Professional Master Course in Brand Strategy

ONLINE EDITION. SEPTEMBER 2022.
If you are interested in future editions sign up here
APPLICATION PERIOD: Until all vacancies are filled.
LIMITED VACANCIES: The course is limited to 20 attendees.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, DOWNLOAD THE MASTER COURSE DOSSIER HERE
WHY BRAND STRATEGY?
In addition to this, the old approach to strategy that is still taught in some universities and creative schools is not relevant and adapted to the daily challenges brands face on their daily basis.
For these reasons, at HOALA we believe that the training of a strategist (or any professional working with brands) must be continuously updated and provided by the most qualified and renowned strategic minds in the world, to deliver an unbeatable, modern and mind-blowing training experience.
OBJECTIVES
Each one of the 11 top-notch lecturers included in the program have been tasked to develop 11 tailor-made contemporary and insightful strategic sessions based on the most important topics for strategists today.
The obsession behind these sessions is to provide you with a set of skills that will help your profile to evolve into: a strategist with a collection of tools and deep intuition to identify and solve brand communication problems; a communication professional able to transform the information from the research phase into insightful inputs that accelerate and inspire the creativity process; a brand expert able to read the new media landscape and the new way brands have to start and maintain conversations with consumers in the digital arena; an ideas communicator that inspire work teams and clients, strategic planners that deeply understand consumers giving a special weight to research and investigation to detect insights and, last but not least, a hard-worker enthusiast, truly passionate about constantly learning and growing.
On top of that, and in addition to the online sessions, in this online edition we have added 2 one-to-one private sessions with the 2 lecturers of your choice, so you can ask the questions you always wanted to ask, to solve the doubts you always wanted to solve and to receive the mentoring you need from the best strategists in the world.
STRUCTURE
In addition to this, and as we explained above, these online sessions will be complemented with 2 online one-to-one private sessions with the lecturers of your choice. This selection will be done in strict signing order as each lecturer has a limited number of sessions they can be part of.
The course has an online format, so you will be able to combine the course with your professional duties. The weekly sessions will be 3 hours long and will be run on Fridays afternoon, from 17:00-20:00 hrs, CET.
Conscious of time differences and depending on where in the world the lecturer is at, the Hoala Amstedam team can carry out modifications that will be communicated beforehand to all the attendees.
Besides the class hours and if the lecturer considers so, you can be requested to develop some work during the week such as reading articles or books, prepare briefs or conduct small research.
WHO IS THIS COURSE AIMED AT?
It is not a mandatory to hold a university degree to attend this course.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Thus, at Hoala we are not after the best CV, the biggest amount of awards or the highest achievements. Not even after years and years of practice in strategy and communication. Our only goal is to secure high-level discussions and debates during each and every session. And that can only be accomplished with attendees that accumulate certain experience in the brand communication business as well as having the right personality and motivation.
Previous editions have always showed us that the quality of a course is not only about offering a content program run by world-class lecturers. Learning brand strategy is also about having the right attendees that can spark good debates and discussions and can challenge the lecturers.
CARREER OPPORTUNITIES
ONLY THE BEST OF THE BEST
UNIQUE ONE-TO-ONE SESSIONS
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
HOALA ALUMNI
PROFESSIONALS ONLY
LIMITED SEATS
Professional Master Course in Brand Strategy. Online Edition.
Content Program
11 tailor-made sessions to provide you with a powerful and updated strategic theory base, together with a vast practical implementation focused on the actual day-to-day strategic tasks.
Unique one-to-one private sessions
With the world's greatest planners
Small group
READ EVERYTHING YOU NEED KNOW ABOUT THE MASTER COURSE AT THE FAQs SECTION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, DOWNLOAD THE MASTER COURSE DOSSIER HERE

WEEK 1:
9th September
Martin Weigel on Account Planning - What planning is and it is not about.
A strategy for strategy - the insightful vision from one of the most respected international planners in the world about the actual role of planning in agencies, clients and brands and about what being a planner actually means today.
Lecturer: Martin Weigel, Head of Planning at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam.

WEEK 2:
16th September
The positioning strategy: past, present and future.
How to position a brand today? The role of purpose in the positioning strategy. Find the real difference for a brand. Positioning toolbox. The role of the positioning strategy within brand management. Case studies and examples.
Lecturer: Tom Suharto, Head of Strategy at Forsman&Bodenfors, New York.

WEEK 3:
23rd September
Unearth and discover the best insights.
Use research and investigation techniques to discover the best insights. What is and what is not an insight. What we should expect from insights and how can they unlock creativity. How research is approached at the best international agencies. Case studies and examples.
Lecturer: Lucy Jameson, Founder at Uncommon London.

WEEK 4:
30th September
Cultural Strategy: navigate the intersection between people and culture to build truly relevant brands.
How culture can be the most powerful element to make a brand relevant. Consumers and culture. How to detect waves and cultural movements and connect them with brands. Anthropologic and sociologic dimension of consumption. Case studies.
Lecturer: Rob Campbell, Chief Strategy Officer at Colenso BBDO New Zealand.

WEEK 5:
8th October
Creatives vs. Strategists - Strategy looked from the eyes of creativity.
What a creative needs from a planner and what a planner needs from a creative under the eyes of one of the most successful creative directors in the world.
Lecturer: Caprice Yu, EVP Global Executive Creative Director at McCann Erikson, New York.

