06/03/2009Job Functions - who does what?

Client service & management (account management), strategic planning, media planning & buying, creative, production and also finance, IT, legal, HR and admin (see diagram). Each of these areas unite to form a team that deliver relevant, effective and creative communication solutions in order to help clients achieve their business goals.

So, once you’ve decided that a career in advertising is for you, you need to make another choice, to decide what role is best for you. We hope this guide helps you make that choice.

Client Service or Account Management.
“The account handler represents the client at the agency, and the agency at the client”

Account handlers work in advertising agencies and have a role in the development of the advertising campaign. They are the people who have overall charge of the relationship with the client and therefore deal with them on a day-to-day basis. They are responsible for developing an in-depth understanding of the client’s marketplace and their business, their objectives and then working closely with planners to translate the client’s marketing briefs into agency creative briefs. They also deal with almost every department in the agency on a regular basis: for instance, checking work going through production and monitoring timetables with creative services; liaising with the media department or agency etc. In managing the whole advertising process they need to ensure too, that their agency's objectives and values are faithfully represented and the account profitably is safeguarded.

Key characteristics of an excellent account person are integrity, diplomacy, commitment, articulateness, persuasiveness, numeracy,  the desire to work as part of a team, charm — and a sense of fun!

Recruiters will be looking for a good degree (but not in any particular subject — in fact, diversity is key to good agency teams) and demonstration of personality/team leadership.

Strategic Planning
“The strategic planner represents the consumer in the agency”
Planners in an advertising agency are responsible for coming up with the key strategic insight which lies behind the advertising idea. They need to get under the skin of the consumer and understand as much as possible about them. They do this by working closely with the client to research the market, using and commissioning quantitative date as well as more touchy-feely qualitative forms of research in response to the client’s brief. Armed with key consumer insights, planners will then write and present a strategy for the advertiser in relation to hopes/fears/behaviours of the customer.

Key characteristics of an excellent strategic planner are curiosity, tenacity, lateral thinking, creativity, intellect, articulateness and numeracy.

Media Planning & Buying
The two most well known roles within a media agency are media planning and media buying although an army of statisticians, researchers and data analysts also work in media agencies. In larger agencies, the two roles of planning and buying are handled by separate specialists but in smaller agencies the roles are likely to be combined.

Media Planning
“The media planner plans how to connect the consumer to the creative idea”
Planners in a media agency will take a brief from the client (usually at the same time as the client’s creative agency receives their briefing) which highlights the message that they want to communicate to the consumer. Normally the client will have a budget in mind, but sometimes they will ask the media agency to give advice on budget setting.  Working with strategic planning, the Planner will identify who the optimum target audience is to deliver the business objective to. From here, they will develop a close understanding of this target audience’s media habits in relation to purchasing behaviour. The planner will use this information to create a media plan which details the media channels that should be used to maximise the creative idea and connect best with the consumer. This is then presented to the client and approved once both parties are comfortable that it will achieve all objectives.

Media Buying
“The media buyer buys the ‘connections’ between the consumer and the creative idea (the media channels).”
Up until this point, identifying the target audience and choosing the media channels to connect with the consumer have been principally the planner’s work, although planners and buyers will work closely together in getting to this stage. However, once the media plan is approved, the buyers will then get to work on their own.  The media buyers are responsible for negotiating with the media owners of the relevant channels highlighted on the media plan, in order to get the best position, timing and price for their client’s media space and therefore realise the maximum value and impact from the budget available. Once they have negotiated with the media owners, they will then book and monitor each booked medium (i.e. individual spots, pages, posters, internet banners, sponsorships, etc.) When the campaign is over, the campaign will then be analysed to ensure that everything that was promised at the planning stage was delivered and that the learning informs the planning process for the next campaign.

Key characteristics of an excellent media person are the ability to think laterally, be creative, have a problem-solving mind, communicate well, be persuasive and be good with numbers.

Creative 
 “Creates ideas, ideas, ideas!”
The creative department of an agency is where the campaign comes together. It’s where that great idea or stunning visual is dreamt up. Creatives are generally hired in pairs — a copywriter and an art director work in partnership together. They take the client brief and work with it to invent ideas to address the brand’s business problems. From here, they work with media planners/buyers and the production department in order to make those ideas, that have been approved by the client, into a reality.

An art director will usually, but not always, be art-college trained. The art director has to respond to the creative brief (written by account management and/or planning) by communicating ideas or moods visually, starting with a blank sheet of paper! 

By contrast, a copywriter may have graduated with a degree in any manner of subjects but may just as easily be art-college trained too. It’s not the qualification that’s important — success is based more on the creative talent that person possesses. The copywriter will have to be able to respond to a creative brief by communicating ideas in the written or verbal form.

