LOVE & LOBBY the festival

SEND THE DELIVERABLES LINK TO: Teodora.migdalovici@thealternativeschool.com / win@thealternativeschool.com

MANDATORY. Submissions must be shared via a link. Solutions sent as email attachments WILL NOT BE considered.

Anthropology, Semiotics, Applied creativity in the service of brands, Businesses & Society at large.

WHO

LoveAndLobby -TheFestival is an international online creative competition, that celebrates the way contemporary brands use identity, local flavor, customs, tradition and pop-culture to solve universal solutions in local key, serving as catalyst for evolution, both in business and at society level.

VALUES

Diversity, Inclusiveness, Celebrating both the inner wisdom & voice of a given community or culture, while reaching out to the world at large.

WHY

To create a virtual library celebrating identity and local wisdom, applied in business and society, for the benefit of all.

WHAT WE NEED

Create a visual system to promote the nine festival categories (either in relation with the sections or independently). Explain the system in 150 words. Demonstrate the concept of your visual system by declining it in 3 different visuals, ready to be used on Instagram. Propose the best launching strategy idea to spread the news about the festival within the international creative community: 150 words.

FESTIVAL CATEGORIES
  1. BEST USE OF SYMBOLS

  2. BEST USE OF LOCAL INSIGHT brands tapping into local insight to solve a problem

  3. BRANDS CELEBRATING TRADITION

  4. BRANDS CELEBRATING POP-CULTURE

  5. BRANDS ADDRESSING CULTURAL TENSIONS

  6. BRANDS CREATING CULTURE

  7. BEST CHALLENGE ON IDENTITY CLICHES related to age, gender, place of birth, beliefs

  8. BEST USE OF CULTURALLY RELEVANT LOCATIONS

  9. BEST CULTURAL AMBASSADOR Architect, Artist, Creative Director, Director, Inventor, Musician, Photographer, Producer, influencing & celebrating local culture

THE FESTIVAL HAS 5 SECTIONS EACH SECTION HAS A DIFFERENT JURY

  1. BUSINESS & SOCIETY IMPACT win-win-win

  2. INNOVATION & DESIGN graphic design / fashion / packaging / product / services / window display

  3. NEW MEDIAS & TECH digital, SM, VR, AR, AI

  4. PR & LOBBY

  5. FILM short, documentary, fiction, musical video

TONE OF VOICE

Colorful, vital, diverse, opposites attract.

AUDIENCE

The international creative crowd: creators, producers, designers & clients.

MANDATORY

Use the existing LoveAndLobby logo, if necessary. Add info/elements, if necessary. However, the main logotype will remain unchanged.

NOTE

The general chromatic code for the LoveAndLobby platform and also for the Ladies First Magazines is GOLD / WHITE / BLACK / ANTHRACITE. For the festival visual expression, we encourage you to explore complementary graphic & chromatic formulas.

HISTORY

LOVEANDLOBBY.COM started as a private diplomacy platform exploring and promoting cultures of the world, especially those that have a stigma attached to their name/identity in the western media.

It includes a digital magazine, interviewing talent from around the world, currently focusing on the Middle Eastern region, and soon beyond.

Under the LoveAndLobby umbrella, there are also a series of hard copy magazines called #LADIESFIRST (including editions for Romania, Turkey, Israel), mapping creative industries of the world, with a soft spot for the gender tensions.

The plans around building a LoveAndLobby community of like-minded individuals include the LoveAndLobby Festival and the very first PRIVATE EMBASSY, a 200m space where exhibitions, creative residencies and the international creative crowd could interact and meet.

EVALUATION SYSTEM

From 1-5, where 1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest.

CRITERIA

30 % IDEA

-ORIGINAL, IMPACTFUL, FRESH, UNEXPECTED, CREATES INSTANT MEMORABILITY-

30% STRATEGY

-ABILITY TO UNFOLD / WILDFIRE KIND OF SPREADING-

30% EXECUTION

-IT GRABS YOU BY THE EYEBALLS AND RELEVANTLY STICKS WITH THE VIEWER LONG BEFORE EXPOSURE-

10% WOW FACTOR

USEFUL LINKS

Click on each symbol.

