Advertising Agencies and copywriting

[fashionlives]

hello

this is a great thread!

i am thinking about going into advertising course or graphics. ive done many research however, still can't seperate these two precisely. I'm hoping someone can clarify.

i would like to come up with themes, and poses, writing , all for fashion editorials....is this an opportunity if i study advertising?
i am confused, is it the photographer, stylist, who comes up with the concept?

if i get an advertising degree, what opportunities is there that is fashion related?

i read someone posted about copywriters coming up with the concept. i thought copywriters just write?

thanks everyone for your contribution to this thread! =)

 

[fashionlives]

Advertising Degree >> ad agencies / freelancing / working for companies

i am wondering, is these three the choices that you have when you do a degree in advertising?

and which is the most preferable choice?

thankyou for your advice

 

[susie_bubble]

^I think I've said in a thread before that studying for advertising doesn't necessarily make you more of a favourable candidate to work in an ad agency. I guess it depends where you live but in the UK, most people who go into advertising won't have studied it before. Vocational courses in the UK don't really prepare you all that well for the advertising world and agencies tend to look for a special quality rather than vocational qualifications.

What area of advertising are you looking to get into? The creative art direction/copy writing aspect? Or the account management/planning side?

 

[fashionlives]

thanks susie bubble, what kind of qualities ?

i am not too sure what seperates creative art direction to copy writing, and planning? i'll love it if you would try to explain it too me. i've researched it a number of times, but i just can't put my finger on it

 

[acheath14]

A brief breakdown-

Art/Creative Director usually work with the creative teams to produce the ad material- anyone from graphic design teams to photographers, etc.

Copy writing designs the message: a phrase- something that either inspires the campaign and creates the concepts or something that strengthens the strategy of the campaign.

Account management/planning: Coordinates and manages the project timeline and communicates between the clients and the creative teams. They help to strategically develop the concept: communicate what the clients want to the art director/creative teams- the creatives then make it a reality....

Feel free to ask me some more questions! I hope that clarifies a bit-

 

[fashionlives]

that's for offering... =)

with copy writing, is that for example: setting a theme for the editorial: eg: alice in wonderland themE? and could you give me an example of the process from start to end, of what the project for copy writers will be?

are advertising graduates freelancers, hired on long term contact by companies or agencies (i'm not sure how it works, like are these the 3 choices , of employment)

 

[softgrey]

copy=words

copy writers write the copy...
it's that simple...
they write the words...


editorials are not done at ad agencies...
and editorial is a FASHION story done by/for a magazine...

have to move this to careers and education i guess...

 

[kimair]

fashionlives...
do you want to specifically work in fashion advertising?

that is a harder niche to get into, and it helps if you work at an agency that does mostly (or only) that...

AR Media, Baron & Baron, etc. are some examples...
you may want to look into getting an internship at a place like that...

i worked at a traditional ad agency that worked on more mainstream accounts (foods, technology, etc.), and we had full-time art directors/copywriters and freelancers that we brought in for specific projects...

 

[silvi]

What area are you specifically interested in? 'Advertising' covers so many things. I for example am a graphic designer so, as someone pointed out, it's our job to breathe life into the art directors ideas, the copywriters create the overall concept via the copy, obviously. So many areas, so many possibilities.

As Susie says, personality counts for lots regardless of where you are, as pitching ideas in a hugely competative market requires a massive amount of confidence and charisma. Ultimately you've got to stand out against a zillion other candidates! But it's one of the best industries to be in, in my opinion!

I'm going to study commercial communication, it's a 3years course. It was the creativest course I actually found that combines with languages. I have no idea what I want to be later, I just want to wake up and be happy I'm going to work. My personality is that I have creative thoughts and I'm a perfectionist...so my teachers said.... And I really want to travel a lot for my work, is that realistic? When I was little I always want to be a stewardess because I travelled a lot with my parents .... I just want to see the world and combine with my work...

 

[republicofstyle]

I'm in my final year of HS at the moment, and am considering a Bachelor of Arts (communication- advertising)/bachelor of business (marketing) combined degree at charles sturt university in Bathurst, Australia.

Have you guys heard of this uni before? It's supposedly won 3 interad international comps before and I want to know how this uni stands in USA and UK esp (or if you've heard of it before), since I want to work overseas after my degree.

It's just not well known locally-

 

[sincere]

Anyone into writing advertisements?

