MAD//Fest and legendary madman Rory Sutherland have today launched a comprehensive new hybrid learning and development programme to support marketers to adapt to accelerated disruption and secure competitive advantage.

Created by Ogilvy Vice-chair Sutherland and billed as 'The Masters course for disruption optimists and opportunists’, MAD//Masters By Rory Sutherland is a 12 week programme and year-round community for client-side marketers and agency planners looking to make sense of mass disruption and develop robust marketing and career strategies.

Hosted by Sutherland, the course is packed with insights, analysis and collaborative learning activities to help marketers leverage creativity, innovation and lateral thinking for competitive gain. 

Featuring weekly lectures and tutorials, guest interviews with global marketers and disruptors, in-person workshops and a CPD-accredited assessment, MAD//Masters has been designed to support marketers to make the shift to more agile marketing models that reflect seismic shifts in behaviour, technology, media and consumption. Key themes include:

  • The big power + behavioural shift: making sense of uncertainty, emerging trends + your marketing mix
  • Finding opportunity in the chaos: how to turn mass disruption into competitive advantage
  • Understanding your customers' mindset: How consumer behaviour should influence your marketing mix
  • Accelerating productivity: How individuals + teams can boost agility, creative output + innovation
  • Knowing your own strength: how to optimise your investments + campaigns for competitive advantage
  • The disruptive mindset: how big brands + start-ups can gain an edge
  • Risk v. reward: learning how to take calculated risks that pay off

Marketers who sign up for MAD//Masters will join a year round digital and physical community to exchange ideas, build relationships and access key events, including MAD//Fest London and Ogilvy’s flagship behavioural science festival, Nudgestock. The inaugural course will start this May, with an additional intake in October 2022. 

"Whether you're a CMO, rising star or agency planner, accelerated disruption is a fact of life in 2022. If you accept that things have fundamentally changed, doing what our industry has always done and making key decisions based on out-of-date data is an increasingly risky marketing and career strategy," said Sutherland.

“I’m firmly of the belief that if you want to adapt, thrive and turn disruption into competitive advantage, you’ll need to learn new tricks, embrace leftfield ideas and dig deeper into what really makes your customers tick. I've designed MAD//Masters to enable marketers to keep ahead of the game, pinpoint emerging trends and thrive during this pivotal, exciting moment for the marketing industry. I can't wait explore the big shifts alongside the industry's top leaders and brightest prospects.

“Rory’s unique ability to make sense of behaviour, brands and a generally confusing world is legendary. He’s a firm MAD//Fest favourite and has a huge international following. So when the idea of working with Rory to bring together the best of digital content and live events and create a unique personal development programme came up in conversation, naturally we jumped at the opportunity," said Dan Brain, MAD//Fest London's Co-founder. 

"The course is packed with insight, analysis, trends, data, case studies, practical tips and collaborative learning to give marketers the science and magic needed to see disruption in a positive light. And of course with Rory at the helm, you can guarantee that it’ll be fun, inspiring and valuable brain fodder, which is very much the MAD//Fest way." 

A limited number of places are available here for just £795. + VAT (usual price £995 + VAT). Your pass also includes a complimentary ticket to MAD//Fest London worth £650, where you will attend an exclusive workshop. Click here to book or register your interest here.