Boomtown is welcoming in the new year with the launch of its enhanced 2021 education program.

The education initiative, which kicked off in 2020, is designed to provide media professionals with a better understanding of the regional media landscape along with tools to help plan and buy regional advertising.

This year’s program will include online masterclasses, run in partnership with the Media Federation of Australia and NGEN, along with face-to-face sessions nationwide*.

Marketing expert, Gaye Steel (main photo), will again facilitate the online courses, sharing her extensive knowledge with participants.

“This is an opportunity for media professionals at all stages of their career to hear from regional experts about the powerful reasons to add regional media to their 2021 planning,” she said.

“Both sessions are designed to offer focused insights and the latest data on the regional landscape and audiences, along with industry tips that participants can use when planning and booking regional media. We had an outstanding response to our 2020 online courses, with 13 agencies participating and an overall event satisfaction score of 9.1 so we’d encourage people to register early for this year’s program so they don’t miss out.”

Boomtown Chairman and SCA Chief Sales Officer, Brian Gallagher, said the classes aimed to pair knowledge-building with interactive learning to give participants a sound understanding of regional media.

“The Boomtown collective is dedicated to furthering education among media agencies and marketers; it’s not just about understanding the potential of regional advertising but providing agencies with the necessary tools to actually get in and buy regional media. Last year’s inaugural education program was extremely successful, with fantastic feedback on the syllabus and facilitators. With more hands-on learning this year, the Boomtown Masterclasses will deliver real-world insights into regional media audiences that will help build brands and drive business.”

NGEN Head, Melanie Aslanidis, said: “Boomtown is a great initiative, and its inclusion in our 2020 calendar gave our NGENers access to insights and experts who highlighted the opportunities and benefits that exist in regional Australia for brands. We are excited to give a broader NGEN audience access to Boomtown content in 2021 after it received such positive feedback last year.”

The online courses (available to all NGEN members) will run on February 18 and April 27.

Face-to-face courses will run nationwide with separate offerings for junior media buyers, planners, marketers (less than five years’ experience) and senior media professionals (5+ years’ experience) in Sydney and Melbourne.

Dates for the face-to-face courses* are:

• Sydney – 21 April (junior staff) and 22 April (senior staff)
• Melbourne – 4 May (junior staff) and 5 May (senior staff)
• Brisbane – 19 May
• Perth – 26 May
• Adelaide – June 2

Panel members will be announced shortly.

To register for classes, visit https://boomtown.media/education/

Private masterclasses are also available by request via info@boomtown.media.com

*Face-to-face courses will be facilitated in COVID-safe environments and are subject to the latest Government health guidelines.