MBQ, a social entrepreneurship dedicated to saving & reviving the rromani tradition of jewelry making & metal crafts, is launching “Atelier Nevers”.

In the 2h timeframe, one can present his or her idea of jewelry. Then, guided by a designer, it will be put on paper.

Master Nevers, a highly skilled rromani craftsman, will help you translate it into a beautiful reality.

For safety reasons, a maximum of 5 people can attend at once, presenting the green pass.

Fee: 200 Ron / person

YOUR TASK

Create an integrated campaign strategy to promote Atelier Nevers, so it can reach the most talented, yet unknown jewelry designers out there.

Create a series of 3 visuals for Instagram and 1 Facebook cover to decline your strategy. A 2 min video would be nice as well, though not mandatory.

Povestea Bârlog a pornit la Cluj, în fosta fabrică Ursus, unde o echipă de rebeli determinati a spus NU etichetelor & standardizarii si a vrut să creeze un drum la mijloc între industrial si craft.

O gasca de berari, nebuni după bere dar si dupa ALTCEVA. Pe cât de multi oameni suntem în lume, pe atât de multe gusturi pot exista.

Astfel, Bârlog are in ADN celebrarea diferentelor de opinii, gusturi, credinte, pareri si crede cu tarie ca aceste diferente ii transforma intr-o comunitate puternica.

Adevarul arata cine suntem, cu bune si cu rele. Rebeli, dar hotarati, ei nu compromit calitatea si sunt mândri de tot ce iese din mâinile lor.

E randul tau la altceva. Construieste o campanie de activare digitala prin care Barlog celebreaza diversitatea, pornind de la tool-urile generatiei Z.

Anthropology, Semiotics, Applied creativity

News article cover image.

12/9/25, 10:00 AM

Promotion for 0.5L RGB Ursus Bottle

Disciplines: Meaningful Promotion, supported by Design / Community / PR / SoMe
The Audience / conversation partners

Occasional beer drinkers in small urban areas (corner-shop buyers).

Small shop owners serving their neighborhoods.

The Challenge

Lost habit: People forgot to return 0.5L bottles; they throw them away.

Convenience: No home space for storage; no return routine; shopkeepers also lack space.

Missed moments: At shops, people enjoy 0.5L glass with neighbors; at home, they buy 2L PET as “better value”.

Context

RGB = Returnable Glass Bottle: washed, refilled, reused (20–50 cycles). Not recycled → reused.

Available only in small shops, not in big retailers.

Rural areas recycle more than urban.

Perception: “corner-block beer” → social, affordable, everyday.

Glass = authentic, chic, better than plastic.

Budget

200,000 EUR → prizes for the promo campaign.

Use it as an investment in community well-being.

Mandatory

No “Buy. Scratch. Win a BMW.” kind of a mechanism for the promo.

The campaign must:

Stay simple, meaningful, impactful, human.

Solve real issues of buying–depositing–returning bottles.

Improve daily life for neighbors, shop owners, communities.

Make prizes & mechanics practical, relevant, fun, culturally & anthropologically rooted.

To Do

Create a promo campaign with prizes that motivates both consumers and shop owners to use and return the 0.5L RGB bottle, while improving the experience and their lives in the process.

Show the bottle as:

A social connector, aligned with Ursus’ 140+ year legacy (a natural social glue for the neighbors, shop owners, friends’ lives)

Functional & aesthetic (glass feels and looks better), as their deposit spaces should.

A community builder (shops as hubs)

Sustainable - reusing the same bottle for 20-25 times before being destroyed, means the conscious option)

Deliverables

I. PDF (max 2 pages)

Idea (1 line).

Insight (3-4 lines): habits, challenges + why this moment matters (grounded in local culture).

Strategy:

2-4 lines: how to drive buying & returning, respecting people’s real needs.

2-4 lines: design + community activation.

