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February 2021

What's new

The Sandwich King scoffs while looking at a Subway sandwhich

20 BRANDCENTER ALUMS, 14 SPOTS, ONE BIG GAME 

There's no question Super Bowl LV was different than any Big Game we've seen before. But one thing remained the same: our alums made a strong showing in the ad scene, with spots for brands like Anheuser-Busch, Doritos, and Jimmy John's. Check out the full list of alumni ads on our news page.

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Portraits of DoorDash team six

BCSPRINT: DOORDASH AND PELOTON

This year’s BCsprint was held virtually, with 14 teams split between two live clients: Peloton and DoorDash (and their agency, The Martin Agency). After the briefs were delivered, Brandcenter students had to concept, strategize, design, and pitch in less than four days.

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 Nine silly portraits of Brandcenter students using Zoom

BACK TO [ZOOM] SCHOOL

Given the university-wide delay in the start of in-person classes, we welcomed our students back virtually at the end of January.

We continue to be so proud of our faculty for their quick pivot to virtual instruction, as well as our students for being flexible and resilient. The university will make a decision about returning to campus by early March.

Keep tabs on the semester by following us on social @vcu_brandcenter.

 

 Screenshot from the Brandenter Virtual Tour

INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL TOUR

Feeling nostalgic for the Cocoon or Lecture Hall? Check out our new Brandcenter Interactive Virtual Tour: a 3D look at the award-winning space we call home.

Given our limited building access due to COVID-19, we were excited to begin using this tool for prospective student visits in January.

 

Friday Forum

Portrait of forum speaker Khartoon Weiss

20 BRANDCENTER ALUMS, 14 SPOTS, ONE BIG GAME 

We're excited to welcome a new round of guests this spring to our Friday Forum speaker series. Held virtually most Fridays, each event is an opportunity for our students to hear from some of the most brilliant minds our industry has to offer. This semester, we'll hear from Khartoon Weiss, Head of Global Agency & Accounts at TikTok; Aisha Hakim, Associate Creative Director at PREACHER; Eric Kallman, Co-founder/CCO of Erich & Kallman, and more.

Most Forums will be recorded and available to watch on our website at a later date. Visit the link below for a full schedule and past recordings.

SCHEDULE & VIDEOS >>

 

Giving

 Masked Brandcenter Students walking in front of the building

THANK YOU, RECENT DONORS

We are so appreciative of the support from our alumni community. A very special thanks to these recent donors; their contributions directly support students in their pursuit of a Brandcenter education.

  • Josh Browne (CW, 2019)
  • Ted Burdett (CBM, 2008)
  • Tommy Cottam (CBM, 2010)
  • Daniel Gibson
  • Team Graves
  • Grant Heston
  • Ali Katz (ST, 2015)
  • Katherine Overby
  • Michael Soroosh (ST, 2005)
  • Lighthouse Labs
  • Next Adventure
  • Team One USA
  • The Martin Agency
  • Quad

 

 A Brandcenter student walks down stairs inside the building

SCHOLARSHIPS UPDATE


Scholarships are critically important in supporting students' dreams to pursue careers powered by the Brandcenter. We are thrilled that since August, your gifts have collected more than $100,000 for the three endowed scholarships, allowing us to expand equity and diversity both at the Brandcenter and in our industry.

Now get ready, our Brandcenter Day of Giving celebrating our 25th anniversary is up next!

During the Brandcenter Day of Giving, the entire BrandFam comes together to support a wide range of funds, from the Annual Fund that supports unrestricted and highest priority needs to the general Brandcenter Scholarship Fund.

Brandcenter Day of Giving will be in April 2021. Stay tuned for more details.

 

 Emily Mascher (ST, 2020 and first Hull Foundation Endowed Scholarship recipient), Pat Hull, Vann Graves, and Joey Broussard.

REMEMBERING PAT HULL


The Brandcenter community was saddened by the loss of Pat Hull (center left), entrepreneur, innovator, and advocate of the Brandcenter. 

In March of 2018, Pat committed $50,000 to the Brandcenter to create the Hull Foundation Endowed Scholarship. Through the scholarship, Pat wanted to support the dreams and education of students who were interested in entrepreneurship or wanted to establish their own businesses. And he did just that. His scholarship has impacted the lives of entrepreneurial students just like him. 

We are so thankful that Pat Hull shared his life, talent, and treasure with the Brandcenter. Through the Hull Foundation Endowed Scholarship, his legacy will continue to live on and impact the world through Brandcenter students for generations to come.

Alumni Spotlight

 Stacy Milrany (standing with the Little Free Art Gallery

LITTLE FREE ART GALLERY

We've all seen the Little Free Libraries scattered throughout cities, but Stacy Milrany (AD, 1998) is taking a new approach in her Seattle neighborhood. She opened a Little Free Art Gallery in December: "The idea is pretty simple—anyone is welcome to leave a piece, take a piece or just have a look around and enjoy what’s inside,” said Milrany in a Washington Post article.

LEARN MORE >>

 

 Screenshot of the Every Day Holiday website

EVERY DAY HOLIDAY

What's one way to make 2021 a little more special? Celebrate a new holiday—Every. Single. Day.

Brandcenter alums Allie Carr (CW, 2018) and Jason Goldberg (AD, 2017) are behind "Every Day Holiday," an initiative they started to help bring a little cheer into the new year. Together they identified a recognized holiday for each day in 2021 (think, "National Puzzle Day" and "National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day") and are celebrating on their Instagram