The debate took place on 2 November at University College London and was staged by The Economist together with agency Sense. Editors from The Economist led the event, joined by a panel of speakers and an audience of students spanning educational discipline.
Marina Haydn, senior vice president, circulation and retail marketing at The Economist said: "We were very pleased to be able to provide students with a real-world Economist platform to actively partake in a discussion on the future of work. This was the first live element of a global joint editorial and engagement campaign around the future of work, which to date has been led by digital content marketing."
She added that a key take away from the event was that as long as students are flexible, open to change and continue to learn and develop during their careers, they will be able to strongly complement and not compete with tomorrow's technological solutions that will impact today's workforce.
She said: "It was encouraging to sense optimism around a subject that is often viewed as an insurmountable challenge - and hear from participants that they felt our event was valuable."
Francesca Zedde, planner at Sense added: "It was really good to see such a genuine interaction between the students and The Economist. This kind of initiative helps bring brands close to consumers in a more authentic, meaningful way. It’s a win-win situation where students attended an inspiring talk that they were ready to pay for and The Economist got the chance to talk to an audience that wouldn’t necessarily engage with this type of publication otherwise. Everyone got something out of this event and I believe this is the beauty of real world interaction between brands and people."
The Economist and Sense worked on a series of activations this year, and whether they would drink as part of the media brand's Discomfort Food campaign.
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