Video wins student a placement at Ogilvy

A 23-year-old graduate has won a month-long work placement at Ogilvy in New York after taking the top prize in a YouTube-inspired IDM competition aimed at final year university students.

Lilla Somogyi from Leeds University won her prize by creating a stunning promotional video in response to the competition brief: to create and present herself as a brand that today's top agency employers would find irresistible.

Her winning video, viewable at http://www.urthebrand.co.uk/lilla.aspx impressed the judges through Somogyi's clever use of the medium to illustrate, both intelligently and creatively, the talents she could bring to a prospective employer.

IDM's Director of Student Services, Janice Pickard, said: "We were incredibly pleased with both the standard and diversity of the competition entries; Somogyi's video was both well planned and well executed, and managed to convey her personality and ambitions in a highly creative manner, impossible in a traditional cv".

The IDM launched the competition in March on a dedicated, web 2.0-inspired website, www.urthebrand.co.uk.

The site turns traditional graduate recruitment on its head, providing a platform for students seeking a career in marketing, to showcase their skills to prospective employers, rather than merely list them on a static cv.

From an employer's perspective, graduate recruiters can gain valuable insights into a candidate's skills before interview.

The initiative, part of the Institute's long-standing and respected Education Programme, also contains contributions from leading industry figures to help graduates gain a better understanding of - and enthusiasm for - working in the direct, data and digital profession.

Of her win, Somogyi said: "This represents a once in a lifetime and an amazing opportunity; I'm off in January for a month to New York - I really can't wait and I feel like the luckiest person on earth".

Her win has been announced after a string of positive results this summer from the IDM Education Programme, whose perennial mission is to inspire the brightest and most talented students to enter the direct, data and digital marketing profession.

The 10th annual IDM student competition for undergraduates studying marketing, won a cash prize for a team from Nottingham Trent University.

This year also saw the successful launch of the first ever IDM 6th form competition for schools, in which the top prize was taken by a delighted Ilkley Grammar School in July.

Finally, out of the 30 graduates from the 2007 IDM Summer School, over half have already found positions within the direct and digital profession.

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