Course Catalog
ADVANCED MEDIA @ THE ENTERPRISE LEVEL
Marketers face a changed environment. Consumers are now media producers, programmers, and distributors. The convergence of media and technology is affecting the connection between marketers and consumers in unprecedented ways. Marketers capabilities therefore need to change as new technologies transform the media value chain. In this course, you will learn about effective strategies that can engage the consumer in a conversation with your brand and maximize the value of your media budget. Most importantly, participants will have time to address their own consumer and competitive challenges to better understand how to develop the most effective and impactful media plans for their organizations.
Aligning Marketing to Sales (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
When marketing and sales align, the potential for organizational improvement is enormous, with everything from marketing ROI, to sales productivity, to top-line growth reap the benefits. Marketing and sales alignment offers perhaps the single greatest opportunity for improving business performance. The issue is that Sales and Marketing view things differently. As a result coordination and alignment requires more than just tacking marketing onto the front of an existing sales process. True alignment necessitates coordinating marketing and sales activities, starting from the day you first make contact with a prospect as part of the initial education process through the sale and beyond to the customer relationship and ultimately customer advocacy.
Assignment Briefing (ONE DAY)
An assignment brief is the document marketers use to give directions for the projects they want their agencies' and other partners to accomplish. The brief should identify your project needs, objectives, target audiences, budget, and timetable and provide relevant background information. The quality of your brief is the key to getting quality work done. Too often, however, the assignment brief is incomplete or simply not done. The goal of this course is to help those giving assignments gain an appreciation for the importance for why and how to draft complete briefing documents.
Brand Management Fundamentals (TWO DAY)
Brand managers plan, develop, and direct the marketing efforts for a particular brand or product. It is not uncommon for a brand manager to be responsible for coordinating activities of specialists in production, sales, advertising, promotion, research and development, marketing research, purchasing, distribution, package development, and finance. Brand managers are therefore seen as the key people behind the success of any brand or product. They are responsible for improving the value of their brands or products, which in turn generates profitable returns for the company and shareholders.
Bridging Digital and Traditional Marketing
Marketing is an integrated, holistic set of solutions, and one in which digital technologies are increasingly woven into every marketing activity and every point along the consumer’s decision process. A brand’s TV commercial may spark a consumer to use their tablet to learn more about the product; a shopper may see a point of purchase sign that encourages them to use their mobile device to help them choose which brand to buy; a gift recipient may love the product so much that they tell all their Facebook friends about it or write an online review; a brand’s public relations campaign responding to a disaster results in folks around the world becoming aware of the brand and donating using a phone.
The digital channel has become essential to the way that consumers make choices about where to shop and what to buy; they use digital devices as their primary vehicle for communicating with and about brands. Consumers expect consistent messages and experiences with brands whether it’s on TV, in a store, on a web site, or through their social networks. To meet and exceed the consumer’s expectations, all marketers must have a solid understanding of the digital landscape and how brands can leverage digital channels to attract and influence consumers.
Client and Agency Relationships - How to Align Mars with Venus
Client-agency relationships are more complex than we think. In order for them to work well, they require committed collaboration. Marketers and their agency partners need to be mindful that they are co-producers, where everyone must pro-actively nurture and evaluate the level of communication, trust, confidence, understanding, and rewards that every member of the partnership should enjoy. Disconnects can strain the relationship resulting in costly and time consuming revisions, reviews or even worse, the severing of the partnership.
Creating Your Dream Marketing Plan
Whether you're a marketing newcomer or a long-time veteran of countless campaigns, you’ll learn how to build a detailed, fully integrated working plan that positions your product or service above the noise of your competition. In just one day we take a deep look into how to assemble all the critical elements of your customer-winning strategy. This course will help you sharpen the skills necessary to devise a dynamic, comprehensive plan
Customer Centricity (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
The consumer has moved to the center of the conversation. When you understand consumers, you have the insight and ability to elevate your marketing ROI. Knowing what consumers buy is important. Knowing why they buy is critical. That's the stuff competitive advantages are made of. This course provides insight into the strategies needed to create and execute consumer-driven marketing efforts. You will learn why changing the conversation from "what should we do" to "how can we satisfy our consumers" is smart and more effective. Participants will address their own consumer-centric challenges and create a blueprint to effectively build a consumer-centric marketing approach for their own organization.
Digital Marketing (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
As broadcast and print media undergo dramatic shifts alongside the growing prominence of digital platforms, companies are often reacting to new marketing needs with one-off "quick fixes." Such actions often separate digital marketing from the overall marketing efforts rather than bring them together as one strategic entity. Measured thinking is needed when considering how a brand should build its communication platform across multiple media formats versus utilizing each communication channel as an individual medium. This session will focus on how to create a consistent yet strong story that is told across multiple media forms, both traditional and digital, in ways that leverage the strengths of each medium.
