Who wouldn't like to watch Sachin and Sharukh in the Pepsi ad or Sunil and Salman in the Thumps up one? All those glittering and glamorous ads we watch on T.V, see magazines etc are the results of the hard work of a team of members who apply their creativity and perception to bring out the best in a product.Advertising is a career that means fun all through the day and handsome rewards for all the fun you had.

The industry has developed to a large extent over the years which led to intense competition and the work of the ad professional is a critical one. Today Advertising is not just an art and science of communication but it is a serious business of building brands.

Skills and attributes:

To be an ad professional one should have a good command over language, imagination, good communication skills, wide mental horizons and ability to perceive things, ability to meet deadlines, and he/she should be able to work under pressure.

Remuneration:

For the hard work that is put in he is well rewarded. Generally, he may get somewhere from Rs.5000 per month to Rs.14-16 lakhs per annum depending on his experience and expertise.

Options in advertising career:

Creative Team:

Though there exists two opinions regarding whether creativity is the only service an ad agency sells or not, there are no two views about the fact that creativity is most important for an ad agency. The job profile of the creative team is more attractive, challenging and demanding and no doubt a most rewarding one than any other field.

A creative team has two primary functions.First is copywriting where the caption, copy matterand other text based components are framed by a copywriter. He uses his creativity and works on the requirement of the client. He is responsible for making the ad look attractive and delivering the message to the point.

The art director supplements the work of a copy writer with his visuals and graphical components. A perfect combination of both creative and art directors make the ad appealing. "This is a team work and usually the concept level creativity emerges more from the team than from any individual. So as to ensure better cohesiveness among the team members we usually let the same team work together" clarifies the Creative director of a leading agency who also adds that "both the copy writer as well as the art director have the chance to elevate themselves to the level of a Creative Director to whom both the copy writer as well as the art department would report."

Eligibility (copy writer):

To be a copywriter one has to have good command over the language.No formal qualification is expected. A copywriter can start his career right from a junior writer and grow to be a creative director passing through the levels of senior copywriter, copy group head and creative group head.

Eligibility (art Director):

One has to have an art background and graduation in art from a well reputed college. A person joins as junior visualizer and then steps into the level of senior visualiser and then art director and finally a creative director. Moreover, there is always an option of being a freelancer to few ad agencies and simultaneously working in an agency itself.

Client Servicing:

The key function of this department is to win clients or 'accounts' as and when time demands and to service the agency's clients on a day to day basis. They act as mediators between the other departments within the agency and the client. Their work involves thorough understanding of the client's requirements and his product and guiding the agency to provide what the brand needs. After studying the clients requirements they prepare a gist of what is needed usually termed as 'brief' which influences the success of the ad.

Eligibility:

A postgraduate degree in management has more or less become the norm and for heavily technology oriented products and brands, a graduation in that stream would come handy. The hierarchy moves from junior accounts executive to that of accounts director.

Media Planning:

The role of a media planner has widened with the wide exposure of channels, newspapers and Internet portals. His job profile is to study numbers and make estimates so that a statistical background would come handy.

Eligibility:

A Master's degree in media planning offered by MICA and usually an MBA is also recommended.

Opinion:

With the clients budget being what it is, a media planner can make or break a brand. "However creative the ad be, there is no point if the ad does not reach the specified target audience at the right frequency and time. Thus a media planner makes significant contribution to the result of the ad" argues a media-planning manager.

Production:

Execution of the ideas of the creative team is the main task of the production department. They would have to co-ordinate with the printers, commercial production houses, pre-press houses etc.

An understanding of the technological developments in printing and pre press video audio technology is a sure prerequisites. Any misfunction in this department may erode the entire hard work done by different other departments.

Work environment

An ad professional need not necessarily work in the agency; he may be employed in a clients office. "Advertising is only a portion of what would get the results for any brand thus it would be meaningless if there is no synergy between the advertising efforts and the other marketing efforts. At the clients end, a brand manager in addition to being involved in the advertisements also has to co-ordinate the other marketing efforts to get best results," says Mr.Suganth Ponnaiya Brand Manager G.M Pens International Ltd.,

A person usually joins as a product executive and later graduates as a Brand Manager. An M.B.A with specialization in marketing is a requirement and one or two years of sales experience is preferred. There is always an opportunity to shift from the clients office to an advertising agency in the early stages of ones career. The remuneration, growth prospects, life style, pressure etc for an ad-professional at the client office would be at par with that of an agency.

Courses Offered:

Specialized courses in advertising:

Many Institutions offer specialized postgraduate courses in advertising. To be eligible to join these courses, you should be a graduate with keen interest and skills in advertising. The time of application and short listing varies across institutes, Usually the applications are issued from January to around June. Some of the premier institutes that offer postgraduate courses in advertising are:

• Mudra Institute of Communication (MICA) Ahmedabad
• Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi
• Bhavans College of Communication and Management at Calcutta, Delhi, Mumbai, Cochin, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kakinada, Vizag and Nagpur.
• Institute of Mass Communication, Manipal
• Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.
• PSG College of Arts and Sciences, Coimbatore.
• Master of Communication Studies, Pune.
• Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai.
• Advertising Club, Chennai, Bangalore

M.B.A from any leading institute would also help.

Courses for students who wish to join the art Department:

Graduate courses are offered in the area of arts. XII std is the basic requirement. In order to put the artistic skills under test, some institutions follow a 3-day aptitude test. The first 2 days will be test pertaining to portrait and Full figure where as the 3rd day will be in the area of specialization opted. Most institutions start their admission procedure in the month of March or later only. Premier institutions that offer degrees in commercial art, which help in joining the art department are as follows:

• JJ School of Art Mumbai
• Government college of Arts and Crafts (across many cities in the country)
• College of Art, New Delhi
• College of Art, Chandigarh