VCU Brandcenter

And … we’re back … with alumni happy hours!

It was great seeing so many familiar faces at our recent RVA alumni gathering, and we can’t wait to visit the in other cities.

Big thanks to for hosting us and to for the photos!

The Brandcenter is proud to welcome to the team Rich Weinstein as Associate Director for Extension Programs. In this position, Rich will lead all Brandcenter extension programs, including BCX, our executive education division, and other extended offerings under the Brandcenter's enterprise brand.

An ad agency veteran, Rich’s career thus far has been spent working at world-class advertising agencies such as Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Wieden+Kennedy, The Martin Agency, and, most recently, Arts & Letters Creative Co. At each of these companies, Rich was a part of teams that were awarded Lions, Pencils, Effies, and a long list of other accolades and recognitions. He was on staff at four different agencies when each was designated “Agency of the Year,” and has worked across nearly every category and on a range of blue chip brands, including ESPN, Google, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola, and Netflix.

Throughout his career, Rich ascribed to two theories: 1. Never underestimate the power of creativity, and 2. Every organization’s greatest asset is its people. He is excited to apply that same thinking to his new role at the Brandcenter.

“Earlier this year, I decided to make a career pivot in the hopes of finding a purpose-driven opportunity,” Rich says. “And, I can’t think of a better way of making that happen than joining the team at the Brandcenter, and giving back to an industry that has had such a significant impact on me personally and professionally.”

Executive Director Vann Graves says, “Rich’s industry expertise, leadership experience, and career-long focus on relationship building create the exact recipe needed for this important role. We are ecstatic to welcome Rich to the team.”

Please join us in welcoming Rich!

Are you interested in joining our rowdy-but-serious-about-making-great-work group? We’ve got some announcements for ya!

1- Our Fall Open House for prospective students is Saturday, November 12, from 10 a.m. to noon. Don’t miss this opp to hear from professors about the application and what they’re looking for in applicants, talk with current students and see their work, tour our dreamy space, and more.
> RSVP here: https://bit.ly/BCOpenHouse2022

2- The application for fall 2023 is now open. So, when you’re ready—we say GO FOR IT!—you can start the process on our website.
> How to apply here: https://bit.ly/bcadmission

3- As always, if you’re interested in the Brandcenter for next year or a following year, you should join our mailing list so you don’t miss a thing about all-things Brandcenter and the admission process.
> Join the list here: https://bit.ly/brandcenterlist

That’s all for now. See y’all soon!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever gone sleuthing at a grocery store for a Brandcenter project? 🤚 (Every Brandcenter student and alum who has or has had Caley raises their hands).

Yes, professor Caley Cantrell is the queen of ethnography exercises, and you will never meet anyone who loves the grocery store as much as she does. It’s fascinating how much you really can learn—about people, brands, and more—on a trip to your everyday grocery store, if you shop like Caley.

That’s what second-year strategy students in Caley’s cultural impact/advanced account planning class did last night when she sent them out to Whole Foods for an in-class assignment. They also discovered this rainbow, which made for the perfect photo op.



📸: Jo Rozycki (ST, 2023)

First-year students stepped up and out this afternoon to tackle the Odyssey High Ropes Course at the University of Richmond. In team-centered activities both on the ground and (more than 30ft!) in the air, they worked together to face and conquer the challenges in front of them. Great practice for all the creative problem solving they’ll do together during their at the Brandcenter!

Let the group projects commence!

But first … the weekend. 😎

Thanks to VCU Outdoor Adventure Program for leading them through!

Thank you to Dixon Muller (CW, 2019), Ellen Veith (AD, 2022), Ellie Proctor (CBM, 2021), Nana Dadzie (ST, 2021), and Ginny Taylor (XD, 2020) for joining us last Friday at orientation to share their experiences and advice with our new students.

Dixon Muller (CW, 2019) | Copywriter @ Mythic
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re here because you’re wanted.“

Ellen Veith (AD, 2022) | Junior Art Director @ Familiar Creatures
“At the end of the day you’re all here for the same reason—to do good work.”

Ellie Proctor (CBM, 2021) | Strategist @ Martin
“Part of being a good teammate is setting a good team dynamic. Get to know each other as people. Not just as people you’re working with on projects.”

Nana Dadzie (ST, 2021) | Head of Marketing @ Curry Brand
“Welcome to your first day on the job. Treat this like your 9-5.”

