Getting Into Advertising

8/8/2019 Getting Into Advertising

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Contents of this guide

I - A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING 3What is it?What's it for?What's the process?How much does it cost?Is it worth it?'Social Benefits' of AdvertisingThe Ethical QuestionA Word of Warning

II - FIRST JOBS AND CAREER PATHS 10CreativePlanningStatistics, Research and Analysis

'Buying and Selling'Sales PromotionManagementAdministration

III - EMPLOYER COMPANIES AND ORGANISATIONS 19AdvertisersAdvertising AgenciesMedia OwnersAdvertising Services

IV - ON PLANNING A CAREER 34

Further QualificationsChoosing a Career

Candidate EmployersUseful Words and Phrases


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In this chapter:What is it?The Advertising Business: Structural DiagramWhat's it for?What's the process?How much does it cost?Is it worth it?'Social Benefits' of advertisingThe ethical questionsA word of warning

'Advertising' is not easily defined, though many people have tried. Narrowly, it means clearlyidentifiable, paid-for communications in the media, which aim to persuade, inform or sell. But theword is also used to cover a much broader range of activities - from design to public relations - bywhat are often the same organisations, using similar skills.

The main playersAdvertising is not a single industry, but spreads untidily across at least three separate kinds ofemployer organisation - those who:

use it (the advertisers)

make it (the advertising agencies) and

display it (the media).

A number of other, more specialised organisations - eg market research companies - are alsoinvolved.

Different sorts of advertisingUsing its narrower definition, advertising takes two main forms - 'display', and 'classified'.

Display advertising embraces TV and radio commercials, posters, and large display spaces inthe press - newspapers and magazines. (The press media also carry a huge volume ofclassifiedadvertising - small space commercial, recruitment and personal ads.)

Then there are direct mail and circulars - advertisements using the letterbox as a medium.

Direct response advertising (also called 'direct marketing', ie using the ad in place of a retailoutlet) cuts across these divisions. It variously employs direct mail, send-away coupons in thepress, and phone numbers on radio and TV as the customer's means of contact.

At the broadest, a whole gamut of other activities - eg sales promotion, exhibitions, designand packaging, and even marketing itself are seen as 'advertising' too. The aggregation of suchtools, along with media advertising, price and distribution, are often called the marketing mix.
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Because all these activities require more or less the same skills (often using the same people),and serve similar objectives, this booklet aims to provide some information about all of them.However the word 'advertising' from here on means display advertising unless otherwise stated.

Advertising audiencesFinally, we also categorise advertising in terms of those to whom it is directed - its audience. Twomost obviously contrasted audiences are consumers (the general public) and businesses.

Within these two big audience categories, advertisers use much more exact definitions of theirdesired audience (or 'target group'). These describe a consumer target in terms of, for instance,age, class, sex, region, behaviour, and lifestyle. A business target can be defined by his or hercompany size, its type of activity, and the buyers' or decision takers' own particulars.


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The Advertising Business: Structural Diagram


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Advertising objectivesIf advertising takes varied forms, the objectives of individual advertisers are even more diverse.Very often they are commercial marketing objectives - for instance to enlarge the profitable salesof someone's goods or services.

But to say such ads simply aim to 'sell the product' is an oversimplification. They may be to slowdown a brand's gradual decline, or simply to get the public to reappraise its opinion of a particularcompany or organisation, or just to provide information.

Moreover non-commercial advertisers - government departments, charities, political parties andtrade unions - will have entirely different objectives from, say, a catfood or computer

manufacturer. Advertising objectives do not lend themselves to generalisation. The best generalway to look at advertising systematically is as a useful but expensive means (and not the onlyone available) to achieve various ends.

Incidentally, unless you know the actual objectives and results of a particular advertisementyou've seen, it's unwise to judge it as 'good' or 'bad'. The only criterion is whether the value of itseffect was worth, or more than worth, its cost.

Briefly, once an advertiser (the client) identifies needs for which advertising is the best solution,he briefs independent specialists (typically an advertising agency) to plan the details and createthe advertising.

When approved, this is displayed in the agreed medium (for instance television) at an agreedcost. Research specialists commonly test the advertising beforehand and/or try to measure itseffects afterwards.

An advertising programme of this kind is generally called a campaign, and usually includes aseries of advertisements, in a number of broadcast channels or printed media. The campaign isusally based on statistical calculations of what percentage of the target group will see it(penetration) how many times on average (frequency).

Other variables are how skillfully the media have been bought, the size of the commission or fees

paid to the advertising agency, and the cost of producing the ads themselves.

At first reading this will sound rather imprecise and complicated. But with experience, it ispossible to say fairly accurately what a particular campaign is likely to cost or, conversely, howmuch advertising a given budget and brief will buy.


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Costs are usually reckoned on the basis of 'CPT' - the average Cost Per Thousand peoplereached in the target group. This of course varies according to the size of the ad, the ratescharged by the individual media, and whether a printed ad is black and white, or full colour, etc.

Nowadays virtually every organisation in the UK uses advertising in one way or another, becausethey find it a practical and cost effective way of achieving some of their aims. The operative wordsare 'cost effective'.

If the objectives are commercial, one test would be whether, in the long run, the company gets abetter profit result overall from a particular weight of advertising than from, say, a heavier orlighter weight, or none.

If the objectives aren't commercial but, for instance, to communicate information, the questionsare (a) whether the effects of advertising are worth the cost, and (b) whether advertising is themost inexpensive way of creating these effects.

It is difficult to measure or demonstrate exact cost benefits from advertising - and certainly toforecast these in advance. Apart from sales statistics, the most common tools are variousspecialised forms of market research, and econometric modelling.

The reason advertising so irritatingly eludes logical or scientific analysis is that three variables areinvolved in its effects - two of them not easily measurable. These are the weight of advertising,the effectiveness of the creative idea and execution, and the latent potential of the situation to bechanged - by advertising or anything else - anyway.

Like it or hate it, advertising is generally recognised to have several practical benefits for societyat large.

More mediaOne of these is that it largely finances the media. Without advertising revenue, the UK wouldhave no commercial TV or radio, far fewer and much more expensive newspapers andmagazines, and of course no posters. Cinema tickets would be more expensive.

In this regard, advertising's effect is vastly to enrich the variety and numbers of media available,and it is an authentic engine of freedom of speech. It also claims this freedom itself, within thelaw.

(In the UK the principle of 'editorial independence' means that advertisers pay for the media, butcannot much influence the media's editorial content, whether excellent or deplorable.Broadcasters and editors say what they want to say: the advertisers are simply allowed to buy aproportion of discrete spaces to say what they want to say.)


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ChoiceAdvertising, because it is 'competitive', is an agent to improve the range of products available, thespeed with which new ones can be introduced, and even the ways in which we shop.

PricesFinally, despite its cost (quite often as much as 5 per cent of total product costs) it has thetendency to reduce prices, because of the efficiency it creates through economies of scale, andthe nature of competition.

