Tracks of Study
Art Direction
The art direction track is designed to turn students who think visually into art directors in the advertising industry. Art directors apply visual solutions to solve business problems. Art directors often have a background in fine arts, or at least an appreciation for the world of visual art. In the Brandcenter's two-year program, they learn to think strategically and conceptually before beginning to create advertisements. Art directors work closely with copywriters to make ads that could run in the real world. The curriculum teaches art directors to not only how create visuals and logos, but how to think through business problems.
Communication Strategy
Communication strategists link brand and consumer. They represent the consumer within the agency and conceptual process. Through innovative primary and secondary research, they develop and apply insights. They use these insights to create a specific strategy for a campaign or branding venture, to position the brand within the daily lives of consumers. They then brief the creative team, of copywriters, art directors, and creative technologists on the strategy for the creative concept. In addition, they develop a media plan and creative vehicles for advertisements or messages.
Copywriting
The copywriting track teaches how to write advertising copy. The Brandcenter teaches that copywriters are storytellers who must use words to best solve business and market problems. Copywriters learn to think conceptually before launching into words. They go through two years of grueling training, learning to start with strategy and concept before crafting advertisements. They work closely with art directors to make ads that could run in the real world. The curriculum teaches that copywriters don’t just write headlines, tag lines and website descriptions, they must think through a business problem and develop a strategy to solve it.
Creative Brand Management
The creative brand management track combines business and creativity to teach students how to solve problems. On graduating, many student go to work for advertising industry clients instead of advertising agencies. The school developed this track in 2005 to help create clients that better understand how advertising agencies function. At the Brandcenter, creative brand managers are taught to act as the client.
Creative Technology
Creative technologists use conceptual skills to advertise brands in digital spaces. They extend brand campaigns past mobile applications and websites by bringing new brand experiences to digital space. The school added the creative technology program in 2008, and its first set of graduates were expected to graduate in 2010. The program addresses the changing industry, as the digital world plays a bigger part in advertising and branding every year.
Read more about this topic: VCU Brandcenter
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