SA One Club Creative Boot Camps kick off on Monday with who's who of the industry

Source: One Club One Club SA has a long history of Creative Boot Camp that stretches back to 2015. Here are the 2017 Johannesburg boot camp cohort

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The One Club Creative Boot Camp takes place all around the world in different cities. As a one-week intensive, designed to give advertising students an experience that simulates the process of solving a real marketing brief from a real client.

SA has a long history of Creative Boot Camp that stretches back to 2015. This year Creative Boot Camp takes place in Johannesburg from 10 to 14 July at the University of Johannesburg’s Fada campus. The following week, from 17 to 21 July, it is in Cape Town at the Red & Yellow School.

The key sponsor in Johannesburg is Nedbank. For Cape Town, it is the City of Cape Town.

The team behind the local boot camps are Suhana Gordhan, independent creative leader, ECD, and chief aunty of young creatives, Amandla Mbana, executive producer and programme manager and Jade Stuckie, designer, Duke.

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Shining a light on the next generation

Gordhan is the first woman from South Africa to have been selected to the One Club international board, where she represents South Africa and Africa alongside 21 other global creative leaders.

She is passionate about creating access for young women and creatives of colour. “For me, it’s about shining a light on the next generation so that the industry looks and feels very different to the one I started out in,” she says.

And this is why the Creative Boot Camp is so important she adds. “This initiative means so much to me because it provides the value of time and mentorship that is so desperately needed in our industry. But most importantly, it is a conscious and distinct investment in our future advertising creatives.”

She calls the Creative Boot Camp the “best advertising simulated experience for students.”

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How it works

Students are divided into teams and each team is assigned a mentor. The students receive an actual client brief on Monday and on Friday that they will work on to find solutions that are presented to a panel of judges who then select a winning team.

Gordhan explains that students learn through a compressed time frame how to create an idea and bring it to fruition the way they would in any ad agency.

“The experience is rich and rewarding and prepares students for the work world through an engaging, fun and inspiring week.”

Our Creative Boot Camps are back for 2020 ��! Multicultural students in locations around the world have the opportunity to work with the best agencies & creatives, and showcase their creative talents over a four-day #CreativeBootCamp

Find out how you can get involve��

— The One Club for Creativity (@TheOneClub) February 5, 2020

The who’s who of advertising

In addition, it gives the students access to the best of the best. The One Club Boot Camp is supported by international mentors - Jimmy Smit, CEO, CCO and chairman of Amusement Park as well as Sherina Florence, group creative director of 72andSunny.

The local creatives list assisting the students reads like the who’s who of the South African advertising world.

Local mentors include:

• Nethaam Abrahams, creative group head, Accenture Song
  
• Fu’aad Kasu, creative director, Duke
  
• Thandeka Gilbert, creative group head, McCann Jhb
  
• Chantelle dos Santos, creative director, Ogilvy
  
• Coenie Grebe, ECD, Halo
  
• Jonathon Wolberg, creative director, Grid Worldwide, Cape Town
  
• Jabulani Sigege, ECD, Machine
  
• Mbeu Kambuwa, ECD, FCB
  
• Nhlanhla Ngcobo CD, M&C Saatchi Abel
  
• Thembalethu Msibi, creative partner, Black Swan
  
• Natasha Fourie, independent creative director
  
• Nhlanhla Ngcobo creative director, M&C Saatchi Abel
  
• Bonolo Modise, ECD, Creative Fixer Studio

Each day, the students will receive a talk from an industry specialist during what has been termed a "Lunch & Learn".

The objective is to share a bit about their particular discipline and skillset, share wisdoms and of course, to inspire.

Industry professionals participating include:

• Ahmed Tilly, creative consultant at Number 10 Creative Consultancy
  
• Melusi Mhlungu, chief lover of creative things
  
• Steph van Niekerk, ECD, TBWA/Hunt Lascaris
  
• Naledi Manama, art director, Ogilvy
  
• Alex Goldberg, creative director, Ogilvy Cape Town
  
• Firdous Osman, MD, Saatchi & Saatchi SA
  
• Mandisa Vilakazi, copywriter, VMLY&R
  
• Kyla Philander, director, Bioscope Films
  
• Kassie Naidoo, partner and creative director, Lampost Productions

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The greatest value created from Boot Camps is that both mentors and brand partners are able to connect with diverse creative talent—typically made up of Gen Z and Millennials.

“Diverse talent can help to provide brands with fresh, new, and innovative insights during the boot camps, as brands will receive multiple solves to one business problem,” says Gordhan.

“We've seen many Creative Boot Camp participants receive internships from partnering agencies as well as even entry-level jobs from brand sponsors.

“This also provides brands and agencies with opportunities for meaningful and impactful DEI initiatives, such as the opportunity to mentor diverse emerging talent,” she explains.

Participation in The One Club Creative Bootcamps is more than attaching your name to a world-class organisation like One Club.

“It’s about driving active transformation, playing the long game, and changing the course of a young person’s life. Ultimately, it’s about reshaping the way our industry looks and feels, says Gordhan.

“I have personally witnessed the power of the Boot Camps and its ability to launch the careers of young students, in a way that sets them up for success,” she adds.