Who's been following this week's brilliant ambush marketing story? For those who missed it — or have been far too distracted by all those vuvuzelas to think about anything else — 36 women wearing orange dresses were each ejected by stewards during the Denmark and Holland World Cup game when it was discovered their attire was acting as advertising for a Dutch brewery.
The pitch-side campaign may have been cut short, but the ensuing media coverage has generated some serious exposure for the company and served as a reminder how creative and exciting the world of marketing can be.
Inspired by the stunt, we are dedicating the next session on our graduate schemes series to marketing.
Prompted into action by the news that some training schemes are receiving double the number of applicants to last year, we have been honing in on different industries, exploring the popular, as well as lesser-known, graduate programmes within these fields and offering advice on how to win these often much-contested places.
So, here's your chance to catch the industry's attention and post your questions for our panel of representatives from the top schemes, experts from the industry and grads who have made it.
Introducing, our excellent expert panel:
Scott Knox, managing director, MCCA (Marketing Communication Consultants Association) — the trade body for marketing communications agencies. Scott has more than 10 years experience heading up this influential trade body so has seen a variety of marketing company graduate schemes over the years, they also run a service to help graduates get their first job in marketing.
Dom Robertson, managing director at the integrated agency, RPM. RPM has continued to recruit graduates throughout the downturn and is currently recruiting for its graduate scheme that starts in September.
Kate Burnett, director of graduate services, The Institute of Direct Marketing. Kate manages the IDM's education programme within UK universities. The Institute has a programme of activities designed to encourage and inspire new graduates to enter the direct and digital marketing profession. It supports the teaching of direct and digital marketing within universities and runs its own in-house summer school for students looking for their first job in the sector.
Deborah Murphy, director at BD Network, an independently owned integrated marketing communications agency with clients such as Nintendo, Molson Coors, Coca-Cola, Peugeot and Nike. Deborah heads up the agency's graduate recruitment scheme.
Gillian Edwards, senior associate, Corporate, Issues & Technology at global communications compaby, Burson-Marsteller UK. Gillian has seven years' experience working in marketing and public relations. In her current role, she specialises in driving strategic PR campaigns and communications activities for blue chip companies.
Georgie Bentinck, client executive, Corporate, Issues & Technology, Burson-Marsteller UK. Georgie has experience a number of corporate clients, including Hewlett-Packard (HP), Intel, Robert Half and Danone UK.
Lizzie Godsill, client executive, Corporate, Issues & Technology, Burson-Marsteller UK. Following graduation from UCL, Lizzie joined Burson-Marsteller in June 2009. Since joining BM, Lizzie has worked across a number corporate, consumer and technology related accounts for clients such as Sony Ericsson FIFA, HP, SAP and Ricoh.
The discussion is now open, so get posting your questions and comments.