Advertising is often criticised, the three most common criticisms being:

that it is wasteful and increases prices (ie without its expense, the goods advertised wouldotherwise be cheaper)

that it is vulgar and tasteless and

that it exploits consumers and creates unnecessary needs.

Its defenders point out that advertising seems to reduce rather than inflate prices, especially incompetitive markets

taste is an individual matter, and advertisements are often more attractive, tasteful andentertaining than the programmes or printed text that adjoin them and ads reflect public needsrather than creating them. Moreover consumers are not mugs.

For its part, the general public tend increasingly to like and approve of advertising, seeing it as atworst harmless and, at best, entertaining and helpful.

You will have to make up your own mind about this question, and if you strongly share thecriticisms, it may be as well not to work in a business of which you disapprove.

However as a final thought, most people who work in advertising come to acquire a healthyrespect for the public's good judgement.


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Advertising standards (for instance, to prevent misleading campaigns) are generally policed inthe UK by vigorously enforced voluntary codes of practice. These are underpinned wherenecessary by laws and statute.

Despite its glitzy reputation, by no means all advertising work is glamorous or highly paid. On theother hand, it offers an extraordinary wide range of interesting different jobs and career paths.And it's one of the recognised jumping-off points for posts in top management later on.

It's also quite a small business in terms of numbers. Because of the small numbers it employs,only a few of the many people who want to work in advertising succeed in finding jobs in it. Also,the 'wastage rate' afterwards is rather high in some areas.

For gifted and determined people, on the other hand, it can be a particularly satisfying careerwhich also offers constant opportunities for advancement, or a change of direction.

Just about all advertising jobs demand an interest in people. This is more or less the onlycommon denominator. If you don't like people very much, advertising won't be your cup of tea.The other qualifications depend on the specific job, which can call for very different interests,aptitudes and temperaments.


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This section outlines the main kinds of work in which advertising is involved in one way oranother. They may be considered both horizontally, in terms of the wide spread of different skillsand aptitudes which are required, and vertically, in terms of upward career paths.

An important point to notice is that in many jobs, advertising work is only part of otherresponsibilities. Sometimes it's only a small part, albeit an interesting and rewarding one.

This is worth bearing in mind in career planning: there are many options for moving sideways aswell as upwards - eg between an ad agency and a client, or perhaps in, out of, or between themedia. This is partly because similar skills and knowledge are in demand in all three sectors,partly because hands-on experience in one field is often thought valuable by an employer inanother one.

Here are the main categories of work available:

CreativePlanningStatistics, Research and Analysis'Buying and Selling'Sales PromotionManagementAdministration
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CHAPTER 2First Jobs and Career Paths

A. CopywritersB. Visualisers, Artists and Graphic Designers

Most people think 'advertising' is mainly or entirely concerned with the creative process. In fact,only a relatively small number of the jobs available within the industry are to be found in this area.While there is a considerable range of creative jobs, these vary greatly in importance andremuneration. The biggest distinction is between writing and graphic creativity. All advertisinginvolves both verbal and visual elements - provided by writers and artists/visualisers respectively.In the case of television, video and film, there are other special creative disciplines.

There are considerably more opportunities for graphic artists than for advertising copywriters. On

the other hand, writing skills are also in demand for jobs adjacent to advertising - in publicrelations work, for producing house journals, and for instruction manuals and sales literature.

Only a few exceptionally gifted creative people are employed in advertising agencies to producethe major advertising campaigns we are familiar with in national media. The rest have slightly lessglamourous jobs eslewhere. This apart, the skill sets and necessary qualifications of writers andartists have to be considered separately.

A. CopywritersThe words in advertising material are called 'copy', so its writers are 'copywriters', who workintimately with art directors to conceive and complete effective advertisements.

The original conception of an ad - its central idea - may come from either writer or artist, but oftenthey arrive at it together. Advertising ideas, which typically contain an integrated verbal and visual

concept, require both the ability to make an imaginative leap, and an intuitive understanding ofthe public it is aimed at. They also require a disciplined understanding of the product and grasp ofthe client's advertising brief.

The concept determines the ad's style and character. However, writing the full finishedadvertisement also demands rare skills. One essential is articulacy: the ability to understand andexpress ideas concisely, clearly and of course persuasively. Another is the command of a widevariety of writing styles.

Copywriters must also be able to write at length and be able to master and paraphrase highlytechnical subjects. Some specialise in this. But whatever the length, topic or subject matter, the


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essence of effective writing is a deep understanding of both the subject and the readers orviewers being written to.

Advertising copy involves constant, detailed revision and rewriting - either to polish thecommunication, or to accommodate required changes from other people.

Many distinguished novelists and some poets (Fay Weldon is one) have worked in advertising.The meticulous craftmanship, command of varied styles, and conciseness demanded byadvertising, somehow make it a better school for the creative writer than, for instance, journalism.

The difficulty of writing a short, perfectly crafted advertisement, in the terms of the reader and notthe writer, has been compared with that of writing a sonnet. This may sound pretentious(advertisements are certainly not sonnets!) but is nonetheless technically true.

Many writers enjoy practical and busy careers far from the limelight. Industrial writing, for instancecan include - or lead to specialisation in - highly technical subjects. Here the work typicallyfocuses on specialised printed literature or video programmes, including user manuals.

Such writers often combine an expert knowledge of the subject - computers, photography, thechemical industry - with their own special writing gifts.

Writers need no formal qualifications. Evidence that you can write, and write in the terms ofpeople very dissimilar from yourself, is the only criterion. On the other hand, the ability to write ismuch assisted by wide reading, an ear for dialogue, and practice in a number of writing andspeaking styles.

B. Visualisers, artists and graphic designersUnlike copywriting, the visual or 'art' side of advertising employs two completely distinct skills,offering quite separate career paths. These are visualisation - art direction and/or design andfinished art.

Visualisers, often working closely with a writer, create original ideas in the form of proposedrough designs or layouts which give an impression of what the finished job will look like.

Finished art skills provide the meticulously accurate 'artwork' - the assembly of originalphotography, drawings, typesetting and mechanical instructions etc - required to carry out thevisualiser's idea.

For the visual side of advertising, formal study at an art school or other vocational training in agraphic discipline is almost essential. Commercial, rather than academic, art training is on thewhole the more useful.

As will be explained below, each of these two broad areas contain a multitude of specialisations.

VisualisersThe main career opportunities for visualisers are as an advertising art director, a promotional

literature designer(of printed promotional material, direct mail shots and sales leaflets), or aformal design specialist.

Agency art directors will mainly be involved (in close collaboration with a partner writer) indisplay advertising - press advertisements, television commercials and posters etc.

Printed literature designers also work in agencies, printing companies or specialised designhouses. The collaboration with writers is less close.

