Strategy Finishing School

$1,997 or 4 monthly payments of $550

This master course delves into the fundamentals of strategy and the three levels of becoming a strategist.

15-YEARS OF STRATEGY TRAINING SHARED WITH YOU RIGHT NOW

Progress to a leadership role in strategy with the Strategy Finishing School.

The BIG-T Strategist model gives you a;
• Strong foundation in the strategy craft with 9 modules
• BIG-T modules (Diplomacy, Management, and Selling Strategy) that elevate you to leadership

The School includes lifetime access to;
• 190+ video lessons
• Private Facebook Group (2400+ members)
• Private mentorship groups
• Access to Julian Cole

TESTIMONIALS

Success Stories from Inside Strategy Finishing School

STRATEGY FINISHING SCHOOL

The Strategy Finishing School is an online platform with over 4000+ members from leading brands and agencies including Google, Netflix, New York Times, Facebook, DDB, Droga5, and W+K.

It is designed for people who have never been formally taught strategy but find themselves in a role where strategy is in their title.

With over 190+ lessons that are updated monthly and a thriving online community, the School is perfect for strategists who are looking to fast track their career.

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MEMBERS

AWARDS

SUBSCRIBERS

The Ultimate Course For Strategy Misfits

If you are...

A blindfolded strategy misfit who has never been taught the fundamentals of strategy

Looking to gain confidence in your process and role

Transitioning from another discipline to strategy and need some practical information

In a part of strategy where you’re dealing with the creative industry...

THEN SFS IS DEFINITELY WHAT YOU NEED.

Master the skills of strategy needed at the 3 levels of your career

The modules help you at the three levels (Strategist, Strategy Director and Head Of Strategy).

Chapter 1 - Strategy Fundamentals (Strategist)

Chapters 2-8 - Research, Insights, Briefing, Brand Strategy, Comms Planning, Advertising Effectiveness, Business Strategy (Strategy Director)

Chapters 9-11 - Diplomacy, Management, Selling Strategy (Head Of Strategy)

Learn whenever, wherever. Access all the content immediately.

You get access to all the content in the School right away.

No gated access or waiting for school to start.

The course was designed for busy strategists, meaning if you need to learn something right away you will have a video and template ready for you.

Join a private community of world class strategists

Become a part of our private Facebook community, which consists of the other members of the Strategy Finishing School; a vibrant, trusted, and talented network of strategists that you can easily bounce ideas off with.

Save your time with templates you can copy/paste

You will have access to the Strategy Finishing School Library, which is a Google folder containing presentations and templates that have saved Julian and other strategists hours of presentation creation time.

You can copy and paste templates including strategy set up decks, content strategy, scoping strategy, comms planning, strategy department vision, to over 100+ frameworks that are designed for you to swipe and save.

A partner for your whole strategy career

All Strategy Finishing School members have lifetime access to the content, allowing you to always refer to the content throughout your career.

It was designed to help you at each stage with different content bespoke to that role.

The content in the school is also getting updated every year based on the new demands of the members of the Strategy Finishing School.

You’ll get industry recognized certification

When you complete the first chapter of the Strategy Fundamentals, you will get the Strategy Finishing School certification.

The certification is recognized by Chief Strategy Officers at leading companies around the world and has led to a number of members being hired into leading strategy roles.

Here’s what other strategists like you have gained after this course:

Unrivaled strategic ability confidence

Strategy work is seen as a centerpiece, not an afterthought

Extensive knowledge of strategy skills (comms planning, business strategy, and management) that leaves a massive impact on the company

A bigger, stronger network of trusted strategists that you can bounce ideas off and collaborate with

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Course Modules & Lessons

Strategy Fundamentals

What is strategy?
Writing a strategy
Different types of strategy
Managing Downtime
Short Sharp Strategy
Who's Who In Agencies
Strategy In Under An Hour
Helpful Strategy Resources

Research

Kick Off Questions
Strategy Scrapbook
Art of Interviewing Clients
Evaluating Data Sources
Validating Problems/Insights

Insights

What are insights?
Insights vs. observations
Flipping Insights
Polishing Insights
Adding Tension

Creative Briefing

How to write a creative brief

Sacred Six Brief Template
GET-TO-BY Brief

Tactical Briefs

Single Minded Proposition

Biggest Mistakes With Creative Briefing

Giving Creative Feedback

Tips for Briefing Remotely

Brand Strategy

What is Brand Strategy?

Brand Frameworks

Brand Benefit Ladders

Brand Architecture

Brand Archetypes

Comms Planning

What is Comms Planning?

