The local branch of The Chartered Institute of Marketing has invited members of the Isle of Man’s marketing community to ‘unlock the black box’.

Terry Van Rhyn, managing director of Ashgrove Marketing, unlocked the metaphoric ‘black box’ in sharing his experiences and beliefs on the art of effective communication between companies and their creative agencies to facilitate the best creative output possible for a brand.

As well as examples and case studies, the presentation concentrated on the important things marketers need to know before they communicate to advertising agencies to gain a greater understanding of the inner workings of the creative mind, and, ultimately, get the results they want.

There was also discussion on how to frame the creative brief effectively and how to set objectives with clear expectations.

The Isle of Man branch of CIM has a schedule of events, including a presentation in May by Malcolm McDonald, the UK's pre-eminent academic authority on marketing strategy and author of more than 40 best selling marketing books.

Further details can be found at www.cim.co.uk/isleofman