At the recent AAA School of Advertising graduation ceremonies held in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, a new pool of creatively talented students was unleashed into the world of marketing, advertising and design.
It is often said that the young, upcoming creatives are the future of the marketing and advertising world. With the incredible pool of talent that graduated from AAA School recently, agencies and marketers can rest assured that the future of the industry lays in very capable hands. Stan Katz, ad industry and broadcasting veteran delivered the key-note address to the students at the AAA Johannesburg graduation. In advising students that the essence of advertising is to deliver prospects to advertisers, he made use of an analogy comparing the industry to an airplane. “The fuselage is the strategy, while the wings are the creativity,” noted Katz. “In order to deliver the best possible result, both have to work together to achieve a result.”
These sentiments were echoed by Chris Brewer who delivered the key-note address to students graduating from the Cape Town campus. In reference to the fragmented media environment and the clutter that exists for marketers in trying to reach consumers, Brewer stated that “….advertising has lost its way. That’s good news for you (the students) because you can again produce advertising that consumers want to see or hear. It is precisely this type of advertising that yields results for brands. It is this advertising that consumers want to see and hear that generates the emotional connection between advertisers and consumers.”
“Our motto is that the AAA is the birthplace of brilliant, and at this years’ graduation ceremony we rewarded the brilliant results that the students achieved.” says Dr Ludi Koekemoer, CEO of AAA School. Among the many accolades and awards handed out at the two ceremonies, two graduates are sure to result in agency bosses raising an eyebrow or two.
Walking away as the top overall student across both campuses was Danielle Moutsatsos in Randburg who graduated with a BA in Marketing Communications degree. Danielle is the recipient of the highly sought after AON award which rewards her with a R35,000 purse to visit an agency of her choice anywhere in the world. Furthermore, AON will provide R12,500 worth of books and study materials to the AAA School. “I loved studying at the AAA School and never for a moment imagined that I would receive the AON Award for best overall student. It’s a little overwhelming, but hopefully it will spur me on to achieve real-world results when I enter the working environment,” said Moutsatsos.
Sean Creighton graduated from the Cape Town campus receiving the Top Student in Graphic Design award. This adds to the many other accolades achieved in 2014 as a student of the AAA School: ISTD recognition with a Craft Certificate in Typography; World Design Capital Post Office 2014 Stamp Design Competition with a cash prize, Bronze Loerie – Animation (2013); Gold Loerie – Collateral Design (2013) and Gold Loerie – Packaging (2013). “This is an unheard of, remarkable achievement and is testament to the fact that the AAA School is truly the birthplace of brilliant,” said Rian Swart, Creative Faculty Head of his achievements.
AAA School of Advertising wishes to congratulate all the graduating students and award winners.
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