Graphic design - 'Design' is recognised as a separate discipline. It may include literature, butalso encompasses pack designs, symbols and brand or company logotypes, stationery, or a


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complete corporate facelift. This can embrace everything from letterheads to vehicles, buildingand showroom fascias and the products themselves in a single graphic 'handwriting'.

Product design increasingly employs CAD/CAM (computer assisted design and/or manufacture).

'Finished Arts'Finished arts is the craft of perfectly accomplishing the intentions of the visualiser, and itselfcontains many specialisations - drawing orpainting photography retouching making up andso on. Your own particular abilities will tend to suggest which of these specialisations to pursue.

A career in finished art often starts with a spell as a studio junior, or dogsbody, where you mayget a chance to try out many of these activities, and find out what suits you best. However, most photographers start and afterwards work in a photographic studio, and may have trainedformally in photography.

Film and VideoTV commercials, and also training videos, documentary films etc, are physically produced inspecialised production houses, although larger advertising agencies employ expert producers tosupervise the production on behalf of the art director and writer.

As the same skills and firms are also employed in creating TV programming and feature films,there is sometimes a chance to cross over (like Lord Puttnam) into this field later. The generalpattern is to work up from one of the junior film production jobs, either to a craft specialisation or

perhaps to become a highly paid director, producer or lighting cameraman.

Qualifications: entrants may have studied film or video formally, worked for one of the bigtelevision contractors, or simply entered at the bottom of the pecking order with no qualificationsapart from interest and natural aptitude.


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CHAPTER 2First Jobs and Career Paths

While there is an element of planning in most jobs, many organisations involved in advertisingemploy full-time planners.

A distinct skill set is needed for planning, and while such jobs occur throughout the advertisingcontinuum from advertiser to media, they are usually only accessible after two or three years ofexperience in business.

The skills needed, apart from an extensive acquired knowledge of the activities being planned,are imagination, shrewd common sense, and numeracy. The most challenging planning jobsoccur in marketing (annual plans and long range planning) in advertising agencies (accountplanning and media planning) and in a few of the largest media owners.

Qualifications for planning, which is often a jumping off point for higher management, againinclude a degree or other further education. Typically this might be in economics, psychology,mathematics, statistics, or one of the sciences.

For those of an analytical and investigative turn of mind, an entirely different set of advertising-related jobs are possible - whether working for an advertiser, an ad agency, one of the mediaowners, or very possibly a market research company.

In all of these, the work embraces the collection of data, managing and interpreting it, and

reporting on what it reveals. While there is a good deal of overlap, the major two broad areas ofactivity are (a) statistics and market analysis, and (b) marketing and advertising research.The former is concerned with making sense of data the latter with collecting it.

Most of the work has some considerable relevance to advertising some is directly concernedwith it. This is best explained by looking at the types of data involved, in the context of the uses('applications') to which these are put.

Types of data, their sources and applications

Desk information:Publicly accessible sources of the data used in marketing and advertising include: governmentstatistics (for instance the census, customs and excise figures) industry surveys (for instance

press readership and TV audience data, and trade associations) the media (for instance theFinancial Times, professional journals) and other what is called 'desk' information.

Such data reveal important economic issues, social changes and other consumer trends,trends in particular industries and markets, and other facts that may tend to explainphenomena, identify problems or reveal opportunities.

In advertising they help to inform strategy, track the size of audiences for the poster, press andbroadcast media and (in the case of geodemographic information) can greatly assist inidentifying direct marketing targets.


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Commercial data:Individual businesses also hold extensive data banks of their own information, for instance:

sales and distribution records, price changes, and also any proprietary surveys they may buy,like those provided by A C Nielsen and Taylor Nelson AGB.

Managing and making proper use of this extensive data, particularly if it covers long periods oftime, is an essential commercial discipline.

Advertising applications include defining target groups, correlating advertising effects with salesand market share, comparing different weights of advertising, and monitoring competitiveperformance.

Specially commissioned market research:Organisations also buy a good deal of tailor-made market and advertising research fromresearch agencies and survey companies. These studies may be ad hoc, or continuous(repeated periodically so as to observe changes over time). A distinction is made betweenquantitative and qualitative research.

The purpose of such research is either to investigate new areas, or to supplement or explainother data sources. Survey research is also extensively used outside the marketing andadvertising area - for instance, for opinion polls and social and governmental studies.

Advertising research applications include measuring usage and brand attitudes trackingthe awareness of particular advertising, and its effects on attitudes the 'pre-testing' of newadvertisements and re-evaluating them after they have run.

Econometrics: Econometric modelling has made great strides in the last few years withthe growing power of computers. Using advanced mathematics, the data are manipulatedto develop models that explain past events in terms of the variables that contributed tothem.

This makes it possible to forecast future events, including alternative scenarios that mightbe created by altering those variables which the organisation itself can change. Modelling isdependent on robust, systematically collected information.

'Data fusion' - combining data from two complementary surveys to expand and clarify thefindings of one of them - is a related new discipline.

The applications of econometric models in marketing and advertising include a betterunderstanding of the interrelationship of different parts of the marketing mix (eg advertising,price and distribution) and optimising advertising budgets.


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Qualifications

A high level of numeracy is required for virtually all these activities, assisted by a livelycuriosity and an open mind.

A degree or higher qualification in one or another of the following disciplines is desirable or,in some cases, essential:

Statistics or mathematics: essential for econometrics

Politics, economics, sociology or psychology

One of the other numerate sciences: physics, chemistry, engineering.

A great many advertising and marketing-related jobs involve professional buying or selling.Both require negotiating ability, together with patience and an ability to get on with people.

Buying also requires an expert knowledge of the goods or craft being bought. To acquire thisknowledge, buyers generally start in one of the other disciplines described in this section.

The variety of buying jobs is illustrated by the following description about selling (itscounterpoint, as buyers buy from sellers), and by Section III which describes employers.

Selling skills are latent in many people. Probably the key temperamental requirements are anunderstanding of what the individual buyer wants, and the value of what's being sold - in themarket place, and also for that particular buyer!

There are more professional sellers than buyers. Selling offers a career path in itself, and canalso lead elsewhere.

Advertising sales jobs include:

Media sales: negotiating the sale of space or airtime for a media proprietor and

Representing commercial printers, artistic or other services.

Note that there is an element of selling in most marketing- and advertising-related jobs, as allservice providers have to 'sell' their services either to the same regular customers, or in seekingnew ones.

Marketing companies mostly have dedicated sales forces, selling their goods and serviceseither to intermediaries (eg retailers) or direct to the consumer.

While seemingly remote from advertising, this large field provides an excellent later entreeeither to marketing itself, or to advertising sales posts - both because of the practical

knowledge of markets and consumers it provides, and simply as experience.

Finally, particularly where the direct customers are retailers or distributors rather than the enduser, the work involves 'merchandising the advertising' to them, and therefore some knowledgeof advertising itself.


