Taking the IPA Foundation Certificate
Since December 2022 Mediabridge has placed an emphasis on team training and development. An internal training module was set up to cover everything from clarity on service, to clients, to appraisals, to technical skills, with modules on key aspects of the business. These sessions ran alongside industry and management courses. Over 60% of our client services team hold an IPA qualification or sit an exam in Q3, including Advanced Effectiveness.
Our Account Manager, Amy Maskell, shares her experience of taking the Foundation Certificate:
How I found the training and exam
I began the learning back in early May and my exam was on 26th June. I liked the way that the IPA has set up the certificate as it is split into bite-sized chunks for each module. This made it easier to fit the revision around work and the weekends, as you could do an hour here or there.
I would say that to get the most out of the qualification, I would spend closer to 50 hours on the learning. You can cover it in 30 hours, but some modules would need to be covered in more depth than others.
What did the course cover?
The modules included Creativity, the Agency Landscape, Key Stakeholders, Communication Tools, Media Planning, Creative Content Development and Effectiveness.
I particularly enjoyed the Creativity module as it showed that creative campaigns are more effective and lead to brand building.
I also enjoyed the Communication Tools module as this covered Behavioural Economics which is what I studied at university.
How was the exam?
It was a 2-hour exam which was taken at home.
I preferred doing it at home as it meant that I had time in the morning to look at my notes. It also meant that we were able to type our answers which I personally prefer as it is much quicker.
The exam goes by very quickly, it doesn’t feel like you are typing for two hours. All the questions are essay based so it is important that you type quickly. I found it helpful to have a notebook and pen to write a plan for each essay – this way I didn’t waste time working out what I wanted to write for each question. I would focus on quality rather than quantity as timing is tight and although you want to get all your ideas down, it is important to focus on the key points. I also wouldn’t be afraid to apply your own knowledge and experience – give your opinion!
We had to wait nearly 2 months to get the result which felt like ages! You receive a pass, pass with credit, pass with distinction, or fail.
What I have learnt, how it has helped and changed my approach when working day to day
The IPA course was extremely insightful as it has enabled me to learn about all areas of advertising, not just OOH. This is essential when making recommendations to my clients as I understand how multiple channels support each other and how they work well to deliver the best outcome for the client. It has also given me the skills to tell a story and deliver a strategy that achieves the clients’ objectives.
One element that has really helped me and changed my day-to-day approach to work is the effectiveness module. I now understand what this term means and how effectiveness can be measured in terms of business and brand metrics. It also emphasised how important it is to have effectiveness embedded right from the start. This has given me the confidence to provide recommendations based on the overarching goals or objectives of the campaign, along with providing me with a different outlook when putting an OOH plan together.
What does it mean to receive the qualification?
Overall, it was a fantastic learning experience, and I am very grateful to Mediabridge to have been given the opportunity to further my learning. I will take away a lot of the learnings from the certificate and the modules, along with the insight from the industry professionals and inspiration from the case studies.