Two graduates from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) advertising degree have been honoured at the 2008 Media Federation of Australia (MFA) Awards in October, demonstrating the value of links between leading Australian advertising agencies and CSU’s School of Communication, said Head of the School, Associate Professor Rod McCulloch.“CSU has forged these links to ensure that its courses are relevant to the development of skills required by graduates who hope to enter and succeed in this highly competitive industry,” he said.
The awards were presented to Ms Allison Sims, who graduated in 2006, and Ms Naomi Buck (2007) in recognition of their insight, imagination and innovation, essential attributes of all work submitted for consideration in the awards process.
Ms Sims, who is now communications executive for Sydney media agency OMD and part of the OMD FUSE team, was a key member of the OMD team that won both the Grand Prix ‘Best of Show’ Award and the ‘Best Campaign’ Award in the ‘Beverages’, category, for their media campaign for V-Raw energy drink.
Ms Buck, who is media assistant with OMD, won the MFA’s inaugural NGen Award which recognises those with less than five years experience who aim to make an impact in their day-to-day job and on the future of the media industry.
Professor McCulloch, who is also Course Coordinator for the Bachelor of Arts (Communication-Advertising), said the growth of media agencies and the support of media as a profession through specialist areas such as media research, strategic planning, media negotiation and placement by the MFA has seen an increasing demand for graduates.
“More advertising graduates are finding employment in the media industry,” Professor McCulloch said. “Each year 30 to 35 students in the advertising degree graduate from the CSU School of Communication, and nearly all graduates find employment in the industry, many well before they have completed their degrees.”
Ms Carolyn Maloney, Director of People Management at OMD, said her company’s MFA awards are testimony to the input by the emerging stars of tomorrow’s industry, and to the important role played by the School in preparing graduates for the advertising industry.
“OMD’s close relationship with Charles Sturt University, through scholarship and internship work placement programs, sees continuous consultation with the School in the development and delivery of their advertising course.
“This means that, as an employer, we have an important say in the teaching and professional development of future media practitioners. The success of this new generation of practitioners, as epitomized by Allison Sims and Naomi Buck, is proof of the success of our partnership with CSU,” Ms Maloney said.
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