Mercedes-Benz Canada

MERCEDES-BENZ CANADA

The U of S College of Commerce has been chosen to prepare a national marketing strategy for the 2003 line of Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles. The winning strategy will be presented tonight at a gala hosted by Elite Motors Cars Ltd. (Saskatoon's Mercedes dealership).

The U of S is only the second university to be chosen to compete in the Mercedes International Luxury Brand Management Competition sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Canada and Elite Motors.

"We selected the University of Saskatchewan based on their past international successes and we plan to use concepts from the winning strategy in our provincial marketing campaign. The rest of their creative ideas will be passed on to our head office for use in the national campaign," said Elite Motors dealer principal Dr. Srini Chary.

"This caliber of corporate sponsors, Mercedes Benz Canada and Elite Motors, provides our students with the opportunity to enhance their personal and career development assisting them with their transition into industry," said Dean V. Lynne Pearson. "Being selected for this competition reflects the creativity and spirit of the students in our College."

Students were broken into groups to compete on the project. The winning team's members are Sara Gordon, Blair Voth, Katherane Lautner, Deneille Dewar, Jacqueline Duckering, Cory Strohan and Ian Litzenberger along with faculty advisor Ayten Archer.

The winning team devoted over 100 hours to the design of a marketing strategy and ad campaign. They conducted market research, developed a television ad, and created four print advertisements, presenting the campaign in a 15-minute video.

"For groups of students to work 'hands-on?along side an internationally renowned company like Mercedes-Benz is absolutely invaluable," says student Cory Strohan. "I think it's a really great way to bridge the gap between academic theory and real world experience."

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The Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Campaign is a project for fourth-year Marketing students enrolled in COMM 451. Based on knowledge provided by the client, student groups create an IMC strategy for a non-profit