40 Years of QMA: Here’s What We’ve Accomplished
By Logan Wickstone
This November, the Queen’s Marketing Association (QMA) celebrates 40 years, and the Queen’s Marketing Association Conference (QMAC) marks its 25th year. Together, that’s four decades of students shaping the next generation of marketing leaders, always united by the mission of creating opportunities to connect, learn, and grow.
Every year, a new team has stepped in, added their own ideas, and kept the tradition moving forward. Four decades later, it’s still one of the biggest ways students connect with the industry and each other. For some, this year will be their first time experiencing QMAC. For others, it’s a chance to return.
Either way, the 40th anniversary of QMA and the 25th chapter of QMAC add something special, it’s a reminder that we’re part of a legacy bigger than ourselves. It’s the same QMAC experience delegates look forward to every year, but now elevated by the weight of its history and the excitement of what’s next.
HOW IT STARTED
The QMA was founded in 1986 by distinguished professor at the Smith School of Business Kenneth Wong, and a group of students who wanted to bridge the gap between industry and the classroom. Their vision was to create something that would connect students with real-world marketing and give them skills beyond their coursework.
The Founding Chair was Fred Singer, and he and his executive wrote the original constitution and truly set the path for sustained success. They knew numbers mattered, so they ran an aggressive recruiting campaign that signed up over 1,000 students across faculties in the very first year. The market was segmented for sponsors in equal ways. They focused on three groups: companies hiring Queen’s students, companies selling to students, and companies with a history of supporting the Smith School of Business. It was practical and effective, giving QMA the resources to scale.
As Professor Ken Wong puts it: “The QMA is an organization run by students and for students. While its programming, scope and location has changed in the past 40 years, it has never deviated from its mission—to assist students in hitting the running job market.” (Professor Kenneth Wong, 2025).
By 2000, QMA launched what would become the centrepiece of the organization: QMAC. Three years later, the QMAC Challenge was added to give students hands-on experience solving marketing problems. Both became staples that defined QMA’s presence.
FOUR DECADES OF IMPACT
Each decade added something new to the QMAC story:
2000s: The QMAC Challenge arrived in 2003, giving students practical experience in a competitive format.
2010s: In 2013, Marketing Career Day launched, providing more direct connections with industry professionals. By 2015, QMA celebrated its 30th anniversary and introduced The Nucleus, where you’re reading this, as a way to share resources online. In 2017, QMAC moved from Kingston to Toronto, with the idea to open the doors to more recruiters and making the event accessible for students across Canada.
2020s: Like everything else, QMAC was reshaped by the pandemic. In 2021, the conference went online, keeping students connected with companies during a difficult year. In 2022, it returned to Kingston in person, bringing back the energy of live interaction. By 2023, QMAC was back in Toronto, where it continues today.
Across all of these changes, the essence of QMAC stayed intact. It has always been about giving students a way to learn from industry leaders, connect with recruiters, and put themselves in real-world situations. For delegates, it has often been the first real opportunity to ask questions and get answers to the things that actually matter to their future. For executives, it has been the chance to plan and deliver something at a national scale, one that’s been named conference of the year three years running.
The longevity itself is proof of its impact. It’s rare for a student organization to last four decades, QMAC has because every year, students have found it worth carrying forward.
WHY YOU CAN’T MISS QMAC 2025
QMAC 2025 isn’t just another conference; it’s the 25th anniversary. That alone makes it unforgettable. When you walk into the delegate sessions in Toronto this November, not only will you be part of the country’s largest undergraduate marketing conference, you’ll also be part of a milestone moment.
Like always, we will deliver everything QMAC is known for, including headline speakers, hands-on workshops, case competitions, and exclusive networking with recruiters and industry professionals. But what makes this year different is how it blends those opportunities with celebration. This year will be as much of a conference as it is a celebration; it’s an appreciation of what it’s built over the years, and an opportunity to shape what comes next.
And like any conference, you’ll get out of it what you put in. So here are a few ways to make the most of your time:
Show up curious. Ask the questions you actually care about, not the ones you think you’re supposed to.
Connect outside your circle. Some of the most valuable conversations come from people in different programs or years who see things from another angle.
Follow up quickly. A same-day message that references a real conversation goes much further than a generic LinkedIn request.
Write down your takeaways. Commit to the things you learned, whether that’s a skill, a perspective, or a piece of advice and find a way to apply them in the weeks after the conference.
That’s what makes this year so special. If you’ve never been, this is the perfect year to start. If you have, it’s the year to come back. QMAC has lasted because students keep showing up to build it, and that’s why this year, more than ever, is the one you don’t want to miss.