Barclays partner with DMA for 2024's DMA Talent Breakthrough Award

We’re delighted to announce that Barclays will be partnering with us for the DMA Talent Breakthrough Award for the second year in a row.

“Barclays is passionate to support communities by enabling young people to develop the skills and confidence needed to succeed. As part of this ambition, we are proud to continue our partnership with the DMA Talent Breakthrough Award into 2024.”

This Award provides aspiring marketers up and down the UK the opportunity to:

• Add real client work to their portfolios.
• Experience what it’s like to work on a real-life creative brief.
• Gain invaluable experience pitching their work to a panel of judges.
• Have their talent recognised by industry greats at the DMA Awards.

“Last year we loved meeting the next generation of marketeers” said Matt Conner, Marketing Director – Customer Engagement at Barclays UK, “we were incredibly impressed with the calibre of the pitches and the range of ideas the teams brought to us — we are really excited to see what this year’s students bring”.

The brief has just been released and is being distributed to our network of universities, colleges and students. To ensure the Award is open to everyone across the UK, regional heats will take place in Edinburgh, London, Manchester, South Wales and online, with a regional winner being crowned at each.

These regional winners will progress to the grand final, pitching to the senior leadership team at Barclays UK at their Canary Wharf offices. Then, they’ll don their glad rags and attend the DMA Awards, giving them the chance to network with some of the most successful advertising and marketing agencies in the country.

The Award has a history of helping students kickstart their careers.

Jezebel Carr won in 2022 and is now a Junior Copywriter at Dark Horses. She told us “The Award not only put my own creativity to the test, but I also got to hear so many brilliant ideas and inspiring thinking from like-minded students. It gave me newfound confidence in my own ability and the drive to really push myself further in my career.”

If you know someone who would be interested in entering, they can find the brief which includes all the details needed to enter here.

We can’t wait to see all of this year’s entries.