Effective Email Marketing (ONE DAY)
Although consumers' communication habits have evolved with the rising popularity of social media and smartphones, brands are still turning to their dependable friend - email - to attract and retain customers and boost their bottom lines. However, because email is showing signs of low returns, savvy brand managers are adapting by combining email, social media and even mobile marketing tactics. Participants will gain clear insight into avoiding email Marketing's biggest pitfalls and ways to break through the inbox clutter.
Effective Writing For Any Platform
Creating Consumer Connections in Print, Digital, Social, Mobile and More...
In this workshop, we’ll explore and engage in writing across a range of platforms: Classic print (ads and collateral material), digital (web and Emails) and social (Twitter, Blogs, Facebook). There are countless and growing ways marketers are now engaging with their audiences and with each other. In an entertaining and engaging session, we’ll work through some tips, some techniques and some exercises that will make you a better writer for all the new platforms.
Elevating Your Creative (HALF DAY, TWO DAY)
With budgets being slashed and the rules of effective communication being broken, the challenges to raise the level of your communication efforts may seem daunting. They are not. Gain an insider's perspective into how great creative work that builds sales and the value of your brand is developed. This refreshed and revised workshop will provide you with the know-how you need to navigate through the complexities of developing a winning, integrated marketing campaign. Led by a seasoned agency creative director, you will be guided through the entire creative process, learning along the way the critical demands of various media, including traditional, non-traditional and digital.
From Insights to Great Messaging (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
Do you understand what you are trying to communicate? If not, STOP. Start by uncovering insights about your customers; learn what your customer values then worry about how to communicate that value to the customer. Be clear on what value your customer/consumer wants, then think about positioning your brand. Next define the market (who the relevant buyers are) and identify the attributes your buyers want (answering the question - what job does the customer want done?). Finally use this knowledge to write a great assignment brief. Your agency will not understand what's in your head to the degree that you do. You have to take the time to draft an assignment brief that clearly and passionately describes the communications job you want done.
From PC to Tablet to Mobile- Integrating Digital Marketing Across Channels
You customers are mobile, social and multichannel. Is your company? Learn the secrets of how leaders integrate mobile marketing into their traditional advertising and new media channels. Online and offline channels will be featured, including mobile marketing, social media (e.g., Facebook), website, search engine marketing, email marketing as well as off-line and traditional channels. You will take away new, easy-to-implement ideas on the key marketing initiatives you should implement at your company this year and beyond.
Fundamentals of Marketing (TWO DAY)
The goal of this workshop is to help those new to marketing become more dynamic marketing professionals by being able to develop their own marketing strategy and marketing plans. Thus the workshop will help participants understand the entire marketing management process, be comfortable developing marketing strategies and preparing an effective marketing plan, and be able to make sound and timely decisions based on the market information on hand. Attendees will be exposed to the practical marketing tools and techniques needed to create usable, implementable marketing strategies and plans. Our interactive workshop and team-oriented learning process will reinforce key points and importantly, give you hands-on experience.
Integrated Marketing Communications (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
Studies including ANA sponsored papers, show that the single biggest barrier to the development of successful Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) strategies are cultures in organizations that don't tolerate inter-departmental communication and information sharing, or the development of plans that require a shared common objective. Despite the fact that the communications tools at a marketer's disposal work better if managed together in harmony rather than in isolation. Their sum is greater than their parts - providing they speak consistently with one voice all the time, every time. So while integrated marketing is more essential than ever because the power has shifted from the marketer to the consumer, marketers are still struggling with entrenched, parochial structures that inhibit these efforts from achieving their enormous promise.
Marketing Innovation (ONE DAY)
In today's rapidly changing marketplace, innovation and product development are increasingly important. Marketers in fact must find ways to develop innovative products faster and more efficiently than ever before. Companies simply cannot afford to continue doing business as usual. We are in a either "evolve or die" world.
Marketing Matters
This practical, real world course helps participants enhance their marketing knowledge and skills to better direct the overall marketing function and effort to drive corporate growth more efficiently and effectively. The course covers the importance of brand positioning; the role of brand management; how to bring a campaign to life; the creative brief and strategy; developing a great marketing plan—and more.
Marketing Plan in a Day: A Better, Faster, More Effective Method
You no longer have the luxury of taking weeks—or even months—to create an annual marketing plan. Today’s marketing environment continues to unfold at a faster and faster pace. Marketing plans need to be created in a timely, effective manner; often revisited and revised on a quarterly or monthly basis. This results-oriented workshop will show you a new way to build a fully integrated plan in a matter of hours. The key is to bring your key stakeholders to the table. By building a plan collaboratively—as a silo-busting team in one simple planning session—you create a blueprint for action with timetables and milestones, responsibilities and accountability to produce more efficient, revenue-driven plans.
Measuring and Managing Marketing Performance (ONE DAY)
No CEO or CFO wants to hear that their marketing investment was a gamble, which makes marketing accountability one of the biggest issues facing the marketing community today. As a result Marketers must prove marketing ROI by demonstrating the impact marketing dollars have on revenue, then and only then, will Marketing stop being treated as a cost center and become a respected part of a company's revenue process.
