University students face off for NESTEA® The Recruit®

- Chance to win tuition, paid internship

TORONTO, March 20, 2012 /CNW/ - University students know that competition in today's job market is fierce.  To prove they have what it takes, students from eight universities across the nation are going head to head in the hopes of becoming the next NESTEA® The Recruit®, winning a full year's tuition* and a paid summer internship at Coca-Cola Ltd*.  During this unique program, participants gain valuable hands-on experience and learn relevant marketing skills by participating in three business challenges.

"NESTEA® is about The Start of Something Different and that is exactly what we want to offer students through NESTEA® The Recruit® - the chance to see first-hand what it's like working in a real business environment and perhaps start them on a career path," said Helen Gushue, Senior Marketing Manager, NESTEA.  "These students have demonstrated a keen sense for business and an incredible amount of creativity, passion and professionalism - we have been very impressed."

Challenge one and two were completed with overwhelming success, with the third and final challenge taking place next week in Toronto.  Over two days, March 23rd and 24th, in the heart of Toronto at Yonge and Dundas Square, the final teams from each university will demonstrate their capabilities in the most difficult challenge to-date. Building an inanimate object using only NESTEA® cans, teams will not only have to construct a free standing masterpiece, but deliver a final presentation to the NESTEA® team and participate in an interview with senior executives from Coca-Cola Ltd., including the NESTEA® management team.

For additional information and to follow all NESTEA® The Recruit® action, visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NESTEAtheRecruit.  Students and the general public have the opportunity to follow the progress of their favourite teams throughout the contest on Facebook and by voting for their favourite team, fans can be entered in a draw for one of many cash prizes and free tuition.

Students participating from the following universities:

• University of British Columbia
• University of Alberta
• University of Toronto
• University of Western Ontario
• Queen's University
• Wilfrid Laurier University
• Carleton University
• McGill University

*Each student from the winning team will be awarded a maximum of $7,500 towards one year's tuition and the opportunity to intern at Coca-Cola Ltd. or one of their agency partners.

About NESTEA® The Recruit®

Executing in eight universities across Canada over the course of the fall and winter semesters, participants gain unique hands-on experience and learn relevant marketing skills across numerous disciplines including public relations, promotional marketing, experiential marketing, creative concept development, and ever-important social media marketing.

Teams of three auditioned for coveted spots at each of the eight selected universities and the chosen teams face three levels of elimination-style marketing and business challenges.

About Beverage Partners Worldwide

Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW) is a joint venture between Nestlé S.A. and The Coca-Cola Company.  BPW operates autonomously while drawing on the capabilities of Nestlé and The Coca-Cola Company. It is a global business unit with cross-functional teams located in Atlanta, GA; Zurich, Switzerland; and Bangkok, Thailand.  The Americas business unit markets NESTEA® ready-to-drink iced teas.

In Canada, BPW products are marketed and distributed by Coca-Cola Canada.  Coca-Cola in Canada operates in all ten provinces employing 6,300 people in more than 50 facilities, including seven production facilities across Canada.  We offer a wide variety of non-alcoholic brands, many of which come in no-calorie and low-calorie options.  These include three of Canada's top nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Sprite. In addition to being the largest juice and juice drink company with Minute Maid, Five Alive and Fruitopia, Coca-Cola Canada also markets DASANI, PowerAde, vitaminwater® and other cold beverages. Coca-Cola in Canada is represented by Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada and Coca-Cola Ltd. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at www.livepositively.ca or www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

Stephanie Barber
Harbinger Communications
[email protected]
416-960-5100 ext. 251