4A's and Upright Citizens Brigade Partner to Expand Workshop Offerings to 4A's Members

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the 4A's and the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) announced a partnership designed to expand and diversify the 4A's workshop offerings to agency members. 

The 4A's will offer its agency members access to a new portfolio of workshops developed and led by UCB, the improv comedy organization founded by Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. The 4A's is UCB's first advertising industry partner.

The workshops will help agency teams engage in faster, more effective brainstorming and, more broadly, help agency professionals get more comfortable thinking on their feet.

New workshop topics include:

• Agency Team Building: Better listening, stronger trust and faster ideas through improv.
• Writers Room Brainstorm Intensive: UCB writers and comedians join with agency creative teams to jump-start new ideas.
• How to Give a Mic Drop–Worthy Presentation: An immersion in improv tools to help participants be stronger, more connected, more compelling presenters.
• Improv Basics: A crash course in UCB-style improv that'll help participants get comfortable in front of crowds, during meetings and on calls.
• Better Storytelling: How to find a brand's story, connect with it and put a personal spin on it.

"UCB has intimate knowledge of the creative process. The training and workshops they've designed will help our members with the agility they need today," said Margie Parker-Lamparillo, executive vice president of Learning & Development and Partnerships at the 4A's. "We'll continue to partner with groups whose roots are in creativity and creative expression as we continue to elevate our member offerings in L&D."

"We are thrilled to be working with the 4A's," said Deidre Sullivan, director of brand strategy at UCB. "There are many parallels between the worlds of comedy and advertising, particularly around the creative process and having to be responsive to an audience."

4A's members can learn more about these and other workshop programs, available now, here.

About the 4A's
The 4A's, founded in 1917, is the leading authority representing the marketing communications agency business. It provides leadership, advocacy and training that empower agencies to innovate, evolve and grow. It serves 740 member agencies across 1,400 offices that control more than 85 percent of total U.S. advertising spend. The 4A's is committed to protecting the best interests of its members, their employees and the industry at large. Its benefits division insures more than 164,000 agency professionals, and the D.C. office advocates for policies that best support a thriving advertising industry. With its best-in-class learning and career development programs, the 4A's and its foundation fuel a robust diversity pipeline of talent for its members and the marketing and media industry, fostering the next generation of leaders. For more information, please visit www.aaaa.org.

About Upright Citizens Brigade
The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is the comedy powerhouse founded by Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. Dubbed "the most influential name in improv today" by The New York Times, UCB runs two theaters in New York and two in LA, where audiences enjoy improv and sketch comedy seven nights a week. UCB also operates the only accredited sketch and improv training school in the country, with classroom facilities on both coasts; UCB alumni and instructors include performers and writers for Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Key & Peele, Veep, Silicon Valley, The Hangover, 21 Jump Street and more. In addition to classes and live comedy performances, UCB works with brands, ad agencies, media companies and universities; the company also runs a branded content unit/TV production studio, a touring company that performs at theatres and colleges, and a slew of industry-standard improv workshops for corporate training and team building. For more information go to www.ucbindustries.com.

SOURCE 4A's

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