Three of Carat’s youngest up-and-comers are off to the Cannes Festival of Creativity after winning the agency’s internal scholarship competition, which sees state teams face off against one another in a hypothetical pitch process.
Carat’s Perth team, namely Brannon Heath, Nick Norton and Phoebe Carre, took out the honours this year with a response for the WA Road Safety Council, following a two-stage process that saw them compete against over 100 of their colleagues.
The scholarship, which is open to junior staff throughout Carat’s Australian agency network, aims to celebrate, reward and develop young talent.
Teams are tasked with proactively solving a business challenge faced by a Carat client of their choice. They must then pitch their ideas back to the client, as well as the agency’s senior leadership team, in a ‘shark tank’-style live judging session.
The judging panel included WA Road Safety Council’s Clodagh Garvey, who commented on the calibre of entrants: “To struggle to pick one winner out of the five finalist teams is surely a sign of the level of young talent within Carat.
“To say they were given a difficult brief is an understatement. Designing campaigns with a view to changing behaviour is a task even seasoned professionals can struggle with.
“The Perth team presented very well, had some great ideas, and represented their organisation superbly.”
Carat CEO Paul Brooks said: “The scholarship is our way of exposing young talent to the pressure, excitement and opportunity of a live client brief, while encouraging them to step outside the scope of their day to day roles.
“It gives everyone the chance, including the entrants, to see what they’re made of. We were blown away by the quality of this year’s responses.”
The winners will receive an all-expenses paid trip the Cannes Festival of Creativity in June.
L-R in above photo: judges Clodagh Garvey and Sarah James; winners Phoebe Carre, Brannon Heath and Nick Norton; judges Ashley Earnshaw and Sam Hegg.