WEEK 6:
14th October
Experience Strategy - How and why include experience in your brand planning.
What if anything can the digital age teach us when creating brand strategies and should strategies refer only to communication or take the leap into Experience? The role of technology in all of this and why design thinking may be the answer.
Lecturer: Bogdana Butnar, Growth & Experience Strategy Practice Lead, Accenture Interactive, London.

WEEK 7:
28th October
How to write the perfect and most inspiring creative brief.The planner as the catalyst of creativity. The real value of a creative brief. How to write better and more inspiring creative briefs. The main mistakes when we write briefs. Presenting your creative brief: the briefing session. Examples and case studies.
Lecturer: Harry Roman, Chief Strategy Officer at Droga5 New York.

WEEK 8:
4th November
Communications Planning - the complete guide.
How to detect, prioritize and activate the touch points between brands and consumers. Brand planners s. Comms planners. Design the perfect KPI’s for the campaigns. The Consumer journey. Communications framework. Examples, tools and case studies.
Lecturer: Michael Goldstein, Head of Communications Strategy at DDB New York.

WEEK 9:
11th November
Diversity and inclusion: from lip service to effective strategy.
We will explore the challenges, answer your questions, but most importantly, identify the ingredients for planning and strategic thinking for successful engagement internally and externally around representation of race, ethnicity, religion and inclusion more generally.
Lecturer: Shelina Janmohhamed, Vice President, Islamic Marketing, Ogilvy, London.

WEEK 10:
18th November
The art of presenting a strategy.
How to successfully present a strategy to clients. Strategy best practices. Case Studies, tips and examples.
Lecturer: Marcus Collins, Head of planning at Wieden+Kennedy New York.

WEEK 11:
25th November
Effectiveness as the key ingredient for strategic planning.
The science behind effectiveness. How to judge and reach effectiveness for a brand. Planning as the key for effectiveness. How to build an unbeatable effectiveness case. Examples and case studies.
Lecturer: Toby Harrison, Chief Strategy Officer at Ogilvy Australia.
*The dates of the sessions are subject to change dependent on the schedule of the lecturers
* In the case of the course not reaching the minimum amount of needed qualified attendees or any other important logistic issues, Hoala will be entitled to change the dates of the course up to 15 days before the date of start. In that case, Hoala will refund entirely the enrollment money paid by every attendee. Hoala will not be responsible for any other expenses the attendee might have had until that moment. In the case of an accepted attendee being interested in attending the next edition of the course, Hoala will keep her/his seat blocked and reserved.
If you are interested in future editions sign up here
PRICE: Total cost of the course: 3.500 €.
Enrollment: 500 € (this payment will secure your spot in the course. This amount is not refundable and will be deducted from the total course cost).
LIMITED VACANCIES: The course is limited to 20 attendees.
APPLICATION PERIOD: Until all vacancies are filled.
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
Opinions
The HOALA Master in Account Planning made me remember how comfortable my current situation is and how nice it is to get out of that comfort zone again. In addition to this, the different international backgrounds of both students and lecturers benefit the course and the work you do together a lot.
Anouke Jansen, Content & Community Manager at DDB Amsterdam
The Amsterdam Hoala Master Course in Account Planning gave our international class of 16 people an insight into 11 of the most interesting careers you can find in planning. A truly career changing experience for me. Now let's hope I can share such awesomeness in 20 years time myself.
Sytse Kooistra, Senior Brand Planner at Isobar
As a young, somewhat inexperienced planner, I applied to this Master to get advice and tips on how to approach account planning. Initially, I mainly expected practical tools. Although I have learned some tools, the Master has taught me so much more. It has given me a broader view of the philosophy behind advertising, where the industry is going and what role an account planner can play in this. This is a result of 11 weeks of being inspired by and listening to some of the best planners in the world, but also the interactions with the highly talented other planners that participated the Master. It has been one hell of a ride. No matter how experienced you are, don't miss out on the opportunity of participating in this Master!
Jeroen Senden, Strategy Manager at FHV BBDO
How better to learn than in collaboration with practitioners from some of the best agencies, brands and campaigns in the world? What I hadn’t appreciated until I attended was the value of learning from my fellow attendees (now friends) who came from agencies big and small, networked and independent from across the world. Not only do you learn and discuss the latest thinking in planning but also about how different agencies configure themselves and their work. The Hoala experience offers something far deeper than listening to the blogs or attending conferences where the course leaders are speaking, it delivers real small group learning and the opportunity to really interrogate, discuss and inform yourself in a very effective way.
Margaret Gilsenan, Partner and Head of Strategy at Boys & Girls LTD, Dublin.
Since I first heard about Hoala`s Masterclass I became obsessed in attending it. My main intention was to find the differences among all those different markets and agencies where the lecturers came from. What might be their secrets? Do they have a personal approach? There`s a formula to create awesome plans? Well, this was my expectation. In practice, it was not (only) about techniques, but how to master "advertising", as a whole. What works and what doesn`t. In the end, it changed completely the way I think about "brand building" and strategy. Learning with the best is a one-in-a-life experience, so if you are in doubt about attending Hoala, just do it .
Jorge Gloss, Co-founder de Buenas!, Brazil.