Champion title for the advertisers

 
Training II In August, the University of Applied Sciences will launch a course for advertisers.  
The "Customer Communication" course starts at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences HWZ in August. The part-time course at Master's level is designed to cover the entire spectrum of modern customer communication in a compact manner. The new course is intended to close a gap in Swiss marketing and communication training, the creators of the course write in a press release. With the new training program, the advertising industry now has a university course with international recognition (see box), and the idea of such a course was born partly because there were no training opportunities for creative professionals at university level until now. "However, there is great demand," says course director Rainer Bühler. One reason for this is probably the international recognition of the degree. "You can compare yourself internationally with the degree, which is not possible with a Sawi diploma," says Rainer Bühler. On the other hand, many agency employees do not have the opportunity to attend a university because a Sawi diploma does not allow them to do so. The new course opens the doors to the academic world: people with a federal diploma can be accepted "sur dossier".
Low proportion of academicsRainer Bühler believes that the academization of the advertising trade is a necessary and important development. "The level of training in the agencies could be higher," says Bühler. There are too few academically trained employees in the agencies. As a result, there is a tendency for agencies to have to fight for their expertise, particularly in consulting. As Bühler says, it is extremely important to meet clients on an equal footing. "There is a lot of theory and academic knowledge on the client side." This is why Bühler also wants to teach future students how to present cases using the right language and how to convince clients with ideas using the right rhetoric. The first information events prove Bühler right. It is mainly people who want to better understand the interfaces between agency and client who are interested.
Is the course only aimed at consultants? "Not at all. The course is also suitable for creative professionals such as graphic designers," says Rainer Bühler. Basically, the course is aimed at people who want to get ahead in the agency and be smarter at top management level. In this regard, Bühler refers to the content that the participants will be offered. "We don't just want to teach theory, but also discuss actual cases with the students. The training should be dynamic."
Highly qualified lecturersThe training is interesting for those who are considering working as agency strategists. A glance at the list of lecturers makes it clear that industry-renowned strategists will be imparting their knowledge. For example, Peter Felser from Spillmann Felser Leo Burnett or Pascal Schaub, strategist at Sachti & Satchi and President of the Account Planning Group Switzerland. However, the lecturers on the course are not only recruited from the agency scene. Representatives of branded companies, such as the Head of Marketing at Unilever, Frank Hauerken, will also be lecturing at the HWZ. The new advertising course starts in August. General information about the course and the HWZ is available on the Internet at fh-hwz.ch.
 
Christian Lüscher
Certificate of Advanced Studies in Customer CommunicationThe CAS course
Customer Communications can be taken individually or as an elective module of the MAS Business Communications at the HWZ. It comprises 22 study days and focuses on the topic of customer relations. Digital media should play a central role in all considerations. The maximum number of participants is 30. Successful graduates receive a university certificate from the HWZ Zurich School of Business. The course comprises 12 ECTS credits. ECTS stands for "European Credit Transfer System" and enables the international comparability of study programs. One ECTS credit point corresponds to 30 hours of study. The CAS Customer Communication is under the patronage of the BSW. The association provides lecturers. The close connection between the BSW and Sawi is not affected by this new cooperation.