Alumni Newsletter December 2018

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WHAT'S NEW

Last month, we hosted the 2018 AICP (Association for Independent Commercial Producers) Show at The Byrd Theater. The AICP Show celebrates the top work in lm from global advertising agencies and production companies. The show is mostly hosted in larger markets like NYC, LA, and San Francisco; but they bring the show to RVA speci cally for our students. We were especially proud that 13 Brandcenter alums had work in the show for brands like Delta, Adidas, Google, and KFC. And, Brandcenter students (now recent grads) placed in the student category for their Boss Coffee work.

We also launched our Brandcenter Pop-Up Shop just in time for holiday shopping. The online shop showcases art, books, jewelry and other goods made by our alums as well as Brandcenter gear like t-shirts, hoodies, and water bottles. Proceeds from the shop go directly to the Brandcenter’s annual fund, which supports important initiatives like student scholarships, capital improvements, new equipment, among other things to enhance the quality of education for our students. Due to high demand, the shop will remain open until January, but order by Dec. 14th for holiday shipping.

Shop now

This year’s Brand Experiences class wrapped up with some outstanding "live client" presentations for Hilton, Chock Full o’ Nuts, CarLotz, Unidays and FeedMeWell. Outside of class, students also worked on three “cause projects” for non-profit clients at the Virginia War Memorial, CultureWorks, and VisionZero. Clients were extremely impressed with the quality of work and presentation skills.

"Each presentation had so much goodness in it that it almost felt unfair to pick a winner. I was honestly intimidated to be in a room with such talent. It was really energizing to hear all of their thoughts and ideas." – Elizabeth Maksim, CarLotz

Thanks to Elizabeth Maksim (CBM, 2013) and Claiborne Irby (CBM, 2012) who served as client judges for CarLotz and Hilton. If your company, client or nonprofit would like to partner on a sponsored or “cause” project, check out our Partners page page.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

"As the year comes to a close, ‘tis the season of reflection. Having a couple weeks off gives us the space & time to remember the work we’re proudest of, the teamwork we’re proudest of, and all the ridiculous sh*t that’s happened in between. But, the view from second year looks entirely different than the first."

Check out second year Creative Brand Management student Gabi Levi's reflection on how far she's come since wrapping up her first semester at the Brandcenter a year ago.

Read more >

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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Sam Dolphin (Copywriting, 2011) and his creative partners were looking to reintroduce some risk and fun to advertising. So they rented a billboard in Oakland, CA and are using it as a canvas to connect to the community. "In a lot of ways, creativity has turned into a math formula, and we wanted to get back to the fun-unknown-experimentation world that initially inspired us to get in this business.”

Rachel Mercer (XD, 2012), Executive Strategy Director at R/GA, talks about why she graduated early to go to VCU Brandcenter, how she found more opportunities when she wasn't given enough work to do at her internship, what newsletters she reads to stay a step ahead of her clients and build their trust, how building a diverse team brought more value to her agency (and the proof!), and her secret to increasing your perceived value in this We Are Next podcast interview.

See more alumni news

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

Inspired by the senseless repeat cycle of gun violence in our country, Professor Scott Witthaus invented DropLock, a simple, fast barricade system that a xes to a classroom door. Serving as a deterrent, it keeps an active shooter at bay buying precious time for law enforcement to arrive. Scott has worked with teachers, administrators, sheriffs, Navy SEALs, and security experts to re ne the product design, and he collaborated with The Martin Agency on the brand identity. Now, Scott is in the process of nalizing materials and design, and he's hoping to get test products to schools and teachers soon.

Read more > See more news

ALUMNI WORK

Nick Maschmeyer (ST, 2012), Tim Gordon (CW, 2008), Chase Kimball (CW, 2014) and their team at Droga5 created the new “The Truth is Worth It” campaign for the New York Times. The films showcase the hard work and perseverance of New York Times reporters and the rigorous steps they take to uncover major stories. The result is news that directly impacts our culture.

See more >

Jarrod Higgins (XD, 2010), Laura Fallon Wood (AD, 2010) and their team at Wieden + Kennedy in Portland brought two iconic brand icons together for an epic dance scene in this new work for KFC promoting their new chicken and waffles meal.

Watch the spot >

Cecelia Parrish (CBM, 2015), Jerry Hoak (AD, 2005) and their team at The Martin Agency imagined what John F. Kennedy’s Twitter feed would look like in this new work for the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. The new “Words Count” campaign underscores the point that what the President of the United States says matters and puts our current president’s habit in historical context.

See more > View more work

Alumni Salary Survey | Donate | Update your info News to share? Email Ashley Sommardahl at asommardahl@vcu.edu.

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