Two students from the University of Lincoln have won a competition with the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel. They pitched an advertising campaign that has been brought to life by the hotel and their work can be seen displayed on a billboard in the Broadgate area of Lincoln.
The competition was arranged by Nicola Shepheard, Marketing Manager at the Doubletree, with the help of Gyles Lingwood, Principal Lecturer at the University. It was to create an advertising campaign for the Electric Bar and restaurant within the Hotel.
Photo: The winning entry
The early stages required students to pitch their ideas to a board of judges and the winning pair were selected on a number of factors. The winning pair were chosen because “they stuck to the brief”, said Nicola Shepheard.
Maria Sousa Machado and Sam Barber, creative advertising students, won the competition and saw their ideas come to life. With the help of Newark-based photographer Clive Doyle, the duo were able to make the brayford appear to look like a ‘toy-town’. They wanted to use an idea called tilt-shift photography to achieve this effect which complemented the slogan: ‘an elevated perspective’, that was used to advertise the bar.
Nicola Shepheard said: “there are plenty of design agencies in Lincoln but we struggled to find a creative advertising agency in the Local area”. With graduate unemployment at an all time high, these opportunities can help students to find work. Gyles Lingwood said “they have given themselves a chance to stand above the competition because they will have an actually produced live campaign in their portfolio”.
A survey by ‘Highflyers’ found that less than 50% of graduates will get jobs in the media industry this year. With such low employment figures, projects like this could help students get into the workplace.
Nicola Shepheard said: “I’ve already got an idea for my next project that I would like to work with some of the students from the University”.
Benjamin Potts finds out more…
