Academy of Digital Media

What Academy of Digital Media does

Academy of Digital Media (AcademyDM), operating as a service division of The Laredo Group, Inc., is a specialized training and consulting firm focused on digital media sales and buying education. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, the firm has trained more than 150,000 professionals over 26+ years and serves digital media companies, corporate sales teams, conference organizers, and LMS administrators. AcademyDM delivers four core service lines: customized courses, workshops and curriculum design; LMS content curation and creation across PDF, PowerPoint, and E-Learning Module formats; ad product development consulting; and conference and meeting speakers, panels, and programming. The firm packages proprietary methodologies — including QUEST Training, TARGET Prospecting, SPARC, PreForce, PQS, PROPS, and HerEDGE — as differentiated training and research IP.

The business model is fully professional services: all engagements are customized, quote-based, and delivered through direct enterprise contact with no publicly disclosed pricing, self-service channels, or digital product distribution. Go-to-market relies on thought leadership, conference circuit presence, and direct outreach from the parent Laredo Group, with the AcademyDM website functioning as a top-of-funnel content and assessment tool (including an "8 Questions to Clarity" quiz and free resource downloads). The firm is privately held, bootstrapped, and management-owned under the Laredo Group corporate entity, with Leslie Laredo serving as President. AI appears in the portfolio at the advisory and curriculum level (via the Laredo Group's AI Accelerator and AI tools assessment in ad product consulting) rather than as a productized technical capability.

Name

Academy of Digital Media

Legal name

The Laredo Group, Inc.

Website

https://academyofdigitalmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Academy of Digital Media, a division of The Laredo Group, is a digital media sales and buying training and consulting firm serving media companies, corporate sales teams, and conference organizers with customized courses, LMS content, and proprietary training frameworks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training and Consulting Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Computer Training (61142)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Teacher-Led Digital Lesson Packages & Instructional Resources (EDAFACAL), Instructor Marketplaces (Find-a-Teacher / Book-a-Class) (EDAFAIAD)

Keywords

• Digital media training
• Sales training services
• Learning management systems
• Advertising consulting
• Media sales education

Headquarters

HQ city

Davie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Customized Training Programs: Bespoke training programs designed for specific company needs, delivered through workshops, courses, and curriculum design. Revenue is generated through professional service engagements with measurable outcomes.
2. LMS Content Curation & Creation: Content curation from existing materials and creation of original customized content in various formats (PDF, PowerPoint, E-Learning Modules) for learning management systems. Can range from single courses to complete in-house university programs.
3. Ad Product Development Consulting: Consulting services for developing and evaluating advertising products, pricing structures, and go-to-market strategies for new ad products and programs.
4. Conference & Event Speaking: Provision of speakers, moderators, and panel programming for company meetings and industry conferences.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Academy of Digital Media (AcademyDM) is a digital media sales and buying training and consulting division of The Laredo Group, Inc. It delivers customized training programs, LMS content curation and creation, ad product development consulting, and conference/event speakers for media companies and corporate clients. The firm designs bespoke curricula based on pre-training skill assessments and industry-specific use cases.

Product overview

Academy of Digital Media (AcademyDM) is a division of Laredo Group offering a suite of four interconnected service offerings focused on digital media sales and buying training and consulting. The core portfolio includes: LMS Content Curation & Creation (for enterprise and SaaS LMS platforms), Ad Product Development Consulting (holistic ad product evaluation including AI tools assessment), Customized Courses, Workshops & Curriculum Design (pre-training assessment-based programs), and Conference & Meeting Speakers, Panels & Programming (industry expert speakers for events). These services are designed to work together to address the complex structure of digital media, with over 26+ years of training experience and over 150,000 professionals trained.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LMS Content Curation & Creation Curation and creation of learning content for Learning Management Systems (LMS), including selection of existing content and development of original customized materials in formats such as PDF, PowerPoint, and E-Learning Modules, supporting individual courses through full in-house university programs for digital media companies and corporate L&D teams.
• Ad Product Development Consulting Consulting services to help companies develop, evaluate, and optimize advertising products, pricing, and performance, including assessment of new technologies such as AI tools, competitive analysis, go-to-market timing, and evaluation of impressions, creative formats, and KPIs.
• Customized Courses, Workshops & Curriculum Design Customized training programs designed based on industry and company skill assessments and pre-training questionnaires to identify gaps, identify learning goals, and define measurable outcomes, with programs delivered across all staff experience levels for digital media sales and buying teams.
• Conference & Meeting Speakers, Panels & Programming Provision of industry thought leaders, subject matter experts, and skilled presenters for private company meetings, industry conferences, and panels, with original insights and frameworks for business and training challenges in the digital media space.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 150,000 professionals trained
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Association of National Advertisers (ANA): ANA runs training, professional development, and certifications for advertisers and agencies, including media buying and marketing skills curricula. It competes for the same corporate training budget AcademyDM targets in the advertising vertical.
• MarketingProfs: MarketingProfs delivers B2B marketing training, workshops, and certification programs to corporate marketers. It is a comparable provider of professional training and continuing education for marketing and media teams.
• Sales Empowerment Group: Sales Empowerment Group provides customized sales training, coaching, and enablement programs for B2B sales organizations. It competes with AcademyDM's QUEST and TARGET sales-training offerings for corporate sales training budgets.
• Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB): IAB is the principal industry body for digital advertising and offers certification and training programs for media buyers, sellers, and planners. It is a direct peer in delivering standardized and bespoke digital media training to the same buyer base AcademyDM serves.
• AdMonsters: AdMonsters produces events, publications, and educational programming focused on digital ad operations and monetization — a directly comparable community-and-education play in the digital ad sales and buying space AcademyDM occupies.
• The Advertising Educational Foundation (AEF): AEF provides advertising industry education, workshops, and curriculum resources for students and professionals. It overlaps with AcademyDM in delivering structured advertising and media industry training content.

Broad incumbents

• Sandler Training: Sandler Training is a global, established sales training franchise with a deep sales methodology curriculum. It is a broader incumbent in the sales training category that competes for the same corporate sales enablement dollars.
• HubSpot Academy: HubSpot Academy provides free, widely adopted certifications in digital marketing, sales, and inbound methodology. It is a broader incumbent whose free content commoditizes the lower end of the digital marketing training market AcademyDM serves.
• General Assembly: General Assembly offers corporate training and bootcamps in digital skills, marketing, and data. It competes for enterprise L&D budgets in digital marketing and media adjacent to AcademyDM's training portfolio.
• Miller Heiman Group (now Korn Ferry): Miller Heiman (acquired by Korn Ferry) is a large, established sales training and performance consultancy. It is a broader incumbent offering overlapping sales methodology training to enterprise sales teams.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/academy_dm
• Facebookfacebook.com/academydm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/academy-dm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Academy of Digital Media