TRSM Marketing students make their business pitches at BMO Field

December 05, 2019

Daniela Sabat, Christina Polera, Sabrina Alaimo and Malcolm Manchester

A group of TRSM Marketing students got the unique opportunity to present their ideas to sport executives on the home turf of Toronto FC and Toronto Argonauts – BMO Field – as part of the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) Case Competition.

Three Sport Marketing Concepts and Strategy (MKT828) classes were tasked with creating a marketing strategy to increase attendance for Toronto FC or the Argonauts, both owned by MLSE. Throughout this Marketing course, guest speakers from MLSE came in to offer insights, and classes were also provided with a support team from the sport organization to answer questions.

For the case competition, students had to conduct primary and secondary research and recommend a Big Idea promotion campaign to drive attendance to the targeted segment. They were required to explain the logistics to execute the Big Idea and support it through return on marketing investment and financials, and detail why their idea and campaign would achieve the objective.

"I believe as educators, we must bring real-world, hand-on experiences to our students to enable them to experience and learn the reality of the industry that they are being taught about,” explains MKT828 Instructor Marla Spergel. “I believe it makes the learning process more interesting to students and it better prepares them for the working world.”

Of the 40 groups that put together pitches for the competition, the top three from each of the three classes were selected by MLS judges and Spergel to present their ideas to senior MLSE executives at BMO Field on November 26, 2019.

The team made up of Christina Polera, Malcolm Manchester, Sabrina Alaimo and Daniela Sabat won the competition for their digital marketing strategy for the Argonauts to connect and expand their millennial audience. As winners, they will each receive interviews at MLSE (who also own the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies), tickets to a private box to watch the Marlies and a swag bag of sports merchandise.