CreateAthon onCampus gives students a chance to work around the clock to help nonprofits in their area.

www.createathononcampus.org

CreatAthon On Campus is a 24 hour event that allows advertising students to create work to help nonprofits in their area. 

24 Hours. That is all the time we had to finish redesigning the admissions materials for The New Community School in Richmond, Va. 

The New Community School provides a program of college preparation for dyslexic (specific language learning disabled) students, grades 6-12. 

I had never heard of TNCS before, and here I was on a team and on a mission. I had to learn about the school, understand their methods, and make it my world for one day. This seemed like a daunting task because I had never been up for 24 hours straight. I had no idea how I would function during the wee hours of the night. But this was CreatAthon's fourth year in action. It had obviously been done before. It was time for me to push myself to the limit both mentally and physically. I am so happy I did!

I would recommend the CreatAthon experience to every advertising student who wants to push themselves to becoming better in their field. It is important to say that the reason I had such a great experience in CreatAthon was because of our group leader; Marie Linnevonberne. 

Marie enrolled in a semester long class that prepared her for leading her team of six (myself and five other members). She spent months learning about her client and meeting with them to understand what they would like us to work on during the 24 hours of madness. 

Our leader gave us an invaluable CreatAthon experience 

Marie had an unconventional approach to briefing us about the client. Instead of just telling us about TNCS and showing us their website, she took us all to the school to sit on the classes and meet the students ourselves. 

Chatting with the students gave me a fresh perspective on education 

Visiting TNCS not only helped us better understand the school and the way it works, but motivated us to do better work for them as well. Sitting in on the classes helped me open my eyes to a new way of learning. I quickly realized that these kids were smart. Really smart. In fact they were so smart that their way of thinking was like none I had ever seen before. I was intrigued by the experience, and I fell in love with their open minded, non judgmental, relaxed culture. 

By the time we got back to campus, we were pumped and ready to go! We had a million ideas rushing through our heads and we began coming up with strategies like crazy. 

Although we started coming up with concepts a bit later in the day, our client visit gave us great momentum and a solid starting point.

In addition to our great start, lady luck was on our side as well. Liz Scoggins, a TNCS graduate was volunteering at CreatAthon to help students with any questions they may have regarding design or strategy. She found our team and we instantly connected by learning about her experience at TNCS and how it had helped her with her career as a successful advertiser. She played a big part in keeping the team on track as well as giving us insightful feedback on a place she knew so well. Having her on our team boosted our confidence and assured us that we were going in the right direction. 

In just a matter of a few hours, we were able to decide exactly where we were going with our strategy. We took a simple genuine approach that highlighted the quality of education a student at TNCS would get as well as the supportive, nurturing environment they could be a part of. We decided on a compelling theme and we got to work. 

I was in charge of rewriting the admissions material as well as helping with the design and final look. The continuous work was not easy. I learned a lot about myself throughout this experience. For example; everything that happens after 3:00am is hilarious, drinking two cans of Red Bull and three cups of coffee can really mess up my stomach, and wearing comfortable clothes increases productivity. 

Yoga and massages kept us sane through the night

We worked. We ate. We stressed. We laughed. Then it was time. The clock struck 9:00am and we were literally running up the stairs while mounting our work on the boards to make it to the meeting. 

This was it. They were either going to love it or hate it. 

Working constantly for 24 hours is one thing, but presenting the work at hour 24 and trying to make sense while doing so is a whole other story. 

We made it through our presentation and The New Community School loved our work. They were pleased with the way we portrayed their mission as well as the new look we came up with. They even decided to use all of the materials we created. 

Watching the client's reaction to the work we created was the most rewarding part of the experience.

All in all, we wrote, rewrote, and designed a six page informational packet, eight application forms, and  three post cards. 

CreatAthon deepened my passion for advertising and my love to solving problems in a creative way. There is something captivating about making someone's problem my problem, and then working very hard to find a solution. I loved the results I saw when I woke up two days later, but most importantly, I loved the journey the team and I took to get there.