Saatchi & Saatchi Summer Scholarship contest inspires over 870 new Facebook groups
15 FEB 2010
In just three weeks, hopeful grads have formed 871 new Facebook groups as part of the first round of the Saatchi & Saatchi Summer Scholarship graduate recruitment scheme. On the 18th January this year, the London based agency asked the 6,197 members of its Summer Scholarship 2010 Facebook group to come up with a group of their own, with the creators of the most popular ones getting a step closer to landing a six week summer placement at the agency.
As this first round came to a close this weekend two groups stood out as unprecedented successes. Top of the leaders’ board is ‘Your own Lego Man. Free’ which attracted no less than 237,137 members. By joining the group, you get your name on the back of a Lego man that will then be part of an art installation. The group is now so widely talked about that Lego itself has reportedly given its support.
Next up is ‘Secret London’ which has now become so successful that the creator is on the cusp of her very first start up. The group is positioned as being ‘for Londoners to inspire Londoners by sharing the secrets of the city’. The group has 188,251 members, with people contributing details of their favourite hidden gems in and around the capital.
“The graduate programme is one of the most exciting projects we do, when it comes to attracting new talent. Social media is by no means new news in our business, so the challenge we have set is to see how original and entrepreneurial the grads can be with Facebook. It is a fresh litmus test to see if they have what we want,” says Michael Rebelo, Managing Director at Saatchi & Saatchi London.
The first task of setting up a Facebook group was launched in mid-January. Those with the highest number of members will go through to the next round and this will be followed by a number of further knockout challenges. The entire selection process will be carried out via Facebook, until the end of April, when the final 20 to 25 candidates will be invited to Saatchi & Saatchi for the last and ultimate challenge.
There are 10 places up for grabs on the Summer Scholarship scheme, starting on the 28th June, 2010. Each successful grad will have the opportunity to work in one of the key departments in the agency – media innovation, account leadership, planning or creative - with the aim of being hired at the end of the placement.
Saatchi & Saatchi London has been investing in graduate recruitment schemes since the 1980s and for the last 10 years has been running the Summer Scholarship programme.
Notes to editors
Saatchi & Saatchi London is known for its strength in creating Loyalty Beyond Reason for its clients’ brands. Its clients include the Labour Party, NSPCC, Carlsberg, Visa, Guinness, T-Mobile, Axa, Olay, Ariel and Head & Shoulders. Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide has 150 offices in 86 countries and 7,000 employees.
Saatchi & Saatchi London is part of the SSF Group, a mini group within the Publicis Groupe that unites Saatchi & Saatchi and Fallon in the USA and the UK.
