Everything you need to know about a career in advertising
Insights from an Apple Marketing Manager
We were lucky enough to recently catch up with Apple (Singapore) Marketing Manager and a University of Birmingham Alumni, Rebecca Levy, who shared some great insights into her career journey in advertising, what it involves, and how you can get your foot in the door. Keep reading to find out more….
I hesitate to call this a guide, as the journey into advertising is different for everyone. There are those who are lucky enough to land a place on the grad schemes of London’s top agencies. There are those who break their way in after having another job in the surrounding industries. And there are those, like me, who managed to get work experience and never left.
People’s paths are all different, but hopefully this article will give you some confidence as you set out on your own journey to break into what is a small, competitive but exciting industry.
What is advertising?
This is a really great question in this day and age, as the industry continues to evolve with each twist & turn of the economy and technology.
However, it is important to know that (in principle) Advertising is just one part of Marketing, focused specifically on communications. This could involve more obvious forms, such as TV ads, billboards or magazine ads. But also, those flyers through your front door, that sponsored post from your favourite influencer, the free can of energy drink handed to you on the street, the tiny banners that follow you around with those shoes you looked at once… the list goes on.
There are many different agencies, focusing on different parts and combinations of the communications process. You may find yourself in a ‘below the line’ agency handling a bank’s email database, or a media agency optimizing a brand’s search presence, or, like me, you may end up working at a creative agency — managing brands’ communications across multiple platforms and strategically guiding their brand’s identity overtime.
Creative agencies are the closest to what you would traditionally refer to as ‘advertising’ and tend to set the tone for the whole brand, hence impacting the work of any specialist agencies a client might have.
Know your place, and then forget it
The first step on your journey is to know what you think you want to do. There are many different roles in advertising, each with their own specific skillset and path in.
For example, you might be fascinated by the process of shooting or editing ads and want to explore being a producer. Or you find yourself interested in the strategy behind the campaign and want to become a planner. Or you love the creative idea at the core of an ad and want to be able to create your own concepts as a creative. You might be a social wizard and want to become a content strategist. Or, let’s be honest, you might not be sure what you are interested in yet but you’re organized as hell and want to oversee everything, leading you into Account Management.
Whatever it is that interests you most, read up on it and work out the best route to get there.
For creatives, you need to do a further specialised course, find a creative partner (either art director or copywriter) and build a portfolio of work together. For strategists, grad schemes are normally your best path into the department. For production, you might work as a runner at a production company first, then work your way across. For account management, work experience is normally your best route, as well as grad schemes.
Some routes are harder than others, so be open to starting in a different role and moving across. If it means working as a PA or receptionist for the first year, so be it.
They are great roles that will give you visibility internally and experience that you can use as a base to transfer into a different department. In my career, I have known many people who have moved between accounts, planning, production, and support staff. Even the odd few who moved from Account Management to Creative (although this is pretty rare).
Account management is a great place to start if you don’t have a specialist focus yet and allows for dramatic growth from entry-level to senior and provides a strong grasp of how the whole agency and your client’s business works.
Personally, I came into Account Management with an English degree and then stayed there as my interests changed over time and the role allowed me to embrace all of them.
Get a foot, or even just your little toe, in the door
The next step is to get in the door. A daunting task when you have no prior experience and entry level jobs are limited, often given to people that are already connected in some way to the agency. So the best thing is to break in, bit by bit.
The obvious first stop is the grad schemes, but some years there is no intake at all and when there is, competition is fierce. I think I applied for seven of them, and didn’t even get a single interview — so the next stop might be work experience.
If, like me, you couldn’t answer the seemingly innocuous question ‘what song best represents you’, the next stop might be work experience. Big agencies offer one to two-week work experience placements throughout the year or summer internship placements that you can do during your degree. This is the route I went down, managing to get a week’s work experience at Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH for short) which I turned into two, then three weeks, by finding a task that I could help with — mashing celebrities faces together for a J2O (a soft drink popular in the 00’s) pub quiz, of all things.
Now, the honest truth is that someone I knew at BBH put me in touch with the work experience coordinator and many of the interns I’ve had over the years were people who personally reached out to the agency via LinkedIn.
This is the biggest thing that I want to impress on you, if you have a connection or can find a way to make one, then please don’t be afraid to do it. Get on LinkedIn, find the person in charge of a department or resourcing and message them directly with your CV, even if there is no job available. The worst they can say is no.
The other thing to remember is that the big famous agencies aren’t the be all and end all. There are numerous startups, smaller offices and niche agencies. If you’re aiming for a big agency, you can get there over time through a small agency with enough tenacity. Build your skill set up first, make yourself as valuable as possible and move over. The first place you work does not have to define your whole career.
Walk in stupid and work it out
Agencies always have their own matras and sayings, but one that has stuck with me was “walk in stupid every morning” from Wieden Kennedy. The principle being, great creative work only comes from an open mind and one that is willing to learn and to listen.
This could not be truer than the day you arrive and it’s best to be aware of it. The harsh reality is that often work experience or interns are more of a burden than a help to the overworked teams they are put into. So what do you do in that situation?
Being proactive, inquisitive and helpful are your greatest strengths. Don’t wait to be told what to do, ask if you can help or, even better, if you can see what could help, do it and then share it. If you are given a task, complete it to the best of your ability and share it as soon as you are able.
Always take feedback positively and build on your work with it. And don’t be afraid to ask questions to help you get to the right answer. Sometimes the most obvious questions need to be asked to get to the best result.
Hard workers that adapt and learn quickly are always valued, no matter the department. Showing that you are capable, or at least keen, is the best way to work your way in. It can be a slow burn, but it will pay off. After 3 weeks of mashing faces together on work experience, I was then asked to help on a pitch for 2 weeks as a temporary Assistant Account Exec. I only became a permanent employee some months later, when a role became available.
Is it worth it?
In summation so far, advertising is hard to get into and demanding when you are in it. It would also be negligent of me not to say that, salary is relatively low to start with (it gets better, so hang in there) and the working hours can be long, even brutal (I have worked a number of 24+ hour stints in my career). So you might be asking yourself why go through it all?
In my experience, there are few careers in the world that allow you to:
● Grow such a diverse set of skills, at such an exponential rate
● Work with such uniquely talented and intelligent people
● Gain an understanding of so many different industries and clients
● Travel and work across the world
● Learn something new every day
● Make work that will be widely seen by others and could even impact culture or lives
Some days you will feel like you are having multiple heart attacks at once, but I promise you will never be bored.
Pave your own yellow brick road
As I said in the opening, there is no ‘one’ journey for getting into Advertising. But as a small offering towards your path, here are my personal tips:
● Think really hard about the advertising that has made an impact on you. Why did you like it? Was it successful? Did you buy something off the back of it? Or do you love that brand more as a result? Can you figure out why the company invested money in it? Think about it and bring that thinking with you whenever you talk to someone.
● ALWAYS look up the work of the agency you are interviewing by or going to do work experience for. Know everything you can about the company you’re applying to work for and what you either admire or would change.
● Be proactive; whether that’s reaching out to people even when there aren’t roles available or finding work for yourself when you are in the door.
● Get yourself a copy of “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be” by Paul Arden. It’ll keep you going on your journey.
Good luck and embrace it, it’s one of the best careers in the world (or at least I think so).
If you would like some more guidance or support in starting career in advertising or finding suitable work experience, then do get in touch with Careers Network.
