Advertising Unlocked FAQs

Please note that these dates are subject to change.

The event will take place in agencies across the country. We aim to pair each school with a local agency, however, if this is not possible you may need to travel to the agency’s location. More information will be provided once we have finished pairing.

As our member agencies vary in size considerably, this will come down to how much space they have and can range from five students to 50. We match up schools and agencies based on the expected class size you request in your application and the maximum capacity the agency has specified in theirs. If you would like to bring more than 30 students, please bear in mind that you may be asked to reduce your numbers. 

We always try and find an agency that matches your requested class size; however, since an exact match is not always feasible and we still want to offer this opportunity to as many students as possible, your matched agency will confirm how many students they can accommodate on the day. 

We want the students to feel inspired by the idea of advertising as a potential career path, so we will be working with our participating agencies to develop a structure for the day that’s full of interesting, engaging and fun activities. But, as each agency is different, they will also have the freedom to tailor the content to demonstrate what they do – and make the day as interesting as possible for your students.

We will ask them to work with you to determine the final agenda for the day. It would be great if, before meeting with your matched agency, you have a think about how the agenda can be relevant to the curriculum. This ensures the learning from the event continues after the day.

We usually see schools arrive 10am and leave the agency at 2/3pm. You will be free to agree this directly with your agency, once you’ve been paired. We suggest a ‘half-day’s’ worth of activities, from mid-morning to mid-afternoon - meaning you’ll have enough time to travel to your agency in the morning and the day should not finish considerably (if any) later than a regular school day.

Advertising Unlocked is a free event to attend and is funded by the IPA and our member agencies. However, you are responsible for organising and funding transport on the day of the event. We will try to match you with a local agency but this may not always be possible. In the sign-up form, we will ask you to provide nearby cities you would be comfortable travelling to try and keep travel costs down.

We encourage agencies to maintain contact and build relationships with you after the event. We hope this will lead to a closer relationship between schools and the creative industries and lead to expanding career opportunities within advertising, media and marketing communications, for all students – something the IPA is passionate about supporting.

You and your students are also free to join the Unlocked Club on LinkedIn, which gives you and your students the opportunity to network with people already working in the industry and find more information about the exciting opportunities the advertising industry has to offer. 

The IPA has a dedicated Careers in Advertising page with numerous resources to help you and your students become more informed about the advertising industry. To help bring advertising to the classroom, we have created a Teacher's Toolkit comprising of 21 games and exercises to show students skills used in the advertising industry, jargon and key concepts such as data analysis, proofreading, listening without agenda and many more.

Please note that these dates are subject to change. 

Advertising Unlocked operates as a free event, and you are not obligated to spend money to take part. However, we usually see agencies providing lunch/refreshments for the students, and some agencies also purchased and printed pull-up banners or posters. All of this is completely optional - what matters most are your plans for the day!

We encourage you to maintain contact and build relationships with your school match. We hope this will lead to a closer relationship between schools and the creative industries and lead to expanding career opportunities within advertising, media and marketing communications, for all students – something the IPA is passionate about supporting.

You are also welcome to join the Unlocked Club on LinkedIn, which gives you the opportunity to share your work experience opportunities, events or workshops. You will also be able to reach other participating students, schools or teachers through this group.

The event will take place at your agency location and the students will travel to you. In some rare cases, your agency may need to travel to your school match instead. If this is the case, this should be discussed with your school match and travel be arranged accordingly.

We will be working with you to develop a structure for the day that’s full of interesting, engaging and fun activities. To do this, we will provide some resources, example itineraries and past inspiration from previous participating agencies. But, as each agency is different, you will also have the freedom to tailor the content to demonstrate what you do – and make the day as interesting as possible for the students.

We ask that, once you are matched with your school, you work with them to determine the final agenda for the day. Please do get the teachers from your matched school involved as much as possible to ensure the content on the day is relevant to their curriculum and the students' knowledge level. We will also ask them to consider what they want the students to get out of the day, so your agenda can align with this.