Measuring Social Media Success: How to know when you're #WINNING
According to a recent Harvard Business Review study, nearly 31% of companies do not measure the effectiveness of social media and less than one quarter of companies are using social media analytics tools. Companies are working to understand how to measure social media against business objectives, track campaign effectiveness and to identify the best free and paid measurement tools for various platforms.
Media Strategy
This course is designed to elevate a marketer’s comprehension and understanding of media in a manner that if appropriately applied to your brand or service will become part of your “Marketing DNA” long after today’s hottest media headlines and trends have been replaced by others.
Mobile Marketing (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
Mobile technology is transforming personal communications driving increased interest in social media resulting in digital communications becoming accessible anytime, anywhere. This dramatic change is obviously having a significant impact on how organizations, businesses and brands connect with their consumers.
Optimizing Agency Relations (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
The best advertising is created when client and agency teams mutually respect each other, they utilize their collective intelligence and they regularly collaborate. This course outlines why attaining this level of partnership is difficult. And why the major reasons for agency shifts or terminations still hinge on several critical factors; a new CMO is put in place, the agency team is seemingly uninterested or disengaged in their client's business or business strategy and the creative product no longer seems closely aligned.
Optimizing Your Ad Production Spend (TWO-DAY)
You’ll go behind the scenes for an insider’s look at the latest processes, best practices and cost efficiencies for getting the most value out of your ad productions. With a focus on integrating broadcast, print, and digital, this seminar will provide the tools necessary for effective and efficient production management.
In addition to learning the flow of content creation across all mediums, you’ll also review the roles and responsibilities for each partner during the integrated production process.
You’ll learn strategies for procuring the best deals within the ad production supply chain, including leveraging your creative assets, making the most of production incentives, setting up preferred vendor deals, and much more. You’ll also hear about what drives the costs of producing content for TV, print/OOH, web videos, websites, etc. and explore areas of how to optimize your production spend in these areas.
Procurement Beyond Savings (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
Procurement leaders are playing an increasingly important role in governing the purchasing of marketing-related services. Often an organization's largest indirect spend category, debates about cost versus value and marketing's intangible nature makes this one of the most complex spend areas to manage. The complexities of marketing services procurement creates a number of challenges but with global marketing spend often running into hundreds of millions, procurement can add real value to the bottom line by implementing new processes, systems, techniques and approaches to tackle this often unmeasured and fragmented area of spend.
Social Media (HALF DAY, ONE DAY)
Social media vehicles are big and growing. New social outlets are emerging all the time. Harnessing the power of social media is exciting, enticing and necessary. So what are the social media? How do they work? How can they best be put to use to advance brands and businesses? And what kinds of strategies are necessary to guard against social initiatives that denigrate or even hijack brands? This course will provide insight into how social media works, it will uncover how brands must authentically engage with consumers in the new social context, and outline some successful social media do's and don'ts to increase brand engagement.
Sports Sponsorship: How to play smart and win BIG!
It's no surprise that Sports Sponsorships is big business! Just as teams and athletes compete to win so do sponsors who look to the world of sports to showcase, market and link their brands. $$$Billions are spent each year by big and small companies yearning to reach their core audiences. Most companies are bombarded with constant pitches and you’re probably spending precious resources in this space already in an attempt to tie your brands to leagues, teams, colleges, motorsports, action sports, athletes, etc. But ARE YOUR DOLLARS WORKING HARD FOR YOU? ARE YOU RISING ABOVE THE CLUTTER? DO YOU KNOW?
Strategic Marketing (HALF DAY, TWO DAY)
Customer-centric and competitively dominant marketing strategies are vital to business success. This workshop will give participants tools for developing an effective marketing strategy by examining how firms can profitably create and sustain customer value. The focus of this workshop is therefore on go-to-market programs as well as designing integrated, strategic marketing plans. Participants will learn insight into the process of value creation and methods for sustaining that value for their consumers.
The Art and Science of Brand Building (HALF DAY, TWO-DAY)
While Brand equity is an intangible asset, it is the single largest component of your market capitalization. Brand equity is the added value that a brand brings to a product or service beyond the functional benefits provided by the product itself. Consumers love brands because they offer an extra value - that is, one in addition to the core product or service. That value becomes the major motivation for consumers to buy or use the product. Major asset categories are: brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand associations. However, many companies have no process or plan for building brand equity.
ThinkLab
Long gone are the days when ‘creative thinking’ was the sole domain of our agency partners. Today, to become both innovators and enablers, we need to share the same creative, strategic and critical thinking skills as they do. Not only will this earn us a seat at their table – we’ll be sitting at the head where we belong.
ThinkLab turns marketers into creators – capable of developing countless strategically and creatively sound ideas at light speed. It provides the insights, skills and tools necessary to elevate both the agency / client relationship and creative end product. And for the record – everyone in the organization is capable of creativity – regardless of role or discipline. ThinkLab provides everything needed to methodically work through challenges, turn them into opportunities, exhaust all possibilities and deliver new, breakthrough ideas and solutions on demand.
