May 2020
Despite a global pandemic, our students came through with flying colours this year for several clients. Here’s what World Vision had to say about the plans they received:
Hi Kim
I’ve been meaning to send you a thank you email for inviting World Vision to participate in the integrated communications project at Conestoga. I was impressed with the students’ presentations, I could tell they had all done deep research into our organization and thoughtfully put together their presentations. I honestly think there is something from each student’s plan that can be useful to our organization, it was refreshing to hear ideas from a target audience that we are trying to engage more with!
Please compliment them on their work. It was a pleasure to participate.
Thanks,
Marie
Marie Cook, Manager, Public Relations and Social Media, World Vision Canada, Mississauga, Ontario
May 2019
Sometimes a match is so good, it is delightful to hear the feedback. This is from the team at AIM, Adults in Motion, Kitchener.
The TEAM was incredibly impressed with Han’s punctuality, professionalism, communications, knowledge, confidence and personability. Her ability to communicate clearly, answer questions, clarify questions, and speak appropriately was excellent.
She absorbed information about AIM through observation, good listening skills, asking appropriate questions, and doing good research.
Her plan was well organized, researched, and clear. It included great detail and instruction. Han provided us with the tools to take action, understand where improvement was needed, and where our strengths were. We will use the work to execute a number of marketing events.
I think Han would make an excellent addition to any team in a marketing position.
Han blended into our unique environment incredibly well. She not only has excellent marketing knowledge and skill, but also is a compassionate, sensitive, observant, and caring individual. We hope to be able to work with Han again and wish her the best of luck.
From Shelley Murphy, Director of AIM, Adults In Motion
May 2019
Another satisfied employer! CCHIM is the Canadian College of Health Information Management.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to work with Maggie! She has provided us with an excellent IMC Plan that has realistic suggestions that we will work towards implementing.
Sincerely, Jessica
Jessica MacDougall, MHI, CHIM, Director, Accreditation & Certification
May 2019
The IMC program underwent a program review last year and will relaunch in September 2019 as Integrated Communications. The biggest change is a 4-month paid co-op. Another employer had this to day:
Nicole mentioned that the program will changes from a 2-week internship to a co-op and I think that is fantastic because we would have loved to have had her on the team for longer. I think the program did an exceptional job preparing her for the report and I would definitely hire another Conestoga intern in the future.
Alyana Versolatto (She/Her)
Campus Marketing Lead
VELOCITY
May 2019
Karen is one of those students who has a lot of surprises up her sleeve. Her final capstone employer had this to say:
I received the project today, presented by Karen and I was blown away. This was an exceptionally well-done plan. She put a heck of a lot of time and effort into it and I would give her the highest rating in all categories as it was so professional.
Jock Lowndes, True North Merchant Consulting
May 2019
Desi Fatkin, owner of The Duke of Wellington in Waterloo had this to say about the group of students who each individually created a plan for the popular British pub.
They were all wonderful! I was thrilled with their enthusiasm and clear understanding of what I was looking for. All 4 of the students did an excellent job, and were very helpful to my business.
I can’t thank you enough for sending these exceptional people to help me out! All of them put a lot of effort into the assignment and as I mentioned before, Sharooqta went way above my expectations, offering contact information for different programs and reaching out to other areas of study to see if we could benefit from other programs. Sharooqta and Karman also offered suggestions for re-branding The Duke. The options were completely opposite from each other, but both very strong and doable ideas.
I am hoping to hire one of the students to take care of all of my social media needs for the future, as soon as they are available. I have two other pubs and can see this opportunity turning into full time employment.
Thank you again for all of your help! I hope that all of your students are as great as the ones you sent to me!
Cheers, Desi (Fatkin)
March 2017
From the Waterloo Regional Mental Health Work Group, a 2016-2017 IMC team client.
On behalf of the Waterloo Region Mental Health Work Group, I wanted to offer our thanks and congratulations to the two teams of students who helped develop Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plans for us. Both teams attended client meetings and asked very thoughtful questions, which helped the group think critically about our target audience for implementing the 5 Ways to Wellbeing.
One team was composed of Cynthia Khalil, Brittany McGourlay and Leeza Shabekova. The other was Rebecca Grassing, Madison Holman and Krystal Forget. Both teams were very professional and organized, which made working with them easy and not time-consuming as a client. The IMC Plans presented to us in December 2016 were very detailed and rich with valuable ideas, suggestions for roles and responsibilities, draft messaging, realistic targets, timelines and costs. They brought several ideas to life by providing us samples of collateral produced by the advertising class.
In summary, we were impressed with the quality of their work; both teams were creative and we welcomed the fresh perspectives they offered. Our Work Group appreciated the quality of their products and would consider working with them again.
Tom Moull- On behalf of the Waterloo Region Mental Health Work Group
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March 2016
From the Avocado Co-op, a 2015-2016 IMC team client.
Avocado Group with Albert O’Connor (far right)
The team was professional and easy to work with and had a good balance of asking key questions and working independently. The resulting report and presentation was very interesting and enabled us to look at our marketing approach in a new way. The demographic and marketing research information was insightful and we plan to use aspects of the social media strategy when we are ready to grow.