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Sales promotion work covers a wide spread of related activities organised to speed short termsales by means other than media advertising - coupons and leaflets, display material,salespersons' material aids and giveaways etc. It is often part of some other job alreadydescribed in this brief section. However some activities offer discrete commercial career paths:

Sponsorship: Organising the sponsorship and exploitation of sports and cultural events, andservicing the clients. Useful skills in this area would include an extensive knowledge of specificsports or music etc.

Exhibitions: Exhibition organisers and contractors respectively organise public exhibitions andhandle the design and construction of exhibition stands for major advertisers. (The design of suchwork calls for specialised creative skills, as described in the earlier 'Creative' section, and isanalogous to architecture).

Most general management jobs, throughout industry, involve some advertising sooner or later.If you think your aptitudes are essentially managerial, this is perhaps the route to take.

Most management jobs are found in client companies-advertisers. Advertising is usually part ofother management duties: marketing, general management, personnel etc. The essence of theadvertising side of such jobs is knowing what needs of the organisation call for advertising andrelated skills, and how to go about harnessing them. Most client-side careers tend to lead awayfrom advertising as you progress.

There are also a large number of management jobs in the media sector. Here the involvementwith advertising is on managing the sale of advertising space or airtime, as part of the mediaowner's general business goals.

In terms of numbers, the advertising agencies are the smallest sector employing managementskills, typically as 'account handlers' managers - the agencies' team leaders who direct the outputof the agency. In such jobs, one's personal qualities - a cool head, an ability to get on with verydifferent people under pressure, and patience - are all important.


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The qualifications for first management jobs in any of these sectors usually call for a degree orother higher qualification, though this need not be vocational. Entry will typically be through agraduate traineeship.

Administration is sometimes confused with 'management', and indeed the two overlap to aconsiderable degree. However, the media and ad agencies are highly dependent on effective -and highly sofisticated - professional admin services.

These include progress chasing, scheduling, record maintenance, and the provision of meticulousroutine reporting and accounting services.

The numbers employed have been somewhat reduced by the increased use of computers: on theother hand, the rapidly increasing complexity of the business makes the function of administrationmore and more important.

Formal qualifications are not normally as important as shrewd common sense and reliability:an ability to carry out simple computer routines is useful, but can be acquired on the job in mostindustries.

Finally, and importantly, 'administration' also includes those employed as data processors,secretaries, clerks, typists, messengers and accountants. While similar to such work in anyother business, these jobs offer opportunities to get into other advertising fields. Quite a few ofthe UK's leading advertising professionals began as administrative juniors - some without anyqualifications at all.


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In this chapter:AdvertisersAdvertising AgenciesMedia OwnersAdvertising Services

This section contains basic information about the employers providing the jobs. These varyenormously in size and character. As noted earlier, most jobs in advertising occur in organisationsthat either use, produce, or exhibit advertisements: advertisers, ad agencies, and media owners.

A. Consumer GoodsB. Business to Business

Most businesses, and organisations as varied as local and national government, charities andpolitical parties, to some extent use advertising.

Some of this advertising may be managed by specialised line managers: personnel (forrecruitment advertising), PR or corporate communications (for some corporate, non-commercialads) and occasionally engineering or finance (eg for utility wayleaves or for statutory financialannouncements).

Sometimes all an organiation's advertising may be handled in one place: the marketing

department, by a marketing services manager, or (decreasingly) a company advertising manager.

Virtually all businesses, though not all organisations that advertise, have three central operatingfunctions: manufacturing, procurement and/or sourcing sales and marketing.

Sometimes advertising and marketing are located within sales but a stand alone marketingfunction is more common. Advertising-related jobs will normally be within marketing,sometimes within sales and sometimes part of a central management service unit (called'marketing services' or perhaps 'corporate communications').

From the employment standpoint, the following are the most interesting kinds of company.


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A. CONSUMER GOODS

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)FMCG (or 'packaged goods') companies may be very large, but the brands they market -

household names like Persil and Listerine - are often even better known than the parentcompany.

A packaged goods company's entire business effort is typically driven by its marketingdepartment. Their brand's advertising is one of the heaviest business expenses they incur. Aspart of their 'marketing mix', this is managed through an operational hierarchy of marketingdirectors, marketing managers, and brand managers. Sometimes these are supported by amarketing services unit.

There may also be an in-house market research unit (mostly buying research work from outsideagencies, rather than undertaking its own) together with data analysts, and long rangeplanners.

Scarcely any FMCG firms prepare their own advertising in-house. A few may have an in-housedesign department, handling packaging and literature design.

Some offer graduate traineeships in marketing or general management. Another proven entree isthrough the sales force (this is normally independent of the marketing function, but in close touchwith the marketers).

Providers of repeat-purchase DIY goods (paint, adhesives), and drinks companies (brewers,distillers, soft drink manufacturers, large wine shippers) are usually similarly organised.

All FMCG companies tend to organise their marketing, advertising and other support activities inrather similar ways. The same is not true of other advertisers, described below. These useessentially the same marketing services, but individual companies operate through widelydiffering management structures.

Consumer durables and other household goodsCompanies in this sector market 'low frequency/high ticket' products (people buy them less often,but each sale is worth more). 'Consumer durables' usually mean household appliances, soldthrough retailers: refrigerators and washing machines ('white goods') TV and radio sets (browngoods) DIY tools and small products like toasters, food-mixers etc.

Businesses which market and distribute domestic furniture, home improvement lines (likefitted kitchens, double glazing etc) and cars are somewhat similarly organised.


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Financial servicesThis consumer sector includes banks, building societies and insurance companies. Thesehave recently become considerably more marketing-oriented and heavier users of advertising

skills.However, their marketing managers and specialists tend to be seen as bankers and insurers first,professional marketers and promotional experts only second.

Retail groupsLike financial services companies, advertising jobs in the large retail buisnesses are generallyheld by career managers who see themselves as retailers first, and marketers second. Thesecond can usefully be dividied into:

Multiple grocers (Sainsbury, Tesco, ASDA, Safeway etc)

Specialist multiples (Boots, W H Smith, B&Q, Texas, Marks & Spencer, Habitat, the clothingmultiples, etc)

Department store groups (John Lewis, Debenhams etc).

Whether handled by an advertising agency or in-house, retail advertising is a specialised activity,often concentrating on merchandise rather than the shop itself. The work is pressurised andcharacterised by rapid change, with a strong emphasis on price and special offers.

Other consumer servicesThe most important other sectors are the utilities (telecommunications, gas, electricity, water)and travel (airlines, rail, buses, and of course travel agencies).

Interestingly, travel undertakings are often also media owners: airlines have in-flight magazinesbuses and rail undertakings offer poster sites in the vehicle or along the trackside etc. Even theutilities sell advertising space in the form of bill stuffers.

