Dean Faulkner - Head of partnerships at YCN
OVERVIEW of YCN
Individual creatives from a range of design backgrounds use YCN to gain creative support.
YCN is a curated creative network based in East London
Members = people and organisations that see value in creativity
YCN can help individual creatives to:
- Working out pricing and legal forms
- Help nurture and develop style and talent
- Introduced to new people and gain new clients
Working with brands
Marketing strategies
Connects creatives with appropriate and relevant brands to work for
Working with agencies
Helping to articulate what they do
Learning and Development
Professional and personal development
'Can' courses - Presenting, managing people skills, portfolio, etc
STUDENT AWARDS
YCN created the student awards to provide students with the experience of working for a real client, for a live brief. These live marketing challenges are attractive to clients because the competition provides them with a fresh perspective. YCN's professional briefs increase students understanding of the context and experience of working for real clients.
What makes the YCN awards attractive to me is that it is marked by the clientele/people who have set the briefs, rather than an external panel of judges. This allows the organisation to choose an appropriate outcome that suits their needs.
The student awards often lead to internships which would be an incredibly beneficial experience for me.
Submission advice:
- Show what market research I did
- Research competitive brands in the market
- Keep design boards succinct
- Allow the judges to see my thinking
- Push the concept into other potential media, even though the brief didn't specifically ask for it.
- What's next? - Don't just think about what is already available to me, think about what advances in technology would provide and how I can relate this to my solution.
Having YCN give a talk gave me a better insight to what YCN achieves outside of the student awards which would be really a beneficial source after I have graduated because they help creatives enter the world of design.
THIRSTY PLANET
Harrogate Water
Thirsty Planet is one of the 2016/17 briefs, encouraging young people to engage with bottled water to serve a good purpose.
Background
Based in Harrogate
Naturally sourced water
Family owned
The discovery of water put Harrogate on the map
Most exported water during the war
Thirsty Planet is a sister brand of Harrogate Water with outstanding environmental credentials.
USP:
- Guarantee a fixed donation with every bottle which creates a sustainable delivery program
- Responsible for producing environmentally friendly bottles'
Voted ASDA's product of the year - Sustainability sells
Their main goal is to stand up to the big water brands that consumers buy into in order to raise awareness of sustainability and positivity. This shows that Thirsty Planet/Harrogate Water consider good ethics that make the brand more attractive. I agree that Thirsty Planet has a lot of potential to be a global brand which is really inspiring considering it originated in Harrogate. Having this talk has been really inspiring, however due to the time limit and work load I currently have, I don't have enough time to pursue the brief. Having the background knowledge about the brand would have been really influential to my outcome as it would be consistent with the brand ethics and history.
Thirsty Planet rebranded their business because their previous branding was perceived to be too childish. Instead, a high class, metallic looking bottle was used which they soon realised didn't communicate an appropriate tone of voice for a charitable organisation. This highlights the importance of considering the ethics of a company, as well as their target audience.
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