February 2016
From Cavern of Dreams Publishing, a 2015-2016 IMC team client.
Cavern of Dreams Publishing applied to participate in the IMC program in the fall after being referred by a past student of the program. We were very pleased with the ease of application and the friendly, professional manner in which we were treated by the program co-ordinator, Kim.
The students assigned to work with our company were amazing; they were professional, friendly, and knowledgeable. They listened carefully to us about our concerns, strategies, and future goals for our company, and were clear and concise in how they wished to proceed with our rebranding. They took our input into consideration and worked with our staff to bring our joint vision for Cavern of Dreams Publishing to life. We met consistently over the course of the project, and they were always punctual and respectful of our time.
Cavern of Dreams Team
We were invited to the school for their presentation of our new marketing plan and we were impressed there again by the professionalism and care they took with their presentation. The marketing plan they designed exceeded out highest expectations; it was detailed, easy to read, and full of helpful information to execute and implement their strategies. It has become Cavern of Dreams Publishing’s marketing bible!
Participation in the IMC program was a fabulous decision; from start to finish the program and students were easy to work with and informative, and have brought a greater understanding of marketing and what it means to Cavern of Dreams Publishing. We would highly recommend the IMC program to other businesses looking to rebrand or for assistance in any marketing needs.
Bethany Jamieson-Mansour, Editor in Chief, Cavern of Dreams Publishing
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February 2016
From Doors Open Waterloo Region, a 2015-2016 IMC team client.
Doors Open Waterloo Region is an annual open-house celebration of architecture and heritage that takes place on the third Saturday of each year. In late 2015 Doors Open Waterloo Region was pleased to work with a team of IMC students to think through new marketing and promotional opportunities.
Doors Open Waterloo Region
The IMC students were well-organized, informed and engaged, and did a great job of listening to the needs of Doors Open.
As an IMC Team Client we were also able to access the advertising students’ ideas and talent.
We know these students have bright futures ahead of them.
Jane Snyder & Karl Kessler, Doors Open Waterloo Region
Saturday, September 17/18 most sites open 10-5
www.facebook.com/pages/Doors-Open-Waterloo-Region/82880538162
www.twitter.com/DoorsOpenWR @DoorsOpenWR
: www.flickr.com/groups/dowr
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July 2015
The Waterloo Region Record hosted an IMC student on a practicum placement in the winter of 2015.
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May 2015
Westmount Signs and Printing were the subject of an IMC team project in the fall 2014 semester.
“We were very impressed with the team of students from Conestoga College who created an IMC plan for us. Their dedication, knowledge of marketing and final report presentation was first class. We have implemented many of the suggestions and highly recommend this program to other businesses.”
Simon Dowrick, Director, Sales & Marketing, Westmount Signs & Printing
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April 2014
Sandvine – Lisa Soares is a Marketing Specialist at Sandvine who worked with an IMC student on a very complex marketing project. She wrote us:
I’ve attached Emily Cunha’s evaluation for her IMC Campaign that she wrapped up at Sandvine last week. She was a great addition to our team and showed a lot of initiative that impressed our marketing manager.
Her report and presentation to the team was very well done and we will be implementing her suggestions at Sandvine in the coming months. One part of her report that really impressed me was how Emily was able to grasp a very technical topic and teach us.
Emily made an impression on our team and will be missed! She was a great representative of the IMC program at Conestoga and the type of students this college shapes – creative, self-starters, with a lot of initiative to made a difference! – Lisa Soares
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Lauren Dugan Social Media Consulting worked with two IMC students between January and April, 2014. She wrote us:
The Conestoga College IMC Practicum was a pleasure from beginning to end. As a small business owner, I found working with students (Leanne Sinclair and Heather Hood) to be no different in terms of their professionalism than working with freelancers and part-time staff in the past. Their energy, creative ideas and hard work was a boon to my business, and the IMC plans that they delivered were top notch – both myself and one of my clients are very excited to be implementing the plans over the next several months. – Lauren Dugan
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August 2013
Neruda Productions, a community based not-for-profit organization that connects the diverse cultures in the region through the arts, took on a practicum placement during the winter 2013 semester:
When starting the placement with your student Paula Caxaj-Ruis, my expectations were not very high. I knew we could get some type of support, but mostly I thought it would be a lot of work on our end, and that was fine because I really enjoy working with young people interested in the arts.
The result was unexpected and it blew me away. What came out of this placement not only was a very well researched document for our Marketing but one that could sync with our business plan and could lead us on a new path.
We have implemented some of the recommendations already such as the re-branding of our name from Neruda Productions to Neruda Arts, we changed our Twitter and Facebook pages and we are getting more interactions than before. We bought a large banner that we used for our summer festival and we are working on our fall festival strategies right now.
I was so impressed with the quality of work presented by Paula that I recommended her to my colleagues at the Multicultutal Theatre Space, MT Space, and that resulted in a part time job for the summer.