To get a job as a creative, the most important think is your ‘book’ — a portfolio of all your ads to showcase your talent. This “book” needs to make its way into the hands of a creative director. If you’re on an advertising course then you may be lucky enough to make some valuable contacts or even get some work experience in an agency. If not it’s all about approaching agencies directly and being persistent.

There are organisations to help copywriters and art directors pair up to form a team prior to finding a job e.g.  The Book Club  and the D&AD talentpool . 
Key characteristics of an excellent creative person are of course creativity, originality, enthusiasm, and the ability to work to deadlines.

Creative Services & Production
“Executes ideas, ideas, ideas!”

Creative services and production is where art and creativity meet commerce and reality. It is where the ad campaigns get made, and get paid for. It is therefore the job of creative services and production to ensure that this process is smooth, that at every stage along the process the ads are made to the highest quality, on time, and within budget.

The people in this process need a variety of skills and can be split into three main areas — those who control the internal process within an agency, those who source the outside talent for production and those who oversee the production itself. 

While all other disciplines within an agency are pretty much set in stone creative services differs across the agencies. On a very broad level you have the following disciplines under creative services:

Creative Services Director
Creative Services Manager
Art Buying
TV Production
Studio
Project Management
Traffic Management
Print Production

The Creative Services Director is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of all areas within the department. This includes managing all resource, ensuring that the department is running efficiently and all costs spent are competitive and output is to the very highest standard. To become a CSD you must have proven experience of managing people, negotiation and detailed knowledge of print, studio and workflow management processes which you can learn through working in other areas within the Creative Services Department. Some agencies have a Creative Services Manager who reports into the CSD and takes on shared responsibilities and day-to-day issues.

An Artbuyer’s role is to provide the creative’s with a variety of photographers/illustrators that will execute their ad in the most beautiful and effective way. Once the photographer /illustrator has been chosen it the Artbuyer’s responsibility to compile an estimate, negotiate fees and make sure the production runs smoothly. You will have to manage the pre-production meetings where all aspects of the shoot are approved, e.g. casting, styling, location etc.

Within the TV department you will normally have a Head of TV , TV Producers and Production Assistants . The department is responsible for the production of all TV commercials and also cinema advertising, virals, radio and mood films, basically anything moving or with sound. The TV producer sources directors and production companies, negotiates budgets and manages the shoots/ recordings. Producers normally start as a production assistant working closely with the TV producers, learning the skills and shadowing them on shoots. Over time (and usually after they have sat the IPA TV Production Knowledge Exam) they begin to take on small projects and once proven they will be promoted to TV producer. It can take several years to build up this experience.

Also in TV you will have the TV admin department. Their role is split into two main functions. The first is to get the final finished ads on air - they deal directly with TV stations and media buying companies to ensure the correct commercial goes out at the right time and on the right channel. The second function is that they are the general "back-up" to the whole department, looking after everything from financial matters, music licences, artist contracts and royalties, and historical records.

The studio consists of Studio Managers who handle the workload going in and out of the studio, Graphic Designers and Artworkers . To become a studio manager you must have a proven understanding of software and how long it takes to do things in the studio. The Graphic Designer’s role is to design or create graphics using the creatives ad layouts, such as press, posters, packaging, displays, or logos. Graphic Designers have usually spent time training before starting a job in an agency, as have art workers. Traditionally, art workers would not be expected to have much creative input, but would implement a concept, based on a designer's or art director's brief. As an art worker you would be expected to take a designer's layout and make sure that it is ready for pre-press or print. You would be expected to have a high level of skill in the basic graphic design software products, such as photoshop, illustrator, quarkxpress and indesign.

The project management department normally consists of a Head of Project Management and Project Managers with differing levels of experience. The project manager’s role is to manage timings and production budgets and drive the project through to completion, ensuring that all deadlines are kept and at every stage the account team and creatives are communicating. You can enter project management as a trainee and need to show ability in multi-tasking, diplomacy and inter-personal skill. You will be trained in print production and finance and as you gain confidence and experience you will be given more responsibility.
 
The Traffic Manager’s ( Creative Resource Manager’s ) job is to ensure that all briefs go through the Creative Department smoothly. They have to manage the creatives’ time, juggle their workloads and allocate briefs with the CSD. To become a traffic manager you need experience and an understanding on how long it takes to work on briefs, confidence and the ability to prioritise workloads.

The print production department within an agency manages the purchase of all print and repro. They negotiate costs with suppliers and have to ensure that the print quality of all the agency work is to the very highest standard. Production Managers manage the output of campaigns. You can start as a junior and learn the ropes getting experience of the printing process, building up supplier contacts and negotiating on costs.
Internal Services - Finance, IT, Legal, HR & Admin
“Making sure it happens, smoothly and profitably.”
Finance, IT, Legal, HR and Admin are all key functions involved in the smooth and effective running of an agency.
Roles in these areas are often filled by people who have already gained initial experience within specialist firms but would now like to work in the advertising industry.