The NZDM Awards are a BIG deal here in New Zealand. They recognise the outstanding contributions marketers make each year, and everyone dresses to the nines to attend one of the biggest events of the year.
This year, an NZDM Student Marketer of the Year Award was given to two bright students from Otago University - Sophia and Malcolm. They've now graduated and are off in the real world doing big things! Sophia is working in an exciting position at an AdAge Top 10 advertising agency in New York City. Malcolm is making waves working for Cardrona resort in a design and digital role. Additionally, he is an entrepreneur and has created a multi-disciplined design company!
So how did Sophia and Malcolm go about winning this prestigious award? They engaged in a competition to create a campaign for Harmoney, a peer-to-peer lending company operating here in New Zealand, to encourage current customers to become repeat customers. Sophia and Malcolm worked together to create the winning idea - the "Couch BBQ"- a fun campaign that creates a community from the comfort of one's own couch.
Both Sophia and Malcolm say their biggest challenges were surrounding the creation of the idea. As is often the case in professional settings, the duo had a plethora of good ideas, and narrowing it down and forming it into something memorable and unique proved to be challenging. They gained a valuable lesson in just how much time and hard work it takes to create a campaign like this and were rewarded with winning the competition and national recognition!
Since we all could learn a thing or two from the successes of those around us, we asked Sophia and Malcolm what their advice would be to current marketing students. Sophia's advice is to show your passion. She says that it's important to "showcase your work and when you have the opportunity to submit to awards, remember that a good idea takes time!" Malcolm's advice is about continuous development. He says, "there is an endless universe of knowledge and skills to learn if you are willing to put in the time, find something you are passionate about and put in that work."
Looks like their hard work is paying off!
