DMA Breakthrough Award Finalists Announcement

The DMA Breakthrough Award gives students across the UK the chance to tackle a real brand brief, pitch to senior industry figures, and see their names in lights at the DMA Awards.

For the third year, we’ve partnered with Barclays, challenging students to create a multi-channel campaign to become the go-to choice for graduate accounts.

Across the UK, students have competed in regional heats, gaining real-world experience beyond what university can offer, such as pitching to industry experts and hearing their feedback firsthand. Chloe Middleton & Phoebe Smith, Advertising & Brand Design students at Ravensbourne University, described it as “thrilling, fun, and inspirational,” praising its teamwork and confidence-building opportunities.

Tara Adana Dunford, Account Director Lead at Liberty Marketing Group, joined us to judge the Cardiff heat and was hugely impressed with the standard of work, telling us that “the students set a high bar with their creativity and strategic thinking, making it a tough call to select the finalists.”

The judges at every regional heat were blown away by the quality of the students’ work. Yasmin Muman, Marketing Lead at Digitas, told us the students at London’s heat brought “properly inventive, full-hearted ideas that didn’t just meet the brief, they charged right past it.” They all came away with the same feeling, summed up perfectly by Yasmin: “It left me buzzing, and genuinely hopeful for where our industry is headed.”

Tara also took part in several DMA Talent initiatives during her university years, and reflected on how valuable they were: “Opportunities like this are crucial in connecting education with industry, allowing students to share ideas, build connections, and bring fresh energy into the professional world. Having benefited from similar experiences myself, I’m passionate about supporting them now.”

Announcing 2025’s Regional Winners:
North: Maya Chamma & Nadia Socha, Manchester Metropolitan University
Scotland: Thomas Allock & Aleksandra Kacprzynska, Edinburgh Napier University
South: Daisy Calloway Pile & Elliott Manacchini-Godfrey, University of the Arts
West: Shannon Northcott Comer & Sean Gilham, University of Gloucestershire

On 2 December, they’ll all head to Barclay’s Canary Wharf office to pitch their final response, then don their glad rags for an evening of glitz and glamour at the DMA Awards to find out which team will win Gold.

Jessica Reilly, Head of Talent and People at DMA believes “whichever team comes out on top, we’re sure this experience marks the beginning of some exceptional careers in our industry as it has done countless times before”.