Promo Mechanism (3-4 lines): what you say & what you offer (consumers + shop owners) to join the Returning-the-Glass-Bottle Movement. Keep it light, joyful (it’s beer, not ink).

Expected Outcome 2026 (2 lines).

II. Three Visual Items

Poster or outdoor – to announce the promo for those enrolled in the Returning Movement.

One visual of your choice for the digital space. Your choice of format and exposure space (insta-tiktok-games will be the indicator of what’s the best media to amplify the message.)

One large-scale design solution – pick one (or propose your own):

New bottle storage idea (home or shop).

New look for bar/outside shop/terrace (landscape, outdoor, upcycling).

Visual statement (e.g., mural).

Experience improvement for small neighborhoods.

III. A3 Board

Team name + Catchy campaign title.

Sections: Idea | Insight / Tension | Promo Mechanism | Strategy

Include at least 3 best visuals.

Samples: A3 boards from different competitions.

Deadline:

Send your solutions on a google drive, under YOUR_TEAMS_NAME link until 9.12.2025, 10 AM at andra@thealternativeschool.com

Make sure the link is public before sending the email.

Recommendations

Make life better for people, shop owners, communities.

Use design: murals, interiors/exteriors, shop-as-bistro, storage units.

Prizes should be meaningful for local lives.

Think about time:

Best launch moment (traditions, seasonal peaks).

Long-term vision (evolving campaign, maybe series-style).

Build on EQ & warmth: small shops = trust, gossip, neighbors, homecoming.

Beer = social glue, it’s not just about generic prizes.

PR twist: What if, for once people don’t win prizes for themselves, but for others? On a dedicated platform, prizes can be given by locals to locals (best shopkeeper, best neighbor, best friend, best wife, best mother-in-law, best football-watching buddy).

From the media perspective - expose the content of the promotion in relevant yet unexpected contexts, so every outdoor / poster / mural or digital content to make sense and be highly specific for this campaign

RGB Cheat Sheet

History: Dominant until 1970s → replaced by PET → eco-comeback today.

Advantages: sustainable, authentic, premium, circular economy.

Disadvantages: heavier, fragile, storage needed, less convenient.

Market: Works best where return culture is strong → Romania can grow.

News article cover image.

4/11/25, 11:59 PM

#Portfolio Showcase: the stellar nursery

#Portfolio Showcase: the stellar nursery

Context

In 2022, #TheAlternativeSchool organized the first Portfolio Showcase, meeting talents from design, art direction, SoMe, Copywriting, strategy with senior professionals, in a 2.30 h event @Mindspace Victoriei. In front of the audience, 5 talents presented live their portfolios, received feedback from 4 awarded seniors on how to improve their work & their personal brand and the very best got job opportunities via #TalentMagnet, the recruitment platform and scholarships to the new School semester. The vibe of the event: close to a stand up show: laughter, relevant insights, lovely networking & good food were in order. For 2023 onwards, we need a new name / logo and the best mechanics to ensure the success of this event at industry scale.

For whom

Upcoming talent willing to refine their work and find guidance.

Established talent, looking forward to adjust their portfolio & digital imprint.

Top players to find best talent – as the sponsors & partners of the event.

To Do

Decide upon the name of the event, in order to be relevant for the most talented people out there (can be #Portfolio, The Nursery, The Stellar Nursery or a completely different name).

Create the logo for the event.

Via digital solutions (micro-website / so-me / groups – up to you) propose the most relevant registration, connection & promo mechanics, to attract the best talent and the right audience. (4-5 lines, can be doubled by visuals.)

Create the “call for applications” simulations for 3 Social Media platforms (insta being one of them. You can use insta formats only, if you think that’s the right thing to do).

Deliverables

The A3 board presenting your solutions to the brief.

The board has the team logo. The logo & the 3 simulations (high rez, editables).

Note

If the school logo is necessary in the economy of your proposal, use the one created by Razvan Dan, when you implement & decline the ideas.

Mandatory

Upload your solution until April, 11th, at 23.59.

Make your mama proud:

Make your mama proud: