Premier industry-focused education provider Macleay College has today announced its first round of this year’s AdSpeaks series of talks by high-flying advertising professionals. For The People co-founder Andy Wright to kick off series Scheduled to run throughout March, the first volume of AdSpeaks 2015 will be led by three industry professionals lined up to discuss the changing world of advertising; including the entrepreneurial mindsets, integration of technology, and evolving roles. The full speaker programme will run as follows:

• Monday, March 2, 10.30 am: Andy Wright, co-founder of For The People, will present ‘Starting from scratch – what the agency model would look like if you could start again’. Wright will present his experience in setting up For The People – a new agency model offering branding, design and strategy to new start-ups without a lot of the existing agency infrastructure.

• Monday, March 16, 10.30 am: Brad Bennett, head of technology at The Hallway, will be discussin ‘Technology Trends’. Bennett will look at 7 trends in technology that will shape the world to come, what it means to innovate and what trends marketers need to be aware of as we create the communications, products and services of tomorrow.

• Monday, March 30, 10.30 am: Neil Duncan, business director at Leo Burnett, will present ‘The changing role of the Account Manager in the changing world of Advertising’. Duncan will discuss how the management of creative teams, client relationships and tech-providers is changing within the context of the growth of new delivery platforms and mediums.

Head of Advertising at Macleay, Ian Thomson, said that the range of topics that AdSpeaks brings to the table intend to be thought-provoking, not only for advertising students, but for industry professionals. “At Macleay, we like to position ourselves at the forefront of industry and provide an innovative approach to education. Through industry focused programs like AdSpeaks our students are exposed to what’s happening on the leading edge of advertising early on, and can hit the ground running when they enter the workplace,” said Thomson. Previous AdSpeaks speakers have included M&C Saatchi Group Innovation Director Ben Cooper, Profero Creative Director Matthew Delprado, The White Agency strategist Grant Flannery , SBS Group Marketing Director Katherine Raskob, ZenithOptimedia CIO Aaron Michie and Leo Burnett Sydney Planning Director Caroline Ghatt. AdSpeaks talks are open to industry, students and public. If you would like to attend one of the above industry talks, email Ian Thomson at ithomson@macleay.edu.au