VBAT x D&AD NEW BLOOD SAFARI
Finding tomorrow’s creative superstars
By Barnaby Maclaine
Creative at VBAT
New blood is a series of world class programmes for new creatives. They aim to reach young creatives from as far and wide as possible to offer inspiration, learning and genuine breaks on and into the industry. VBAT were invited to participate by holding a creative workshop at the New Blood Festival and present a company pitch presentation to the New Blood Academy.
D&AD New Blood identifies, showcases and nurtures tomorrows creative superstars.
The D&AD New Blood Festival is held annually in and around the Truman Brewery in east London. Joining me on this creative adventure was my colleague and friend Anthony Ford. Our participation at New Blood was spread over 2 days which also gave us some time to see the new blood show and meet some of the students.
WORKSHOP
The Canvas Café was the location for our idea-generation workshop, using high energy and engaging brainstorm techniques we whisked our participants along a creative journey. For the workshop we decided to partner with The Ocean Cleanup, with who VBAT are teaming up. The Ocean Cleanup in a non-profit organisation who are initiating the largest ocean cleanup in history. The challenge was to create an activation to help fundraising for this non-profit organisation. Through a series of fun, interactive brainstorming methods we concluded the session with some strong activation concepts for The Ocean Cleanup.
NEW BLOOD SHOW
At the Truman Brewery was the exhibition for the New Blood participants. University led booths showcased their best students works. A great place to soak up a myriad of ideas, solutions and projects with the designers on-hand to passionately tell their story. The quality of work was phenomenal and left us very excited to see the next generation of talent come through.
NEW BLOOD ACADEMY PITCH
The top 50 New Blood winners are then invited to join a two week boot camp where they will learn, gain industry experience and take on live creative briefs. As a mentor agency for the academy VBAT had the opportunity to pitch ourselves to the academy along with some fellow WPP agencies.
With a 10 minute time limit and 7 agencies all offering work experience positions , the stakes were high. We decided to showcase the strong creative culture at VBAT, demonstrating that creativity is born from an inspired and curious mind. To connect on a personal level we told the story of Mel, our previous intern, who was an academy winner from last year.
If you are reading this as a student or someone who is getting into design then I cannot recommend the D&AD New Blood enough. They truly do help to create tomorrow’s creative superstars. It’s a fantastic event to be involved with and a real journey for its participants. As a design professional it was privilege to be part of. To share our insights, experience and expertise was an absolute honour. The evolution of our industry needs to be constant and the exchange between the new and the old is the catalyst. D&AD are doing a great job helping to bring these 2 parties together and by judging what we saw and experienced last week the future is looking bright.
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written by Barnaby Maclaine
Creative at VBAT
edited by Connie Fluhme
PR at VBAT
