With the growth in the industrial sector and the boom in the service industry, there has been a sharp growth in demand for qualified professionals in most areas such as Management, Media etc.

People in Advertising handle concepts - In simplistic terms, they create ads, which help sell/market an idea or product.

Broadly speaking, an ad agency has two main work streams you can choose and pick from:

Client Servicing / Media Planning –

People who interact with the Client / industry and are an interface between them and the agency

 The Prospects:

Advertising Agencies, Marketing Divisions of Companies/ Service industry, Market Research Companies. Best Companies include – Lintas, HTA, Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), ORG Marg, American Blackstone, HLL, P&G, Nestle etc.

 The Job:

• Researching the client's product/service and the client's business methods

• Meeting the creative media and marketing divisions and the client to identify the USP of the product and its positioning vis-à-vis other competing brands

• Preparation of the 'brief' – with recommendations from the client

• Holding discussions over the brief and the budget of the campaign

• Coordination between the client and the team in-charge of the ad campaign.

 Personality Traits:

• Excellent communication skills

• Team-Worker

• Ability to work under pressure & deadlines

• Lucid style of writing

• Sensitivity and awareness of consumer behaviour & trends

 Salaries:

• Account Executive – Starting Position. Approx Rs. 4 lacs per annum after a PG degree in Media / Advertising / Mass Communications or an MBA

• Branch Head – Report to CEO. Approx. Rs, 25 – 30 lacs per annum.

Creative Division -

Those who visualise and conceptualise an ad, including the copywriters, art directors, designers and illustrators form the creative division of the agency.

 The Job:

• Responsible for creatively visualizing, designing and illustrating the ad

• Coming up with the copy of an Ad.

• Working on the brief given by the Client Servicing division and Client to envision and realize the ad

• Understanding the target audience & creating messages that correctly portray the product

• Briefing the production team on the ad and details to ensure realization of the ad as per specifications

 Personality Traits:

Art Director / Designer –

• Aesthetic Visual Sense

• Creative

• Artistic – ability to illustrate

• Excellent Language skills

• Ability to work under pressure & deadlines

Copywriter –

• Literary Talent

• Creativity

• Excellent Command over the language

• Ability to communicate ideas in restricted space / time

• Open to criticism

 Salaries:

• Junior Copywriters / Visualisers - Starting Position. Approx Rs. 2-3 Lacs per annum after a Graduate degree.

• Branch Head Copywriters / Designers – Approx. Rs. 35 - 50 lacs per annum.

 Study Routes:

Copywriters

Copywriters are selected on the basis of their talent rather than their qualifications. At the entry level, a candidate has to take a copy test. Besides evaluating command over written English (knowledge of more than one language is preferred), the test is designed to judge creative ability.

Graduate degree in English/ regional language/ psychology/ social sciences would be suitable for copy writers, though talent is what is required.

Visualisers

Art director and his team are selected from art schools or design institutes. The Bachelor of Applied Art course teaches the prospective creative artist the use of photography, graphics, and other visual communication media. Courses in multimedia and mass communication are also useful.

Class XII (any stream) with Art as an optional subject, followed by degree in applied art (4-5 years) or diploma in industrial design, or diploma in multimedia will be useful for the art and visual communication professionals.

Few useful links:

http://www.shiksha.com/

http://media.shiksha.com/getCategoryPage/colleges/media/All/All/Advertising