The purpose of advertising is to communicate the benefits of a product or service, that is, to make it known to the general public, or to a specific section of the public. In this way people are made aware of choices available to them as consumers.
If you are not one for dull routine work, you will not find a more stimulating and rewarding career than advertising. In this fast-changing world, advertising opens up several dynamic career path opportunities, in which no two days are ever the same.
There are three parties concerned in advertising, namely: the client, usually from the production industry or a commercial firm, who wishes to advertise its product/s or service/s; the advertising agency that launches the advertising campaign on behalf of its client; and thirdly, the media (the press, radio, television, cinema, internet), in which the advertisements appear. In an advertising agency the personnel that attend to the “advertising account” of the client, are as follows:
Client Service: The client service team forms the link between the agency and the client. Depending on the size of the agency and the size of the account, this could be done by one person or by many people. The contact person is usually called an Accounts Executive. It is their important duty to present or “sell” the agency’s advertising campaign to the client, to explain in detail to the client the advantages of a proposed campaign, and make any necessary changes, because the agency must execute the wishes of the client. An Accounts Executive must be familiar with the client’s products, selling techniques, markets, their competitors and advertising policies, in order to be effective, for example, in explaining the advantages of a proposed campaign.
Media Management: This department may consist only of a Media Manager who would cover a wide field, but in bigger agencies Media Planner/s and Media Buyer/s would assist the Media Manager. Media Managers must be conversant with the various types of advertising, namely, through the daily and periodical press, television, radio, bus and bus shelter advertising, pamphlets, Internet and many more. Media Planners organise and purchase Advertising space on television, radio, in magazines, newspapers or on outdoor advertising. They liaise between clients and the sellers of advertising space to ensure that the advertising campaign reaches the correct target market or audience at the most economical cost, while providing the best possible coverage and reach.
Copy-writing: Copywriters create the words in the advertisements, this can include writing the basic text of an advertisement, finding a catch phrase or coming up with a jingle. While a basic ability to write is a fundamental requirement, copy-writing ability is not always inborn. Hard work and good training by skilled copywriters produce good copy.
Art Direction and Graphic Design: An Art Director heads the creative team and is responsible for all the visual execution. Art Directors design the illustrations and lettering of advertisements and must therefore constantly have new original ideas and ingenuity.
When a ‘brief’ is received, the Art Director and Copywriter work jointly on the basic concept or idea. Most Art Directors at advertising agencies have been trained in commercial art and have learnt how to combine elements of an advertisement for easy reading, to get the attention of and to appeal to the reader.
Graphic Designers in an advertising agency are usually responsible for executing the Art Director’s ideas on paper, designing logos, corporate identities, packaging and label design, editorial or magazine design and layout. Computer knowledge is essential. Both Art Directors and Graphic Designers should possess some knowledge of the various production processes.
Marketing research: Marketing research allows for the understanding of consumers’ attitudes, perceptions and behaviour. Research departments differ from agency to agency. In some instances the department actually conducts surveys through its own field force, but more frequently a Market Researcher’s activities include: arranging for the testing of concepts and advertisements that the agency is producing; consulting clients and other agency personnel on research requirements; briefing research institutions on research products and then implementing, overseeing and reporting on the final study; analysing and interpreting research data and reports; conducting desk or secondary research from existing sources to develop advertising plans.
Advertising people usually work indoors, in well-lit offices and studios and sometimes hold meetings in clients’ offices. Therefore, at least some travelling is involved with some of these careers.