MIAMI AD SCHOOL PREPARES THE NEXT GENERATION FOR AD CAREERS

By Christine Beardsell, ClickZ, Jul 28, 2009

In an industry that is changing and evolving faster than most agencies and brands can keep up with, the Miami Ad School has been able to stay ahead of the curve, in many ways shaping the space.

I was honored to get to teach some of the school's students last week. The school trains some of the industry's most award-winning creative talent, but what really struck me during my short stay was how progressive the teaching model is.

I also got the chance to talk with Pippa Seichrist, co-founder and president, to discuss the school's unique perspective and how it deals with an industry in flux.

Christine Beardsell: I've heard Miami Ad School described as a portfolio school in the past. But my initial impression is that you are quite different from most schools out there. Describe your program's unique format.

Pippa Seichrist: We're not a portfolio school. We're "The School of Pop Culture Engineering." Our graduates leave as digital creatives and strategists who move easily between words [and] still and moving images. They break the old boundaries of titles and media forms.

We're also different because we are not just one school; we're a network of educational options and cultural experiences in just about every major ad and design capital in the world. We give each student the chance to study advertising in up to five different cities, learning the trends and in each culture.

We have training programs for our students inside agencies, including CP+B, R/GA, Lowe, Dieste, Iris, PIC, Bureau Pindakaas, and Ogilvy. In addition to great training, our students graduate with real-world experience and a network of industry contacts.

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