W+K Amsterdam’s Martin Weigel to guest speak at 2018 IPA Strategic Planning Residential – registrations now open for September course
Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam head of planning Martin Weigel will present his ‘case for chaos’ as guest speaker at this year’s IPA Strategic Planning course, to be held from September 2-4 at Sydney’s Ovolo Hotel.
Weigel will take aim at the corporate instinct, the stupidity of orthodoxy, the illusion of best practice, the stifling effects of process, and put forward what he calls “a survival strategy for creativity.”
Once described by a client as “the unruly offspring of Karl Marx, Martin Luther, and Morrissey”, Weigel is a postgraduate of the London School of Economics, has twenty-seven years’ planning experience, and has lived and worked in London, New York, and Sao Paulo.
He has led strategy on everything from toilet paper to diamonds, and been head of planning for Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam since 2009.
Ahead of his Australia visit, Weigel said he is looking forward to participating in the local conversation about the industry and its future.
Says Weigel: “For the most part our industry is producing landfill. Until we understand how we need to raise – and indeed change – our game, we have no chance of making progress. I’m looking forward to throwing a bit of dynamite into the fish pond and seeing what happens.”
The IPA three-day residential course aims to define the new era of strategy and showcase the knowledge and skills that planners need to think in an agile, flexible and influential way.
The course, which is recommended for strategic planners, account managers and brand managers with at least five years of experience, will be chaired by chief strategy officers Angela Morris (J. Walter Thompson) and Kate Smither (Saatchi & Saatchi).
The industry leaders have joined forces to shape this year’s course agenda: Planning in a Post Specialist Era.
Commenting on the changing role of the planner, Morris said: “There is so much knowledge out there that it’s easy and comfortable to stick to your knitting and focus on one area. But that isn’t helpful to our clients who increasingly have less budget for multiple different specialists and look to their strategist to be able to leverage multiple disciplines and knowledge areas.
“Today more than ever though we need constant learning on a diverse agenda to enable the perspective necessary to provide our clients with wise counsel and brilliant strategies.”
Over three days, delegates will participate in small group sessions with industry leaders, along with one-to-one guidance from the course chairs. The residential format provides the opportunity to step away from the agency environment for intensive training, networking and group discussion with industry peers.
Says Smither: “Our hope is that this course makes attendees think in a whole new way. It should fill their minds with new ways to change their day jobs. To not just think differently but to be different and to create the future of planning in agencies.”
The full speaker line up will be announced in the coming weeks.
To register or for more information, visit the course page here.
Course information:
Date: 2-4 September 2018
Venue: Ovolo Hotel, Woolloomooloo Sydney
Corporate member: $3,300 per person (including GST)
Non-member: $5,500 (including GST)