The UNTOLD Creators by Visa program kicked off an exciting journey for the 20 talented students from the Marketing Prodigies pillar, who participated in their first workshops on July 2nd and 3rd. This experience was designed to provide these young marketers with insights and practical skills, guided by two of the industry’s top professionals: Paula Furir and Flavia Gherman.
Paula Furir, Head of Marketing at UNTOLD, is known for her creative and strategic approach to marketing. With vast experience in the field, Paula’s mentorship promised to inspire and elevate the students’ understanding of marketing principles and practices. Her unique ability to blend creativity with strategic planning provided a rich learning environment for the participants.
Flavia Gherman, a key figure in the UNTOLD team since its first edition, brought her expertise in commercial partnership strategy to the workshop. Leading a team of 15 creatives and managing a portfolio of over 70 partners, Flavia’s insights into developing and maintaining successful commercial partnerships were of great value to the next generation of festival makers. Her hands-on experience and leadership in the industry added a practical dimension to the learning experience.
The workshops covered a wide range of subjects essential for the participants, ensuring a holistic learning experience. They tackled subjects such as Who are you? What do you want? And why?, focusing on helping students understand the importance of defining their identity, goals, and motivations in the marketing landscape, Pitching - Who are they? - participants learned the art of pitching, emphasizing the importance of understanding the audience and tailoring messages to resonate with them, Contract - Is it Win-Win? - This segment delved into the world of contract negotiations, highlighting the need for mutually beneficial agreements.
The marketing subjects were also of great value, covering subjects like Brands vs Festivals - insights into the unique marketing dynamics of brands and festivals, drawing on UNTOLD’s successful strategies or A Year Behind the Scenes at UNTOLD - Participants gained an exclusive look into the year-round planning and execution that goes into making UNTOLD a success.
As part of the program, the participants will have to complete a challenge in the following week, working on a marketing presentation that will highlight the UNTOLD Festival, possible benefits that they might give to a partner in the festival, possible on site activations, and also a key visual for this new possible partner. Based on this challenge, each participant will be evaluated on criteria such as creativity, originality, relevance, feasibility, clarity and structure. A public vote will also count as 25% of the total grade, and the top five with the highest grades will advance in the program and will have the chance to be part of an internship at the UNTOLD Festival.