King’s students intern with Coca-Cola® after winning NESTEA® marketing competition

A team of creative and marketing savvy King’s University College students are the winners of NESTEA® The Recruit® 2013 competition.

The team Just Juice It! was created by William New, a third-year finance and administration student; Peter Nahirnyj, a third-year Sociology student; and Nick Palmieri, HBA student at the Richard Ivey School of Business (transferred from finance and administration at King’s). The students came up with the name Just Juice It! as a fun and unique way to promote NESTEA® products.

First introduced in 2009, NESTEA® The Recruit® competition consists of several promotional challenges, marketing presentations and interviews.  Contestants complete the challenges by using marketing and team skills to promote its products and engage consumers.

“From the very start our team’s concept or motto was ‘seize your day’.  We tried to brand our team’s motto throughout the competition and really try to show that we were there for the experience, not just to win the competition!” says New.

During the first phase of the competition in February, 2013, over 190 teams from eight universities across Canada met with the program judges to prove why they should be a NESTEA® The Recruit® candidate.

On March 22, 2013, the top eight teams from each participating university spent a weekend in Toronto where they completed challenges that tested their ability to think on their feet, apply business skills and leverage their social networks.  Based on the marketing campaign “The Start of Something Different®” Just Juice It! made every effort to promote “The Start of Something Different®” campaign and represent the NESTEA® brand to its full potential throughout the marketing challenges. Teams were taken to a high-traffic street corner where they had to engage consumers and distribute 100 cans of NESTEA® along with finding unique ways to promote the product.  After two days of putting together their skills and teamwork to the test, the students were given one day to create an integrated challenge for NESTEA® The Recruit® 2014 and present it to a panel of judges.

The winning team says that their student experience at King’s gave them the practical and critical thinking skills required to compete in such a prestigious nation-wide marketing competition.

“Being a part of the King’s community has taught me more than I could have ever imagined.  The opportunities that exist at King’s are extensive and there is so much to learn, not only from your program, but from those who surround you,” says Nahirnyj.

Palmieri couldn’t agree more.  “Completing my first two years at King’s was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I was not only challenged to excel by my professors, but I developed very good relationships with them as well,” says Palmieri.

J.D. Han, Chairperson of Economics, Business and Mathematics at King’s, notes that the College has a long history of students doing well in competitions.

“Our students are very well-prepared for the real world. Instead of focusing just on theory, our department, as a whole, tries to have more relevance to real world and business,” says Han.  “There is diversity in our business program at King’s where we really try to cater to students who are from different walks of life.”

The winning prize for Just Juice It! included a Sheepdogs concert at The London Music Hall on Thursday, April 25.  The team also won paid summer internships with Coca-Cola®, where they have been given a chance to work in advertising with one of the top brands in the world.  In addition, the students are also returning to school in the fall with one-year paid tuition by NESTEA®.

While plans for post-graduation are still up in the air, their involvement with NESTEA® has been a major influence on their future career paths.

New is currently enrolled in an exchange program offered through King’s and plans to study business at the Université Catholique de Lille in Lille, France.  Palmieri is finishing his final year of an HBA degree and will be looking to start his career this fall after the internship at Coca-Cola®. Nahinry is completing his undergraduate degree at King’s while engaging in extra-curricular activities on campus.

“I have always had a strong passion for consumer behaviour and marketing, and hope to pursue a career in this field,” says Nahirnyj.  “I am very excited to see what this summer brings as I am sure this will be one to remember.”

For more information about the competition, please visit www.facebook.com/kucsc?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/NESTEATheRecruit?fref=ts