DMA Breakthrough Award 2025

22 May 2025

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

“After the success of last two years, we’ve chosen to partner with the DMA Awards programme again for 2025” said Matt Conner, Digital and Innovation Director, Barclays UK, he continues “We believe it provides a fantastic opportunity for the next generation of emerging UK talent to showcase their capabilities, catching the attention of marketing and agency leaders from a diverse set of sectors and disciplines”.

The Breakthrough Award provides aspiring creative 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, 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”.

This year's brief challenges participants to make Barclays the go-to choice for graduates and craft a targeted, digital creative strategy that speaks directly to this audience.

DMA Breakthrough Award 2025 Brief

DMA Breakthrough Award Entry Form

Closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday 26 October 2025 at 23:59.

Once we've reviewed all entries, we'll invite a shortlist to one of our regional heats taking place in Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Cardiff and online in early/mid November (exact dates will be posted on this page soon), with a regional winner being crowned at each.

The regional winners will progress to the grand final on Tuesday 2 December 2025, 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.

DMA Breakthrough Award 2025

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