The non-commercial sectorsLocal and national government, political parties and charities are surprisingly heavy users ofadvertising. But (with the possible exception of the Central Office of Information (COI), a sort ofpublicity interlocutor for the major ministries), this sector is not a promising entree into advertising.

Many marketers of consumer goods and services, and all utilities, market not only to consumers,but also to other companies and organisations. The latter activity is called 'business to business'marketing.


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B. BUSINESS TO BUSINESS'Business to business' is a convenient portmanteau term for what is called 'trade', 'industry','professions' and some 'corporate' advertising. The essential difference is that businessmarketers sell to other businesses and professions - not the domestic consumer.

Now a heavy user of advertising, the 'business to business' sector markets both goods(computers, commercial telecommunications, office equipment, plant and machinery) andservices (corporate financial services, management consultancy and, of course, advertising).

Because its business target groups are small and easily defined, this sector is a heavy user of thespecialised media (eg the business, professional and trade press, and direct mail) and ofdirectresponse.

Business to business firms are heavy users of catalogues, printed literature, specification sheets,informational videos and user information, such as product operating manuals.

Product design is increasingly important for business marketers. It concerns the appearance ofthe physical product and some functional aspects - 'user friendliness', colour coding etc.

A few very large firms have their own designers, but the norm is to use outside design houses.

A. Full service agenciesB. Media independentsC. Direct mail and direct marketing agencies

As the sector in which advertising expertise is most concentrated, the agency business is oftenthought of as glitzy and superficial. In fact Britain's agencies have also been the most serious instudying advertising effects and making the business more rational and efficient.

A relatively small industry, UK agencies probably employ less than 20,000 people (the membersof its trade association, the IPA, employ about 12,700), in many hundreds of separate firms.

Agencies vary greatly in size. The smallest - those for instance in small provincial towns - aremaids of all work who may only have a handful of people, sharing out all the tasks. Where nototherwise stated, the following notes describe the large 'full service' agencies.


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A. FULL SERVICE AGENCIESThe largest of these are mostly in London few employ more than 300 people. However they area fascinating amalgam of different skills and (if you can get into one) an excellent place to learn

the business.

Historically, many successful marketing and business people began in agencies before moving tothe client side, and the dissemination of modern marketing practice was largely spurred by theagencies. In recent years, agency recruitment of newcomers has sharply decreased.

Role and remuneration of advertising agencies'Full service' ad agencies act on behalf of advertisers, developing advertisements and placingthem in the media (and often furnishing other services too).

Recently the agencies' dual creative/media role has come into question, some clients preferringto split the two responsibilities between different suppliers. However this is not the norm.Generally the major agencies maintain a high level management relationship with their clients,

offering dispassionate advice. This is supported by essential day to day planning, media andcreative service for the client's line managers.

Agency remuneration is usually either a percentage of the expenditure made on clients' behalf(eg 15%), or fees, or a combination. 'Payment by results' (for instance an agreed bonus fordemonstrably effective work) is now being tried too, though there are problems of proof andadministration.

The jobs in agenciesClient relationships are managed by the agency's 'account handlers' (sometimes called accountmanagement) - account executives and supervisors, led by an account director. These managers

- part team leader, part business consultant - co-ordinate the resources of the agency and areresponsible to the client for its output and to their management for creative and financialperformance.

One key resource is the agency's creative talents: teams of writers and art directors who createthe advertisements and, through TV producers, art buyers and other skills, then execute them.

The other key resource is media. Media planners evolve media strategy in terms of the specifiedtarget group, the kinds of media used, and the way they are employed (large or small spaces,timing and so on). After a plan is approved, the space or airtime is bought by media buyers, whonegotiate with the media owners.


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A number of agencies also employ 'account planners' to guide campaign development. Oftenresearchers by background, account planners specialise in knowledge of the consumer and theformation of advertising strategy.

The infrastructure ofother agency services follows no set pattern, but includes (a) direct supportservices and often (b) ancillary or'collateral' services, sometimes through separate profitcentres or subsidiary companies.

Direct support services in the agency include progress chasing (also called 'traffic' or 'control'),typograhpy, art buying, production buying, vouchers (checking samples of publishedadvertisements), advertising and media researchers and information libraries.

Ancillary and collateral services may include a separate design capability, sales promotion,PR, sponsorship, exhibitions, direct mail, and/or sometimes classified or recruitment units.

The jobs available in agencies, particularly for newcomers, vary considerably depending on theeconomic climate. Some agencies do not recruit direct entrants at all, insisting on previousexperience. The intake even of the largest and most successful is never large.

To get a first job in an agency therefore requires quite exceptional gifts and qualifications - or apreparedness to start at the bottom - and persistence. Alternatives are to start with some client-side or media experience, or to begin in a very small local agency.

Finally, different agencies are recognised as having different strengths. If you are determined towork in one, and know exactly what you want to do, it is useful to find out which agencies havethe highest reputation in your chosen field.

B. MEDIA INDEPENDENTSOver the last decade or so, 'media independents' have emerged. These specialise in buying, andsometimes media planning and research, services once offered only by full-service advertisingagencies.

This is attractive to some advertisers who think a specialist offers greater buying efficiency andlower costs. Some independents have become very large businesses. The sector includes trueindependents, and companies formed by advertising agencies.

Jobs in media independents are similar to the media jobs in full service agencies. Generally theyrecruit seasoned staff with previous experience elsewhere, though this is beginning to change.

C. DIRECT MAIL AND DIRECT MARKETING AGENCIESThere is a considerable overlap between direct mail (essentially advertising by post) and directmarketing advertising (advertising seeking immediate direct sales, using direct mail,telemarketing techniques, direct response advertising and other media).

The customer's response may be by post, or increasingly by telephone, (in business to business

markets) facsimile, or via the Internet.

This overlap is reflected in the specialist agencies or 'houses', which typically offer both directmail and direct response services.

This sector has been growing rapidly, partly spurred by the emergence of more accessibledatabase marketing techniques, geo-demographics and lifestyle data and profiling techniques -where customers are grouped according to certain criteria e.g. purchasing behaviour.

In addition to general management and client contact, the sophisticated specialist skills employedby the larger houses include full creative services, media planning and buying production and


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print procurement (sometimes from in-house capabilities) and warehousing and 'fulfilment'(dispatch) of mailed items and often even the product sold.

Because sales can often be directly related to advertising costs, highly developed computersystems and their operators are also involved.

A. TelevisionB. 'Print' - Newspapers and MagazinesC. PostersD. Radio

E. CinemaF. Direct Mail and Telephone MarketingG. Exhibitions

Per capita, the UK is one of the largest media consumers in the world. We seem to read morebooks and periodicals, watch more television, have more posters, and receive more direct mailshots than virtually any other European country.

The 1990s are also an era of dynamic change. The media are growing in numbers, audiences arefragmenting, buying options are getting more complex, and the ways the media are sold,evaluated, and audiences are measured, are also changing profoundly.

