A QUT advertising student has been named Queensland winner of a national competition to create a TikTok video targeting high school students and won herself an internship with prestigious Brisbane advertising agency VML.
The Ad Student X TikTok Competition was devised by the QUT School of Advertising, Marketing and PR to celebrate 50 Years of Advertising Education in Australia, which began at QUT.
Second year Bachelor of Communications student Damian Vo, who is doing her major in advertising, took up the challenge to inspire high school students to make an advertising major their first preference for university education.
Her upbeat, clever 60-second TikTok creation was packed with fun facts and presented a clear case about why QUT was the best choice for studying advertising, highlighting it as a top-tier university and citing QS World University Rankings.
The aim of the video was to inspire high school students to make an advertising major their first preference for university education. A judging panel of advertising industry people and academics selected one winner from every state, plus a national winner.
The competition was open to undergraduate students studying an advertising major at an Australian university with entries judged by a panel of advertising leaders, a TikTok expert and QUT’s own Xavier Amouroux, Executive Director Marketing and Student Recruitment.
For Damian, who is from Vietnam, the experience has given her fledgling career and prospects an enormous boost.
“I always thought that as an international student, I could not create work which would attract the Australian market because I don't have deep insights into Australian culture or the media industry,” Damian said.
“This opportunity has changed my thinking significantly. I believe that there is no limit on creativity, and we can achieve success with the willingness to learn continually, pushing ourselves into new domains.
“I was able to take advantage of valuable experiences from my academic journey with QUT. I feel very proud of myself, and this award makes me believe even more that ‘hard work pays off’.”
Competition organiser, Professor Gayle Kerr from the QUT School of Advertising, Marketing and PR, said the competition had brought out the best in advertising students Australia-wide.
“I think the best thing about this competition is that it gave students like Damian the opportunity to make an impact on the industry before they even graduate,” Professor Kerr said.
“Damian’s TikTok video put a great message across about all the advantages of studying advertising at QUT, from the real-world projects and hands on experiences available, to the chance to work on campaigns with impact and meet with industry leaders.”
The national (and Victorian) winner of the competition was Swinburne secondyear Bachelor of Media and Communications student Marika Tsourekis.
Media contact:
Amanda Weaver, QUT Media, 07 3138 3151, amanda.weaver@qut.edu.au
After hours: 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au
