Young guns told to ditch Cannes to go to Margate event

The North Coast of Kent might be a million miles from the Côte d’Azur – figuratively, if not literally – but for budding wannabe creatives it could just be the place to start a successful career in advertising and marketing, according to the organisers of this year’s Creative Circle Awards and the UK Creative Festival.

The two-day festival at Dreamland Margate is being held next week on July 10 and 11 and is said to be home to the longest-running creative awards show and one of the most highly regarded accolades in the creative industry.

Sparks EMEA, which has just signed up as one of the key sponsors of the event, will host a careers workshop for 14- to 17-year- olds which will explore how to build a brand experience by breaking down the steps to creating an identity and event.

The agency will then host the Young Creative Awards winners’ reception on Thursday July 11 and is also the headline sponsor of the Events and Experiential category at the Creative Circle awards.

Having recently unveiled its new EMEA network to further strengthen its global offering during the Cannes Lions 2024, Sparks is aiming to establish the agency as a leader in corporate events, corporate exhibits and brand experience. Its clients include Microsoft, Salesforce, Meta, Figma, Amazon AWS, Celonis, Workday, AON, Coupa, Prologis and Siemens.

Sparks executive creative director EMEA Trin Bharij-Basra said: “After recently launching our creative talent initiative, Unbounded, which connects us with local schools and colleges to ignite the creative spark for the next generation of talent, the Creative Circle Awards is the perfect opportunity to continue our support for young creatives.

“The event is renowned within the creative industry and we look forward to celebrating the brilliant, emerging young talent.”

Creative Circle chief executive Jeremy Green added: “The UK Creative Festival, Careers Fair, and Creative Circle Awards are growing year upon year. Thanks to the support of the UK’s creative industry, we are breaking down barriers to entry and supporting young creatives on their career journey. This year promises to be our best yet.”

For more information, visit the UK Creative Festival website>