GRT Awards call offers sweet deal for tomorrow's stars of DM

The Graeme Robertson Trust Awards is this year calling for all marketing students and first jobbers to devise a complete direct marketing campaign for Waitrose’s range of ‘retro’ sweets.

Entrants are required to submit a detailed portfolio covering every aspect of the campaign, from the creative to the execution, and every step in between.

The GRT Awards were established 1999 in memory of Graeme Robertson, a highly respected direct marketer whose untimely death from cancer inspired his friends and colleagues to found the charitable foundation. Mr Robertson was renowned for his passion for nurturing young talent within the industry. The Awards programme is administered by the Direct Marketing Association and is supported by Royal Mail and Mail Media Centre.

Every year, the Awards programme enables marketing students and first jobbers to get their work in front of 20 of the industry’s leading creative directors. Entrants are required to submit a complete direct marketing campaign for a commercial or charitable brief. The top 25 entrants are invited to spend a ‘crit’ day with the panel of creative directors who offer their expert advice on their portfolios and share their insight into how to forge a career within the direct marketing industry. The overall winner also collects a cheque for £1,000.

Last year’s joint winner, Melanie Lynch of from the University of Gloucestershire, says winning the GRT has helped her to get her first foot on the career ladder:

“My fellow winner, Fabina, and I have already received numerous placement offers from a number of high profile agencies. We’ve been very fortunate to have some fantastic mentors in the industry and the GRT gave us the unique opportunity to make these connections. I recommend all students wanting a career in direct marketing to get involved.”

Clive Colledge, Chair of the Graeme Robertson Trust and Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication at Birmingham City University, said:

"Young people graduating now have a very tough experience. The recession the UK is emerging from has hit young people in their early 20s harder than most age groups. The Graeme Robertson Trust Awards are more vital to them than ever."

The deadline for submissions is 18 June, with the crit day taking place on 23 July in the offices of TEQUILA\ London. For more information, visit www.grtawards.org.uk