Writing Effective Copy
Lecturer Mike Mackay
Duration Three Saturdays, 10am – 4pm
Dates September 1, 8, 15
Fee $792
Venue Billy Blue College of Design, 171 Pacific Highway, North Sydney
Course Outline
Copywriting is the art, craft and psychology of getting your message across. It’s about coming up with original creative ideas and then communicating them in ways that sell products and services, create brands, entertain and educate. You’ll learn about understanding your audience so you can think of new ways to capture their imaginations, engage their emotions and convince them to act or think differently.
Who should attend
Anyone who wants to understand how the ad business works and/or needs to write advertising or any effective communication for their job or pleasure. If you write a lot this is a good way to learn how to write a lot less for maximum impact.
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you should have a portfolio of writing work to show and a better understanding of how to think creatively and communicate effectively.
Course Content
Various weekly creative writing exercises plus:
• understanding the intricacies of a brief
• brainstorming in a team environment to answer a brief
• working with words and images
• writing headlines and body copy
• examining examples of good ideas and great creators
• writing for TV and Radio
• writing for the web and how search engines work
Prerequisites
A sense of humour otherwise you’ll be lost.
Lecturer’s Biography
Mike Mackay started his career working as a copywriter in the Radio industry in New Zealand and won a couple of awards for his work early on. This gave him the confidence to travel and he spent the next 10 years working in various countries as a writer and then promotions and marketing director. He was based in Hong Kong when he was offered the chance to switch from radio to TV and help grow the Channel [V] brand and he spent the next few years travelling around Asia and the Middle East doing just that.
When he returned to Australia in 1998 he was interested in exploring how the web and radio could work together and after setting up Australia’s first hybrid web/radio station he went on to work in the growing digital domain. In 2003 he set up his own small but successful creative agency, ran it for 5 years and then sold it so he could retire at the ripe old age of 43. He was bored within weeks and decided that as he had a lot of knowledge and experience to pass on so he’d try teaching. Five years on and he’s still loving it.
Mike is now the Program Manager for Billy Blue’s Branded Fashion course, bringing his expertise in building and sustaining brands to one of the most dynamic industries on the planet.