The Big Bang is a creative internship scheme founded and run by the recruitment firm Daniel Marks in collaboration with The Dots. The Big Bang is where Creativity begins and aims to give young creative talent a paid opportunity to let their talent shine.
Last year the Brief was to “Create a Brand and Advertise an IFO - an Identified Flying Object!”. With some incredible work submitted, we’ve selected a series of interviews with not only the ultimate employers but the Big Bang ‘Rising Stars’ who through the scheme went into paid work at some of London’s leading brands and creative agencies.
One of our Big Bang 2016 finalists was Junior Creative, Jessica Apps, who gained an internship at drinks brand Innocent. Here she talks through Stationairy- her creation for the competition - and what she learned during her internship. But first, Katie Rosen - innocent's Head of Creative, who hired her - talks to us about life as an intern at innocent and suggests how you too can make your message stand out.
What was it that stood out about Jess’s application?
A couple of things really stood out, firstly that Jess was trying to solve a real problem, she did this in a truly creative way (across a range of media) and with a good sense of humour. Plus, she’d used a couple of puns and we love a pun at innocent.
How was she through the internship and what tasks did you have her doing?
Jess made a huge impact in her time with us and got really involved with the team. Her biggest achievement has to be delivering several pieces of video content for our end of year meeting held at the British Film Institute. This project demonstrated her creativity, sense of humour and skills in video editing as well as her confidence in presenting and managing stakeholders. The final piece answered the brief, was a great representation of our brand and received super positive feedback from across the business.
What made you get involved in the Big Bang scheme?
For as long as I’ve been leading creative teams, I’ve been passionate about making sure there’s diversity within the team. It’s important for society and the work, that our industry is inclusive.
Would you recommend others to get involved in this in future?
Definitely – I’d recommend both aspiring creatives and businesses and agencies get involved, it’s a great experience for everyone.
Any top tips for future applicants?
At the top of my top tips, is to remember that the presentation of the idea is as important as the idea itself – make sure your entry is concise, beautifully laid out and that your passion shines through.
What was the inspiration or your creation?
Inspiration for the name/concept of my creation came largely from my love for puns. The visual style was inspired by retro airline branding/advertising.
Tell us about your internship, what did you get up to/ learn?
My internship was a month long, the main project I worked on was the annual meeting held at the British Film Institute. I was given the task to shoot and edit a short film celebrating the success of the new innocent smoothie packaging, in the style of 'Planet Earth' (spoof documentary style). I was given a fair bit of responsibility so I learnt a lot about task management and working with lots of people, as I had to organise filming and directing many people within the company.
What did you enjoy most?
Work-wise I loved doing the film as it was something I've never really done before, and it was fantastic seeing it on a cinema screen at the annual meeting in front of approx. 200 people. But I also really enjoyed the atmosphere of the company, I had never considered working in-house before and it was interesting seeing how even people in none creative departments of the company still had fun and energetic inputs into creative outcomes.
Was it what you expected? How so?
It wasn't what I expected at all really, mostly because I assumed I would be doing packaging related work. It made me realise the extent of creative work that is produced for innocent both internally and externally.
What have you been up to since?
Since then I was working at a brand new small design agency for about 6 months. At the moment I am doing a couple of freelance projects/updating my portfolio whilst I look for another job.
What advice would you give anyone thinking of applying for the next Big Bang?
Advice I'd give to anyone entering the competition would be to try not to doubt yourself and to have fun with it! The brief itself definitely encouraged a fun approach but I remember having doubts about my idea being too 'silly' (especially with the amount of puns/idioms I incorporated!) but clearly it was enough to attract the attention from someone at innocent which was really awesome.
For more information on the Big Bang Creative Internship Scheme and to find details for the next and upcoming collaboration, please visit www.danielmarks.com
Companies
Innocent
- Retail