Advertising jobs in the media are principally oriented to selling the medium's space or airtime.The biggest companies also employ a handful of media researchers and analysts. Finally there isan important scheduling and control function. Advertising work can sometimes lead to a cross-

over career in editorial or programming.

While most media proprietors employ their own sales forces, there are also important specialistmedia sales organisations, often operating nationally. This apart, the different media have vastlydifferent structures.

A. TELEVISIONOne of the major broadcasters, the BBC, currently takes no advertising, but does accept somesponsored programming. It is mainly financed through the TV licence fee, as are its national andlocal radio services.

Commercial TelevisionPrivate sector TV is in a state of dynamic change and upheaval. This has been brought about bythe emergence of satellite and cable channels, new technologies, changed structures, and newalliances and trading arrangements.


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Terrestrial commercial televisionThe biggest competitor for commercial audiences is Independent Television (ITV) - the 15regional companies now also collectively known as Channel Three (C3).

Channel Fouris a separate competing company which sells its airtime nationally as is ChannelFive which was launched in 1997. GMTV is also national and independent, its programmes goingout only at breakfast time, on C3's wavelengths.

These commercial channels are called 'terrestrial' being broadcast 'earth to earth' from groundstations direct to sets in homes, rather than via a satellite.

Satellite televisionSatellite broadcasting has grown rapidly from small beginnings. Its programmes are broadcast viathe Astra and other satellites, reaching homes either direct through a dish aerial or through theintermediary of a cable system.

The growth in audiences and importance of this sector is therefore dependent on the growth('penetration') of domestic satellite aerials and/or cable networks.

At present, the biggest national satellite TV operator is BSkyB. There are also a number ofinternational commercial satellite channels reaching UK commercial audiences.

The American global channel CNN, the youth oriented MTV, and some channels broadcasting tospecific European audiences in their own language, have facilities (and therefore jobs) in the UK.The BBC World Television Service operates a European satellite channel.

Cable televisionFinally there are a large number of local cable television operators. Using fibre optics, cable TVconnects the broadcaster direct to the home. While cable penetration is as yet fairly low in the UK(as compared with Europe and the USA), it is steadily growing.

While some cable operators sell advertising themselves, the technology is mainly important as adelivery mechanism. It enables a cable home to receive a large number of other channels -potentially including all the terrestrial and satellite stations - with consistent picture quality.

Digital televisionThe arrival of digital television in Autumn 1998 has offered viewers a proliferation of newchannels.


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Jobs in commercial televisionThe largest group of employers for the foreseeable future will be the regional ITV companies. Of

varying size depending on the region served, all have London offices, but have most of theirfacilities in the region they serve.

However there is a trend towards the amalgamation of their airtime selling operations throughshared facilities, which will tend over time to alter the whereabouts and nature of jobopportunities.

B. 'PRINT' - NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINESPrinted periodicals - newspapers, consumer magazines, and trade and professional titles - arecollectively the biggest advertising market in Britain. The sector is sometimes called 'print',sometimes 'press'. Readers range from mass audiences to highly specialised smaller groups

defined by area, age, sex, occupation and many other discriminators.

Their advertising revenues include both display and classified. Their other main source of incomeis sales - circulation revenue, either through wholesalers and newsagents, or by postalsubscription. Ownership of these media ranges from very small independent employer companiesto huge conglomerated groups with holdings and subsidiaries in many media sectors.

The main print categories are:

Newspapers

National newspapers, published daily (Monday to Saturday) or on Sunday. These are usually

subdivided as 'popular' (eg Mirror, Sun, Star) 'mid-market' (eg Mail, Express) and 'serious' (egTimes, Telegraph, Guardian).

Regional Sunday, daily and evening newspapers sold in individual large cities and theirregions.

Paid-for and free local weekly newspapers, usually circulating in much smaller local areas thanthe regionals.

In most newspapers, advertising sales are separately organised between classified and displayadvertising.

Classified, apparently unglamourous, is a major money earner.

Many larger newspapers, particularly the nationals, publish separate 'free' magazines, or coloursupplements, financed by advertising. Most display advertising is prepared by the advertiser orhis agency newspapers themselves create ads for smaller advertisers.

Newspaper advertising work can lead into general management.

While sales experience on a small provincial or local newspaper can provide an entree to thenationals, many people find lasting and fulfilling careers by remaining in this important sector.


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MagazinesPer capita, the British publish more magazine titles and consume more copies of magazines thanany other country, and the numbers are growing. The publishers range from huge groups with

masses of titles to very small businesses.

Advertising jobs are very similar to those in the newspaper industry the main categories ofmagazines are:

Consumer magazines

National women's weeklies (eg Woman's Own)

National women's monthlies (eg House & Garden, Option)

Men's monthlies (eg Loaded)

Business (eg The Economist)

Programme listings (eg Radio Times, T V Times)

General Interest (eg the Spectator, Exchange & Mart)Specialist (eg Amateur Photography)

Colour supplements (see 'newspapers')

Trade & technical magazines/newspapers

Retail trades (eg the Grocer)

Industry (eg Big Farm Weekly, Electronics Weekly)

Professional journals (eg The Lancet)

House magazines (eg British Telecom Today)

In all there are several thousand periodical print titles, not all fitting tidily into the abovecategories, but virtually all selling advertising to organisations for which their discrete readershipsare important.

C. POSTERSThe very first advertisements were posters: probably hand painted signs erected in Roman times.Today's poster media are organised by 'contractors' who own or lease the sites, and sell these toadvertisers for a period of weeks or months for their displays.


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This is collectively called the 'outdoor' medium, though by no means all posters are in the openair. Similarly not all outdoor displays are literally posters (printed sheets carrying the advertisingmessage, and pasted to a board).

Sales and site inspection are the main jobs offered by poster contractors, some of whom areregional, some national, and some parts of bigger organiations, eg British Rail. The types of sitesoffered include:

Roadside billboards in various sizes, but mostly large, so that they may be seen from a distanceby pedestrians or from vehicles. These are sold by general poster contractors, usually regionallybased.

Transport sites: Similar and smaller displays alongside railways, or facing railway andunderground platforms. These are usually sold by the transport undertaking (eg London RegionalTransport) who also offer special sites: within and on buses, within trains, alongside escalatorsetc.

Neon and other electrial displays: These are sold by specialist contractors, designed byspecialists, and are generally leased for periods of one to three years.

D. RADIOCommercial radio is the fastest growing advertising medium of the 1990's. It now accounts forover half of all listening to radio, the remainder being the non-commercial BBC. Major advancesin audience research and associated computer planning systems, plus arrival of national stations,saw the medium double its share of display advertising revenue to just under 5% in 1997.

In a situation in which there are now over 200 commercial radio stations, good opportunities foremployment exist on both a national basis (via the national sales teams of the major stationgroups) and locally (via the individual stations themselves).

