Top Reasons to Go Into Advertising
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Greg Hollingsworth on -
I guess my advice would be to always be open to and prepared for change. This business changes a little bit everyday. Don't get bogged down in what is and what isn't the "right" way to do things.
As someone who did not go to college with dreams of being in marketing/advertising, the one thing I would say is that experience is everything in this industry. Being able to use the tools of the trade is every bit as important as having a B.A. in business or communications (I have two degrees, one in history and the other in political science). I fell into marketing when I decided that I really didn't like sales (I was working for a company that provides historical archiving services to libraries and newspapers) so I made the transition into marketing. When I got laid off last April, I used my experience writing for the web, running adwords campaigns and providing reporting metrics (three things that I gained from the transition) along with my personal experience blogging and using new media to get my current position. If I hadn't learned those skills on the fly, I wouldn't have gotten my current job. My degrees had nothing to do with me getting this job (except for the fact that I had a degree).
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Permalink Reply by Dena Ferrell on -
That information is uplifting. Considering that I was a nursing major and now I am in a Marketing position for a global company. Sometimes it is a bit terrifying but so far I have made it through the journey a live. Now almost two years into the position I have to say experience is the key. Lots of research, social networking with the industry, asking a lot of questions, and getting over the fear of presenting a out of the box idea has helped me along the way. Gaining respect without experience has been and continues to be my biggest hurdle to over come. Only time will tell.......
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Permalink Reply by Lane Casteix on -
As I said on another thread, I was being "groomed" for architecture but ended up majoring in fine arts with a beer minor. I kept hearing terms thrown around like "working the fence", which was a reference to the fence around Jackson Square in New Orleans where the artists gather to do tourist "art", and "starving artist", which sounded an awful lot like being beerless, so I decided this may not be for me.
Then I hear about an advertising design program at another university, and it strikes me that one probably actually gets paid for doing this advertising design thing - in other words not beerless - and maybe even bourbonful, which indeed it was (this was 1964, folks!). So I changed schools and majors. I liked the program, and I love the job that came out of it. Now I get to manage a small agency and some creatives who are just as easily upset by client changes as I was (I am over that now - jaded, I suppose), and I am having fun designing bourbon packages. Is that amazing or what?!
Lane
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Permalink Reply by Angela Natividad on -
I'm liking these answers, guys. Thanks.
The reason I'm asking is I plan to write an article to disseminate around schools. It seems like a lot of college-age students want to go into the business, but few are really sure how to go about doing it or what to expect.
"Mad Men" doesn't exactly set a perfect example, either.
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Permalink Reply by Angela Natividad on
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I dig how nobody ever talks about the sleepless nights and the high turnover.
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Permalink Reply by Greg Hollingsworth on
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I have to say, that in all honesty, moving into marketing ended my sleepless nights. I hated sales so much that I would lay awake trying to figure out what the hell I was gonna do to survive (with one kid and another on the way). Moving to marketing ended that.
As for the high turnover, well, we are mostly ambitious, creative people. Once we solve the problem, we need the next one to move on to, if it isn't there, then we go in search of it. I don't think it's overly surprising that there are a lot of gypsies in this business.
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Permalink Reply by Lane Casteix on
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You sure don't want to use me as an example!
Lane
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Permalink Reply by Angela Natividad on
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You're PRIME, Lane. You got exactly what you wanted! Revel in your victimhood by my tyrannous pen.
*maniacal laugh, vigorous palm-rubbing*
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Permalink Reply by Lane Casteix on
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GULP!!!
Lane
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Permalink Reply by Steve McNamara on -
Hi Angela:
The ad biz has taken me all over the world, from NYC to Jakarta Indonesia. Along the way, the friendly folks at JWT, BBDO and a few other agencies have been generous enough to pay me for creating ideas. It’s been a good gig.
I have some advice for students interested in the creative side of the biz.
- Learn a foreign language. Preferably Chinese, Indonesian, or Spanish.
- Get into a first class University or, preferably, one of the finishing schools such as Art Center in Pasadena or the Miami Ad School.
- Read a couple of books. Figure out the three or four most influential ideas of modern advertising - the Big Ideas of our business.
- Think international.
That’s it. Unless I can plug AdCracker.com.
Your friend, Steve.
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Permalink Reply by Buddy 'Friendly' Wachenheimer on
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I know, how about this reason. . . there is NO good reason to go into advertising.
(Or, would you prefer that I lie or bullshit you, instead of being unbelievably honest?)
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