What's new
BRANDCENTER ALUMS SHOW OFF CREATIVITY IN SUPER BOWL ADS
This year’s Big Game featured work from 20+ Brandcenter alumni for brands like Avocados from Mexico, BMW, E-Trade, Greenlight, Meta Quest, McDonalds, Toyota, Taco Bell, and more. This year, we wanted to hear from our alums and current students directly, gathering their perspectives about this year’s ads. Check out the coverage from VCU News in the articles linked below.
BRANDCENTER SPRINT: AMAZON MUSIC, FLIP'D BY IHOP, RITZ
The 2022 BCsprint featured 14 student teams split between three live clients: Amazon Music, flip'd by IHOP, and Ritz (and their agency, The Martin Agency). The competition tackles a real business problem or objective and is open to all second-year students. For the first time, we also had a handful of first-year students join the mix.
Leadership from each brand delivered briefs, and the student teams had just over three days to prepare a strategy, plan for execution, and design a presentation. The sprint concluded with a 10-minute pitch from each team. Following all presentations, the clients selected a winner and runner-up, with the goal of bringing the winning idea to fruition.
CAPITAL ONE, LYFT, PINTEREST, WHISKEYSMITH PROJECTS
As part of Professor Caley Cantrell's Brand Experiences class, students had the opportunity to work with four live clients over a six-week period. This real-world experience gave the students a chance to create both substantial work for their portfolios and also valuable connections to the industry. As an added bonus, the participating brands provided generous donations to Brandcenter scholarships as a part of this project.
BRANDCENTER DIRECTOR CONTRIBUTES TO NEW ANTHOLOGY
Executive Director Vann Graves was selected as a contributing author in the new anthology, "The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Reflection & Expression." His segment, titled "Another Brick in the Wall," discusses the importance of tangible skills and professional experiences that come together to build your "wall" of credibility.
SAVE THE DATE:
APRIL 28 - DAY OF GIVING
Our annual Day of Giving is back in 2022! Please mark your calendars and stay tuned for ways the Brandfam can give back.
Brandcenter Forum
Fall 2021 Friday Forum speakers from left to right:
Mike May (HUGE), Terri Meyer and Sandy Greenberg (Terri & Sandy), Iyana Sarrafieh (The SpringHill Company), Casey Rand (Potential Energy Coalition), Elizabeth Paul (The Martin Agency) and Jeanine Celeste Pang (Old Navy), Allie Carr and Jason Goldberg (Erich & Kallman)
FALL FORUM RECORDINGS NOW AVAILABLE
We're so thankful for the brilliant minds who joined us for Friday Forum this past semester. Speakers covered a range of topics that left our students informed and inspired, including "Uh oh, am I bad?" by Casey Rand (CW, 2008) and "The Power of Side Projects" by Allie Carr (CW, 2018) and Jason Goldberg (AD, 2017).
Friday Forum recordings are available to watch on our website via the link below. We have another great lineup of speakers this semester, and recordings will be available through our website and YouTube channel following the presentation dates.
Alumni Spotlight
OSCAR MAYER // BOLOGNA SKINCARE
Okay, the new bologna face masks from Oscar Mayer aren't actually made from deli meat, even if the round, bright pink design says otherwise. The limited-edition masks actually contain witch hazel and seaweed-derived ingredients for rejuvenation and hydration. Congrats to Amanda Younger (AD, 2014) and her team at Johannes Leonardo on this awesome, kind-of-gross new product.
ESPN // POSTSEASONING
An intense football postseason requires an intense postseason seasoning. Introducing, "Postseasoning," the spice blend you've been waiting for from ESPN. This work was created by a team of alums from Arts & Letters: Andy Grayson (ST, 2003), Charles Hodges (CW, 2009), Nana Dadzie (ST, 2021), Brendan Howard (CW, 2018), Martin Madriaga (ST, 2018), NJ Placentra (AD, 2012), Molly Jamison Tippins (CW, 2011).
PIZZA HUT // TIKTOK
When the pandemic first hit in 2020, Claire Wyckoff (CW, 2011) started writing and producing her own TikToks as a way to cope with and pass the long days of quarantine. “The 10 Scientific States of Quarantine,” “Having a Job in 2021,” and “A Guide to Preparing for Election Day” are just a few of the shorts that earned Claire recognition on the platform–so much so that Pizza Hut reached out for a bite of the action.
We talked with Claire about her experience on TikTok and working with Pizza Hut to create a series of silly, pizza-centered Toks.