Ginny Taylor (XD, 2020) | Product Designer @ Carmax
“Appreciate the journey even if it’s scary.”

Thank you, friends. 💛 We are so grateful to have alumni who are constantly willing to give back and help out those who come after them.

The 2022-23 school year begins tomorrow, and we’re SO READY.

At orientation on Friday, we welcomed our newest members of the —the Class of 2024 and several new students joining the Class of 2023 who came to us from the Creative Circus.

The preparation and welcome didn’t stop there, however, as first and second years gathered at the VMFA Friday evening, joined us at the Brandcenter today for a mix and mingle with faculty and staff, and played in a kickball game tonight hosted by Brandcentral.

To our new students, welcome to the . And to our now second years, welcome back.

We can’t wait to get started; it’s gonna be a great year! 💛

Brandcenter student, executive director embrace new opportunities at Cannes Lions festival

Brandcenter Executive Director and Dean of the Cannes Creative Academy Vann Graves and second-year student Shaunda Lambert (ST, 2023) reflect on their experiences at this summer's Cannes Lions festival.

https://news.vcu.edu/article/2022/08/brandcenter-student-executive-director-embrace-new-opportunities-at-cannes-lions-festival

Brandcenter student, executive director embrace new opportunities at Cannes Lions festival Vann Graves serves as new dean of Cannes Creative Academy, and Shaunda Lambert has “once-in-a-lifetime experience” at global academy for students.

News | Brandcenter | VCU

Shaunda Lambert (ST, 2023) was one of 29 students from around the world to be chosen to participate in the 2022 Roger Hatchuel Student Academy (RHSA), a component of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The RHSA is a unique learning experience designed to help students interested in pursuing a creative path in advertising launch their careers. Throughout the week-long program, participants explore the various avenues and creative spaces to which they might matriculate after graduation and are provided myriad opportunities to learn first-hand from the world’s greatest brands, creative minds, and industry leaders. Speakers included Mathilde Delhoume-Debreu, Global Brand Officer, LVMH; Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer, R/GA; İlkay Gurpinar, Creative Director, TBWA Turkey; Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman and CEO, VaynerX & VaynerMedia; Ryan Reynolds, Chief Creative Officer, MNTN/Maximum Effort; and James Coburn, Vice President, Mandrake.

While every session was valuable, every speaker inspiring, and every moment incredible, Shaunda mentions meeting Malala Yousafzai—activist for girls’ education, youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and this year’s recipient of the CannesLionHeart—and winning the brief competition put on by Deloitte with her teammates as two of the most memorable highlights from the week.

Of all that Shaunda gained from this experience, perhaps the most valuable to her and her career aspirations are the newfound global network and the expanded perspective.

An aspiring entrepreneur, Shaunda is in the process of building her own agency, which will focus on brand development for founders coming from underrepresented and marginalized communities locally, nationally, and globally.

Participating in RHSA, made possible by attending the Brandcenter, she says, opened up her cultural lens and will better prepare her for her work going forward.

“I am incredibly honored to have been chosen. I had no idea just how much I would learn and how life-changing this experience would be,” Shaunda says.

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3OXIBVh

News | Brandcenter | VCU Shaunda Lambert (ST, 2023) was one of 29 students from around the world to be chosen to participate in the 2022 Roger Hatchuel Student Academy, a component of the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes, France. The Cannes Lions is the largest festival for creative communications, advertising, and related f...

27 Professionals Changing Media, Marketing, Tech and More

William Roberts-Foster (ST, 2012) has been named to Adweek's Young Influentials list, which highlights individuals under 40 who are truly making an impact across media, marketing, tech, and the creator economy.

As the VP of Ad Innovation Strategy within NBCUniversal's Advertising and Partnerships division, William leads the strategic development, implementation, and optimization of new advertising formats on Peacock, NBCUniversal's ad-supported streaming platform.

Congrats, William!

