Alumni in the news

Colgate Palmolive chooses a company started by Brandcenter alum for its first Indian investment

Colgate-Palmolive purchased a 14% stake in Bombay Shaving Company, which was started in 2015 by Brandcenter alum Raunak Munot who graduated from the creative brand management track in 2010. "A lot of this success can directly be attributed back to my education at the Brandcenter," Raunak said. 

Brandcenter grad designed augmented reality tool to aid breast health

2018 Experience design graduate Berfin Ayhan (currently working at frog design) designed an augmented reality app to help women achieve better breast awareness and detect changes.

In this Q&A, Berfin delves into the design challenges she faced, such as figuring out who she was designing for (anyone with breasts?), heightened privacy challenges (the app works in airplane mode to guarantee no data is entering or leaving the app), and how to make users feel comfortable using it regularly.

Recent grad's "Nastybot" featured in FastCo.Design

Berfin Ayhan, 2018 experience design graduate, designed a bot that uses facial recognition tech to automatically respond to internet creeps with snarky comebacks, or block or report them. 

“I think defusing situations with humor can be very helpful,” Berfin says. “You feel like you can be safe behind having fun with it, especially when you’re feeling threatened.”

Three Brandcenter alums make Adweek's Creative 100 list

Blake Winfree (AD, 2003), VP and Creative Director at MullenLowe, and Kevin Weir (AD, 2012) and Chris Colliton (XD, 2012), Creative Directors at Droga5, were named to Adweek's Creative 100 in the category of "rising agency stars who are keeping advertising relevant, fresh, and fascinating."

Super Bowl ad showcase VCU Brandcenter talent once again

Brandcenter graduates helped produce ads for major brands, including Bud Light, Pringles, T-Mobile and Hyundai.

VCU Brandcenter grads behind Super Bowl ads

 ABC 8 News story on VCU Brandcenter graduates who have Superbowl spots airing this year, featuring an interview with our own Scott Witthaus. 

An inside look at what it’s like to work on a Super Bowl ad

VCU Brandcenter alumni share their stories of creating commercials on the ad world’s biggest stage.

Brandcenter alums’ startup launches insurance platform for freelancers

 Jade (XD, 2014) and Hannah (AD, 2014) Sullivan recently started Pogo Insurance to assist the underserved market.

The New York Times Made a Simple, Powerful TV Spot About Reporting Sexual Harassment.

Julie Matheny (CW, 2009), Tim Gordon (CW, 2008) and their team at Droga5 made the powerful “He said. She said.” spot for the New York Times that aired during the Golden Globes.

How Do You Turn an Ad Into a Meme? Two Words: Dilly Dilly.

Brandcenter alums Alex Ledford (CW, 2012) and NJ Placentra (AD, 2012), senior creatives at Wieden + Kennedy, came up with our new favorite catchphrase for Bud Light.

Brandcenter alumni team's hilarious video response for Carmax goes viral

A team of Brandcenter alumni who now work at McKinney, including creative director David Sloane (CW, 2009) who stars in the video, was behind Carmax's viral response to the guy who created a video ad for his girlfriend's '96 Honda Accord.

Rachel Mercer named to Forbes' 30 Under 30

Brandcenter alum Rachel Mercer (XD, 2012), SVP, Head of Digital Strategy and Invention at Deutsch, was named to Forbes' annual list in the Marketing & Advertising category.