Left to right: Ben Welsh, Nick Cleeve, Anna Bollinger (DDB) with David Reid (Swinburne), and John Greig (Western Sydney University).
Campaign Brief Agency of Year, DDB Sydney, and their client, McDonald's Australia, have signed up for the 2019 Advertising Capstone Challenge Australia.
Advertising students from Swinburne University of Technology, the University of Queensland and Western Sydney University will compete in the challenge for the opportunity to pitch their advertising campaign solution to a panel of McDonald's Australia and DDB Sydney.
Come pitch time in October, the Advertising Capstone Challenge Australia trophy will be awarded, with students in the winning team also securing coveted advertising internships at DDB Sydney or Melbourne, as well as role-specific mentorships from executives at DDB Australia.
"We are immensely privileged this year to be working on a 'live brief' from McDonalds Australia facilitated by DDB Sydney," says Swinburne lecturer and Advertising Capstone Convenor, David Reid.
"This is a strong endorsement of the quality of our joint advertising programs, and the importance of building authenticity into the curriculum. Ultimately we want to ensure that our students have real world business experiences"
Managing Director of DDB Sydney, Priya Patel says: "We're always looking for new ways to introduce brilliant young talent into our industry and, as such, are thrilled to be hosting this year's Capstone Challenge."
Chief Marketing Officer for McDonald's Australia, Jenni Dill adds: "We're a business that takes enormous pride in providing many young Australians with experience that helps them build the foundations for a great career. It was a no-brainer for us to partner with our creative agency, DDB, for this year's Advertising Capstone Challenge, which also centres on helping the training and development of young people starting out in the workforce."
Challenge history
The Advertising Capstone Challenge was initiated in 2016.
In 2017 the challenge was won by 'One Idea' from Swinburne with a pitch for Slurpee and 7-Eleven via Leo Burnett (Melbourne). 2018's pitch for Dare Iced Coffee and Lion via AJF Partnership (Melbourne) was secured by 'Scope', also from Swinburne.
Authentic, industry-based learning is an important aspect of the partner universities' advertising programs, ensuring that the graduating talent of tomorrow has the requisite knowledge for today's complex business environment.