Check out William's feature and the full list here:
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/27-professionals-profoundly-affecting-media-marketing-tech-and-the-creator-economy/?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Adweek_Daily_220801054554&recip_id=117939&lyt_id=117939

27 Professionals Changing Media, Marketing, Tech and More Meet Adweek's 2022 Young Influentials.

Major congrats to Kat Worrall (CW, 2022), Laura Rouw (AD, 2022), Sarah Nell Redmond (AD, 2022), Ann Shoen (AD, 2022), and Cara Toebbe (CW, 2022). Their entry for the Duolingo brief in the D&AD 2022 New Blood Awards earned a Yellow Pencil, which, according to the judging criteria, is “awarded only to outstanding work that achieves true creative excellence.” There were only 27 awarded worldwide this year. 🤩

The Ask:
All it takes is several minutes a day to keep the habit going and reap the benefits from knowing another language. So, how can Duolingo get learners to do their daily language lesson in an innovative way? You need to develop an idea that gets people back into the daily habit of learning a language and keeps them there.

The Team’s Idea: Duo’s Done
When asked how to get existing users back on the app, our research pointed to one thing: Duo’s notifications annoy people. Users have gone so far as to call the owl out on social media, calling him an “unhinged” looming presence.

Rather than hiding from the culture built around Duo, we’re leaning into it. Because there’s only so much bullying a fictional owl can take. And he’s reached his breaking point. He’s resigned his post, taken to the streets, and left no one but Brad, the intern, to send reminders. He’ll only come back if the users do. DUO’S DONE.

Way to do it, Kat, Laura, Sarah, Ann, and Cara! Check out the news story on our website at brandcenter.vcu.edu/news to see more of their work.

Let’s hear it for Kaz Baniisfahany (CBM, 2022), Jay Do (AD, 2022), Pareesa Khwaja (XD, 2022), Craig Kissoon (CW, 2022), Vivien Zhu (CBM, 2022), and Kevin Nguyen (ST, 2022)! Their entry for the Google Fonts & HMCT brief in the D&AD New Blood Awards earned a Graphite Pencil!

The Ask:
*Type as the universal voice of peace, dignity, and equality*
Create a typographically-led campaign based upon or expanding the Articles of the UDHR as a call to action or awareness. Choose an issue that compels you, and makes you care deeply. No matter our origins or where we live now, we should all have access and rights to: education, right to choose, breathe clean air, freedom, justice, etc. Bring these issues to life in a way that is engaging for your audience.

The Team’s Campaign: Displaced Voyages
There is a growing group of refugees rendered invisible in the mainstream narrative around asylum seekers: climate refugees.

Even though they are being forced to flee to other parts of the world due to the inhabitability of their homes, they have yet to be recognized in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

To combat this, we’re introducing Displaced Voyages, an integrated campaign which uses typography to visually represent the stories of climate refugees across the world. Across all touchpoints, audience members will have an opportunity to share stories across the web and with those who can affect change at the very top: their UN Ambassadors.

By raising our voices for the unheard, we can return agency to climate refugees.

Vivien says, “This project was such a special one because it provoked impact-driven creativity for a critically overlooked issue. As students who come from various diasporas around the world, our team easily coalesced around this mission to draw attention to forced climate migrants—the D&AD brief merely presented itself as a perfect opportunity to do so.”

Congrats, Kaz, Jay, Pareesa, Craig, Vivien, and Kevin!

Check out the news story on our website at brandcenter.vcu.edu/news to see the rest of their work.

The D&AD New Blood awards program is open to advertising, design, digital, and marketing students, recent graduates, and young creatives worldwide. Three Brandcenter teams were awarded Pencils in this year’s competition.

The Walker’s team—Jessica Leonard (AD, 2022), Edo Ohayon (CW, 2022), Grace Geary (AD, 2022), and Rolang Piocuda (ST, 2022)—earned a Graphite Pencil, which, according to the judging criteria, is “awarded to stand-out work that rises above the rest.”

The Ask:
Use the power of humour to break the “I’m fine” autopilot response during world mental health day on 10th October. Develop a campaign that lives through social media and has the ability to gain traction to reach a wide array of audiences that showcases humour’s ability to empower the nation to open up.

The Team’s Campaign: Legally Not Fine
No one in the world experiences more identity fraud than those with the last name Fine. So on World Mental Health Day, we propose people stop saying they’re “Fine” when they’re really not. Because (legally) you’re not “Fine,” they are. Family, friends, and co-workers will be able to engage with Walkers on social media to help end the identity fraud crisis facing the Fines of the world. Because truly, we’re all culprits. Let’s all find new ways to open up, in a more legal, professional manner.

Visit the news story on our website at brandcenter.vcu.edu/news to see the rest of their award-winning work.

