8 WEEKS, 2.5 HOURS PER WEEK
(1 HOUR VIDEO LECTURE, 1.5 HOUR LIVE SESSION & ASSESSMENTS)
Get equipped for the rest of your career with a core set of strategic principles and tools that can be applied in any situation, plus latest global thinking. A must do for planners and strategists at the beginning of their career.
Overview
As the world of strategy changes, the fundamentals of what defines strategic planning as a discipline remain the same. This includes how to identify and solve problems, how to uncover insights that unlock behaviour and how to simplify the complicated for solutions that are both powerful and impactful.
Every strategist is different and will work through problem solving in a different way, but knowing where strategy came from, how it has evolved and what it involves is the core of understanding how you can think like a strategist or even be one.
Meet your Facilitator & Lecturers
Weekly facilitators (live session)
Video lecturers (pre-recorded)
What to expect
A learning program that provokes and challenges your thinking.
A collaborative environment for problem solving.
A sense of community and camaraderie with fellow participants.
A chance to question, experiment and push yourself.
The opportunity to learn from the best.
This course has two main elements – a pre-recorded video lecture for participants to watch in their own time, and a live working tutorial session led by the course facilitator where participants can put theory into action. Additionally, this industry certified course includes homework/assessments.
Please note, if you have enrolled in an online course the “working tutorial sessions” are delivered live via zoom/teams.
Who’s it for?
Suitable for Junior Planners, Account Executives, Account Managers, Junior Marketing Managers/Professionals and Researchers, with up to 2 years work experience, who want to sharpen their strategic prowess.
Course Content
Week 1: What is strategy and where did it come from?
Lecturer: Alex Speakman
- The history and evolution of planning
- Fundamentals of planning
- What all strategies have in common
Week 2: What is brand strategy?
Lecturer: Alison Tilling
- The changing role of brands
- Understanding how they work and how to plan for them
Week 3: What is an insight and how do you uncover them?
Lecturer: Melanie Wiese
- Insight vs information
- Good, bad and ugly insights & knowing the difference
- Sources of an insight
Week 4: How to be helpful to creatives and write great briefs
Lecturers: Michael Derepas and Ant Keogh
- What is a creative brief and how to write one
- Brief vs briefing
- Selling the strategy and selling the brief
Week 5: How to use research and how to know what type?
Lecturer: Frances Clayton
- Qual vs quant vs ethnography
- Running research (informal vs formal)
- Pre-testing vs testing
Week 6: What is campaign planning and how to use it
Lecturer: Nick Kavanagh
- Where in the process is it used best
- How to think about the campaign coming to life in the world
Week 7: What to measure, how to measure and why?
Lecturers: Christina Aventi and Jennifer Rhodes
- Effectiveness and setting objectives
- Knowing what is possible
- Behind the Effies
Week 8: Presenting strategy & the pitch
Lecturer: Heather Sheen
- Presentations and final assessment
This industry certified course includes homework/assessments.
Related articles
Meet Ryan O’Connell, Ogilvy Australia’s Chief Strategy Officer, and AdSchool facilitator by Ryan O’Connell
Q&A with Emily Colman, Strategy Director, The Brand Agency by Emily Colman
Ready! Fire! Aim! Whatever happened to Strategy? APGWA & ACA present an evening with Jon Steel
A strong brand is a superpower for growth by Fran Clayton
Learn to love/hate research by Fran Clayton
Why planners are going ‘back to basics’ in the digital era by Kate Smither
The ‘unhealthy obsession’ distracting strategic planners by Anuj Mehra
How the evolution of planning is affecting strategy by Lily Tidy
Do today’s strategic planners need to shift focus? QLD planners weigh in by Amanda Windus, Justin Cloete & Mike Redfern
Read former AdSchool participant Jake Batty’s key takeaways from the course.
Additionally, Callam Hanks a former AdSchool participant shares “My road to social and content manager“.
Effective marketing begins with less strategy and more media by Mark Ritson
FAQ
What is the difference between “Core Strategic Planning” and the “Advanced Strategic Planning” courses?
“Strategic Planning Core Skills” is narrower in focus. It concentrates on explaining the tools and techniques available to a strategic planner working on a communications strategy or campaign from beginning to end – strategic skills as applied to creative (typically advertising ) campaigns. The focus is on the campaign. It is aimed at people with up to 2 years experience.
The “Strategic Planning Advanced Skills” course is aimed at more experienced people (4+ years), and will give them a broader perspective of the total business context – business strategy, opportunities through segmentation, the changing face of brands and branding, communications and connections planning etc. This course is more focused on the brand rather than the campaign and considers the future of strategic planning.
Participant Feedback
The course exceeded my expectations as I came in wanting to learn how to be more strategic in my AM role, but I am now seriously considering a move to strategy… I found myself thinking and talking about what I learned in each class long after it ended.2023 Participant
The course was well set out and the content was great. The assignments challenged us and put our learnings in place and pitching our strategy was great.
2023 Participant
After 15 years working in media and comms I have met some great strategists, and worked with some challenging ones that made me really struggle to connect with strategy as a concept. But the course was fantastic in breaking down what it means to deliver exceptional strategy and the impact it has on a brand/campaign/creative. It’s made me walk away really appreciating the craft but also making me want to learn more.2023 Participant