengths and areas of growth. This is invaluable for my future career.”
GBC students won MLSE’s 2023 competition. Team leader Sarah Zarrar, who completed her studies in the same year, worked on proposals for TFC and the Maple Leafs, saying it’s the hardest she’s ever worked to win something. And it paid off — after winning the competition, Zarrar secured a summer role with MLSE and then kept on as an analyst for their revenue strategy team, which came full circle when she worked on GBC’s newest partnership with the Toronto Raptors this year. Now Zarrar works as a Director of Sponsorship Sales for US-based events company Executive Platforms. She credits much of her success to her time at GBC and MLSE.
“The courses in the B400 program are designed to prepare us for a career in both sports and events,” she said. “With both of my roles since, a lot of the work didn’t feel new as we were prepped to take on similar projects within the classroom environment at GBC. Most importantly, the support that professors such as our advisor Pete Widdis provided both in and out of the classroom is unmatched.”
Widdis, a President’s Award-winning professor of marketing and academic program coordinator, advises GBC student teams behind the scenes. Having been an MLSE industry-partner during his time in the corporate world, he says he’s continuously impressed with overall student engagement in the case competition.
“It’s so inspiring to see our students raise their game when they know they are competing with MBAs and/or some of the best business schools in Canada,” he said. “For GBC to have one team win last year and for two teams to finish near the top this year, it’s exciting for the college. All of our students seized their moment, and the results speak for themselves.”
Does this type of career sound exciting to you? Apply now to our Sport and Event Marketing (Postgraduate) Program for Fall 2024!
