Helping you find a career in the advertising industry
Those working inadvertising shape our views on a huge amount of things - from what TV we watch and what crisps we buy to which charities we support or which paracetamol we trust to get rid of our headache.
At its heart, advertising is about elevating brands and spreading their positive messages far and wide. It's a sector that requires a huge amount of drive and creativity, and one that lots of graduates set out to pursue.
Jobs in this area are fast-paced and demanding, with staff constantly needing to come up with new ideas and think on their feet. Expect hours to be long and sometimes unsocial, but huge gratification to come when you win a big pitch that you have spent weeks or months planning, or a campaign comes together successfully.
In this industry you are likely to work for an agency, organising campaigns or strategies for (sometimes multinational, household name) clients.
In general, and especially in big agencies, you are likely to work within a team that includes events assistants, designers, strategists, copywriters and other staff members. Your team will work together to ensure that all aspects of the campaign are aligned, and that they all come together seamlessly.
If you work for an international advertising agency, your job could involve international travel and meeting and pitching to stakeholders across the globe. There are lots of perks to working in advertising - this is what makes it such a competitive and popular industry for graduates.
Types of jobs within advertising
It takes a large number of people to get an advertising campaign off the ground - from those in new business, working on initial pitches to clients, to those strategising on the creative and deploying it when it's ready to go live.
Some of the jobs you're likely to find in an advertising agency include:
New business executive - filtering and managing inbound enquiries, liaising with potential clients, and working with other team members on pitches
New business manager - managing the whole of the new business operation, to ensure the agency brings on board fresh clients
Copywriter - creating the words, tone and messages that go into advertising campaigns
Creative - comes up with concepts for campaigns on behalf of clients
Designer - creates the visual look of the campaigns, whether digitally or physically
Social executive - works on social campaigns on behalf of the client
Strategist - responsible for the strategic planning of the overall campaign
Media planner - working out where spend should be invested across the media