WORKSHOPS

You never forget your first. And the first creative workshop I organised brought together a mix of creative talent in the Leo Burnett office to work on some open briefs. One such brief for Tide (P&G) led to my writing partner, Simon Rafaghello, and I winning the agency’s first ever Cannes Lions award; two Silvers in Radio for the Scriptwriting and Household categories. The same campaign went on to win the first ever MENA Cristal Grand Prix in the Radio category.

While at Leo Burnett (Dubai), I was tasked with leading a day workshop in communication skills for the Customer Services department for Emirates at their HQ in Dubai. There, I worked with the team on live examples of dos and donts when emailing customers, including how to defuse hostile confrontations.

This is a three-month workshop that takes place annually in the north west of England, primarily Manchester and Leeds. During this time, 12 creative students (agency and non-agency based) put their skills to the test with a new creative brief every week. And each week this work is judged by an established Creative Director in the industry. I had the pleasure of being a judge for one of these weeks. A thoroughly enjoyable occasion, where I spoke about personal career challenges and gave advice on identifying new approaches to build on their creative ideas.

Conducted for the Accenture Creative team to highlight the importance of storytelling and taking the client on a journey when we present creative work. I also provided tips and cues, from personal experience, on how to boost confidence and settle nerves.