Why you want a job in advertising

If you’ve ever watched an advertisement on TV or online, or heard a radio advert and thought to yourself “That made absolutely no sense. I could totally do a better job.” Then let’s introduce you to the world of advertising and why you’d want to work in it. It’s quite the task to produce an advertisement. It goes way beyond creating copy and a catchy jingle. You have to research your target audience and stay true to the client’s brand and reputation. But, being a creative industry, it really is an exciting job.  

Experience

If you like the idea of advertising but aren’t sure if it's the industry for you, then do your best to get some entry level experience at an advertising agency and see exactly what it’s all about and entails. There are various advertising and marketing intern, assistant, or, if you’re already in it and looking for a change, permanent positions in and around Cape Town available. Yes, your marketing courses will definitely help you in this field because advertising is, essentially, marketing communication. Graphic design and communications are also necessary departments in advertising and even starting out in sales or PR can help you out. There are so many ways for you to get a foot in the door of the advertising world, all you need to do is search for it.

Experience in advertising, any and all experience, is going to give you a very good idea on whether you see yourself pursuing a career in it or not. And quickly. This experience is also something that will look amazing on your CV when applying for almost any job because it shows creativity, understanding of the market, monitoring competitors and the ability to innovate.

Reach

Being able to reach a local, national and eventually even an international audience, is such a reward for working in advertising. If you think about online advertising, that’s international by default, even if it features on a national publication – the whole world is online. If you’ve ever wanted the world to know your name and know what you can do, then advertising is where you want to be.

How great must it feel to be walking down the street and pass people singing your jingle that stays in one's head for days? Or hear them using your slogan in general conversation? Must feel pretty amazing to know that there is real traction on your advertisement and it’s getting the intended reach to all the right audiences.

Networking

Networking is the reason you should get a job in any part of the creative industry because networks lead to collaborations. When you start out in your internship or assistant positions, make an effort to walk around the company and familiarise yourself with everyone who works permanently in the office and even those that come and go for contract work. The more people you know and, more importantly, who know you, the easier it’s going to be to climb the ladder and get the position you want. Networks provide support and can vouch for your ideas when you need them to. That’s a valuable asset in any business.

When it comes to collaboration, that’s a great way to create new and fresh approaches to a situation. Working together with a team of minds that don’t work together 24/7 leads to natural brainstorming and inventive ideas on tackling an advertisement task. Even just collaborating within different departments every now and then will spark a fresh take on the same story.

Innovation

Every industry has their challenges, even more so with the rate that technology and trends are advancing. There’s no doubt that there will always be challenges in advertising. With the Internet becoming the main channel of all communications, some traditional platforms are almost seen as irrelevant. But, the challenges are what lead to innovation, and that is something you can rely on in advertising.

Coming up with a new creative way to approach and promote a client in every campaign is challenging but innovative work. It’s the successes that rise from innovation that make it all worth it and, even when it doesn’t work out, you would have learned from the experience.

You want a job in advertising because of the experience, reach, networking and innovation, in case that wasn’t clear. The creative industry is a vast and interactive one that is always open to new ideas. Bring your thinking cap from day one and prepare to never take it off – except on weekends and public holidays.