Reinvention Convention was a big success – an afternoon of young, innovative thinkers working on live idea generation briefs to give well-known brands a face-lift.
Every year at Magpie, we run an event that gathers inspirational thinkers together for a day of insight and idea generation. This year we hosted Reinvention Convention, an event that brought students and graduates together to help four leading brands reinvent part of their business.
As Enterprise Ambassadors for University of Leeds, we invest a lot of time working with students to champion their voice, help nurture and develop their ideas and gain more real-life work experience. We hosted Reinvention Convention at the University’s School of Design as a fun and engaging way of encouraging freethinking and collaboration within a commercial reality. Teams of students from all disciplines worked on briefs supplied by leading brands, presenting their ideas to industry experts, receiving invaluable feedback and hands-on experience.
Gino, our very own Ideas & Imagination journalist, reports on the event:
Workshop warm-up
It was two hours of tremendous intuition and mindboggling idea mix mashing for the creatives at Magpie’s Reinvention Convention. Tasked with reimagining four well-known brands and their specialized briefs, four teams sought to step outside of the box and bring the next BIG idea to the pop-up boardroom.
Mind-mapping
Inspired by the eccentricities of the School of Design’s very own ‘grass studio’, the workshop began with networking amongst the attendees and Magpie’s team of experts. Felt tips and profound questions like, ‘What is the greatest innovation in history?’ were on hand for people to begin spreading their seeds of wisdom. Along with the other imaginative types, the attendees agreed that everything from the invention of the wheel, to the formidable sandwich bag, to the cloud, were incredible feats. When asked why she had come to this event, Fashion and Marketing student, Carla, said that she had come to “make her life more bam!”
Big-brand briefs
Led by Magpie’s Ged (Business Development Director), Becky (Operations Director), and Pete (Digital Director), the entrepreneurs were eager to get cracking at the challenge: to find “innovative ideas to solve creative problems” presented by the four incredibly diverse briefs from big brands like Ryman and the Reel Fish Co. With a grand 30 minutes to plot, debate, and create, four teams and their Magpie assistants got down to business.
Imagination on display
At the sound of a buzzer, the crowd of creatives settled down to hear the pitches of the four teams. Literally taking like tuna to water, the Reel Fish Co. team made their brand stand out, and was commended for social media engagement. Another group chatted about millennial environmental-consciousness, and another on viral video use. Then, the Ryman team told the audience about how stationery could be the talk of campus. Much clapping ensued.
Reporting back
All in all, the Magpie panel applauded all the bright-sparks and their out-of-the-box ideas. There were “ballsy” marketing campaigns, social media hook-ups, and product specialization to suit millennial lifestyles.
From spectacularly creative tuna-loving, to electronic waste remixing – their imaginations stretched the briefs beyond anyone’s expectations. All ideas where documented into ‘Big Idea Reports’ and sent on for the perusal of the CEOs and PR teams who submitted them.
Given the energy on the day, the fantastic thinking and amazing results, we have decided to make ‘Reinvention Convention’ part of Magpie’s service offering. If you would like us to run a Reinvention Convention event for your business or organisation please get in touch.
