FIRST, FORGET WHAT YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THE ADVERTISING BUSINESS. No matter how intriguing, beautiful, or funny a piece of advertising is, it's only on this planet to do one thing: sell, sell, sell the advertiser's product or service. Yes, it may inform, persuade or entertain, but ultimately it must move a customer to buy.

      

		If you think the advertising business is glamorous and thrilling - full of schmoozing clients, wining and dining and talking on cell phones, you are mistaken. The purpose of this article is to inform you about the advertising industry. CHOOSING A CAREER IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

      

And so is advertising serious business. Inevitably, there are more qualified applicants than there are entry-level advertising jobs. To get into advertising, you will have to decide whether it is worth the work and extra effort. WHERE IT'S AT Forget what you've seen in movies, novels or sitcoms. Advertising is a demanding, rigorous business. The people in it are smart, tough, decisive and they work VERY hard - many times more than 60 hours per week. If your lifestyle prefers to work a "regular" 40-hour work week (for time with family, friends, etc.), you would be better off in a corporate environment. BUT, advertising is the most exciting, rewarding business we know of. The people are bright and well-educated, articulate, energetic. They are passionate about advertising, marketing and business. Advertising people work hard because they love their work. It is a business of creativity and ideas that stretch the imagination and abilities every day.

      

		JOBS IN ADVERTISING ARE ABOUT TEAMWORK

      

The goal for an advertising agency is to partner with the companies they are helping. The best and strongest client-agency relationships are the agencies who work in true partnership with the client's marketing professionals, getting "inside the client" and learning the client's business thoroughly. Only after that, can the agency contribute strategies and ideas that extend far beyond advertising. For each job description in an agency, there is a counterpart on the client side. For the Account Executive there is a Marketing Coordinator or Marketing Communications Manager. For the Art Director there is a Corporate Graphics Supervisor, and so forth. While there are plenty of creatives in agencies, there are many other roles too. In fact, in most large agencies the "other" people far outnumber the creatives. There are seven functional areas in most agencies, and most jobs fall into these categories:

      

• Account Management • Account Planning • Creative • Production and Traffic • Media Planning, Buying    and Research • Market Research • Interactive Marketing

      

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT - THE HUB OF THE ACCOUNT At many large agencies, an Account Manager is assigned to a single account. In smaller agencies, they may work on several accounts (or clients). People from the other functional areas are also assigned to the account and form an account team. If the account team were an orchestra, the Account Manager would be the conductor. He or she directs the process of serving the client, constantly interacting with both the agency and client team. The Account Manager is responsible for making sure the agency is on target to match the client's marketing blueprint and the agency's point of view to the client. This will ensure that the agency's work is "on strategy, on budget, and on time." Good Account Managers are diplomatic leaders and outstanding communicators. They combine creative problem-solving with sensible decision-making. Good Account Managers are extraordinarily organized and thorough. According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the most important quality for an Account Manager is that they possess a passionate and infectious desire to help create great advertising that WORKS.

      

The typical entry-level account management position is Account Coordinator or Assistant Account Executive (AAE). Candidates should have a bachelor's degree. A degree in advertising or marketing is not required, but exposure to those subjects, as well as general business courses, will help you immensely. So will having served at least one internship in virtually any area of advertising or marketing. Quite frankly, as an Account Coordinator or AAE you will often find yourself at the office both before and after everyone else. You will help the Account Executive and learn the business of advertising in the process. You will perform all duties as assigned - from photocopying, to client billing, to analyzing competitive activity and consumer trends, to coordinating creative, media, research and production projects.

      

ACCOUNT PLANNING As the Account Manager is a liaison between the agency and client, the Account Planner is, in essence, making sure the consumer's perspective is fully considered when advertising is developed. Not all agencies have this relatively-new discipline. The Account Planner works to continually focus and re-focus the agency's strategic and creative thinking on the consumer, helping the team - particularly the creatives - understand what is needed to "turn the consumer on."