Cant recall if i saw anyone here who was doing it.

 

[delerith]

Cant recall if i saw anyone here who was doing it.

I'm doing it from time to time but I'm only a beginner

 

[FashionMaganista]

Does any one know some really good fashion/entertainment/beauty focused advertising agencies in London?

im moving there this september to study at Central Saint Martins (BA Graphic Design.. adv. pathway) and I would like to have a good choice of internships lined up :]

thank you!

*edit*

also.. aside from agencies does anyone know what fashion houses does their advertising in-house?

thanks loves!

 

[FashionMaganista]

A brief breakdown-

Art/Creative Director usually work with the creative teams to produce the ad material- anyone from graphic design teams to photographers, etc.

Copy writing designs the message: a phrase- something that either inspires the campaign and creates the concepts or something that strengthens the strategy of the campaign.

Account management/planning: Coordinates and manages the project timeline and communicates between the clients and the creative teams. They help to strategically develop the concept: communicate what the clients want to the art director/creative teams- the creatives then make it a reality....

Feel free to ask me some more questions! I hope that clarifies a bit-

is it possible to do both Account Managment/Creative Directing... im a graphic design major right now... but I love talking.. im quite the persuasive talk/seller so i know im be good at both :]

 

[KhaoticKharma]

I need reassurance: I plan on majoring in English and minoring in Film Studies at school, and then going back to get an MBA after a few years in the working world. Directly out of undergrad, with an English/Film Studies combo (and hopefully with an internship or two under my belt), how likely will I be able to break into advertising or public relations? Our school tells us that unless you want to be a doctor/engineer/architect/lawyer, what you want to major in really doesn't matter...

 

[BetteT]

That's sort of true ... they usually just look for well educated people who can write well and work hard. English and or foreign language studies are pretty important (depending on what country you intend to work in) ... literature, compostion, writing.

The film stuff ... certainly can be related to advertising ... as in making commercials. So I would think that film studies would enrich your knowlege if you wanted to go into advertising. But most advertising firms contract film production out to freelancers. As far as I know, it's usually not done in house.

You can also study advertising and/or marketing ... which are related to each other, but marketing is more about the business end of building a brand and positioning it in the marketplace ... and deals with numbers and statistics, profit and loss. Advertising is just one part of marketing a product or brand. PR is another facet of marketing. And things like store design are too ... so Marketing is very broad in it's scope.

Internships are always a great way to gain experience in the type of business you are interested in ... and you start to make those all important connections with people who know other people ... who might be hiring. Adn they look great on your resume when you finally are looking for that entry level job in whatever field you have chosen.


We also have a thread about public relations in this forum ... so you might want to read that one too ... it's full of information about breaking into PR. It's a lot of writing too ... but much more than that ... but it's not advertising. It's writing press releases; it's also party planning, organizing, talking to the press, image building .... it's much more exciting than copywriting and advertising, IMHO. But then, you have to be a person who can work under stress, plus stay organize and can multitask to be in PR.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

Thanks for the great response, Bette (and the appreciation is only three years late!); I ended up dropping the Film Minor and just focused on English. I graduated this past May, and while I refuse to do any sort of postgrad program any sooner than Fall 2014, I've been contemplating getting a Masters Degree in Comm or Marketing. Comm seems like so much more fun, but Marketing seems far, far more useful.

How would you say the culture of advertising/marketing differs from the culture of PR? I mean in terms of work environment, and the personalities that seem to be the most successful in them? PR is growing much faster than advertising as a career (and far more glamorous), but fashion PR seems so much less merit based than advertising; PR agencies always appear to be overrun with wealthy kids whose parents could afford to pay for them to live in the city for free, dropping hundreds each dinner and coasting through FIT.

 

[BetteT]

You are welcome! Seems like you a moving towards your goal, adjusting ans needed, which is good.

I have not worked in either environment ... so I really can't answer that question about how they differ with any real knowledge, other than what I've heard.

I suspect that advertising is project driven, with deadlines and making the numbers which can be stressful. PR seems a lot looser in what you do each day ... but equally stressful. The main difference, I would say is that advertising is more structured, sort of goal oriented, work in your own cubicle a lot; whereas PR gets you communicating directly with people and putting our fires in addition to completing assigned projects. So I think it would depend on your innate personality and how you handle each type of pressure.