Macleay College’s advertising school lines up industry professionals for series of expert talks

Independent education provider Macleay College has today announced the launch of a new series of advertising talks with an array of multifaceted industry experts to help equip students and professionals for the ever-changing advertising landscape.

AdSpeaks, which are hosted by the college’s advertising school at Macleay’s Surry Hills campus, will focus on the changing roles within adworld and highlight the skills and know-how that are now required for both current and budding advertisers. The series brings together a number of leading industry specialists across creative, media and planning, throughout November and December.

AdSpeaks kicks off on Monday, 11 November, with Matthew Delprado (pictured), creative director from Profero. Delprado, who will speak from 1.30pm to 3pm, will be discussing digital advertising and whether it’s killing classic conceptualising. Delprado specialises is producing highly creative, digital concepts that utilise cutting edge technology.

Caroline Ghatt, planning director (brand and retail) at Leo Burnett Sydney, will speak on 18 November around brand strategy and the growth of personal branding. Ghatt leads shopper insights and retail activations across key accounts including Caltex, McDonald’s and Canon. Ghatt’s work centres on creating meaningful connections between people and brands at a retail level. During her career, Ghatt has won several effectiveness awards  – including a Gold Effie and an AMI National Marketing Award.

Other much anticipated presentations include Robert Concepcion, art director for The Monkeys, a virtual talk from Ewelina Jones, group planning director for Chanel at Mindshare in New York and Benchmarekting’s CMO, Gil Snir.

Advertising program leader, Ian Thomson, said AdSpeaks was developed to equip budding advertisers with relevant industry know-how so they could be at the forefront of their profession.

Says Thomson: “A recent study from Adobe revealed that half of marketers in the US doubt their own skills; most have no formal digital training and eight in 10 train on the job. Our new series aims to give students and advertisers a leading edge in order to keep ahead in an industry that’s constantly on the move.

“The way we skill up the industry is not the same as it was 10 years ago and it needs a serious refresh. AdSpeaks have been designed to teach new approaches, methodologies, strategies and skills from some of industry’s most innovative and leading minds.”

The full speaker timeline is:

• Monday, 11 November, 1.30 -3pm: Matthew Delprado, Creative Director from Profero, on “Is Digital killing classic conceptualizing?”
• Monday, 18 November, 1.30 – 3pm: Caroline Ghatt, Planning Director (Brand and Retail) at Leo Burnett Sydney, on “Brand Strategy and Personal Branding”
• Tuesday, 19 November, 1.30 – 2.30pm: Robert Concepcion, Art Director from The Monkeys on “The journey of the Art Director”
• Tuesday, 26 November, 9.30 – 10.30am: Ewelina Jones, Group Planning Director for Chanel from Mindshare in New York. Ewelina will be providing “A virtual agency tour”
• Monday, 2 December, 10.30 -11.30am: Gil Snir, CMO of Benchmarketing on “The future of digital marketing”

Previous advertising guest speakers have included Ogilvy media director Garth Agius, Magnaglobal MD Victor Corones, copywriter David Higginbotham, freelance creative director Daniel Evans and TVC producer Tony Tvrdeich.

AdSpeaks is open to Macleay students with limited sessions available for industry and public. All talks will be held at the Macleay campus at 28 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills. If you would like to attend one of the above industry talks, email Ian at ithomson@macleay.edu.au