T3 TCU Advertising Career Guide March 4, 2010

Agency Life
Agency Life
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Ad Agency vs. Client Side
Ad Agency
Client Side
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Much more informal and creative work
atmosphere
Opportunity to learn about multiple
industries
Surrounded by smart, creative –
minded people
High pressure and stressful:
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Client expectations
Deadlines
Egos
Somewhat unpredictable:
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Job market
Work hours
Day to day activities
More focus on advertising (creative
side) than marketing (business side)
Often more formal and corporate
atmosphere
Focus on learning a single industry
inside and out
Surrounded by smart, businessminded people
High pressure and stressful:
Not as unpredictable:
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Shareholder expectations
Deadlines
Marketing goals to meet
Job market
Work hours
Day to day activities
More focus on marketing (business
side) than advertising (creative side)
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What Is Working at an Ad Agency REALLY Like?
Perception:
• Cold and corporate
• Cut throat and competitive
• A focus on manipulating
consumers to purchase
products they don’t need
with money they don’t have
“Advertising: the science of arresting the human intelligence
long enough to get money from it.” – Stephen Leacock
“Advertising is legalized lying.” –H.G. Wells
“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money
they don't have for something they don't need.” – Will Rogers
What Is Working at an Ad Agency REALLY Like?
Reality:
• Warm, fun, family atmosphere
• Every project is team based-we
are all in it together!
• A focus on driving results for our
clients and sharing information
that consumers need to make a
well informed decision
“Advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th century.” – Marshall McLuhan
“Good advertising does not just circulate information. It
penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.” –Leo Burnett
“Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes
on.” – Bill Cosby
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Finding the Right Fit
• What are your core strengths and
talents?
• There are lots of departments in an
agency-important to find right fit for you
• Every department is an important cog
in the agency machine
• An agency can’t be successful without
every discipline represented
• Whatever role fits you….be passionate
about it and go for it full steam!
Media
Account
Project
Man.
Creative
Production &
Development
QA
Research &
Analytics
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The Dangers of Working In the Ad Biz…
• Like seeing the man behind the wizard’s curtain
• Advertising is everywhere and effects every aspect of American life
• When you work in advertising you begin to…
– Look at people and see demographics
– View advertising and immediately deconstruct the strategy that drove it,
what type of ad and the desired behavior
– See product placement everywhere
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Advertising Career Guide
Breaking Into the Biz
Here are a few tips on getting into advertising:
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Get An Internship: This is one of the key ways agencies find new talent to hire at the
entry level. It gives you the opportunity to work in the business first hand while also
cultivating relationships for future networking. Paid or unpaid, an internship is the
most reliable way to break into the ad business.
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Network, Network, Network: That old saying, “It’s all about who you know” is 100%
true. The easiest way to get your foot in the door at an agency is to know someone
who can campaign on your behalf.
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Use The Web: Create a profile on LinkedIn, post on agency blogs, etc. Find a way to
use the current technology and social networking tools to get yourself out there.
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Be Persistent: We get hundreds of resumes from interested candidates. If you have
your sights set on a particular agency, keep yourself in front of them and don’t take
the first no you hear.
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Sell Yourself: When you are just starting out, you won’t have a lot of experience to fill
up your resume. That’s ok. Make sure you are selling yourself and the skills you will
bring to the job.
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Recommended Sites
Advertising Related Websites
Visit these sites and sign up for their free e-newsletters to stay on top of news
in the ad industry:
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Ad Age www.adage.com
Ad Week www.adweek.com
Brand Week www.brandweek.com
Media Week www.mediaweek.com
Mashable www.mashable.com
Direct Marketing News www.dmnews.com
eMarketer www.emarketer.com
Click Z www.clickz.com
Direct Magazine http://directmag.com/
Ad Forum www.adforum.com
Direct Marketing Association www.the-dma.org/
Creativity http://creativity-online.com/interactive/
Brand Channel www.brandchannel.com
Media Post http://www.mediapost.com/
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Recommended Reading
Advertising Related Books
Any of these books provide great information and learning on the ad industry:
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The Art of Client Service
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Ogilvy on Advertising
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Nancy Vonk & Janet Kestin
Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising
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The Associated Press
Pick Me: Breaking Into Advertising and Staying There
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Emanual Rosen
The AP Stylebook and Libel Manual
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David Ogilvy
The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing
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Robert Solomon
Luke Sullivan
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
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Malcolm Gladwell
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Agency Departments
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Research & Analytics
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Upfront research to drive
strategy
Ongoing metrics data
gathering and reporting
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Account
Management
Primary liaison between
Client and agency
Help develop and drive
planning & strategy
Ensure all deliverables
are on strategy
Manage budget
Project
Management
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Manage resources,
estimates schedules
Ensures implementation of
agency processes
Keeps projects running
smoothly, on time and on
budget
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Media
• Defines project goals and objectives
• Work collaboratively with Account Management to
develop strategy
• Provides feedback and collaboration to creative team
Quality Assurance
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Review all aspects for
accuracy
-grammar/spelling
-consistency
Functionality and usability
testing within multiple
platforms for web
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Creative
Development
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Execution of creative
strategy
Production of assets for
campaign based on creative
provided direction
Technical build of online
assets
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Develops media plan
based on client budget and
goals
Traffic creative to various
media outlets
Negotiates media rates
with media outlets
Drive overall creative strategy
Establish information
architecture & navigation
Define user experience
Develop all creative and copy
based on creative brief
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The Production Flow of an Average Project
Step 1: Assignment
Client contacts Account
Management with
assignment
Step 2: Budget and Brief
Account Management
works with client to set
budget and craft creative
brief document
Step 3: Kick Off
Account Management kicks
off project with creative
team-walking through the
brief and the client’s
expectations
Step 4: Concepting
Creative team works their
magic creating concepts
based on the brief
Step 5: Presentation
Team (account and
creative) present concepts
to client
Step 6 (and sometimes 7,
8, 9…): Revisions
Feedback and revisions
based on client input
Step 7: Approval
Client final approval and
concept lock
Step 8: Build and QA
Development of the assets
and QA review
Step 9: Launch
The project is live in the
market!
