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Description

This is an ideal career for creative thinkers. In advertising there are four main areas of work. Account Management, where you manage client/s and work with the marketing departments, Strategy Planners who assist in strategy development, Creative where you create and develop great ideas and Media where you buy media from the various markets such as television, radio, newspaper, magazine, outdoor and online.

Advertising Creatives come in the form of Writers and Art Directors. Their role is to think of brilliant advertising ideas in response to the creative brief and consumer insights they are given by the client. The Writer and Art Director usually work in two-person teams to develop the concept and then see the job through to production regardless of the medium – tv, radio, on line, print, ambient or experiential.

What you do every day

Every day and every brief is different. You may work with Account Managers and Strategy Planners to develop the right concepts. Perhaps you will be presenting your ideas to the Creative Director or working with Production to make sure the idea can be produced within the timeline and on budget.  After all that, you may be selling your idea to the client.

With each day, the communication landscape is changing and you have to keep abreast of new media. Your skills will be constantly evolving, whether you are using a viral campaign or mobile messaging.  You do this by talking to other creatives, by being continually curious about what’s being done globally and researching on the internet.

The talent and success of the creative product enhances the agency’s reputation. The best creative people realise that there is a commercial reality to what they do.  The overall goal of any creative idea is to help sell the client’s products/services. A good Writer or Art Director soon realises they can’t work in isolation and their success is attributable to the entire team.

Personality that best fits this career

You have to be a creative thinker, come up with brilliant ideas and then be practical enough to turn those ideas into a workable script or layout.

You need a passion for understanding people and work out what makes them tick. What’s going to make that bored housewife notice your particular ad?

And you have to have a thick skin – sharing ideas is personally very revealing and it can be an uncomfortable process.  Life in an advertising agency isn’t the time to be precious. There will be constant knock-backs and disappointment. You just have to take a deep breath, put that award winning idea in the bottom drawer for another day and move on.

Best thing about this career

Satisfying your creativity, seeing your ideas come to life and ultimately influencing people to think, do or feel something.  Working with a supportive and encouraging Creative Director in an agency is simply amazing.

Worst thing about this career

Putting your heart and soul in the firing line every day.  Clients who struggle to ‘see’ the power of your idea and ask for another one usually within 24 hours.