Jul 13 2007 | Pitches

Student achieves third win in OpenAdTalent contest

This week the OpenAdTalent awards saw a student achieve a record amount of wins in the competition. Mark Holland won first place and receives a prize of 250 GBP for a third time in the contest.

The latest, tough pitch asked students to persuade busy young professionals that a paper based organiser is the best way to organise their lives.
In our ‘always-on’ society, electronic organisation devices are increasingly popular and in comparison paper based organisers are seen as out of date. Mark, due to graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK this summer, challenged electronic organisers with his idea ‘Your personal organiser’. He created a poster campaign that promoted the paper-based organiser as your own private space controlled solely by you.
He said: “This was a great brief to get my teeth into. Repositioning an existing product that has been pushed aside by the digital revolution. I have a paper based organiser myself, so it was a great opportunity to promote its benefits to the world.”

George Michaelides, OpenAdTalent judge and co-founder of media strategy agency, Michaelides and Bednash commented: “Mark’s idea was a simple, seductive way of expressing the benefit of a paper based personal organiser."
And, it can be seen on the OpenAdTalent site at www.openad.net/openadtalent. The winners’ billboard shows the idea in full along with more of the judges’ comments.

Runner-up in the competition with an award of 100 GBP was Kelly Heffey, University of Chester, UK with her idea ‘The Little Black Book’.
The remaining students in the top 5 were: Martin Adolfsson, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, UK, Renzo Vacarisas, UNIACC, Chile and alias ‘Franky Maverick’ from, Southampton Solent University, UK.
Shortlisted students included: Sašo Petek, University of Ljubjana, Slovenia, Chloe Slade and Jo Wadley, Farnham University College for Creative Arts, UK, Samuel Walter, The Chase High School, UK, Ana Maria Panait, University of the Studies of Padova, Italy

Manchester Metropolitan University, UK continues to lead on the OpenAdTalent University League board and following respectively are: UNIACC, Chile, Southampton Solent Univeristy, UK, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, UK, Fordham University, USA, University of Chester, UK, Farnham University College for Creative Arts, UK, University of Palermo, Argentina and University of Bucharest, Romania.

OpenAd.net members can see – and buy - the students’ entries in our Gallery.

The next pitch for OpenAdTalent 2006-7 will be the last in the current contest. It invites students to create a cool brand experience advertising campaign for jeans. The brief can be seen on currently open pitches now.

Arriba ^