Humber Officially Launches Microsite for OCMC 2011

It’s 30 degrees and sunny all day and while many sit back and bask in the beautiful weather, others are busy working behind the scenes, gearing up for the exciting Fall to come!

Humber College is getting in on the excitement officially launching their OCMC 2011 website that contains all the news and info related to the event coming this November.  As always, the host College takes the responsibility for designing and creating the portal that helps communicate all the needed information to those involved.  This is always an exciting time for OCMC followers as this is when the event-host releases all the juicy details about what they’ve been planning over the past few months.

Here's a quick look at what OCMC 2011 is all about!

This year’s event-theme is be innovative. To play along with the theme, local advertising company Black Cat Advertising, generously created the site to show their support for the OCMC event. The innovative design catches your eye with bright colours and an artistic layout that uses interactivity to reveal information.  A special shout-out goes to Black Cat for their inspiring design, clever layout, creativity, dedication and generosity - THANK YOU!

But that’s not all! The OCMC website is loaded with great content and information about the OCMC event and its celebrated history.  Find out about our event partners and sponsors - you may even find a few things to help you study for your case event.  Some of you may even dive into the archives to see who has won this illustrious event in recent years and who to watch out for this November.  

The OCMC site connects you to everything OCMC, including our new social media pages that help you connect and network with your fellow OCMC colleagues.  So get in on the buzz and find out what you need to know about OCMC 2011 by visiting http://business.humber.ca/ocmc/.

See you in November!   

Behind The Scenes- OCMC 2011

As the end of the spring semester approaches and most Colleges are winding down; there are still many that are actually ramping up... for OCMC 2011.  Seeing as many of us will be taking off for the summer, it felt like a good opportunity to update everyone on what’s going on with OCMC 2011- behind the scenes.  To do so I went to Marketing Coordinator Ellen Sparling for some quick fun facts about what’s in the works for Humber OCMC 2011.     

This year there will be 15 schools participating in the OCMC event, which means there will be over 300 students, 100 volunteer faculty/ coaches and roughly 60 judges hosted at the Marriott near Toronto Pearson Airport.  In order to organize this large group it will be up to Humber to acquire over 200 support staffers to volunteer their efforts across the two-day spectacle. 

Behind the scenes at Humber College a special team of faculty are busy working and meeting with the Marriott discussing lodging arrangements for the event on the 24^th& 25^th of November.  Coordinator Ellen Sparling has turned to her most dedicated staff to help with the intensive planning needed to pull off this year’s event.  Humber is currently contacting and investigating the potential companies that will be involved with this year’s cases.   Further, as the event is funded by sponsorship and participation (fees), Humber is actively looking for sponsors that want to make OCMC 2011 something special for students. 

In the upcoming months Humber will be launching its microsite for the 2011 event that will include all the information specific to OCMC 2011. So stay connected, and stay current with our social media as Humber OCMC 2011 will continue to provide you with all the latest regarding this year’s competition!!

Guest Blogger Considers OCMC

Hey – I am a guest blogger on the OCMC blog and thinking about applying to an OCMC team!

In my first semester at college I kept hearing faculty members and students talking about the ‘OCMC’ but only in passing. I personally thought it had to do with some sort of student debate rather than with marketing.

The day someone explained it to me was when I walked into my marketing class 20 minutes early for a test. I was invited in rather than wait in the hall. The anxiety for the test was written all over my face and I needed to think about something else for at least five minutes. The teacher and I started talking about the marketing program and why I choose it. It all had to do with my work history which started 11 years ago in sales and management. The teacher told me about the OCMC and the more he explained, the more excited I became because of the competitive edge it had to it.

The portion that I was thrilled about was retailing. When I was younger I always said that I would never work retail, it just wasn’t something I would EVER consider. I should have bit my tongue because that’s what I accidently fell into as a career. Retail taught me so much; how to manage a C volume to an AAAA+ volume store, how to create relationships with customers, and how to manage and coach a successful team. I took pride, but it took over 8 months for me to realize my strength with people. In the beginning I would never say hello to anyone as they entered the store because fear took over. As months passed and my confidence grew, I never let anyone come into my store unless they were greeted. I took this into consideration when enrolling into marketing, it was new and again fear took over. But as tests and projects were completed, I realized I had found my new passion.

So when the teacher told me about this competition with all the colleges, I was excited but at the same time hesitant - the fear was talking over once again. I began to Google-search the event to see what would come up and I was so excited to see the fun of Quiz Bowl and the interviews of people who had participated in the presentations. Everyone was extremely excited and only had something positive to say. They confirmed what I thought from the beginning - this is a onetime deal for me and if I passed it up then I would only regret it. The fear of trying and failing is what tends to push a lot of people away. So I told myself, ‘Hey, at least you tried,’ and who knows where this may take me.

I hear participating in the event can help build your skills and resume - sometimes students participating in the individual events have ended up with a job. This is a perfect way to start down the road to a successful career in marketing. The training would help sharpen my skills so the question here is, “If you don’t try, then how will you ever know?” So I suggest to everyone who is considering the OCMC, to go out and try it - what is there to lose except to build on the strengths that you already possess?

M.C.