Congrats, Jess, Edo, Grace, and Rolang!

We’ve got some recent grads to celebrate, y’all!

First up, Grace Geary (AD, 2022) and Cara Toebbe (CW, 2022).

Grace and Cara responded to the April/May brief in the Young Sh*ts Contest and won! The Young Sh*ts Contest is an advertising contest for creatives, judged by young professionals.

The Ask:
Convince people to accept refugees. Any media, any medium; the sky's the limit.

The Team’s Idea: The Uniter Boot with Adidas x FIFA
The team's idea was to tap into one unifying voice across all nations, politics, and cultures: futbol. It can be hard for people to know what to do about a humanitarian crisis as big and complicated as the refugee crisis, so they wanted a strategic partner that carried influence, reach, and a strong rallying cry. They decided to partner with Adidas to raise awareness and funding by showcasing a new product on a global stage, digitally and IRL: The Uniter boot.

Grace says, “Briefs like these feel so important to work on right now. If there was ever a time to use the power of creative thinking, it’s now. While Cara and I hope to inspire you to purchase our fake FIFA22 boot, we were really glad to be able to work on something as meaningful, relevant, and important as this. It was also incredible to work on a brief where the sky's the limit. When you think without restraints, you can come up with something that is way more unique or out of the ordinary.”

Congrats, Grace and Cara!

Check out the news story on our website at brandcenter.vcu.edu/news for more of Grace and Cara’s work and to read all about and see the work of all four of our award-winning teams.

Archana Mahadevan Found Her Leading-Lady Self in Virginia (and Advertising)

Archana Mahadevan (CBM, 2012) was recently interviewed by Angela Natividad for Muse by Clio's Reinventions series, which profiles people who have made big pivots in their careers and lives.

Formerly a product expert at Google, India, Archana realized she wasn't happy. She had always dreamed of a career in advertising, so away she flew 8,000 miles to begin a new journey, a new life.

"I moved 8,000 miles away to Richmond, Virginia, and finally felt like I arrived home. There I became the leading lady in my story. To most people around me, the decision to start over didn't make sense. To me, it felt crazy not to."

"I chose VCU Brandcenter in Richmond because the school had a smart approach to break into all disciplines of advertising, not just creative. I quit an unfulfilling yet comfortable career trajectory and the comfort of home to claim my space in the world, and do what I love most."

Archana is currently a VP and strategy director at DDB Chicago and a passionate DEI advocate in the industry. And, might we add, a total inspiration to us all!

We're so proud of you, Archana Mahadevan, and incredibly honored to be part of your story.



https://musebycl.io/reinventions/archana-mahadevan-found-her-leading-lady-self-virginia-and-advertising

Archana Mahadevan Found Her Leading-Lady Self in Virginia (and Advertising) 'When I quit my job, I had absolutely no fallback option if things didn't work out my way'

Yes, advertising students are working on Web3

Experience Design Concentration Chair and Professor Andrew LeVasseur recently contributed to an article by Marketing Brew exploring how advertising students are working on Web3.

"As long as businesses are using it, our students need to use it, too," Andrew says. He then provides many examples of how students at the Brandcenter—mostly experience design students, but art direction students, too—explore how brands can show up in "decentralized and tokenized economies" in their projects. From modular design systems to augmented reality to mixed reality to the metaverse and more, emerging creative technology is a key part of the curriculum. Of course, creative problem solving, smart ideas, and solid concepts are at the center of everything we do at the Brandcenter; now, students have more tools and more places to play and create.

Click the link below to read the article and view examples of projects some of our alums created when they were students.

Ryan Shih (XD, 2022)
Alaysha Mikell (XD, 2022)
Erin Philips (XD, 2022)
Ira Birch (XD, 2022)
Grace Geary (AD, 2022)
Jay Do (AD, 2022)
Dennis Liu (XD, 2021)
Dominik Hofacker (XD, 2021)



https://lnkd.in/ggEUPMSG

Yes, advertising students are working on Web3 ONE School founder Oriel Davis-Lyons said it’s seen an influx of applications featuring pitches about NFTs and the metaverse.

Hamza Ali Left Life on the Road, and Ended Up on the Other Side of the World

Hamza Ali (AD, 2021) was recently interviewed by Angela Natividad for Muse by Clio's Reinventions series, which profiles people who have made big pivots in their careers and lives.

