Young Spikes Marketers Academy addresses role of creativity in brand strategy

The objective of the academy is to address the importance of creativity in brand communications and strategy. The content of the programme is designed to equip young marketers with the skills, best practices and inspiration needed to help them achieve more world-class communication for their brands and to maximise the value of client-agency relationships.

Omnicom Group proudly sponsored this inaugural Spikes Young Marketers Academy as part of their belief in the value of talent and the power of agency and client collaborations in creativity.

Participants of the academy came from a variety of companies ranging from financial institutions to IT companies to consumer product manufacturers, including Unilever, Microsoft, Dell, Yahoo, Wei Chuan Food, Citibank, HSBC and the Economic Development Board (EDB).

Led by Jörg Dietzel, marketing consultant, author and lecturer at multiple Singapore universities, students were guided through three exciting days of intensive seminar sessions and talks that were designed for them to maximize their learning from the programme.

“It was a great team of enthusiastic young marketers from Asia and the Americas who were happy to share their experiences and learn from the speakers and each other,” said Dietzel.

Some topics covered includes 'Measurable Creative Effectiveness', integrating creativeness into the companies’ strategies and also the impact that digital has on the creativity process. Participants were encouraged to engage in interactive dialogue amongst themselves and especially with the highly acclaimed industry professionals who addressed the class. Unique and exciting case studies and award winning ads were shared to encourage discussions and allow the participants to understand the whole creative process.

The programme ended with a session by Tim Love, CEO of Omnicom Group APIMA, which focused on building relationships that yield better creative work and business success.

Feedback from the participants and the lecturers towards the end of the last day reflect the program’s overwhelming success and the participants walked away from the experience with new perspectives and friendships.

Stanley Lim who attended from Singapore’s EDB, commented that “The Academy gave me an opportunity to break out of my normal work routine, go back to my creative roots and push me further in coming up with new ideas……and provided me with pointers on how to work with agencies to push through the boundaries”.