Hannah Lawson has had a busy few months since taking out the top spot at 2019 AWARD School – from jetting off to Las Vegas for her Creative LIAsons prize, to landing an enviable gig as Junior Copywriter at DDB Sydney. Here’s how she got there.
Hannah Lawson has had a busy few months since taking out the top spot at 2019 AWARD School – from jetting off to Las Vegas for her Creative LIAsons prize, to landing an enviable gig as Junior Copywriter at DDB Sydney. Here’s how she got there.
What were you doing before you applied for AWARD school?
I was working at a wine bar in Melbourne and doing a bit of work for an Australian gin brand.
What prompted you to apply to the course?
I was pretty interested in AWARD School for a while. I’d seen a few of my friends do it and do really well in it, however, I was unsure whether it was worth it. But when I finished my degree at RMIT and showed my folio around, I was told by a lot of industry people that I needed more interesting work. At the time I had a few pretty things, but nothing that showed my ability to think in a really interesting way. It was all just kind of ‘yeah we’ve seen stuff like this before’ vibes. So I knew I needed to do something to make my work better to get a really good job (or just any job in the industry to be honest). Sarah McGregor was a big influence in showing me the value of AWARD School and how it could push my ideas to the next level. She was pretty much like ‘you need to start thinking f-ing crazy.’
What are some of your AWARD School highlights?
I loved the course because of the people. No doubt. The best thing about going through any difficult journey is having good mates by your side to do it with you. Hearing everyone’s funny, weird and highly inappropriate ideas over beers (shout out to that Julian Assange UberEats ad by Gus) helps you get perspective. So often I got in my head about the course, but at the end of the day, those little moments reminded me that it’s just about enjoying cool ideas and that’s kind of it.
How did winning AWARD School change your career path?
I got a job. That was the main goal achieved. I also got a really good head start as a junior creative. LIAisons was an unbelievable experience that gave me so many pearls of creative wisdom straight from the mouths of some of the world’s best advertising minds. That’s a pretty cool way to start a career.
Did you land your dream job right away? Tell us about your current role.
I have no doubt that my definition of a dream job will change a lot over time. But for this moment in time, I knew I wanted to work for a company that had a supportive community, strong female leadership, and talented creatives to learn from. And I was so lucky to have landed those exact things at DDB Sydney as a Junior Copywriter.
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Applications for 2020 AWARD School open on February 6 and close on February 20, APPLY NOW.