E. CINEMACinema as an advertising medium is thriving, with attendances almost doubling over the pastdecade. Cinema continues to retain its pre-eminent hold over the elusive youth audience with theintroduction of the multiplex - attracting a broader audience.

Cinema advertising is sold by two companies: Carlton Screen Advertising who represent 70% ofthe market, and Pearl & Dean with the remaining 30%.

Cinema is one of the most flexible advertising media available, offering precise geographic anddemographic targeting together with local to national coverage.

F. DIRECT MAIL AND TELEPHONE MARKETINGDirect mail is a large and rapidly growing advertising medium. The Royal Mail is effectively thesole media owner in the sector, with a number of dispatch companies delivering larger items overa certain rate. The Royal Mail has taken increasing interest in the direct mail as an advertisingmedium in recent years, setting up an entire department specifically to look after bulk mailers andmail advertisers. It is expected that in the next few years, Royal Mail will begin to set up servicesvery similar to the suppliers to the direct marekting industry, such as mailing houses, printers, callcentres etc. On this basis the job opportunities within the direct marketing element of Royal Mail'sactivities are likely to increase very rapidly over the next five years.


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The area of telemarketing is often misconstrued as meaning solely outbound cold calling, toprospect for new customers. In fact throughout the 1990s the growth area was in customercare/service and inbound calling in response to direct response advertising (ads which feature

phone numbers). In terms of annual expenditure telemarketing now outstrips direct mail. Theopportunities for working in this particular sector with the media owners are numerous, rangingfrom marketing and sales of the telecoms operator's services, through to the administration andco-ordination of call centres run by the operator.

G. EXHIBITIONSFinally, exhibitions - such as the Ideal Home Exhibition, the Motor Show and hundreds of otherconsumer shows and trade fairs are very much part of the marketing communications mix.

The industry has three components: exhibition organisers, who sell the sites for exhibitionstands to advertisers/exhibitors: and stand designers and contractors, who produce modular orbespoke stands to clients to occupy the sites and venues.

Such companies are significant employers of specialist sales persons, marketers, PR Agents,account handlers, architects, progress chasers, writers, graphic designers and also skilledconstructions workers.

There is much synergy between the 'print' and exhibition mediums with media owners oftenoperating in both fields.

A. Market Research

B. Print ProductionC. TV and Radio ProductionD. Collateral Services

A wide range of specialist firms and freelancers support the three major categories of advertisingemployer described above (clients, agencies and the media).

Broadly speaking, these comprise three very dissimilar sectors: market research, and otherforms of information collection and analysis print and broadcast advertisement production, andcollateral services.

A. MARKET RESEARCH

The UK marketing research industry is large and complex. Much of its work is connected directlyor indirectly with advertising. Most market research is conducted by independent researchagencies. The key functions in all research agencies are data collection ('fieldwork'), and dataanalysis and presentation (reporting findings).

The business has two main branches: 'quantitative' and 'qualitative' research (many largeresearch agencies undertake both) and a number of specialisations.


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Quantitative researchQuantified information is most usually collected by survey companies, who use large,representative samples of respondents and often apply statistical and advanced modellingmethods to manipulate and interpret the data.

The most common methods are to collect data from people through questionnaires (either face-to-face, or increasingly by telephone), using skilled interviewers. Important specialisations suchas retail audits (monitoring the movement of goods through shops) and consumer panels usebar-coding - electronic data capture.

Many companies specialise in one or another area of continuous or ad hoc advertising research:the former includes the measurement ofmedia audiences and the tracking of advertisingeffects (eg through brand awareness, attitudes and behaviour) over time.

The same survey companies conduct political opinion polls - a notoriously tricky area - and socialsurveys. Fortunately for their commercial users, people seem to report what catfood or detergent

they last bought fairly accurately - even if their voting intentions remain obscure!'Qualitative' researchCompanies specialising in qualitative ('depth') research are more numerous, and generally muchsmaller. These employ very small and therefore statistically invalid samples (generally using group discussions and one-to-one depth interviews) which probe more deeply, and permit aninteractive 'dialogue' with respondents.

Qualitative advertising research is usually used for diagnostic pre-testing and the exploring ofearly ideas.

Specialised research servicesA number of more narrowly focused companies also offer advertising-related services, eg:

Competitive advertising expenditure information, derived by auditing the media

Comparative media buying achievement analyses

Company and personal credit information

Geodemographic data, often broken down into very small area units, for instance to assist localmedia in planning their audience catchment areas retailers in deciding on new shop locationsand direct marketers in selecting optimum mailing lists.

While the above examples emphasise advertising research, the key points are that (a) by nomeans all research concerns advertising, and (b) that a lot of research conducted for otherreasons has an indirect bearing on advertising.

B. PRINT PRODUCTION

A wide range of specialist employers supply print production services for advertisers andagencies - whether for press or poster advertisements, or for leaflets and brochures.

Photographic studios take original still photographs and are generally organised round one ormore leading photographers, together with assistants who may be learning the craft.

Art studios make up complete finished art as 'printers' instructions-from drawings, photography(which they retouch) and typesettings. Some also offer original design and/or finished drawings,some photographic services and perhaps a printing capability. Studios are significant employersof artistic skills.


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Commercial printers often have internal studios, to provide a complete creative and printingservice to clients.

Mechanical production: Other specialised houses provide typesetting, colour separationsand/or engraving.

C. TV AND RADIO PRODUCTIONTV productionFilm production companies usually handle the complete production of TV and cinemacommercials: casting and shooting on film or videotape (in a studio or on location). They alsosupervise cutting and editing, sound recording and mixing (sometimes including speciallycomposed and performed music), final assembly and bulk prints for stations.

Generally they work to the script and brief (and under the supervision) of a commissioningadvertising agency. The star jobs are those of the lighting cameraman and director, employing aconsiderable team of juniors and specialists. Commercial TV production is sometimes an entree

to work in the cinema or in TV programme making.

Radio productionRadio production, because of the nature of the medium, is concentrated on the crafts of recordingand producing sounds. This also includes casting and sound mixing, again to the script and briefof an agency.

D. COLLATERAL SERVICES

Video and filmVideo and film are also extensively used for training, information and documentary purposes.While employing somewhat similar skills to the TV commercial production houses, a separate and

specialist type of company generally makes these longer, lower budget productions.SponsorshipSponsorship agencies arrange commercial sponsorships, for instance of sports events,sportsmen, music and other activities usually directly on behalf of an advertiser. Services usuallyinclude assisting with 'exploitation' - for instance media coverage. (TV and radio programmesponsorship are sometimes negotiated direct by the broadcasters).

Sales promotion and incentivesSales promotion and incentive companies plan, create and produce display material, promotionalideas, eg for on-pack offers, or to reward the retailer or salesman. The operation of long-runningsales force incentive schemes is another specialised service.

Public relationsWhile formally a distinct communications service, PR is sometimes counted as a form of

'advertising' activity, and is certainly a parallel method of informing or persuading.

