The school of advertising & marketing

This course was a memorable experience for me, with a comprehensive, enriching process, lots of interesting insights and a quality outcome. It gives more than you can take: branding that critically touches all aspects in a way that brings different lessons, benefits and value to everyone. Practical knowledge, real-life examples and discussions with professionals in the field are what this course can really promise. The whole path is not easy, it requires commitment and active participation, but the end result and the lessons learnt during the process are even more rewarding.

Despite the name, most courses available in the Lithuanian market still focus on the delivery aspect and cater primarily to Project or Backlog Managers, rather than true Product Managers. These were different—covering the entire range of Product Management activities from A to Z, with a strong emphasis on the most important aspect of Product Management – “Product Discovery.” Professional teachers + a well-balanced mix of theory and practice + curious and motivated participants = courses were useful not only for beginners, or those looking to start their careers in Product Management, but also those already working in the field and willing to learn some new stuff. Another advantage – it was a great place to meet professionals in the PM area and discuss your daily challenges.

For everyone, but certainly not for those who just want to listen passively. I have to admit, I didn’t expect that much work myself. Now you have lectures, and now, look, you’ve got an assignment to do and you’re spinning around like a bee. There were some stuck moments when you don’t know where to go next, then you call Clare, the course leader, who breaks the ice from your thoughts, leads you out of all the (not only comfort) zones and bang! A few hours later, you have 3 pages of ideas on where to go next. It wasn’t easy, but it was a good, very good process.

I had long been dreaming of working in advertising, but I was lost, distracted and wandering around in circles. The Atomic Garden fundamentally changed the course of my life by helping me harness my scattered creativity, introducing me to the colourful world of advertising and giving me the opportunity to learn from the coolest teachers. In addition, my dream came true – after finishing the Creativity in Advertising course, my teacher Rimantas Stanevičius invited me and my creative partner to join the creative team of Milk agency.

The experience and knowledge gained at The Atomic Garden school is unique and invaluable – it helps you not to get stuck in the creative process, to believe in yourself and to always find a way out. Being a creator is not easy, but I say THANK YOU for the opportunity to engage in it every morning.

During the course, we got a broad overview of the product manager role from a variety of experiences. The enthusiasm of the course leaders to share both their experience and to talk about their product and the problem it solves was particularly noticeable. What I liked most were the teachers who shared their personal, very specific experiences and product (failure) stories. All the presented theoretical material is well summarized and arranged in slides, which will be used and opened when I want to delve into one or another topic when a similar situation occurs in practice. Overall, the course was a good set, where the lessons flowed from each other. In summary, I would rate it as suitable for both those completely new to the product journey and a great refresher for those already experienced. The main takeaway I took away from the course is that the purpose of the product manager role is to identify the most important problems to be solved for your audience and to put together a winning strategy.

I hesitated long and hard about joining The Atomic Garden, and had a lot of doubts about whether the school would meet my expectations. Now I can safely say that it was more than worth it. I met many professionals of this market and learned more in six months than others do in four years of university. And, of course, I got the job I wanted and loved. What more could you ask for?

After spending some time at school, you realise that you know even less than ever. It makes you feel anxious that you weren’t previously interested in this horrible but wonderful thing called advertising. And then comes the real breakthrough. You become an avid reader, experiencer and listener of all things related to advertising. You become more open to life in general and, in the end, you start to create appalling, and maybe sometimes brilliant, advertisements yourself.

This course was like a festive binge for me. The more you put on the table, the more it jams. It’s bad, but you’re still stuck because you’ve awakened a masochistic, self-improvement-hungry demon somewhere inside you. I signed up for Atomic Garden as soon as I decided to return to Lithuania after several years of working abroad, hoping to gain self-confidence in a new phase. But the course pushed me out of my comfort zone even more than I expected. There were days when I doubted my abilities and even my professional direction. There were weeks when it seemed impossible to juggle so many branding components and get everything done on time. There were four months when, even at night, topics were running through my mind that I never thought I would be interested in: for example, the biodiversity of sea grasses. But relief came. Somewhere at the last presentation, when the results of intensive work turned into a finished project that you could put on Kickstarter. And after a couple of months after the course, you notice how you start telling your friends “that would be a good title for a product”, suddenly they recommend you to write texts in English (although you are a visual person anyway), and after half-jokingly offering to contribute to the development of sustainable packaging, you start and do it. And you realize that you know and can do much more now than it seemed at the beginning of the course, and everything is a little less scary.

The brand management course was like a springboard to my dream job. From the beginning of the course, I had the goal of finding a job, so I tried to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible. And it just so happened that on the day of the presentation of diplomas I could also celebrate the first day of my dream job! I chose this course knowing exactly what I wanted to learn and gain, but it exceeded my expectations, opened up pathways and gave me confidence in both myself and my knowledge. The teachers of the course – extremely diverse and exceptional personalities, true specialists in their field – after systematizing and selecting all the necessary information, perfectly involved both in distance learning and in discussions and workshops. I feel that I have gone through brand building and repeated the entire marketing course from A to Z. I am very happy that I chose this particular course. It’s experience and knowledge that you won’t get from reading books.

How to Create a GOOD Brand is a complex, consistent process, where theoretical knowledge obtained outside the textbook is immediately applied in practice. Professional and inspiring teachers have been sharing their insights and experiences through a continuous, lively discussion. I would liken the full-course trip to an expedition, the intensity of which exceeds the limits of your comfort, it is a bit uncomfortable, you get lost, and the weather conditions are not always favorable. However, by not losing sight of the goal and walking with experienced guides, you will unconsciously reach your summit, which redeems everything.