Consumer Journey Tools

Consumer Journey Mapping

Comms Framework

Comms Planning Questions

Tactical Briefing

Articulating An Idea

Idea Formula

Building Out An Execution

Campaign Ecosystem

Content Strategy (Annual)

Framework Factory

Innovation Checklist

Blueprints

Advertising Effectiveness

How Advertising Works

Cogs of Marketing Effectiveness

Mental And Physical Availability

Distinctive Assets

Category Entry Points

ESOV

Different Types of Measurement

Creating a KPI Framework

Business Strategy

SWOT Analysis

Reading a Financial Report

Proactive Strategy

Growth Matrix
Business Strategy Models (Coming Soon)

Professional Development

Transitioning Into Strategy

Strategy Confidence

How To Get A Raise

Creating Your Pitch

Strategy Portfolio Website

Diplomacy

Politics 101
How To Work With Creatives
How To Work With Media Agencies
Giving Creative Feedback
Designing Decks
Writing Presentations

Management

Managing Planners
Strategist Interview Questions
Setting Up A Strategy Department
Setting Up A Strategy Department Vision
Scoping Strategy
Being Strategy About Resourcing

Selling Strategy

Scoping Strategy
Being Strategic About Strategy
Proactive Strategy
RICK Sales Model
How Agencies Make Money
Strategy Sales Models (Coming Soon)

TESTIMONIALS

2,000+ Strategists Have Filled
Their Knowledge Gap

See what other people say about the course! 👉

Julian Cheevers

Head of Brand Strategy, Vista

The more complicated marketing becomes, the more crucial it is to ground yourself in the fundamentals.

Planning Dirty provides clarity across the key tenants of strategy in a way that is immediately actionable - whether you're starting out, want to stay sharp later in your career, or as a resource to help train others.

Tricia Russo

CSO at DDB Chicago

Julian is making the most positive impact in the discipline today. His tools anchor Planning/Strategy (and innovation in general) as it’s meant to be - simple, powerful and collaborative.

His commitment to fearless curiosity without ego is at the heart of innovative ideas.

Kelsey Hodgkin

Head of Strategy, Deutsch LA

Julian is probably one of the most generous people in the industry at the moment when it comes to sharing his knowledge and experience.

As somebody on the leadership team said, some of the best money you can spend.

Jahfre Colbert

Creative Strategist at studio bc/c

Planning Dirty Academy is exactly what I've been needing. I was a brand founder and designer before I came to the industry and I'm completely self taught.

I've been working between art, copy and strategy for the last 3 year at a small brand studio and have been feeling stuck. Now I'm excited to come here and learn everyday.

Anirban Ganguly

Head of Content Strategy and Innovation at Astro

As an ex-planner who moved over to the client side, this planning platform has been my go-to resource to educate/facilitate understanding of brand/communications/
marketing for the internal marketing & product development teams and also the agency oftentimes.

Meet Julian Cole

Julian Cole is a strategy consultant to global brands including Apple, Facebook, Disney, Snap and Uber.

Previously he's held the role of Head of Comms Planning at BBDO and BBH in New York.

He's created award-winning work for PlayStation, Bacardi, Pepsi, Google, and Coca-Cola.

With a void of practical strategy education, Julian founded the Strategy Finishing School (previously Planning Dirty Academy) in 2019.

Since then, he has taught his world-class experience to more than 3,000 strategists.

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CLIENTS

RECOGNITION

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convince my boss to pay for the course?

The best agencies invest in their talent.

Around 40% of School memberships are bought by agencies/companies for their staff.

From big network agencies and brands to small independent agencies of 5 people.

If you need a deck or an email template to send to your boss, check out the employee reimbursement site.

How will I access the course?

You access the course through this website courses.strategyfinishingschool.com.

You will also have access to the special Strategy Finishing School Drive which has all the presentations and frameworks.

How much is the course?

The course is a one-time payment of $1997 USD.

This will give you lifetime access to the courses.

How long do I get access to the course?

You will have lifetime access to the course.

If I have a question how can I get in touch with Julian Cole?

There are three ways that you will have access to Julian Cole;

1) Julian checks the private Facebook Group daily and answers all questions. So if you have a question this is the best place to ask as you also get the benefit of all the other strategy minds in the group.

2) On the website Julian will check all the comments and give feedback on exercises, so feel free to ask questions here.

3) You will be able to email Julian directly.

Is the course structured?

It is recommended that everyone starts with the Strategy Fundamentals module to get up to speed.

Then it is up to you to go into detail on the different topics.

We will also be going through different modules every month with Q&As on the Facebook Page.

I would like my whole office to do this, how do I go about that?

We have a number of companies who do this as a group.

If you are interested in an office plan, get in touch - julian@strategyfinishingschool.com

How can I get my Strategy Finishing School certificate?

In order to receive the certificate, you need to complete the Strategy Fundamentals module, and submit your own Strategy Operating System for Julian to review.

How many hours does it take to finish the Strategy Fundamentals module?

The Strategy Fundamentals takes about a month to complete if you’re working full time, faster if you want to binge the content, and then it is pick-and-choose based on what area you want to focus on (Brand Strategy, Comms Planning, Research) the 11 modules take about a month each too.

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This master course delves into the fundamentals of strategy and the three levels of becoming a strategist.

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