Used by virtually all the organisations that advertise (and some that do not), it has broadly twoapplications: corporate and marketing communications. It achieves these partly through mediarelations - providing the news media with information and stories, and generally giving the newsmedia managed access to the organisation - and partly through other activities - house journals,newsletters, films and videos, sponsorships, stage-managed events, training of senior staff etc.

PR is planned in terms of 'audiences', such as customers, investors, employees, opinion-formers,politicians or residents near a factory or workplace. In this too it resembles advertising.


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House PR departments: Many organisations employ their own public relations people. Inaddition to their public relations work, these, rather than the marketing people, may managesome advertising, for instance corporate and 'prestige' campaigns (eg on 'green issues').

PR agencies: There are also a large number of professional independent PR consultancies (alsocalled PR 'agencies'), who may be employed in addition to, or in place of, an in-house unit. Thelargest of these are highly professional and may conduct some advertising as a client service.

In both camps, PR is a significant employer. The skills required are political acuity, clear andsuccinct writing, the ability to understand the interests of the media and - while servicing them - tocontrol the perspective of the organisation (or the story about it) that is presented.

Jobs in PR: While the scope of PR extends far beyond press relations and 'editorial publicity', alarge proportion of successful PR executives in fact begin in journalism. A few universities andpolytechnics offer vocational PR studies. These are the only recognised routes into the business.


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In this chapter:A. Further qualificationsB. Choosing a careerC. Candidate employersD. Useful words and phrases

You may now be finished with formal education or, alternatively, be considering what furthercourse of study would be most useful.

A. FURTHER QUALIFICATIONSFor some jobs employers require a degree or similar qualification - graduate traineeships are an

obvious example. For others, further education is also usually necessary - the exact formalqualification is not as necessary as the essential knowledge it will provide. These include workrequiring higher mathematics and art and design.

Finally, because there is so much competition for jobs in advertising, degrees and other evidenceof applied study are always helpful. A good degree, or at least an active and imaginative time atuniversity or college is a definite plus (employers will be at least as interested in how you spentyour leisure, as whether you came way with a first of 2:1).

Failing that, some relevant 'A' levels will help.

Notionally a qualification in commerce, marketing or advertising itself will be handy, but in practiceany scientific or arts subject (English, geography, modern languages, the classics) is equallyhelpful. For a foundation course in communications, advertising and marketing, endorsed by the

Advertising Association, contact CAM

The aptitudes that are most useful are: the ability to write and express yourself clearly good basicnumeracy imagination common sense.

B. CHOOSING A CAREERThis booklet has described many kinds of jobs and types of companies. Your own temperament,
http://www.camfoundation.com/


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interests and qualifications will have led you to eliminate most of them.

The next question is how to pursue your interest in those you like the sound of, bearing in mindthat many of the potential employers are relatively small businesses, and that - except for peoplewith spectacularly good qualifications - the paths of entry are rarely clear.

To identify potential employers and target those which seem to provide the best initial careerstart, there are a number of practical steps to take:

ReadingGlance at the popular weekly advertising trade press (Campaign, Marketing Week, andMarketing) for a general feel of the business and (from the appointments sections) the jobsavailable. The Financial Times and The Guardian also cover marketing, advertising and the

media reasonably thoroughly.

For more substantial information, try to see a copy or two of the International Journal of Advertising, Admap, the Harvard Business Review, or the Market Research Society Journal

(available in larger university reference libraries). These will give you a feel for the serious side ofthe business.

An invaluable reference periodical, British Rate & Data (BRAD) is interesting to glance at for

information about the media. It lists several thousand individual media, with particulars of theowners, rates, circulations, and local addresses of each.

Books: There are many books about advertising. Look for anything by John Philip Jones, SimonBroadbent, Andrew Ehrenberg, or Jeremy Bullmore. In particular, try to see one of the series ofvolumes of case histories ( Advertising Works) published by the IPA, orHow Advertising Works,

by Colin MacDonald.

People and Organisations to consult

Relevant trade associations and professional bodies.

Anyone you know - careers officers, university appointments boards, friends - who may knowsomething about your chosen field.

Try to get hold of lists of leading companies in the field/s you are interested in. Some arepublished: Your local or university library should be a good starting point.

Think of the companies whose office is near where you live, or whose products are those withwhich you are most familiar. Decide which of them you would like to work for and then write directto their head office. In this way, you will be thinking about them and their products on anindividual basis, which is always helpful when applying for a job.

C. CANDIDATE EMPLOYERSAs personnel selection is a two-way process, why not also make a list of the qualifications youare looking for in an advertising employer? No organisation is perfect but you may care to havean eye on:

Size-big company or small, intimate environment?

Success-are they on the whole moving ahead?

Management style-formal or informal? Strict or tolerant?


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Further training-how important? If important, is it on offer?

It's worth remembering a few simple points when writing, phoning or being interviewed:

Prepare contacts in advance. Try to find out anything you can about the company before talkingto them. If possible, try to reflect this knowledge in anything you write, for instance a letter or CV.

Exploit anything you have done - a school or college newspaper, a hobby such asphotography, time spent selling in a shop or on a market stall - which may be relevant.

At interview, remember while they are interviewing you, youre also interviewing them.

D. USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASESProfessional advertising people talk about advertisements or 'ads', but never'adverts'.

TV ads are called 'commercials', or sometimes 'spots' (more often 'spot' refers to the airtimerather than the ad itself). Compact newspapers like the Mirror and Sun are called 'tabloids' largesize papers like the Telegraph and Guardian are 'broadsheets'. Free newspapers arecolloquially called 'free-sheets'.

The word 'copy' has two separate meanings: the text of an advertisement, and the finishedadvertisement, in the form of artwork, film etc sent to the medium for publication.

'Copywriting' (writing the text of an ad) is not to be confused with 'copyright' - the legal right touse particular text or pictures.

'Media' and 'data' are plurals - one says 'The data (or media) are...', not 'The data is...' While wemay talk of single medium, data are always in the plural.

A brand or company trademark design (which is usually its copyright) is called its 'logo' short for'logotype') or'namestyle'.

The design of a trademark is also sometimes carelessly, called an 'image'. Properly 'image'

refers to how consumers perceive a particular brand, in comparison with others. Demographic classes: to assist advertising or marketing target definition, households aresometimes classified by the occupation of their main wage-earner, using the letters A - E. Thefollowing groupings are now commonly used:

A. Upper middle class: Higher managerial, administrative or professional.

B. Middle class: Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional.

C1. Lower middle class: Supervisory or clerical, and junior managerial, administrative orprofessional.

C2. Skilled working class: Skilled manual workers.

D. Working class: Semi and unskilled manual workers.

E. Those at lowest level of subsistence: State pensioners or widows (no other earner),casual or lowest-grade workers.

Documents

Getting Into Advertising