Step 10: Metrics
Ongoing metrics reporting to gauge
success and make sure we are
hitting our target
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Account Management Roles & Responsibilities
Roles and Responsibilities:
Key Skills Needed:
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Responsible for developing and maintaining clientagency relationships and communication
Overseeing and managing all team members
Coordinating with vendors and outside agencies
Developing strategy and marketing plans for clients
Managing client budget
Learning and keeping up to speed on client’s
industry
Managing day to day details of projects including
creative briefs, project status reports, conference
reports, etc.
Driving new business growth from existing clients
Act as the final filter in which all work in the agency
is passed through before being sent to the client to
ensure work is error-free and on strategy
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Strong communication & relationship
skills
Highly organized
Able to multitask
Leadership skills
Presentation skills
Computer skills: MS Word, MS Excel,
MS PPT
Job Titles:
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Account Coordinator
Account Executive
Sr. Account Executive
Account Supervisor
Account Director
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Project Management Roles & Responsibilities
Roles and Responsibilities:
Key Skills Needed:
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Responsible for managing internal agency team to
be sure projects are being complete and all
deadlines are being met
Primary responsibilities include managing resource
allocation, developing and managing project
schedules and project estimates
Works as a seamless partner with Account
Management to manage the overall team
Coordinates the flow of the projects from kick off
through QA
Less client contact than Account Management, but
more contact with internal agency team
Acts as overall producer for the projects
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Strong communication & relationship
skills
Highly organized
Able to multitask
Leadership skills
Computer skills: MS Word, MS Excel,
MS Project
Job Titles:
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Project Coordinator
Project Manager
Sr. Project Manager
PM Supervisor
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Media Roles & Responsibilities
Roles and Responsibilities:
Key Skills Needed:
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Develop overall media strategy
Responsible for researching and planning all media
for a client based on their budget and objectives
Meet with media reps from various sites,
publishers, etc.
Traffic all complete creative to various media
outlets
Work with the creative team to establish specs, etc.
for creative based on media buy
Hub of media activity in NYC and Chicago-most
media teams are centered out of one of those cities
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Strong communication & relationship
skills
Highly organized
Able to multitask
Leadership skills
Computer skills: MS Word, MS Excel,
MS PowerPoint
Job Titles:
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Jr. Media Planner
Jr. Media Buyer
Media Planner
Media Buyer
Sr. Media Planner
Sr. Media Buyer
Media Director
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Creative Roles & Responsibilities
Roles and Responsibilities:
Key Skills Needed:
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Responsible for overall creative strategy based on
input from the creative brief
Overall art direction and copy for ads
Development of creative comps
Development of assets for campaign
Presentation of creative to clients
Making revisions based on client input
Development of information architecture including
user interface, navigation, etc. as needed
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Strong communication & relationship
skills
Presentation skills
Design and/or copy skills
Computer skills: Photoshop,
Fireworks, Illustrator
Job Titles:
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Production Art
Asset Manager
Jr. Art Director
Jr. Copywriter
Art Director
Copywriter
Information Architect
Sr. Art Director
Sr. Copywriter
Associate Creative Director
Group Creative Director
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Development Roles & Responsibilities
Roles and Responsibilities:
Key Skills Needed:
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Responsible for development of online deliverables
including banner ads, direct emails, websites, etc.
Programming as needed
Testing for bugs
Bug fixes
Development of Flash animation (as needed)
Knowledge of technology
Efficiency
Attention to detail
Computer skills: ([x/d]HTML, CSS, JS,
XML, ASP, PHP, JSP, .NET, AJAX)
Job Titles:
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Jr. Developer
Jr. Rich Media Developer
Rich Media Developer
Developer
Sr. Developer
Sr. Rich Media Developer
Development Supervisor
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Quality Assurance (QA) Roles & Responsibilities
Roles and Responsibilities:
Key Skills Needed:
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Responsible for reviewing every product that
leaves the agency
May include review of copy for grammar,
punctuation, etc.
May include review of technical aspect of website
build, etc. for bugs
Final stop gap for every project that goes through
the agency-need to be able to deal with pressure
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Highly organized
Attention to detail
Deals well under pressure
String grasp of English grammar and
punctuation
Proofreading skills
Computer skills: MS Word
Job Titles:
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Quality Assurance
Sr. QA
Technical QA
QA Supervisor
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Research & Analytics Roles & Responsibilities
Roles and Responsibilities:
Key Skills Needed:
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Responsible for upfront planning and research
Managing and running consumer research projects
Ongoing research for team on trends, research
studies, etc.
Managing of client surveys
Review of metrics data and creation of metrics
reporting
Strong communication skills
Analytic mindset
Highly organized
Data driven
Attention to detail
Computer skills: MS Word
Job Titles:
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Jr. Research Analyst
Research Analyst
Sr. Research Analyst
Analytics Director
Account Planner
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About T3
T3: The Think Tank
Independent Since:
Thinkers:
Capitalized billings:
Year-on-year growth since ’97:
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Office Locations
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Our Clients
Top 100 Agency
WBE Certified
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Our Work
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Our Work
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Our Work
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Our Work
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Our Work
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Contact Karen
Please don’t hesitate to e-mail me with any questions you might have!
Karen Phillips
Associate Account Director
T3
1806 Rio Grande Street
Austin, TX 78735
512-721-1721
karen.phillips@t-3.com
www.t-3.com
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Thank You!