Two Edinburgh Napier students have been crowned winners of a prestigious annual award that recognises new creative advertising talent.
MSc Creative Advertising students Jack Brodie and Brodie Childs were recently celebrating when they scooped the DMA Breakthrough Award at a ceremony in London.
Organised by the Data and Marketing Association (DMA) in partnership with the Graeme Robertson Trust (GRT), the award saw sponsors Direct Line Group invite students, interns and non-professionals across the UK to develop a multi-channel campaign that would build awareness, interest and excitement towards Direct Line pet insurance.
After being shortlisted in the final three, Jack and Brodie headed to London to pitch their campaign idea to a panel of GRT associates, as well as the Head of Customer Marketing and Marketing Manager from Direct Line Group.
At the wider DMA Awards evening in London, the Edinburgh Napier pair were crowned the winners of the award, with both now sharing a cash prize of £1,000. They will also be offered a placement at Direct Line Group’s agency, MRM McCann.
Students Jack and Brodie said: “It was an amazing experience that we are both unbelievably grateful for and thoroughly enjoyed.
“We of course have to thank our lecturers – both Andy Archer and Chris Muir provided endless support throughout and none of this would be possible without them.
“We are really excited for the future and to return to London for our internship at MRM McCann.”
On Jack and Brodie’s campaign, Iain Agnew, Head of Customer Marketing at Direct Line Group, said: “This campaign was truly bold, brave and exciting. Not only would this create awareness with our target market of pet owners, but its creativity and unique concepts would appeal to a much wider audience, which is truly impressive.
“We were delighted with how this campaign took our brief and elevated it to a whole new level. They delivered an engaging pitch that really sold their vision to us, so much so that I could see elements of the idea being used in our campaign activity.”
Chris Lonie, a trustee of the GRT, added: “We took a range of things into account, including how well teams communicated their campaign, its strategy and longevity, the fulfilment of the brief, and the creativity and quality of ideas. Direct Line Group aren’t as well known for their pet insurance services as they perhaps are with some of their other key product lines.
“However, it is testament to this campaign that all the judging panel felt it could really captivate interest in their pet insurance with new audiences, due to its ability to spark intrigue and curiosity.
“Jack Brodie and Brodie Childs’s approach was something we had not seen before, and we were delighted with the quality of their supplementary direct mail marketing material – a truly remarkable effort.”
More about the DMA Awards can be found here.
More details on the MSc Creative Advertising course at Edinburgh Napier can be found here.
