DMA reveals shortlist for young guns industry award

The DMA has unveiled the finalists for the 2016 Breakthrough Award, launched by the Graeme Robertson Trust and designed to celebrate the “young guns” of the marketing industry.
The awards were founded in memory of Brann creative director Graeme Robertson (pictured below as a young man), who died in 1991. This year’s shortlist was decided from a field that includes entries from 11 different universities around the UK, with students studying anything from advertising and marketing to graphic design and psychology.
The three entries that made it to this year’s shortlist are Alis Hâf Rees and Amy Armstrong-Jeffery from the University of Gloucestershire; Jennifer Grieve and Sam Haynes from Edinburgh College; and Ash Kinsella and Steph Brown from Southampton Solent University.
The award gives students an opportunity to shine in in front of some of the biggest names in marketing, while working on a real creative brief for a real client or business.
This year’s brief was provided by The Economist – which sponsors the award – and invited students to come up with head-turning ideas to boost the publication’s female readership. The ultimate winner will take home a paid internship at a top agency and a £1,000 cash prize, with second place pocketing £500 and third place receiving £250.
Cordell Burke, joint chair of the Graeme Robertson Trust, comments: “We’ve been really impressed by the quality of all the entries this year and the variety of different idea, especially considering the particularly challenging brief that was set. Shortlisting the entries down to just three was not easy and I’m sure finding a winner will be just as hard. We look forward to meeting our shortlisted trio and having their ideas pitched to us in person in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Final judging takes place on December 6 in Central London, just before the DMA Awards ceremony with the final winner being announced on the night.