In the feature, Hamza talks about his journey into advertising and his experience as a young, foreign creative. In just three years, he went from production assistant in northern Pakistan to the Brandcenter in Richmond, Virginia, to Havas New York, where he is currently an art director and has already won multiple Clio Awards, Cannes Young Lions, and several shortlists. He also shouts out Brandcenter professor Tom Scharpf as one of his mentors and role models.

We love to see you share and be recognized for your story and your talent, Hamza, and we cannot wait to see what you do next!



https://lnkd.in/e9rytNR6

Hamza Ali Left Life on the Road, and Ended Up on the Other Side of the World 'Your unique culture and heritage is your biggest strength'

More happy moments from graduation 🥹🥹🥹



📸: Nate Villaire (XD, 2023), Andrew Krysinski (CBM, 2023), and grads

Last Saturday, we graduated the Brandcenter Class of 2022, and it was the happiest day.

This class knew nothing of normalcy. Their *entire* sixty weeks at the Brandcenter were in some way different or more challenging due to factors beyond their control. Still, they never once lost sight of what they set out to do. We applaud them for their tenacity and for their togetherness, and we cannot wait to see how they use their skills, their talents, their creativity, their minds, and their hearts to be a positive force in their industry and our world.

Stay tuned for many more photos and a full recap from graduation coming soon to our feeds and our website.

For now, please join us in congratulating the Brandcenter Class of 2022.



📸: Nate Villaire (XD, 2023), Andrew Krysinski (CBM, 2023), and grads

Sixty weeks. Of hard work. Of growth—both individual and collective. Of collaboration, fun, and friendship. And so much more.

This Saturday, May 14, we’ll graduate the Class of 2022 and celebrate the culmination of their sixty weeks with us at the Brandcenter.

We can’t believe it’s almost over but we are so proud of them and so glad that all that is learned and gained during these sixty weeks actually lasts forever.

GRATEFUL. PROUD. That’s how we feel right now!

On , 140+ donors supported the Brandcenter with gifts totaling $75,000! Funds raised will go toward our goal of making a Brandcenter education more accessible to more students.

Strong participation from our current students, faculty/staff, and our alumni helped us win several university-wide Giving Day challenges and secure additional funds, which is an incredible testament to our small yet mighty group!

Thank you to everyone who showed up for Brandcenter and our students on Giving Day and for believing in what we do.

Two new Latin-inspired restaurants in the RVA have popped up. Yes, we are aware of where our priorities are right now: chips and margaritas. But seriously, how cool is it that both restaurants have Brandcenter alum creative "salt bae sprinkled" into both? Creemos que esta es una excelenta notica. (We think this is excellent news!)

First up, we have Rachel Everett (AD, 2001) and Brian Gibson (AD, 2001) of EVERGIB who completed the branding for Big Kitchen Hospitality‘s Conejo restaurant. Their work included brand strategy, messaging, creative direction, and website development. The agency collaborated with our friends at 903 Creative on the logo and visual identity work, which features a rabbit and Mexican heirloom corn in reference to Conejo’s Spanish translation and associations.

Secondly, the team at Yebo provided brand voice, branded posters, photography, and social media messaging strategy for the Latin-inspired restaurant Cocodrilo, which opened in March. Creative Director Ron Villacarillo (AD, 2001) says this about the project, "We love when our agency gets the opportunity to work with local small businesses that share the same love for innovation and creativity. The restaurant scene here in RVA is no joke! And when there are tacos involved, we don’t say no."

Recent BC graduate Isabel Kerr (CW, 2021) shares, "We knew the food was going to speak for itself. Our challenge was to build interest without any mouthwatering food photography, much interior design, or even a set-in-stone menu. With provocative headlines, a bold design, and photography by my very own teammates, we got Richmond fired up about Cocodrilo." Another Brandcenter alum Billy Reano (XD, 2018) is to be given all the applause for the Cocodrilo logo design. Yebo collaborated with KurbMedia on the website development and user experience as well.

Bien Hecho to all of our ! And, be sure to visit Conejo and Cocodrilo soon!

Bonus Note: Conejo will be donating 10% of their sales on Cinco de Mayo to the Waymakers Foundation, a nonprofit food pantry providing emergency assistance and services in the Hispanic Community. Get those reservations rápidamente!