Our time with School of Thought and Leeds Arts University 2023
The tables turned for our creator team recently, as they got a few hours on the receiving end of a pitch!
That’s because we had the privilege of spending time with budding creatives from School of Thought and Leeds Arts University this year.
Our creator team took some time out to sit on the judging panel and give feedback on two challenging dummy briefs for big name brands:
- SocialChain’s executive creator director Tom Bellamy
- Creator director Stefan Evans
- Our midweight creative copywriter Eve Young
- Midweight creators Georgia Hill, Emma Lyskava and Alicia Pryzsieniak
Embracing the weird, wild and wonderful with School of Thought
This year we’re thrilled to be working with School of Thought as part of an intensive 12-week course to prepare tomorrow’s creatives for agency life.
Each week, students receive a brief from one of the North’s top 12 creative agencies. And each week, students present their response to a panel of judges, letting them flex their creative muscles by learning how to develop and pitch big ideas. It’s also a competition, with the best ‘thinker’ winning a life changing trip to Cannes Lions.
The brief was challenging, but the School of Thought team was more than up to it. Each person delivered something unique, inspiring and – most crucial of all – made us laugh. There was even a bit of method acting involved!
Georgia Hill, SocialChain’s midweight creator and School of Thought alumni, said:
“My face ached from smiling! Week Nine of School Of Thought, and still a wave of enthusiasm walked through our doors at SocialChain, presenting us with hilarious, disruptive and completely unhinged ideas.
“As an alumni myself, it was great to be on the other side of the panel and I’m cheering them on as they face the final stretch.
“It was an invaluable experience for budding creatives that we’re thrilled to be a part of.”
Tackling the 10-minute TikTok with Leeds Arts University
This was the fifth year of our long-running partnership with Leeds Arts University creative advertising students, and we were thrilled to roll out the red carpet once again.
We worked with the cohort across a period of weeks on a challenging dummy brief, which they delivered in groups to our judging panel of creators.
This year it was for Big Yellow Storage Company. The concept? Act like a creator. The format? A 10-minute TikTok.
Here’s what our midweight creative copywriter Eve Young, who facilitated the partnership (and headed up the judging panel!) said:
“Our partnership with Leeds Arts University continues to be a real joy and something we’re extremely proud of. Social briefs aren’t what these creative advertising second and third years are used to, but every year they surprise us with how well they rise to some pretty challenging briefs – this year, a 10-minute TikTok in-feed ad. We look forward to doing it all again next year.”
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