Strong strategic thinking sets good planners apart from mere mortals.  We need to be excellent strategic thinkers not only for our clients' benefit, to keep them ahead of their competitors, but also so that we earn and keep a place for our agencies and our sector at the top table when advising clients.
 
This two-day APG course is intended for junior and middle-experience people: planners, account handlers, researchers.  It will arm you with a set of strategic principles, tools and techniques that you can apply to just about any marketing situation or brand.
 
By means of presentations, interactive exercises and discussion sessions, you will study individually and in teams to learn about these topics:

• What is a strategy?
• What do all strategies have in common?
• The key indicators of a good strategy
• Inspirational examples of strategic thinking to solve business problems
• How a strategy differs from a creative brief
• Processes and tool kits for facilitating strategic thinking, and how to use them
• Illustrative case studies

Your tutors will be Merry Baskin (planning consultant, former JWT Head of Planning and APG Chair) and Kate Waters (Planning Partner at Partners Andrews Aldridge). Guest speaker ex-Army officer Jeremy Sweeney will explain military strategy techniques and how to apply them to business, and he'll put you through a military-style team exercise.  
 
"Fun, hard work, inspiring. I will be putting some of the tools into practice immediately. Really interesting to hear about real case studies and the thinking behind the strategy. It was really useful to be able to practice using the tools in a 'safe' environment. This has definitely helped with my confidence at developing strategy."  Course delegate 2009