Global Foundation Certificate

Is this qualification for me?

If you have less than a year’s experience in an advertising, marketing or communications role, YES, this qualification is for you!
From recent graduates in their first year to young professionals just starting out or people entering the industry from another profession, everyone is welcome to access the program.

Benefits

• Instead of taking years to gain an essential overview of all areas of advertising – this course will take you on a journey through the entire brand communication process in just 30 hours.
• Gain an appreciation of the creative process, from fostering creativity in your everyday environment to understanding the invaluable role of media.
• Discover the importance of effectiveness to the industry and the development of theories such as those from Les Binet and Peter Field.
• Build on your knowledge of the client and agency roles and the marketing tools available to today’s marketers and agencies while understanding how to perform your role with confidence and expertise.
• Join the 17,000 people who have taken the qualification since 2003.

Learning process

• This qualification is delivered via 30 hours of online learning, delivered in 7 modules which can be accessed and downloaded when it suits you on any browser or device, or via the IPA Learning app.
• Gwyn March is the dedicated tutor for this qualification, available to answer candidate’s queries right up until their exam date.
• This qualification is assessed via a formal 2-hour online exam, 3-hours for non-native English speakers based in non-English speaking countries.
• Candidates will need to answer five short-form essay questions. The passing grade for the final exam is 50%. Candidates who pass will be awarded a digital certificate of completion and 2 MIPA stars towards personal accreditation.

Timing

In 2024, there will be three exam dates. Here are the registration deadlines for each one of them:

EXAM	BOOKING DEADLINE
29 April 2024	29 February 2024
30 September 2024	26 July 2024
25 November 2024	27 September 2024

Syllabus

This qualification is divided into seven modules designed to take candidates on a circular learning journey through the entire brand communications process.

Module 1: The Business of Creativity

The opening module is intended to remind us about the inspiring creative industry that we all work in – including references to its glorious past, dynamic present and exciting future. The module helps to outline and celebrate the role of creativity in both communications and the wider business community.

It includes:

• A perspective on Creativity’s history and tradition
• Creativity and advertising
• How creativity has evolved over the years
• The business of creativity
• The future of creativity.

Module 2: The Communications Landscape

This module highlights the evolution of the communications landscape from the analogue mainstream of the past, to the fragmented, highly digitised and rapidly evolving landscape of today. It looks at how agency models have changed within this landscape, from the increasing polarisation of the industry, with big communications groups at one end and the emergence of differently focused specialists at the other.

It includes:

• Evolution from traditional full service to a more fragmented and polarised agency landscape (and possibly back again)
• The arrival and influence of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter
• Emergence of different agencies including: types; ownership models, and an overview of the global communication groups
• The significance of the Communications industry to both culture and the economy.

Module 3: The Client and Agency Roles

This module has three parts: The first is client focused, including the (changing) role of the marketing director and considering clients’ work and priorities. The second part centres on agency response and interaction, while the third part outlines some of the necessary paperwork and processes.

It includes:

• Understanding the Marketing Director’s role and significance
• Working with your client and understanding their needs and priorities
• Overview of agency functions and roles: Account Handling, Planning, Creative, Creative Services, Comms and Media

Module 4: Theories, Tools and Techniques

The key focus of this fourth module is the key theories, techniques and tools at the disposal of today’s marketers and agencies.

It includes:

• The theories that underpin our business including: systems of thinking; behavioural economics, the role of memory
• How these theories help brands grow
• The different ways in which advertising can work
• Developing strategy, the planning cycle and the role of data
• Understanding people: insight & getting under the skin of your audience
• The importance of briefs
• Strategy toolkit – the key models, tools and techniques in an agency toolbox.

Module 5: Comms Review

This module demonstrates media’s invaluable role as source, inspiration and enhancement of creativity and the creative process. It is approached from a media neutral standpoint and includes relevant theories, inspiring examples and helpful facts, to illustrate media’s changing profile as well as the role and relevance of different types of media.

It includes:

• Creativity and media
• Channel planning considerations
• Role and inter relationship of Paid, Owned and Earned media channels
• Media and media buying basics
• The future of media.

Module 6: The Creative Development Process

In this module, we focus on the creative development process. We start from a general perspective: How to foster creativity in your everyday environment, through to a thorough step by step guide to the whys and wherefores of the creative communications development process: from receipt of the client brief, onto creation of the internal briefs through to the art of creative feedback.

It includes:

• Fostering creativity in your working environment
• The Creative Communications Development process from start to finish
• Creative briefs – why they exist and what makes a good one
• The importance of the briefing meeting
• Judging Creative ideas
• Giving Creative feedback.

Module 7: Evaluating Effectiveness

This final module outlines the importance of effectiveness to our industry. It illustrates some of the ways in which the IPA has been at the vanguard of this drive – as the home of the globally renowned Effectiveness Awards and through the development of many landmark works and theories such as those from Les Binet and Peter Field.

It includes:

• What is effectiveness and why it is important
• Leading theories of effectiveness including the link between creativity and effectiveness
• Embedding effectiveness: from objectives to measurement
• IPA Effectiveness Awards Case Studies. Students are expected to study one of these case studies for the final exam.

Recommended Resources

We have also provided a list of Recommended Resources for each module, ranging from blogs to books, that we encourage students to explore as wider reading on the subject matter.

Final Exam

Students must pass a formal online exam to achieve the Certificate. The exam comprises of essay questions.