Branding Training

At Bruce Clay Australia we are actively in the process of developing our own training programs for branding with banners, sponsorships and other media as well as programs specific to Collarity. We will let you know as soon as our training programmes become available. In the meantime, we refer you to the resources below for assistance on media buying and branding in general.

1. Media Buying Academy

   The Media Buying Academy offers a four-day, four-part Media Buying BootCamp, said to be the only real-world, hands-on media buying course available. From the basics to professional tricks of the trade, everything is covered in a dynamic, intense, information-packed curriculum. In addition to in-person training, a home study course is also available through its "Media Tutor" audiocassette curriculum that repackages the live event.

2. The Media Handbook: A Complete Guide to Advertising Media Selection, Planning, Research, and Buying by Helen E. Katz

   This book is a good reference for beginners. It provides a comprehensive overview of the media planning and buying environment, explaining basic media terms and concepts.

3. Advertising Media Planning by Jack Z. Sissors and Roger Baron

   This book covers all the basics of the media planning discipline and is suitable for entry-level media professionals. It can also be used as a training reference for those indoctrinating new media planning personnel.

4. Advanced Media Planning by John R. Rossiter and Peter J. Danaher

   This book provides a novel and advanced approach to media planning, covering the basics as well. The authors contend that current media planning is too conventional. While reach and frequency are not incorrect, they are too simplistic for modern media planning. They introduce the advanced concept of using reach patterns in making the reach decision. The book also develops the method of factoring in effective frequency when making the frequency decision. New operational formulas for calculating reach and frequency are provided. The media planning software, Media Mania, designed by Peter Danaher, is included on diskette.

5. Media Buyer Planner

   This site is the best source for news and information about media buying and planning. You can browse the site by medium: TV, Print, Direct, Radio, Interactive and Outdoor. The site newsletter, Media Buyer Daily, is focused on media news, planning tools, and media buying tactics for all types of media. It is published by Tig Tillinghast, publisher of Marketing VOX.

6. The Advertising Media Internet Center

The Advertising Media Internet Center (AMIC) is a popular website for media and marketing professionals, providing information on the activities of advertising media planners, buyers, sellers and researchers. "Ask the Media Guru" will address any questions that you have relating to media planning. You can also peruse the answers to questions that other people have posed to the Media Guru in the archives. You will find an encyclopedia of media terms and an extensive breakdown of a typical media plan to guide you through the process of pulling together the perfect media buy.

7. All About Branding

This site is an excellent information source for learning about every aspect of branding. Successful branding requires proactive brand management, and the resources offered will help you accomplish this task. Sections titled Creating, Communicating, Living, Measuring, Managing and Extending offer articles with insights on developing a powerful brand, communicating your brand message effectively, living up to your brand promise, quantifying the power of branding, controlling your brand for relevancy, and extending your brand as it evolves to meet your customers' needs.

New Zealand-based DNA Design, a design and branding firm, sponsors "All About Branding." You will find cutting-edge and topical articles about the impact of current Internet trends and tactics on brands because these folks live and breathe the business.

Of special interest are articles on how blogging can build your brand and the ongoing efforts to make branding accountable through ROI measurement.

8. Building Brands

This site provides in-depth information on how to build a brand. Included in the free resources is a "Did You Know?" section of articles illustrating the fundamental principles of brand management. A section called "Light Relief" is all about marketing and brand management humor, which can be educational as well. A section on marketing and brand management definitions is excellent. A "Creative Thinking" section provides challenges, quizzes, tools and techniques to try out, stuff that can get your creative juices flowing. The Games and Quizzes sections is fun and challenging. All games and quizzes give you feedback on your choices so they are informative and educational as well. There are also book reviews, article archives and links to other marketing and branding resources. This is an excellent site and a fun way to learn all about branding.

9. Biz360

To quote Larry Chase, "Biz360's flagship offering, Market360, is like a PR-monitoring service on steroids." This site provides excellent information from the blogosphere with its Market360 BlogView. BlogView scours the blogosphere, applying machine learning and Biz360's natural-language processing techniques to uncover buzz; measure sentiment; and surface the topics, people and organisations associated with your brand. It comes up with the critical information you need to protect your corporate reputation, enhance your brand value and make informed strategic and tactical decisions. With Market360 BlogView, marketing and communications executives can identify threats, discover marketing opportunities and measure buzz and market reaction.

The site's first 2006 webinar debuted in February and featured Forrester Research Analyst Charlene Li explaining the influence of new online media on businesses, with a focus on how Market360 BlogView can provide an input channel to your online audience and the issues that impact your business. Pricing information is not provided online.

10. BrandChannel.com

The BrandChannel professes to be "The world's only online exchange about branding." It is an excellent resource for facts and philosophy on building and maintaining branding campaigns. The Brand Debate section presents actual campaigns with questions to be debated. For instance, in a WalMart ad for a hearing aid, the question is: "Better to brand the medical equipment or the profession?" with point and counterpoint. You can submit and view comments as well as delve into the archives.

The brand consulting firm Interbrand, known for its joint annual survey with Business Week to identify the top 100 global brands, sponsors the site. Heuristic content includes articles, case studies, white papers and an extensive directory. A section called "Brand Cameo" shows all the brands featured in recent films.

11. Branding Asia

With so many companies moving into China and other Asian countries, this site is an excellent resource of practical information for organisations operating in the Asia-Pacific market. Dr. Paul Temporal, author of "Branding in Asia," and a branding strategy consultant to leading Asian and international companies, edits the site. Based in Singapore, Dr. Temporal's monthly columns provide branding tips from his books and current projects.

Featured articles discuss extending brands to markets receptive to luxury brands from the West, the brand dilemmas encountered with mergers and acquisitions and more. A scholarly paper on brand equity by Jon Montgomery of the Hudson Group and Michael Lieberman of Multivariate Solutions resides on the homepage. If Asia-Pacific is in your future, bookmark Branding Asia now.

12. WARC Brand Management Center

This brand portal is published by the World Advertising Research Center (WARC). You can register for a free trial to access to WARC Brand Management Center content. This gives you seven day access to all article summaries (abstracts), the ability to view any three articles of your choice and a selection of sample articles. A yearly subscription runs U.S.$3015, giving you access to over 25,000 articles, research reports and summaries drawn from over 30 international sources, plus 3,000 detailed case studies, company and brand profiles. Members are able to find out what competitors are doing, access consolidated global industry news, best practice papers and expert editorials on current industry trends.

With the seven-day trial, you can browse articles on Marketing Management, Brands & Branding, Case Studies, Product Categories, Company Profiles, Advertising, Other Communications, Consumers & Customers, Marketing Research and Media, available from the homepage in the left column. Or sign up for the complimentary news and information alerts.