WA’s future ad talent gets an inside look at agency life through JumpStart 2025
Some of WA’s brightest aspiring creatives and strategists got a front-row seat to agency life through JumpStart 2025 – Advertising Council Australia’s nine-week immersion connecting students with the state’s leading agencies.
Designed to give final-year students and recent graduates a first-hand understanding of how agencies work, the program offered practical insights across strategy, creative, account management, production and media through sessions hosted by leading WA agencies.
“JumpStart has launched the careers of so many future stars,” said Melissa Vella, ACA WA State Manager. “It’s about showing students how exciting a career in advertising can be and connecting them directly with the people shaping its future.”
This year’s cohort kicked off at Trilogy Advertising & Marketing, where students got a crash course in agency life – from client briefs to creative collaboration – setting the tone for the program ahead.
Week 2 shifted to account management hosted by the Youngbloods at the Moonsail offices, unpacking what makes a great client partner and how trust and strategy underpin strong relationships. The session at 303 MullenLowe with Matt Oakley explored how insights and strategy turn business problems into creative opportunities.
A session with Nani Creative highlighted the power of cultural awareness in shaping authentic and inclusive storytelling, while KWP+ Partners Fremantle gave students a behind-the-scenes look at how a creative departments operate and gave them their first creative briefs to tackle.
At Rare, students explored the true value of creativity – how ideas fuel business growth and why it’s critical we never lose sight of creativity’s power to drive outcomes. Bonfire then followed with a deep dive into the fast-moving world of digital and performance marketing, showing how data and creativity can work hand-in-hand to deliver measurable results.
The program then moved to VML, where students experienced the realities of production and learned how ideas move from concept to execution. A bonus session at Seven West Media offered a behind-the-scenes look at its integrated newsroom, broadcast operations and print press.
Initiative delivered a Media Masterclass on how strategic channel planning and audience understanding bring campaigns to life, followed by Gatecrasher, where students honed their pitch skills ahead of the program’s live brief presentation to the WA Police Force.
2025 JumpStart Award Winners
● Best Individual Pitch Presenter: Ning Choi
● JumpStart Consistent Achiever: Ines Hutchinson
● Winning Team (KWP+Partners Fremantle): Seth Rajapakse, Michael Khaw, Courtney Banks, Zoe Langtry and Charlotte Lyne
Student feedback this year was overwhelmingly positive, with graduates calling JumpStart “an amazing chance to step behind the curtain and see how the advertising world in WA really works” and “an unforgettable experience providing opportunities for networking, valuable insights and lifelong friends.” Another described it as “the ultimate portal into the Perth advertising industry.”
“Each year, the energy, curiosity and openness of the students remind us why investing in young talent matters,” added Vella. “They leave with a new appreciation for creativity, collaboration and the kind of work that makes this industry tick.”
Photo credit: With thanks to Gatecrasher for the studio group shots, and Wei En Seet who helped facilitate this year’s program.
