ODMA digital training goes public

Rob Hill, Dave Duarte and Gavin Levinsohn

Co-authored by South African digital marketing expert, Dave Duarte, now Ogilvy's programme director, the positive response and results generated by its students, as well as enquiries from both local and international organisations has led to its public offering.

The course has also recently been rolled out at Ogilvy's Durban branch.

"Agencies are aware that it's no longer enough to simply have pockets of specialisation within the business but that agency culture as a whole needs to change," says Gavin Levinsohn, MD of Ogilvy Cape Town.

Rob Hill, group managing partner adds, "The digital dialogue needs to be pervasive throughout an agency as, without it, specialist digital divisions will be rendered mute. The idea of digital needs to be amplified in everything an agency does."

This is easier said than done and has led to increasing interest in ODMA for up-skilling. Launched in 2010, as a way to bring employees up to speed with the complexities of the digital marketing landscape, the programme is practical, relevant and current.

It has also provided staff members with a new framework for thinking as well as having seeded a different kind of creativity, one that grows with every course run. Says Levinsohn, "The programme is changing the lens through which the group measures its outputs as well as the kind of creative solutions it generates."

Achieve better results digitally

It is important that clients as well as staff members be included in the education process he adds, as sharing the learning experience with them will help agencies achieve better results digitally.

Co-authored by the Cape Town agency and Duarte, the ODMA is run as a series of seven interactive workshops that involve both lectures and practical assignments. In tune with the rapidly changing digital marketing environment, the course is constantly reviewed and improved. The latest offering involves game dynamics that heightens experiential learning amongst students.

For more, contact Dave Duarte on +27 (0) 21 433 0886.