More than a hundred undergraduates battled out the inaugural Ignition 26 sprint at WPP Media. The competition was won by The Four Marketeers (Sydney) and 4theplot (Melbourne). The concept not only provided students with a taste for media, but could transform how advertising agencies identify the talent and skills that will power the industry’s future.
The role of media planning is rapidly evolving. With advances in automation and AI technology, combined by an increasingly complex and fragmented media ecosystem, the skills that will shape the industry in the future are vastly different to the ones that powered it 5-10 years ago.
This makes finding entry level talent with the right skills a challenge.
In the past two months, WPP Media invited undergraduates from Sydney and Melbourne to compete in a live agency environment to crack a national brief for the youth anti-bullying charity, Dolly’s Dream.
Students were mentored by WPP Media strategists and experts, and charged with building a cross-channel media campaign designed to raise awareness of Dolly’s Dream and its cyber safety and anti-bullying prevention resources.
The teams then competed in live presentations to judges in Sydney and Melbourne, with The Four Maketeers and 4theplot prevailing, and winning places on WPP Media’s graduate program.
The Four Marketeers pitched a ‘Dolly’s Dream Draw’ campaign, which overcomes charity fatigue by giving parents a rational incentive to donate through tier-based entry into high-value sports experiences and prizes.
The strategy was elevated through clever activations using grassroots sporting and community events, such as sponsoring the AFL’s Auskick, and holding ‘Blue Light Discos’ to achieve national scale.
In Melbourne, 4theplot won through their strategy on making the invisible nature of bullying visible by using a unique media channel to meet parents where they already gather — at local sporting club canteens.
Their core idea, ‘Cheers for Change’, uses bespoke thermochromic (heat-changing) coffee cups that physically reveal hidden anti-bullying messages and QR codes when filled with hot liquid. It is designed to spark curiosity and face-to-face conversations in the 5 to 10 minutes of dwell time parents spend holding coffee during weekend sport.
Judges were blown away by the quality of ideas and calibre of students who took part.
Katherine Pochroj, EssenceMediacom’s head of investment in Sydney, told B&T: “It was amazing to see over 100 students inspired by a brief and client so dear to our hearts at WPP Media. The Ignition program gave students a real-life experience of what a career in media could look like in a way I’ve never seen before.”
Dolly’s Dream head, Sally Sweeney, added: “It was wonderful to see the passion, creativity and depth of thinking the students brought to Dolly’s Dream’s mission. Their ideas challenged us to think differently about how we engage young people, and it was inspiring to see the next generation so committed to creating a kinder, safer future.”
Why it matters
Ignition is the brainchild of Swinburne University advertising lecturer David Reid, who points out that many universities do not offer media planning as a unit in their advertising and communications courses until final year.
“There was a gap in the market, and while we’re teaching these skills at final year level in our advertising program, we want our students to be tested, and we want them to be seen as having the skills for those graduate roles in industry,” he said.
“Some of the partners involved in this initiative don’t have a strict media planning unit…so this has helped accelerate and increase knowledge around what media is and the media side of advertising.
“Agencies need to recruit, even if the land underneath is changing and the needs have changed. The skills that they are looking for are changing, and we’re very conscious of that. The world of AI is certainly a different world to Excel spreadsheets, so this has given us a light, and it’s given a focus at a time when there’s been a lack of focus.”
For WPP Media, the program is not just a great pipeline filler for its graduate programs, it allows the holding company to bridge the gap between tertiary education and the sorts of skills required for entry-level roles of the future.
“Where we will likely see the biggest level of disruption is at the entry level roles in most organisations and industries,” said WPP Media ANZ chief people officer Scott Laird.
“What we’re doing here is again trying to think about what are the future skills that we’re looking for in students that set them up to navigate a successful career with the level of changes that are coming through.
“Whilst we don’t have all the answers right now, we do know the type of individual that will be successful to navigate a career in media and advertising. This was the perfect platform for us to review and see that live and in real time, and to be able to provide them feedback along the journey as well.”
Laird said that WPP had found talent outside of the winning teams that it would remain in touch with in the future.
What was it like?
Ignition attracted 25 teams from Deakin University, Macquarie University, Monash University, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Technology Sydney and Western Sydney University.
