The ARF invites you to invest in your organization, and the future of the industry, by offering your employees the opportunity to participate in The ARF Marketing Optimization and Insights Certificate, established in partnership with NYU School of Professional Studies.
Recognize promising young employees or experienced employees who would benefit from updating their understanding of the latest practices and applications of marketing research. Encourage hyperspecialized employees, who might not have a market research vocabulary, to better understand market research and media valuation.
This program is an excellent opportunity to develop the talent within your organization and reward your employees.
The ARF is offering a discounted rate to its member companies (pay only $4,000 — a 50% savings).
More information—including details on when live sessions will take place for each course and how long the certification would take to complete—are available below and on our FAQ page.
About the Certification
This is not just another online course. This certification program will be taught by some of the industry’s leading minds and combine asynchronous and synchronous online instruction—making this opportunity accessible to anyone, anywhere.
Each course will provide real-world examples of the application of research and analytic methods to diagnose marketing problems, iterate solutions and evaluate effectiveness, as well as offer a wide breadth of different types of research approaches— surveys, social media, advantages of location data and behavioral signals.
Students will learn how to integrate different data streams to find direct solutions to business problems. Graduate benefits will be provided to support students after certification.
Who is this Certification For?
The certification is ideal for professionals currently working in the advertising/marketing field, as well as those working in related fields with an interest in furthering their understanding of advertising/marketing analysis.
Level up your teams as a whole—this certification not only benefits those working directly in marketing and advertising research but also those whose work is impacted by the field. Knowing more helps everyone.
What is Involved in the Certification Program?
The certificate will be awarded to students who successfully complete the required “Foundations” course and three electives within three years.
Instruction will include virtual live discussion with professors and classmates, along with a combination of video presentations, readings and assignments to be done independently.
The time commitment will be roughly 4-5 hours per week, per course—engaging with course materials, completing projects and attending live “office hours” with professors and guest lecturers.
Students Will Gain the Ability To:
- Apply a modern consumer-centric approach to the development and optimization of marketing activities
- Identify business goals, objectives, and strategies relevant to marketing and advertising
- Assess the requirements of an effective marketing and advertising plan to support these business goals
- Develop actionable insights from consumer and market data
- Integrate the research and insights process into the development, testing and optimization of messaging and creative assets
- Evaluate how media choices, media mix and optimal media plans affect your ability to reach marketing communications and business goals
- Measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a marketing campaign, and determine appropriate optimizations
Courses Offered
REQUIRED COURSE:
Foundations of Advertising Insights and Marketing Analysis
An introduction to the use of research and insights in developing the marketing and advertising journey. Students will understand the steps in developing an advertising campaign, establish campaign objectives and strategy, and discuss media planning and campaign evaluation.
ELECTIVES (CHOOSE THREE):
Achieving Consumer Centricity
A focused look at the critical importance of placing the consumer at the center of all aspects of the market research and data analysis process, and thus driving marketing decisions that focus on the consumer and increase the likelihood of positive business outcomes.
Campaign Objectives & Strategy
This course will teach students to build an integrated campaign plan, which includes identifying the objectives that a particular marketing campaign is meant to achieve, understanding the audience for the campaign and their specific needs and wants, and developing the right messages that speak to the target audience’s needs.
Discovering and Testing the Key Consumer Insight
This course will cover the process and tools used to determine deep consumer insights and how marketers decide on the most appropriate insights for a marketing campaign. Students will examine case studies of how consumer insight is leveraged in organizations for strategic decision making for ad campaigns
Informing Creative Development
This course will give students hands-on experience acquiring and using tools to deliver effective business- building creative assets. Students will learn the research approaches to inform the balance between rational vs. emotional messaging and learn the research tools required to develop the messaging language to ensure clarity and brand consistency across audiences and segments.
Media Assessment & Tactical Planning
This course will cover how media are evaluated, planned and bought for marketing campaigns. It will introduce the methodologies and approaches used in media planning. Students will learn to define media objectives vs. goals vs. strategies, and to connect media objectives to marketing and advertising objectives.
Campaign Effectiveness Measurement
This course examines the value of campaign effectiveness measurement and how it has evolved with the advertising ecosystem, and the role of campaign measurement for companies and the marketing industry. Students will measure the difference between key performance indicators, engagement metrics, and outcome metrics and get detailed overview of the main measurement tools used in marketing today.
Pricing
The ARF is offering a discounted rate to its member companies:
| Full Certificate | Individual Course | |
| Full Price | $8000 | $2000 |
| Member Discount (ongoing) | $4000 (50% savings) |
$1500 (25% savings) |