Category: News

The European Institute for Commercial Communications Education (edcom) and the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) are excited to announce the finalists of the 15th annual advertising student competition, Ad Venture, in collaboration with LEGO.

Ad Venture is the first Pan-European competition that offers the opportunity to more than 300 comms students from all over Europe, and beyond, to work on real-life cases provided by real clients. To make it even more interesting, the winning team is awarded tickets for the Cannes Lions Festival.

The LEGO Group is a Danish toy company that has been creating and manufacturing LEGO construction toys since 1932. Their iconic plastic bricks have become a household name and a staple of childhood playtime around the world. The company’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through creative play and learning.

In a digital society, where paper is outdated and (almost) all pieces of information pass through a screen, LEGO challenged the students to revive their renowned catalogue and unleash its creative power. How the catalogue can be redesigned? What can make it appealing again to kids?

The finalists of the 2022-2023 edition

Our expert jury of academics and industry representatives has spoken. Out of 80 teams that entered the competition, only 11 made it to the final stage of the competition. Here is the full list of finalists in alphabetical order:

AdHeros, University of Bucharest, Romania

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First Glass On Me, University of Bucharest, Romania

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Foil’, Ecole Supérieure de Publicité (Bordeaux), France

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Highlight, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Belgium

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JIGSAW Creative, Bournemouth University, The UK

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LIONPULSE, Sup de Pub Paris, France

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Mémaux, Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas, France

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Palm Creative Agency, Université Paris-Panthéon Assas, France

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The ATMS, University of the Arts London, The UK

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The Foreseers, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria

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WinWin Agency, Ecole Supérieure de Publicité (Paris), France

What is happening next?
The 11 teams have time until 24 April to create a video to pitch their campaign and prepare to make their case before our jury during the online session happening on 16 May. The winners will be announced on 17 May.

Good luck to our finalists and may the best team win!

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For more information, please contact Kasia Gluszak, Project Manager at kasia.gluszak@eaca.eu.

Notes to Editors

About Ad Venture Student Competition

Organised by the European Institute for Commercial Communications Education (edcom) and the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA), Ad Venture is the first Pan-European competition that gives students the opportunity to experience what it is like to work in advertising by creating their own campaign in response to a brief from a real client.

About edcom

edcom is the European Institute for Commercial Communications Education. It strives to promote excellence in commercial communications education and research and to further exchanges between the European commercial communications sector and academic partners. Edcom was founded by EACA together with the founding academic partners in 2007. Find us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About EACA

The European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) represents more than 2 500 communications agencies and agency associations from nearly 30 European countries that directly employ more than 120 000 people. EACA members include advertising, media, digital, branding and PR agencies. EACA works closely with EU institutions to ensure freedom to advertise responsibly and creatively. For more information, visit www.eaca.eu. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn.

The European Institute for Commercial Communications Education (edcom) and the European Association of Communications Agencies – EACA, with the support of the World Advertising Research Center (WARC), have released “The advertising industry: should I stay or should I go?” White Paper. The initiative is based on the results of the surveys with the same name, aimed at final-year marketing communications students and industry recruiters.

The first questionnaire measured the appetite for pursuing a career in a creative, media or digital agency of 200 European students and enquired about their lived experiences during their university years. Simultaneously, the other survey addressed 200 European recruiters in the agencies. It focused on revealing those skills that are in demand the most and identifying where the difference between the two groups’ expectations lies.

The subsequent White Paper, co-authored by Paul Springer, former edcom President and Dean of Academic Strategy at the University of Arts London, and Laura Vingan, Communications Manager at EACA, further explored and illustrated the common themes that arose from the surveyees’ replies. These new and actionable insights will help bridge the gap between the freshly-graduates and the companies looking to hire them, as well as open the door to more research in the area of talent.

“The timing of this White Paper makes the findings even more intriguing: post-pandemic and during a global economic crisis, the survey of students and recruiters from across Europe surfaces the overlapping circumstances and current issues that impact both employers and educators. These include the changing nature of advertising work, the rise of #WFH and health & wellbeing”, said Paul Springer.

“If you asked our members what are the main pain points within their companies or national associations, you would hear that recruiting and retaining people is at the forefront”, added Laura Vingan. “Understanding why this happened and how come, after investing years and resources in their communications studies, students are considering other paths is what we wanted to uncover. This White Paper answers questions some recruiters did not know they had in the first place.”

“This first-ever done study amongst recruiters and students also puts the spotlight on the advertising industry as a place where people can have an impact on the world and enjoy a creative and flexible career. In the talent war we’ve all been facing, it is vital that we steadily advocate these benefits to the newer generations who have begun to question their career choices more and more. There is no other industry where the power of ideas can influence and have a positive impact, at the same time, on brands, business agendas, citizens and consumer behaviours”, continued Christian de la Villehuchet, Global Chief Integration Officer at Havas and President of EACA.

Catherine Driscoll, Commissioning Editor EMEA, WARC, said: “Finding and retaining diverse new talent is a priority for all sectors of the advertising industry. This research sheds light on the expectations and motivations of Gen Z graduates and will be invaluable in enabling agencies to connect with the next generation of advertising talent.”

We are glad to present this year’s winners of the edcom Graduation Competition, Jessie and Rebecca, that with their outstanding thesis were awarded first place, respectively in the Bachelor and Master category. Thanks to their effort, both will receive a cash prize of 400 euros.

With the aim of promoting excellence in education in commercial communication and research, the edcom Graduation competition rewards the best graduation works in advertising and commercial communication among students from the edcom member schools. The competition is open to both Bachelor and Master students, providing a great opportunity to stand out and receive a cash prize. 

Do you want to know more about the competition, the entry requirements, and the Judging Criteria? Take a look at the ‘edcom Graduation competition’ page.  

The 2023 Winners 

Following 2 rounds of rigorous judging, Jessie van Balkom, from the Breda University of Applied Science, was awarded the first prize in the Bachelor category. Her outstanding work ‘The influence of style and motivation on the consumption of videos on the intranet of Stedin’ was recognized as the best bachelor thesis of the competition. Following the great achievement, Jessie told us ‘When I wrote my bachelor’s I never thought about using it for a competition.[] But to have my work recognized and appreciated on an international level in the edcom Graduation Competition is truly amazing.’ 

In the Master Category, Rebecca Daul, from the FH Wien, won the first prize with her exceptional thesis ‘The Influence of Digital Storytelling on the Customer Journey for Vacation Trips of the Austrian Generation Y.’ We are proud to share a few words from her ‘I look back at the time of writing my master thesis as a challenging but rewarding time. It was oddly satisfying to watch the raw pieces of information I gathered and the research I conducted fit together into one paper.[] being first rewarded by my university by nominating me and also on a European level by edcom Graduation Competition is a great honor and proves me that hard work always pays off.’ 

Their works are available on the edcom website, where you can access the papers’ summaries and posters.

For further information on the Graduation Competition and/or the edcom institute, please contact Kasia Gluszak, Project Manager at kasia.gluszak@eaca.eu. 

About edcom 

edcom (The European Institute for Commercial Communications Education) strives to promote excellence in commercial communications education and research. Its aim is to establish cooperation between academia and industry professionals, as well as facilitate cross-border education and exchange of students. edcom is comprised of 43 university members across 14 countries, that meet bi-annually to share the best practices during members’ meetings and networking dinners. edcom also organizes competitions for students, such as Ad Venture and Graduation Competition. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

#WeAreEdcom