ADC*E sails to success at the 5th Creative Express

ADCE Press Release
Tuesday 24 November 2015

ADC*E sails to success at the 5th Creative Express

• ADC*E takes 24 European talents on a creative expedition out into the Baltic Sea.
• Attendees from 12 different countries came together to respond to a special brief from ferry operator Viking Line.
• The Creative Express is ADC*E’s professional development programme open only to Europe’s top young creative.
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It’s billed as a creative workshop like no other, and certainly you would be hard pressed to find any new talent initiative in the world as unique and intriguing as the Creative Express!

First established in 2013, the Creative Express is the flagship programme from the Art Directors Club of Europe (ADC*E); designed to provide top-level professional development for the continent’s brightest young stars. It does so by offering them the chance to work and learn alongside their European peers in a multicultural creative department like no other.

Each edition of the Creative Express is unique as attendees are whisked away to a different eye-catching location, linked to a special creative challenge. And for the 5th Creative Express, this location was none other than the Baltic Sea, on a cruise ship travelling from Helsinki to Stockholm, as they developed a communications campaign for the ship’s operator, Viking Line Ferries.

The challenge was simple: How can an effective creative campaign drive awareness and increased purchases for Viking Ferries? How can you persuade more people to spend their free time at sea?

For the 24 young art directors, copywriters and designers nominated by their respective member clubs to attend the 5th Creative Express, the excursion began at the Viking Line dock in Katajanokka, Helsinki. Upon arrival, they were split into eight teams and each paired with an expert coach from the Finnish creative industry, who would provide guidance and direction for the days ahead.

Following a quick-fire round of inspirational talks from the industry mentors and a short briefing, it was time to set sail. The teams would have just over a full day to demonstrate their out-of-the-box thinking as the cruise liner sailed to Stockholm and back.

Grafia, the Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland, put together the programme for the Creative Express Helsinki, and Katri Soramäki, Executive Director of Grafia, explains the thinking behind it:

"The Creative Express was a unique opportunity for Grafia to bring together young talent around Europe with some of the top senior Finnish creatives as mentors. Networking across borders and being able to work in multicultural teams is essential in the globalised economy.

"’Stockholm ferries’ is a very well known concept to all Finns. Something everyone has experienced at least once. And what would be a more effective way to familiarize with the product than to take the cruise yourself?”

Despite the short time frame, unfamiliar teammates and close-quarters, once again the output was a tremendous demonstration of the great talent Europe has to offer. From duty-free fun, to digital detoxes, to even the suggestion of turning the Baltic Sea into its own country, it was a valuable learning experience for all. Not just the young creatives, but also for the senior creatives to learn from their junior counterparts.

Reflecting on the work, Katri Soramäki continues: “It was really exciting to see how these young creatives taking the ferry for the first time came up with so many brilliant concepts in less than 24 hours. A big thanks to our partner Viking Line for making this possible."

Mercè Segú, Managing Director of the ADCE concludes: “Once again, we’ve been blown away by the commitment, collaboration and creativity on show from our young stars. With the industry becoming more and more global, it’s so important that the next generation of talent are able to meet the demand for the new skills required to succeed, such as working seamlessly with other teams around the world. Our vision for the Creative Express is to help foster that new generation and ensure a golden era of European for years to come!”

Following the presentations to both the Viking Line client and the mentors on the second day, there was of course time to wind down with the traditional ADC*E closing party, as the ferry sailed back for Helsinki. Another successful Creative Express completed!

Notes to Editors

For more information, contact:

Mercè Segú
Executive Director
Art Directors Club of Europe
Tel. +34 93 256 67 66
Tel. +34 629836939
merce@adceurope.org
www.adceurope.org

Heidi Rostén
Communications Officer
Grafia
Tel. +358 45 8922467
Tel. +358 0 601942
heidi.rosten@grafia.fi
www.grafia.fi

For press enquiries, email press@adceurope.org

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About The Creative Express:
The Creative Express is a programme organized by the ADCE designed to provide professional training and promote young European creatives. Partners for the 5th Creative Express include:
• European Union – Creative Europe Culture Programme
• Viking Line
• Grafia
Previous editions of the Creative Express have taken place in Innsbruck-Vienna, Amsterdam, Munich and Tyrol. To be eligible to apply for the ADCE Creative Express, creatives must be under 28 years of age and have a minimum of two years professional experience and be selected by their national club.

#CreativeExpress
Facebook: Creative Express Page

About ADCE
The Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) is a not-for-profit association headquartered in Barcelona comprised of professional clubs and associations of graphic design and advertising from 18 European countries: Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Ukraine.

Founded in 1990, the ADCE strives to foster excellence in graphic design and advertising creativity at a European scale. The association represents more than 4,500 professionals from the field and internationally spotlights the best works accomplished at a local scale through its annual European awards. The association’s current president is Amir Kassaei, Chief Creative Officer at DDB Worldwide, and one of the most recognized advertising creatives in the world.

About the Creative Europe Culture Programme
The Creative Europe Culture Sub-programme invests in the thriving creative and cultural sectors as catalysts to arts, innovation and competitiveness of the European Union. The European Commission, through the Executive Agency for Education, Audiovisual and Culture (EACEA), supports the EU creative and cultural sectors, not only in financial terms, but also in pre- and post-project support. The Programme opens up international opportunities and audiences for artists and professionals of the culture and creative sectors by funding sustainable networks aimed to facilitate knowledge exchange, capacity building, transnational mobility of cultural players and circulation of works.

Creative Europe Culture is pleased to support the 5th edition of The Creative Express of the Art Directors Club of Europe and extend its wishes to all professionals and creative talents in their meetings, exchanges and outputs.

About Grafia - Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland
Grafia is a nonprofit organisation, which seeks to promote expertise in and understanding of graphic design, and to look after the professional, juridical and economical interests of its members.

Grafia was founded in 1933 and it has approximately 1000 members. Grafia members are employed in various sectors within the field of visual communication: graphic design, marketing communications, digital visual design, illustration, layout design, as well as teaching, research and study of the graphic design field. Grafia has been organizing Vuoden Huiput – Best of Finnish Advertising and Design competition since 1980.