A year in the shoes of a professional, a year to create a communication strategy, a year of communicating with real clients. This was the experience that the students in the NEOMA Master 2 in Corporate Communications Strategies had as part of the Junior Agencies project. A report on nine months of work.

In October, the clients gave the students their briefs

In the first days of the course, the students formed 12 agencies made up of 4 to 5 members for 12 companies. They chose the type of business that they wanted to create a communications strategy for. The clients quickly submitted to them a brief with which they could begin working.

“It was the first time that I was given a client brief. The goal was to imagine a communications strategy to win over a younger clientele”, said Antoine Reeb, the student who worked for Bref WC France (Henkel).

“These collaborations give us the chance to come in contact with very different sectors and projects”, said Ikrame Samih, student.

From December to April, the students developed a strategy for their client

Starting in December, the students first proposed a methodology to their client. Then, they created a competition benchmark, took an overview of the situation, presented a diagnostic and a problem. From there, they created the strategy. They made progress by talking regularly with the company.

“The students also learned how to manage a client, and that’s not always easy. They needed to accept the comments, improve the project, find compromises and solutions,” said Franck Besson, pedagogic head of the Master MSc in Corporate Communications Strategies at NEOMA.

“Throughout the year, we talked with the experienced product manager, who had worked in several countries. He was very professional”, said Antoine Reeb. “We learned how to adapt to our client and organise ourselves”.

“We were faced with challenges that professionals encounter every day”, Ikrame Samih said. “We learned to work as a team, to organise ourselves, to cooperate effectively and respect deadlines. And we also learned how to understand client needs, communicate effectively with them and ensure their satisfaction throughout the project”.

In June, the students participated in a workshop led by creative professionals

For three days, the students were in a workshop. Depending on the “Junior Agencies” company’s communications strategy, the students established the visual identity and developed the graphic design kit. They were coached by artistic directors and senior creative directors.

“These senior creative professionals brought a level of extraordinary professionalism to the workshop. Thanks to them, the students’ work was top quality”, said Franck Besson, teacher and pedagogic head of the Master MSc in Corporate Communications Strategies.

“It was really great to have the insight of a professional on our work. I loved it! And what I took away from their advice was that a good creative concept often starts with a simple, obvious idea, and that you need to look into it deeper and not make things more complicated”, Antoine Reeb said.

In July, the students presented their projects to a jury of professionals

The Junior Agencies had three weeks to finalise their projects and set up a media plan. The year ended with their defence of their campaign and their creative project before a jury of professionals, clients and the NEOMA professor.

“This project was particularly inspiring because we worked with professionals, who constantly motivated us to give our very best”, said the student in the Master in Communications.

The companies that participated in the 2023-2024 project:

Pretto, Bref WC France (Henkel), Waze (Google), RugbyGirl Académie, Lady Cocotte, Belle & Bien, Leap, REVE – Mobilité, ELIS, Saint-Gobain, le Commissariat des Armées and FREDON Ile-de-France.