Students were tasked with developing a 2027 communications strategy and media plan for anti-bullying charity Dolly’s Dream that would drive engagement for their annual ‘Do It For Dolly Day’ fundraising campaign.
To succeed, teams had to balance non-profit budget constraints with high-impact tactics, cutting through category clutter to resonate with younger audiences and deepen national engagement.
Students had a few weeks to research and develop the insights that would power the strategy and campaign idea before attending a summit, where the brief suddenly pivoted, simulating the real life agility that agencies often need to navigate.
Students then pitched their ideas to a panel of judges from WPP Media, Dolly’s Dream and B&T.
In its inaugural year and with “some ups and downs”, the Ignition program was widely regarded a success by the university lecturers involved, WPP Media and students speaking to B&T (see further below).
Laird said that it attracted a lot more interest than the eight teams that had expected, the quality of the work was strong and Dolly’s Dream is now looking at some of the ideas and how the charity can integrate these into its own communications plans.
“This was a great experience, Laird said. “We loved seeing the students come through and just watching the energy and enthusiasm. We had some skipping down the hallway as they came out of the room.
“It’s inspiring to see that level of positivity come through, we don’t always get that in the day to day. So that was really lovely just to see that enthusiasm and some fresh thinking come through.”
The program also produced one of the most diverse cohorts of talent in one room that B&T has observed.
Laird was impressed by the different cultural backgrounds present and said that one of the pleasant surprises was depth and breadth of responses.
“One of the pleasant surprises was just the breadth of thinking that came through in the pitches. There were 26 quite different ideas that came through.”
What students thought
Xavier McLachlan — The Ripple Effect
Key takeaway: “My key takeaway was that there are so many different ways to tackle these problems, and you know, going from the initial brief and then watching the final pitches today, it was really interesting to see how all of the groups pivoted. The collaboration is super, super important, especially for my group.
What more can the industry do: “I think the industry does a great job of talking about itself, and they love to do that. I think talking to more diverse groups like this Ignition project would be cool. Even talking to the people at WPP Media. They’re not all trained in marketing, and so many of those skills are learnt on the job. So it would be good to see the industry recruit from a wider net.”
Naomi Do — The Campaign Queens
Key takeaway: “I really enjoyed working with our mentors and doing the whole journey of coming from scratch to a very polished campaign. At first we were so vague about how a media plan works in real life because everything at university is theoretical. So I learned a lot about how practical a plan can be, and how a creative idea can be executed in real life.
What more can the industry do: “I think we need to communicate to a broader audience, like multiculturalism and more schools, more universities. We met some people that didn’t even go to school and were so talented.
Liana Petrolo — The Four Marketeers
Key takeaway: I think the biggest thing I learnt is that effort really does matter. We added in our theatre etiquette, the idea of having the socks and showing the socks in the pitch. It shows that hard work combined with the correct steps will get you to where you want to be.
What more can the industry do: “The biggest thing I can say from speaking to other teams from Macquarie, hearing that the prize is something tangible and something that everyone wants, it definitely makes a difference. I would definitely consider a career in advertising. Getting campaigns out, hoping that clients will like your idea and getting that feedback consistently, you definitely learn a lot in the process and you’re constantly upskilling with a career in advertising.
Amani Iskander — The Four Marketeers
Key takeaway: I learned definitely how to work in a group a lot. Even though I had a fabulous, amazing group, distributing workloads, coming up with different ideas, taking along other people like other people’s ideas, and learning to give and take when it comes to everyone’s opinions
What more can the industry do: I think the standard recruitment process of where you send in your CV and send in your academic transcript, and it’s the kids with the highest grades that get the jobs is not fit for purpose. Initiatives like the Ignition program, where students get to showcase their talent and ideas is more meaningful because you are more than just your grades.
Tracey Mish Milan — The Four Marketeers
Key takeaway: when it comes to taking on competitions or like seeking job opportunities, make sure you actually have your heart into it. Because they chose Dolly’s Dream and they’re combating such a prevalent issue that I’m passionate about. I was able to put my effort and actually, like, time manage myself because I want to do so much for this company.
What more can the industry do: Getting a foot in the industry can be so overwhelming, and Ignition definitely humanises that approach, because it’s not just a person going through your resume; it’s someone seeing your skills in person. So that definitely comforted me because l feel that I have more to offer in skills.