Thank you very much and I look forward to working with more Conestoga College students in the future. – Isabel Cisterna, Artistic Director
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June 2013
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June 2013
The City of Kitchener’s Economic Development Office hosted one of the program’s students on a practicum placement from January through April 2013:
“This past year, we had the privilege of providing a practicum placement for a student in the Integrated marketing Communications program at Conestoga College. The placement was for one day per week for a 4 month period. Katy Boose was very dedicated, hard-working and pleasant, and during that period of time, produced an Integrated Marketing Plan for our organization, as well as two collateral marketing pieces for sponsorships and advertising opportunities. This was coordinated with students from the Graphic Design program at Conestoga College. We were very pleased with the results of this student practicum placement and would definitely recommend the experience to others.” – Valerie Bradford, Business Development Officer, City of Kitchener
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April 2013
(Solar City Co-operative was a team client in the fall of 2012. Integrated Marketing Communications students created a plan for the Board)
The IMC report generated for the Solar City Co-operative provided a great deal of information and proposed a number of very insightful ideas. The team worked very hard, and was quite thorough in creating the report. They were challenged with this unique business structure/opportunity, and were able to successfully apply their rigor to develop a recommended marketing plan for us.
Patrick Carr, Board member
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Elmira Pet Products
(Elmira Pet Products was a team client in the fall of 2012. Integrated Marketing Communications students created a plan for the company.)
Elmira Pet Products, located in Elmira, Ontario, is the largest Canadian Private Label dry pet food manufacturer in Canada. We are a privately owned company passionate about delivering unique solutions to drive growth for global partners. Nutram Pet Products, a division of Elmira Pet, offers consumers a full range of premium dog and cat food found in over 25 countries.
Conestoga College has a strong reputation for good reason. A very positive experience with a coop student prompted us to investigate the Integrated Marketing Communications program.
In the fall of 2012 we challenged a team of IMC students to develop an encompassing plan to drive awareness and growth for a segment of our business. Conestoga College Faculty was very clear on the project scope and expectations for all stakeholders. From the first meeting the students came prepared and ready to work. Their questions were thought provoking and targeted.
The final plan included the results of their research, execution tactics, a communications strategy and budgets. We are pleased to say that we were able to action on a number of their recommendations with great success. This included cementing a strong unique business proposition, fully revamping our website, attending a major trade show and implementing an employee survey program.
In the spirit of our partnership with Conestoga College we were able to offer IMC students a genuine opportunity to learn and have an impact on our business. We supported them with time and information. We were rewarded with an engaged team of students willing to work hard, and an IMC plan that truly has impact.
Jo Barr, Marketing Manager, Elmira Pet Products
Life Coop
(Life Coop was a team client in the fall of 2012. Integrated Marketing Communications students created a plan for the company.)
On behalf of the directors and members of LIFE Co-op, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the College, the Integrated Marketing Communications program, and the team that developed an IMC plan for our St. Agatha Wind Project.
This project, and the co-op’s marketing needs, presented a clear challenge, and the team acted with professionalism, astuteness, and sound judgment in researching and completing the project. The team was very efficient in their use of our (“the client’s”) time, which was much appreciated, and the resulting product built substantially on the information we provided.
The Board finds the resulting plan well thought out and full of useful ideas. It offers considerable direction to the co-op’s marketing efforts, as well as a clearer understanding of some of the challenges we face, and tools that will help us to address those challenges, including budget considerations and interesting imagery ideas. The Co-op’s ongoing marketing efforts will be substantially informed by the plan, which we hope to begin implementing over the next few months.
We appreciate the College’s contribution to our community renewable energy initiative, and will look forward to further opportunities to work together in future.
Rob Yost, President, Local Initiative for Future Energy Co-operative
Practicum Placement Testimonials
During the winter semester of 2012, Integrated Marketing Communications students worked on a variety of practicum placements where they were required to create an integrated marketing communications plan for their employer.
“Overall it was a great experience and (our student) made a significant contribution to our efforts to re-brand ourselves and better tell our story. “
– Tania DelMatto, M.ES., Director, My Sustainable Canada, Kitchener http://www.mysustainablecanada.org/
“The sales team offered the student hands-on experience while the student brought a fresh outlook, youthful exuberance and enthusiasm. (The student) presented a marketing plan for one of our small pet food products which was enthusiastically received by our Sales Team.”
– Donna Fulcher, Sales Rep, Martin Mills Inc. http://www.martinmills.com/
“I recently used an Integrated Marketing Communications student from Conestoga College to help prepare for the launch of a new online news site. Starting from a ‘clean sheet of paper’, she prepared and acted on a practical, thoughtful and effective marketing plan. She was a great communicator, took initiative, and got results —what more could anyone ask for?”
– Bob Rushby, founder, The Accelerator Gazette http://www.acceleratorgazette.com/
“Conestoga’s placement program is a great opportunity to work with up and coming minds and get a fresh perspective of added value in your business!”
– Anil Mehta, Co-founder, Silicon W, Kitchener. http://www.siliconw.com/
“This has been a positive experience for us – we have been pleased to partner with Conestoga on this placement.”
– Steven Karcher, Executive Director, Drayton Entertainment http://draytonentertainment.com/theatre_information/draytonfestivaltheatre/
Integrated Communications 