Comms Council and UK’s IPA Bring Development Program Down Under

The Communications Council has collaborated with its UK counterpart, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), to deliver the IPA portfolio of award-winning qualifications and courses to agencies and clients in the Australian marketing communications market.

The landmark agreement between the Australian and UK agency trade bodies is part of a broader movement to create a global benchmark for best practice in professional development for the advertising profession around the world.

While 18,000 of the IPA’s 21,000 members are signed up to the IPA Continuous Professional Development Program in the UK, the curriculum has also begun spreading organically overseas. Since the online qualifications launched, more than 11,000 people have achieved an IPA qualification in more than 60 countries.

The Communications Council will now be the first industry body to formally adopt and implement online and experiential IPA courses internationally. The Australian alliance involves two main elements: the localising of the IPA’s core online qualifications for the Australian market, as well as a licensing agreement that will allow The Communications Council to run the IPA’s experiential advertising courses across Australia.

The industry announcement was made today at M&C Saatchi in Sydney, with details presented by Ian Priest, IPA President, and Margaret Zabel, CEO of The Communications Council.

Ian Priest, IPA President, Founding Partner, VCCP and Group COO, CSM said: “Our goal is to set benchmarks for best practice in the global advertising profession. There is clear evidence from our agencies in the UK of the direct and powerful link between investing in people and business performance – ultimately our thinking adds value to our clients’ brands and drives real competitive growth.

“I am therefore delighted that we have collaborated with The Communications Council in order to share our global benchmark of best practice learning with agencies and clients in the Australian advertising industry.”

Margaret Zabel, CEO, The Communications Council said: “Elevating the industry’s continuous professional development to a global standard provides the necessary opportunities required to attract and retain today’s best talent. Collaborating with the IPA ensures access to internationally recognised and respected qualifications and also lays the foundation for The Communications Council to go on to deliver individual accreditation to those within our industry.”

The first IPA qualification to be rolled-out in Australia by The Communications Council will be the Foundation Certificate. Considered a rite of passage in the UK industry, this is the industry’s key entry level qualification that provides junior adlanders with an understanding of the entire brand communications process, from the client brief to final execution. The qualification, which has been tailored to the Australian market, consists of 30 hours of online learning and an offline two-hour exam which will be held in locations across Australia.

In addition, the first IPA experiential course to be rolled-out by The Communications Council in Australia will be the Campaign Planning course. With forty years of success, the three day, intensive residential course takes delegates from client brief to campaign solution so as to create understanding of how strategic, creative and media planning is integral to the creation of effective advertising.

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