Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
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LBU students secure prize in ‘World Cup of PR’
Jessica Gaynor and Sarah Cockett, who study on the BA (hons) Public Relations and Brand Communication course, secured bronze at this this year’s International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) University PR World Cup.
They competed alongside 30 other student teams to create and pitch an effective PR campaign that would inspire global audiences to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Jessica and Sarah’s campaign, which used AI-generated imagery to predict an ‘ideal’ future of a world where the effects of climate change have been stopped or reversed, won praise from judges for its ‘innovative’ and ‘forward-thinking’ nature.
Sarah said: “It was such an honour to be chosen to represent Leeds Beckett in the ICCO competition.
“I'm so pleased that the judges were able to recognise the time and effort that we put into our campaign, commenting specifically on how well we aligned to the brief and the innovative ideas we produced.
“I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to take part in international competitions like this, and I'm sure the great feedback from esteemed judges will be really helpful to us going forward."
The teams received the brief from the United Nations Development Programme, with the winners decided by an international jury of industry leaders and academics.
Jessica added: “It was an incredible privilege to take part in an international PR competition such as the ICCO World Cup, and being recognised as one of the winning teams was even more unbelievable.
“Thank you to the organisers for setting up this year’s competition, Teela Clayton for nominating Sarah and I in the first place, and the judges for believing in our idea; it was lovely to hear such wonderful feedback.”
The competition is a Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) led initiative for university students aspiring to work in the PR industry and gives students like Jessica and Sarah their chance to shine.
The PRCA is the world’s largest professional PR body, representing more than 35,000 PR professionals from around the world.