BA (Hons) Advertising students gain industry experience with Global
- Written byChloe Murphy
- Published date 25 August 2022
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Preparing for your creative career not only involves developing as a practitioner, but also gaining vital industry experience, building connections, and exploring the wider context of your discipline.
At London College of Communication (LCC), our courses provide opportunities for students to take the first steps in their professional journeys through ways that help them to progress and make a living doing what they love.
In Spring 2022, BA (Hons) Advertising students were invited to learn more about the power of radio through a collaborative project with one of the UK’s leading media companies, Global. Home to popular stations such as Heart, Capital and Capital XTRA, Global’s radio channels entertain over 25 million listeners every week, and attract some of the biggest advertisers to harness the power of creative and thought-provoking campaigns.
As a wide-reaching organisation, Global focus on generating experiential moments that matter for audiences in ways that have a lasting impact. From radio shows and live events to aural adverts, their brand is defined by a core ethos that shapes their wide-ranging content: ‘It’s all about how you make people feel’.
These values were emphasised through their collaboration with LCC, which asked first-year students to develop concepts around topics that were challenging and intriguing. Working in small groups, they were tasked with responding to 1 of 3 briefs in ways that demonstrated creativity, nuance and audience awareness: marketing outdated mobile phones to small children, military recruitment for young people, and the promotion of vibrators to reduce teenage pregnancy.
Groups were invited to share their ideas and gain invaluable feedback from Global producers, who then selected the two strongest concepts to be recorded in their London studios.
We caught up with 2 of the students involved in the project, Jay Lin and Philippa Lowe, to discuss their experience of developing an attention-grabbing proposal and collaborating with one of the UK's leading media brands.
Have you always been interested in advertising, or is this an area you've moved towards over time?
Jay: I wouldn’t say that advertising has always been my dream career - I didn't even really know that this industry existed when I was younger! But it’s since become my determined career path, and the reason for my interest is that it’s perfectly combined things that I enjoy doing.
Advertising is an immensely creative practice - not just on a craft-level, but also on a deeper level of insight searching and idea generating. It’s also strongly tied to the business world, and not only requires constant human interaction, but also an understanding of what it means to be a human.
These things happen to be my 3 main aspects of interest: people, creativity, and business.
Philippa: I’d say that advertising is an area I naturally moved towards as it linked in perfectly with all 3 of my A levels: it contains aspects of business and psychology, as well as the creativity found in fashion and textiles.
My initial interest inspired me to research subliminal advertising for my extended project qualification (EPQ) which, after completing, confirmed in my mind that advertising was right for me.
Does your practice focus on a particular area of your discipline?
Jay: Although I’ve just finished my first year, I know that I’d like to head towards being an advertising creative in an agency environment; however, I’m pretty much open to all specialties in advertising at this point.
Philippa: Ultimately, I hope to explore fashion-specific advertising in my future creative practice, or alternatively, the marketing and public relations side of the music industry.
How did you find out about the collaboration with Global, and why did you decide to get involved?
Jay: It all started with a seminar activity of creating radio advertising scripts. We were put into teams and given 3 product briefs to choose from: vibrators to reduce teenage pregnancy, Nokia 3310s for small children, and Army recruitment for young people.
All of our scripts were then sent to be judged by Global Media producers and creatives, before 2 were chosen to be recorded in the studio.
Philippa: I found out about the Global opportunity from my lecturers as the opportunity to take part in the competition was offered during a seminar, so everyone on the course was able to take part if they wished to.
As soon as I heard about it, I knew it was something I needed to have a crack at. I felt that I'd get a lot out of the competition itself despite whether our script was chosen, and the possibility of being able to create something professionally within a Global radio studio was more than enough motivation to get me involved!
Tell us about your creative process - what inspired your ideas, and how did you develop them?
Jay: My team chose to respond to the brief on promoting vibrators to reduce teenage pregnancy. Our creative process involved free-form yet themed discussions, jokes, and relaxed chatting.
Many great ideas came up during this time, but I think that whoever verbalises an idea might not always realise the brilliance of it. Together, we were able to pinpoint the most useful ideas, and then we all worked together to develop our favourite into a full creative work.
Our final concept stemmed from a joke around how a vibrator’s sound is the sound of not getting pregnant. We then decided to compare it with other soothing sounds and ask the question, ‘What's your favourite sound?’ to relate to others, catch attention, and direct that focus towards our promotional target: the vibrator’s ability to prevent pregnancy.
Philippa: I was part of a group of 3 other advertising students, and we were asked to write a script for a radio advert based on a brief chosen from a range of different ideas.
Having chosen to advertise vibrators to young women based on the truth that they avoid pregnancy, our script was then selected by the Global team who offered us a chance to record it professionally in their studio. It was altogether a surreal yet incredible experience.
What were your highlights of the project?
Jay: I really liked our core idea, and how we were able to utilise and arrange different sound effects to make our concept simple, fun and effective.
Overall, I think my main highlights were facilitating the group discussion, spotting my own and my group members' “Aha!” moment, and pinpointing the core idea. I’m really grateful to have the chance to work with my group and the team at Global - it's exciting to see our ideas come to life with the professional equipment and support of the Global team.
Philippa: The funny story about the development of our script is that its punchline, 'our favourite sound…is the sound of not getting pregnant' followed by a vibrator noise, originated from a joke I’d made to my teammates whilst we were brainstorming ideas. It almost proves that even the most ridiculous things you may say when trying to come up with something may not be so ridiculous after all!
With the help of an audio professional, we created our own voiceovers and some specific sound effects, which involved things like sipping a drink in the recording studio. This was a definite highlight for me as I'd honestly never done anything quite like it.
What have you most enjoyed about your time at LCC so far?
Jay: My favourite thing about LCC would be its close links with industry. Even in small seminar activities, we're able to get feedback from some of the strategists and creatives who are leading prominent British agencies.
Many of our tutors also have industry backgrounds, so they know how to prepare us for the real world.
Philippa: I’d say that what I’ve enjoyed most about LCC so far is the immense amount of industry links and opportunities that the College has to offer.
This was one of the core reasons that I chose to study here, and I would have never been able to take part in opportunities like the Global collaboration if I was anywhere else.
What advice would you have for other students who are interested in exploring advertising?
Jay: I’d suggest thinking about the insight behind each advertisement. Human insights are what distinguish a great advertisement from a mediocre one.
I’d also suggest experiencing all aspects of life and creativity. You can discover many human insights from day-to-day interactions, and by exploring the aesthetic of a wide range of creative disciplines. Photography, film, illustration and music, for instance, are all important for planning a successful advertisement.
Philippa: I’d suggest that the best ideas come with joking around and being a bit silly, which is something I've repeatedly found throughout my time on the course.
So, don’t be too serious - have fun and see what great things flow from that.
Related links:
- Find out more about the work of Global.
- Explore our BA (Hons) Advertising course.
- Learn more about our Media School.
- Experience life at LCC through our interactive Virtual Open Day.
