These Days meets LUCA School of Arts

On Thursday 22 October, Communications agency These Days is organising its very first Creathon. As of 10 am, the third-year students of the Studio Reclame of the LUCA School of Arts in Ghent will invade the advertising agency’s Antwerp branch.

For the Creathon, the students will be subdivided into different teams that will be briefed individually. They then have 24 hours to come up with ideas for the campaign and develop them. The Creathon concludes the following day at 10 am with a presentation of the various campaigns. 

Samuel De Volder, Executive Creative Director for These Days explains: “We feel it is crucially important for students to keep up-to-date in a communication landscape that is evolving ever faster. That is why we want to reach out to schools. We want to take our responsibility and give students a taste of the real world by working with them on actual briefings for actual clients. Depending on the quality of the work, we will submit these ideas to clients and pass on their feedback to the students. And who knows, one of their ideas may even be selected, which would bring considerable added value to the students’ portfolio.

It’s going to be a rollercoaster: working against the clock, searching, swearing, sweating, brainstorming… obviously aided by the requisite pizzas and energy drinks. And with the help of These Days’ experts in creation, branding, social, content and technology”.

These Days’ Talent Director Vera Van Doninck is all fired up: “As a communications agency, we are always in search of young talent. Together with our far-reaching internship policy, this Creathon is an excellent exercise in working under pressure, thinking on your feet while making well-considered decisions, working with others, presentation techniques and, above all: having fun. In other words, it’s the perfect opportunity to shine”.

Anneke Rombaut, lecturer at the LUCA School of Arts: "The ever-changing and evolving advertising landscape with its advertising objectives needs students able to react quickly and put a refreshing and innovative slant on these changes. It is interesting for students to put their skills to the test in the real world. That is why hands-on experience is so important and the 24-hour rush concept is fun, too”.

Previously, These Days organised successful Hackatons with the students of the Multimedia and Communication Technology department of the Belgian Advertising School. The Antwerp advertising agency has already hired several talents as a direct result of these sessions.