Sharon Edmondston and Scott Dettrick Want to Attract Diverse Thinkers to, and “Contemporise”, AWARD School

Sharon Edmondston and Scott Dettrick believe commercial artists have the privilege of  embracing, reflecting, and informing culture during political and economic uncertainty. 

“To be able to have a platform for some of the biggest brands that touch the most people in Australia, we do have a unique opportunity as creative people to embrace and inform things that do happen in culture and support progressive moves through the brands that we represent,” Sharon, the former ECD at M&C Saatchi and school head at AWARD, said,  “which is a real privilege.” 

Sharon and her co-school head Scott, have a desire to attract diverse thinkers to the industry, which means attracting them to  AWARD School. Sharon hopes 2025 is the year that “good energy” is brought back into the culture of commercial creativity. 

“Last year, there was a lot of movement,” she said. “There were some things that disrupted the industry. I think it’s time to re-group and to reconnect. There are some really great communities in Australian advertising and it would be great to get them singing again.”

She added significant cultural moments should and will be reflected in the briefs at AWARD School. 

“Because what advertising does very well is tapping into what’s happening in culture, right?” she said. 

“Culture moves so quickly now too,” Scott, who is also the national ECD at M&C Saatchi, added. “They [AWARD students] might start a brief in week one but by the time week 10 comes around, they’ll refine it and might change it up to reflect what happened culturally.” 

Together, they are working on contemporising briefs to reflect where the industry is going. 

“I look at the people that came before us and the great things they did, and I think Sharon and I are trying to add to that legacy the best way we can,” Scott said. “And I think a big part of how we're doing that is trying to contemporise certain parts.” 

The contemporisation of AWARD School is linked to the current state of the industry. The move to include more contemporary components that appeal to content creators and creative technologists, for example, is a “step forward.”

“This isn’t something we are necessarily ‘switching on’ for 2025,” Sharon said. “Every single brief is covering different disciplines. We’ve got some very innovative briefs in there and a broad spectrum of different creative challenges. We’re not just tapping into a diverse range of life experiences, but a diverse range of knowledge and strengths.” 

In creating diverse briefs, Sharon and Scott hope to attract diverse students.

“We want to broaden the pipeline of diverse thinking,” Sharon said. “In this last cohort, we had a lot of people who weren’t in or around advertising and it made us stop and think, well, what is the narrative around AWARD School?” 

This year, “socially led ideas” will come to the fore, the pair predicted, both within advertising and Australian culture. Scott described this as a “time of exploration” for brands, as they move from transitional media and look at new ways to tell their stories. 

“What is most important is the idea itself in its purest form. We are an ideas school first and foremost,” she said.

Scott added, “It’s a bit of a blanket statement but we’re aiming to do the very best work we can this year.”