Effie College Launches in South Africa

YouthX Challenge by Nedbank kicks off with four top universities competing for marketing effectiveness honours. 

Effie South Africa is proud to announce the official launch of Effie College – a pioneering initiative designed to nurture the next generation of marketing leaders by bridging academic learning with real-world application.

Effie is a globally recognised authority on marketing effectiveness, best known for its prestigious Effie Awards, which honour the most impactful and results-driven marketing campaigns across the globe. Effie’s mission is to lead, inspire, and champion the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness globally. Effie College is an initiative of the Effie LIONS Foundation. Working with students, universities and leading brands, the Foundation provides rising talent the real-world experience, network, and platform needed to shape the future of marketing through their unique lens.

With Nedbank as the inaugural brand sponsor, Effie College launches with the YouthX Challenge – a powerful collaboration that invites students to apply creativity, strategic thinking, and the principles of marketing effectiveness to a live client brief.

Four leading institutions – the University of Cape Town (UCT), University of Johannesburg (UJ), North-West University (NWU), and the AAA School – will participate in the 2025 YouthX Challenge, tackling real consumer needs through innovative, insight-led campaigns.

The programme sees student teams working under the mentorship of industry professionals. Each submission will be judged using the official Effie Awards judging process, applying the same rigorous standards used globally to assess marketing effectiveness.

“Effie College brings the real world into the classroom, and the classroom into the world of brands,” says Gillian Rightford, ACA Executive Director for Effie South Africa. “We’re excited to be launching this programme as part of our commitment to skilling up the next generation of marketing professionals. With the support of Nedbank, the YouthX Challenge gives students a platform to apply their ideas to a genuine brief, while learning the fundamentals of effectiveness in action.”

The YouthX Challenge goes beyond theory. It provides students with practical exposure to client-side marketing and prepares them for the realities of brand building in a fast-evolving landscape. The campaigns are judged by a panel of respected professionals from across the marketing and communications industry.

Winners will be announced at the prestigious Effie Awards South Africa Gala 2025, recognising excellence not only in student work, but in the collaboration between academia and industry.

“Effie College represents our belief that the future of marketing must be built on access — access to opportunity, mentorship, and the chance to solve real brand challenges,’’ said Allison Knapp Womack, Global CEO, Effie LIONS Foundation. “We’re proud to see the programme take root in South Africa, bringing together students, educators, and industry leaders to shape a more open, effective, and globally connected industry.”  

For more information on Effie College visit the Effie South Africa website at https://www.effie.org/partners/south-africa/ or visit www.acasa.co.za.

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