      

Specifically, Account Planners study how consumers actually make use of marketing communications. Using that knowledge, they help the agency to think "out of the box" into new ways of communicating about products and services. The Account Planner's primary tool is research: consumer psychology and behavior (psychographics and demographics), brand-sales history, competitive analysis and much more. Most Account Planners have academic backgrounds in Liberal Arts or Economics. What planners tend to have in common is the ability to interpret and synthesize information, generating useful insights that can be readily understood and acted upon by others.

      

CREATIVE IS FOR YOU - IF YOU ARE A RIGHT-BRAINER In the creative department, raw talent is essential - but it will only take you so far. In Commercial Art, "Commercial" is the operative word. Of course, Art Directors must have extraordinary visual instincts and strong artistic aptitude, and a copywriter must be a superb writer to begin with. But above all, what turns very creative people into superstars is their ability to think "creatively out of the box."

      

The first step in creating great advertising isn't a clever headline or beautiful photo. It is the concept: that is a broad notion of how to engage the consumer's mind and get the message through. The concept must be original, attract the right target consumer's attention, communicate with them, and on some level, sell the product or service. Copywriters typically pair in teams with an Art Director. The Copywriter (often in the role of the Creative Director, or team leader) works on the words in most cases and the Art Director on the picutures. However, in the conceptual stage each may work within the other's realm of expertise. Some Art Directors have advanced degrees in Fine Art or Advertising Art. However, it is about the talent and understanding of business practices that makes the best Art Directors. Project management skills as well as conceptual ability are paramount. Backgrounds in illustration or photography are usual. Copywriters generally have degrees in Literature or Journalism. But again, it is about the talent and understanding of marketing. Copywriters are focused communicators, since most advertising copy must be brief. Good copywriters are known for their succinctness. This is a quality that serves them well. After all, they often must tell a complicated story about a product or service in just a few words. All creatives work long, rigorous hours. Art Directors and Copywriters must be constantly aware of popular culture as well as having to learn to how to "speak the language" of the consumer.

      

CREATIVE SUPPORT - THOSE IN THE TRENCHES There are many people who are part of the creative team: Graphic Designers, Production Designers, Photographers, Illustrators, Art Buyers, etc. The competition for entry-level support positions in the creative department is intense. Getting a job requires a demonstration of your conceptual abilities. That means having a portfolio - a collection of original advertising and design concepts that you've developed. There are several ways to build a portfolio. Internships are an excellent way to get a "real world" portfolio along with presenting originally- developed campaigns for real or mythical products. PRODUCTION & TRAFFIC If the creatives are an agency's executive chefs, print, web and broadcast production are where the real cooks are. They work closely with the creative team, and are experts at determining the quickest and most cost-effective way to produce the advertising. Print Production Managers are responsible to produce newspaper and magazine ads, brochures, outdoor posters and other printed matter. They help develop project budgets - and help the creatives stay within those budgets. They work with outside suppliers such as printers and binders - negotiating and bidding. Traffic Managers are part air-traffic controller and part traffic cop. They schedule and coordinate every print-production job in the agency. They keep everyone informed of deadlines and make sure everyone approves projects at every stage. They keep projects on schedule and ensure that even the slightest creative revision is reviewed and approved by all. They have nerves of steel and incredible organizational skills.

      

BROADCAST Broadcast Producers work much like people who create a short movie or a pop single. It is complex, involves a lot of someone else's money, and careers depend on the results. They work with tight deadlines and stringent creative considerations. They work with directors, a camera crew, set designer, make-up artist and wardrobe consultants as well as models and actors. They help find the right location and coordinate casting. They coordinate the shoot itself, develop budgets and keep it all on schedule. They work in post-production editing.

      

Radio Producers have a slightly less complicated process. They help develop budgets, cast "voices," find the right recording studio, arrange sound effects and music as well as supervise editing and tape duplication. The Broadcast Traffic Manager keeps track of all TV and radio spots produced by the agency and makes sure they're provided to the station or network in the right format, at the right time, with appropriate instructions. Most entry-level jobs in production are as production assistants, whether in broadcast or print. The work requires a remarkable attention to detail and the ability to handle budgets and complex scheduling matters. Often, a mentor situation is ideal.

