5 Unconventional Examples of Brands Connecting With Creatives in 2019
As a marketing executive, much of my time goes towards management activities, but I also like to think of myself as a member of the creative class, and I’ve done a good amount of thinking about what motivates creatives. There’s something special about a little competition to inspire creatives and makers to do our best work.
We might pretend we’re exempt, but we take pride in our creations and aren’t immune to the emotional boost that results from having our work celebrated. What’s more, “hungrier” creatives who are early in their careers can benefit from the visibility and publicity that contests and similar promotions can attract.
Unlike other publicity activities, such as networking, writing about your craft, or public speaking, creative contests allow participants to do what we do best. It’s based on doing the work we’re good at, instead of leaving our comfort zones to talk about our craft. It could be the perfect activity for introverted creatives looking to get noticed.
And brands need creatives, whether for product design, engineering, marketing, or any other design-driven area of the business. But trust me — meeting at networking events or viewing a static LinkedIn resume does not give corporate types the best view of a maker’s work.
All of this combined makes topics like design, photography and engineering excellent subjects for brand-sponsored creative competitions. It lets sponsoring brands connect to the types of talent they’re looking for, whether for job recruiting, creative direction or industry advocacy.
Not convinced that a contest or “open call” can serve your needs? Here are a few examples of how brands have hosted or sponsored competitions to connect with different types of talent in recent months that I found especially compelling.
1. Penguin Random House Student Design Award
First up, let’s take a look at Penguin Random House UK and their annual Student Design Award. The iconic book publisher hosts this contest in several different categories each year, and it’s a great way to for the brand to connect with aspiring designers for job opportunities while attracting media buzz.
The rigid corporate hiring process isn’t that well suited to creative work like book cover design, and this is a creative way around that.
In the competition, design students respond to a real creative brief for an existing book in the genre of their choice. This year’s entrants can choose between an Adult Fiction, Adult Non-Fiction, and Children’s book selections. Each contest prompt is a creative brief presented just as it would appear on the job, with book specifications and marketing considerations included.
Not only does this contest give participating students an idea of what work looks like “in the real world” and on the job, the first place winner receives a paid work placement that lasts four weeks. It’s a great way for students to see what the design process really looks like in the book publishing industry.
2. Nikon Photo Contest
Next, we have Nikon’s long-standing photo contest, a competition they’ve been holding since 1969. An activity and opportunity for both amateur and professional photographers, it’s had to overestimate the extent to which photography has evolved over the contest’s 50-year lifespan.
The contest offers support for photographers regardless of equipment or experience. Not only do winners receive Nikon equipment to further their photography skills, they’re also showcased by Nikon, a huge brand that’s widely respected in its industry.
While being exhibited in Nikon-sponsored venues is enough of a credibility boost for any rising talent, as the contest has adapted to modern photography it’s also offered features on the contest’s social channels.
3. Woolmark Performance Challenge
Let’s now look at another student-focused talent competition, this one a global event with different dynamics from the Penguin Random House example. The Woolmark Performance Challenge by The Woolmark Company in partnership with Adidas encourages students to innovate athletic apparel design using wool.
This challenge is a massive and international effort. In 2018, 500 students from 58 countries participated. It’s also not just a one-off competition, as the challenge organization provides educational and inspiration support to students and participants throughout the development process.
Given its scale, technology is a huge enabler of its reach. Both with the participants on campuses and the global panel of judges, they use webinars to make the whole thing more interactive, engaging and organized.
“The ability to see everyone, to be able to pull up presentations, share screens and so forth has met all of our requirements,” said Salina Janzan, the global project manager of the Woolmark Performance Challenge. “It’s far superior to a conference call or sending emails back and forth.” (Full disclosure: the webinar component was organized in partnership with ClickMeeting, the company I work for.)
4. Houstex 3D Printing Student Competition
So are these talent competitions primarily effective when attempting to spice up an old industry like apparel, books or photography? Not at all, and this next example proves it. Houstex is a Texas technology exhibition hosted by SME, and the convention hosts a 3D printing competition to attract and showcase students.
The competition encourages aspiring engineers to explore creating practical designs using recycled materials. It also offers travel reimbursement to attend this leading industry conference, as well as a student membership to their organization, to all participants. This year’s winning design, announced in February, was an innovative branched fin design out of the University of Waterloo for a “heat sink” that absorbs and disperses heat from central processing units (CPUs).
Of course, first and second place winners went home with actual 3D printers. The competition creates new interest in the field and access to those who otherwise might not be able to pursue it.
5. Bicycle Brand Contest
Finally, the German Design Council’s Bicycle Brand Contest is another example of an industry using competition to encourage innovation. It doesn’t only look at bicycles themselves but the whole industry around them, including entry categories for new technologies, apparel and accessories.
Winners receive a full PR and marketing campaign built around their designs. They’re featured in multi-page articles in an industry publication, they’re promoted on the trade organization’s website, and they receive a full publicity package.
For a creator with an innovative design looking for extra attention to attract more investors or get the resources to take it off the ground, this is an opportunity to put quite a large spotlight on the product, in a room full of their own industry.
Compete to innovate
Collaboration over competition is a great motto to live by, but sometimes a little competition is exactly the push creatives need. Talent contests like those above can fan already burning flames as well as spark new ones, as well as connect creatives with brands that want to work with them. Expect to see more of them and think about what possibilities that opens up for yourself.
