My First In-Person QMAC!
The Queen's Marketing Association Conference (QMAC) this past November 2022 was the best weekend I’ve had since entering the Commerce program at Queen’s. As a previous first-year representative of the QMA, I was able to see what went into planning and executing the conference behind the scenes, which was really intriguing. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic took away the privilege of in-person conferences for two years. However, that stopped in 2022. QMAC was finally in-person in Kingston, and it was a blast. As QMAC 2023 applications are now open, I decided to highlight some of my favourite memories from QMAC 2022 in this blog post!
To start, opening night of QMAC was held on Thursday at the Renaissance Event Center. While networking with all the delegates, I was taken aback at the variety of people from different schools, in different years and with different interests. The network of delegates at QMAC was no less than extraordinary, and I met some truly outstanding people. Other than the extensive networking aspect, QMAC had some amazing educational content about marketing. Opening night included a keynote speaker, Matt from Snapchat, hosted by one of our own program-favourite professors, Greg Libitz. I was very intrigued to learn about the inner workings of Snapchat and Bitmoji from a marketing perspective. Matt shared some interesting insights about consumer trends such as augmented reality with filters. He also discussed target audiences and how Snapchat deals with the competitive social messaging industry, with their main competitor being WhatsApp.
Day 2 of QMAC was action-packed. We started the day on campus with some very informative workshops delivered by RBC, Loblaw, Johnson & Johnson, and Environics. Each workshop kept us engaged throughout and left us with new knowledge about marketing operations. Then, we had a nice lunch sponsored by TrendMicro, and a cool interactive event hosted by AMEX. We then went to the Four Points Hotel for the Marketing Trade Show, where all the sponsoring companies each had their own booth and delegates could network with sponsor representatives to learn about marketing roles and potential internships! After that, we had a dinner sponsored by PepsiCo, and while eating, Logan Chambers from PepsiCo delivered an amazing presentation on what goes into creating commercials from a marketing strategy perspective, with Quaker being used as the example. After that, there was a break and we went to the Grizzly Grill for a social sponsored by Canadian Tire!
Throughout QMAC so far, everyone had been anxiously anticipating what was in store for the third and final day of QMAC: the P&G Case Competition. Before that, we heard presentations from Telus and P&G, and then the games began. Delegates were divided into groups and were given a case from P&G, and they had about an hour to present their solution to the P&G representatives. The finalists made it hard for P&G to choose a winner, but eventually a decision was reached and awards were given out. We then had two more speakers that gave valuable insights into the industry. We first had Heather from Kraft Heinz, then we had a fireside chat between K.C. Shendelman from Longo’s and another program-favourite professor, Ken Wong. After that, we had final speeches and delegate awards, and the closing ceremony marked the end of a very successful and fun QMAC.
As I mentioned before, QMAC 2022 was undoubtedly my favourite weekend since coming to Queen’s. Between the connections I made, the knowledge I gained, and the games I played, it was truly an experience I will never forget, and I encourage ALL business students to apply this fall to be a delegate for QMAC 2023 in Toronto, because I know this year it will be just as amazing, if not better.