      

MEDIA Advertising is a waste of money if it is not seen by the right audience. The job of an agency's media department is to figure out who's watching, reading, listening, and looking at what, and exactly how often, when and where they're all doing it. Then, they evaluate whether the message was delivered to as many of the right people as promised. Media Researchers, Planners and Buyers make up the media department. They find the right target audience, develop an effective plan for reaching them, negotiate cost-effective deals with the media of choice, based on how many people in the target audience it's likely to deliver. Media Researchers evaluate every media vehicle, from editorial content from newspapers, to cartoons to websites to talk radio to blimps. Utilizing data from media companies and independent research firms they analyze who's watching or listening to what, and can even predict how often the audience of a particular radio station might hear the client's campaign in a week. Media Planners apply that research to develop media plans, specifying which media the client should purchase to reach their desired target audience with their message. They recommend not only the appropriate mix of media, but an advertising period and frequency that will get the message out while accommodating the client's budget. Media Buyers turn the approved media plan into reality. They reserve the appropriate space and time and rate. They also monitor the media to make sure that the advertising actually appears when and where it is supposed to and, with some media, that the audience is as large as anticipated. Finding the right entry-level job in media depends upon your particular strengths. If you have an especially analytical and curious nature, and aren't afraid of crunching numbers, starting as an Assistant Media Planner might suit you. If you feel you have potential as a strong negotiator, you might find satisfaction as an Assistant Media Buyer. As a Media Research Assistant, you'd encounter heavy analysis and number crunching skills. A broad-based Liberal Arts education will help prepare you for life in the media department, but if you aren't comfortable analyzing and interpreting a lot of numbers, you won't be very happy there.

      

		MARKET RESEARCH Helping the creative team and management team understand the motivations, desires and needs of the consumer is the job of Market Research professionals.They actually conduct primary research, conducting focus groups or individuals to discuss their interests, buying habits and more. They develop and administer consumer quesionnaires and surveys as well.

      

Market Researchers also use secondary research to complete the picture of who the consumer is and what makes him or her respond. They also keep an eye on the client's competitors to understand their advertising approaches as thoroughly as they understand their own clients. Market Researchers are involved in the advertising process from start to finish. They participate in the early planning stages of strategy development. Later, they help evaluate advertising concepts in terms of how appropriate or effective they might be in communicating with the target audience. Many Market Researchers come from the fields of economics, psychology, marketing and anthropology, many with advanced degrees. Market Researchers often start their careers as an assistant, or work for a corporation that does primary consumer research. INTERACTIVE MARKETING Unlike traditional advertising and marketing, where companies have to "find you",get your attention and hold it long enough to deliver the message, interactive marketing is the fastest-growing segment in the media and marketing world. It includes the World Wide Web, the Internet, online services, CD-ROMs, and even interactive television. It is a unique form of communication because the conversation is two-way, not just tell and listen. Opportunities in the interactive marketing field are exploding, and they are most plentiful in areas of design, marketing and computer programming. However, content developer and information architects are being seen more and more frequently. Agencies need computer-based designers and programmers, as well as strategists who understand how marketers can use interactive media creatively and effectively.

      

THE STEPS TOWARD GETTING INTO ADVERTISING Start by looking at advertising in a serious, all-business way. Be critical and evaluative. Have an opinion.

      

Go to the library and read trade magazines such as Advertising Age, Adweek, etc. You will also find USA Today, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal - which run daily columns on the advertising business and its people. The point is, you must demonstrate not only interest, but knowledge. The people who get hired are the people who show that they care enough about the business to follow it closely. Go to local Ad Clubs that are affiliated with the American Advertising Federation. In San Diego we have The Advertising Club of San Diego at 858.576.9833. The Ad Clubs are a good source of internships as well as usually running a job line for members. The best thing you can do to improve your chances of getting a good entry-level job in advertising after you graduate from college is to serve at least one internship at an advertising agency or marketing department of any reputable corporation. During your internship, you will learn things that you will never find in books including valuable future contacts. Advertising is the ultimate networking industry. Write a solid resume. Highlight any skills you bring to the party. This is the communication industry you are entering - make your resume perfect. Plan a portfolio if you are a creative. Learn all you can about the agencies you are interested in. Visit their web sites. Be enthusiastic and self-assured, yet humble. Be gracious, be grateful, be yourself, and no matter what else happens that day, be on time.