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Denver Ad School Launches New Strategy Track
The First Comprehensive Program In the Western US to Teach the Craft of Strategic Brand Planning
DENVER, Colo., February 25, 2020 — Beginning this Spring, DAD will offer an all-new Strategy program designed to immerse students in the craft of strategic brand planning and then land them their first agency role as a Strategist.
Designed with the help of Kelly Mertesdorf, a Strategy Director with nearly 15 years experience in LA and Boulder, the new program will give aspiring agency strategists the chance to actively learn from and work with some of the best strategy leaders in the industry right now. Classes will put students to work on projects involving brief building, brand architecture and storytelling, consumer research, and working with creatives to create thoughtful ad campaigns.
Mertesdorf –– formerly Strategy Director at Crispin Porter Bogusky, Deutsch, TBWA/Chiat/Day in LA, and graduate of the VCU Brandcenter strategy program –– was tapped to not only help write the curriculum but also lead the program’s foundational class, Strategic Planning.
“The reality is that junior strategists often only act as research assistants for their first year. While essential, it’s not always the coolest nor fun,” says Mertesdorf. “The hope is that by exposing them to more mid to director level craft, they can rock a little harder, advance faster and love their jobs even more.”
The DAD program aims to set itself apart from an already short list of schools that are teaching strategic planning. The competitive tuition price is the chief distinction –– $16,000 –– and sticks with the DAD mission of attracting a more diverse array of students who feel turned away from entering the advertising industry. Only VCU Brandcenter can tout a program that is as comprehensive, while Miami Ad School only offers a short bootcamp program. Here’s the comparison:
Denver Ad School
$16,000 for all students
1 year program
Fully comprehensive
All classes taught by working agency strategists
VCU Brandcenter
$52,818 for out-of-state students
2 year program
Fully comprehensive
Classes taught by professors and some working agency strategists
Miami Ad School
$10,000 for all students
12-week program
Not comprehensive
Classes taught by professors and some working agency strategists
“So many of the students we talk to at universities and ad clubs are interested in strategy, even if they’re not entirely sure what an agency strategist does,” says DAD Director Heather Vanisko. “But their job is so cool! For students who aren’t creative in the traditional sense, like copywriting or design, this is an awesome way into the business and something that a lot of small to mid-tier agencies could use more of.”
“The most interesting people I’ve met in this business are strategists,” says DAD Founder Jesse Alkire. “They’re analyzing culture, human behavior, trends, and are always full of so much more knowledge than a dumb creative like me.”
The Strategy program is the same length and cost of the Art Direction and Copywriting programs –– 14 months and $16,000. Strategy instructors will come from Boulder’s Crispin Porter and Bogusky as well as other leading Denver/Boulder agencies. A full instructor list is forthcoming.
Denver Ad School is an advertising portfolio school, designed to help post-grad students learn about the advertising industry, craft a creative portfolio, and then get their first job at an agency. DAD offers programs in Art Direction, Copywriting, and Strategy. Structured like an ad agency, all classes are led by working agency professionals and are designed to produce spec campaigns for real brands. Students will finish with agency-ready portfolios showcasing their conceptual and creative abilities, giving them an awesome book along with the connections and confidence to land their first job in advertising.
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