Strategy as a Career
If you love to people watch, nerd out over big data, and hate to take no for an answer, you just might be a strategist. With your knack for research, natural sense of curiosity, and a touch of stubbornness, you are the ultimate problem solver. Not only do you have the unique ability to analyze any client request and transform it into a coherent brief, but you’re also a key player when it comes to shaping a brand’s identity.
“I think that people who are deep thinkers, people who always want to ask the question ‘Why’, and people who aren’t satisfied with a superficial answer to a question should take this program.”
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Success Rate
Experienced Salary
Download Bootcamp Course Info Package
Real Projects
Work you can show off
Master the Pitch
Pitch Every Week to Sharpen your Skills
Industry Instructors
Top Industry Mentors
Collaboration
Work with Creatives
Program Breakdown
Become a Strategist
Our Strategy and Planning Bootcamp is a 12-week program taught by leading industry professionals at the top of their game. The course is divided into lectures, portfolio work, campaign development, and engaging Toolbox sessions. Each module introduces you to a new topic, while workshop sessions allow you to put your skills to the test. By the end of the program, you deliver a pitch to a real live client and walk away with a professionally-vetted portfolio of strategic campaigns.
Student Testimonials
“If you want to learn how to become a strategist, you should talk to the ones that are really doing it and that’s the beauty of this program”
“I’ve taken a lot of the thinking from these amazing instructors and applied it directly into my work as a strategist.”
“Graduating with a M.AD certificate in hand proved that I had the capabilities to begin my journey in the industry, especially as we were able to build a solid portfolio of projects.”
“It was both a humbling and gratifying experience to work with industry professionals.”
“The instructors and mentors’ passion, diverse experience, and support made every class interesting and engaging. It was a once in a lifetime experience to be in an open forum with such creative and influential people.”
Course Modules and Methods
An Overview
A crash course in strategy, its origins, how it works, and the methods used.
Research (Qualitative and Quantitative)
Learn how to use the tools around you and better understand the ones you’ve used in the past.
Understanding Your Client's Challenges
Ask the right questions to turn small client asks into big ideas.
Developing Human Insights Based on Data
Base your understanding and recommendations on facts and develop an insight that nobody can argue with.
Brief Writing
Cut through the noise and write a rock-solid brief that is integral to a successful campaign.
Consumer Experience Mapping
Learn how understand a customer journey to best formulate your strategy.
Communications Planning
Bring together different mediums in the form of an easily digestible plan that a client can actually understand.
Measuring Impact Through Data
Put your money where your mouth is and validate the work you’ve done by measuring its impact.
Live Client Engagement
Work through the chaos to put together an integrated campaign to pitch to a real live client.
Portfolio Evaluations
Each student will present their portfolio case studies to a Strategy director in a job interview setting. The students will receive feedback and a grade based on the content in their portfolio and their ability to present their work during the interview.
Weekly Toolbox Sessions
Uncover tools and skills used by successful strategists today. They have included:
- Innovative Thinking & Ideation
- Google Toolbox
- Working with Creatives
- Improv & Standup Comedy
- Exploring Career Avenues
Real Client. Real Brief. Real Pitch.
In the final month of the program, you will be briefed by a real client on a real challenge. Using your new skillset you will help research and strategize a solution, work with creatives to bring your strategy to life, and pitch to the client. You’ll also work with mentors, instructors and the client throughout the process.
Past clients include
Weekly Breakdown
The bootcamp will run for 12 weeks. Each week will feature 4 lessons in the evening.
Pitch and Critique
Wednesdays 6-9pm
Toolbox + Portfolio
Thursdays 6-9pm
Main Module
Friday 6-9pm
Main Module
Saturday 10am-1pm
Days Off
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
Strategy Program Director 2022
“Equal parts creative invention and collective reflection, M.AD School of Ideas is a test tube of excitement that reveals the formula needed for success in modern strategy.”
Past Program Instructors
Jay Chaney
Partner and CSO
Broken Heart Love Affair
Rosie Gentile
SVP Strategy
Cossette
Umar Ghumman
Director of Strategy & Experience
Mirum
Chelsea Thompson-O'Brien
Senior Strategist
Mirum
Shelley Brown
Chief Strategy Officer
FCB
Dean McBeth
Former Head of Global Strategy
Crispin Porter & Bogusky
Sarah Stringer
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
Juliet Creative
Jon Daly
Group Strategy Director
Anomaly
Jeff McCrory
Chief Strategy Officer
BBDO
Michelle Campbell
VP Strategy
HUGE
Jason Last
Partner, Strategy
Conflict
Sarah Phillips
Strategist
The Garden
Take the Bootcamp Online
Due to Covid-19 we will be running the Fall Strategy Bootcamp entirely online to make the program more accessible for people who are unable to travel or would like to continue social distancing. Three Successful Strategy Bootcamps have been run since 2020 entirely online, read about our Online Learning Environment if you wish to learn more.
“I’ve really been enjoying the remote learning environment – it’s so unbelievably interesting to decontextualize / re-contextualize everyone in their own homes. It’s been really amazing to see how everyone presents themselves virtually – that’s been a silver lining of remote learning.”
“Didn’t realize it could still be almost as interactive as a live class. It’s an experience of a lifetime! I love the instructors, M.AD team and my course mates.”
Real Projects
Work you can show off
Industry Instructors
Top Industry Mentors
Collaboration
Work with Creatives
Master the Pitch
Pitch Every Week to Sharpen your Skills
Admission Info
Tuition Costs
Tuition for the Strategy & Planning Bootcamp is $9000CDN (for both domestic and international students) and is due one week prior to the beginning of classes, as well as a $100 application fee. Scholarships and payment plans are available. Contact idil@adschool.ca for details.
Grants
Ontario will compensate independent businesses between 70-85% of tuition costs – meaning you’ll only pay $1350-$2700 for 12 weeks of training! (This grant is only available to Ontario businesses training employees – contact muneet@adschool.ca for more information).
Requirement
Applicants are accepted on the basis of an interview, references and an appraisal of their application. You must have prior experience and education in related advertising/marketing fields. Please contact our Admissions Director to see if you are eligible by sending a copy of your most updated resume (or LinkedIn profile). Note: the program is capped at 20 students.
Applicants are accepted on the basis of an interview, references and an appraisal of their application.
- Enrolment Contract.
- Current Resume demonstrating your experience.
- Creative exercise to complete.
- One original letter of recommendation from professional or academic reference.
- A copy of two valid forms of ID – drivers license, passport, birth certificate or PR Card.
- A copy of the highest diploma achieved or official transcript from the school last attended.
- Administrative fee of $100.
Shoot an email to idil@adschool.ca if you have any questions.
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Start Your Strategy Career
Download the Program Info Package