Getting it Right: The-Not-Always-So-Glamorous World of Advertising

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m not perfect. I made a horticultural error in my first novel, which a reviewer and gardening enthusiast was kind enough to point out to me privately. Now I’m extra-careful about getting it right. And we want to help you get it right.

So let’s talk about the wonderful world of ad agencies.

I was seduced into the advertising business by certain popular entertainment that shall remain nameless. It sounded like the career would be creative, fun, glamorous, and judging by the lifestyles of those in that popular entertainment, extremely lucrative.

As Humphrey Bogart says in Casablanca, I was misinformed.

That’s why it particularly bugs me to read stories featuring twentysomethings in advertising who have their own offices, assistants, and beautifully decorated Manhattan lofts. So for the record and in the interest of getting it right, here’s how it really works. For the purposes of this article, I’m focusing on the average, big-city, full-service ad agency. And, as always, your actual mileage may vary.

In general, the average entry-to-mid-level ad agency employee of today doesn’t make a ton of money. This industry has been hit hard by mergers and acquisition. With all that consolidation plus outsourcing, whole departments have been disbanded, and those left behind are often doing the work of two or three of their former coworkers. If you live in a big city, expect to share an apartment unless you have wealthy relatives or three other jobs. Expect to save a few bucks on food by surfing the leftovers after bigwigs have come in for meetings, and a few bucks on clothing by raiding the swag closet after the promotion department goes home.

Sales: Incoming work generally starts here, with the sales staff, usually headed by account executives. The days of Mad Men have been over for a long time, though. It is highly unlikely that you will be having three-martini lunches or supplying prospective clients with adult entertainment. Things are more on the up-and-up now (wink) and expense accounts are much smaller. But seriously, as an underling, making your account exec look good can score you perks like great seats at sporting events or invites to swanky client dinners. You will spend a lot of time on the phone, though. You will spend a lot of time in meetings looking at spreadsheets and stuff. You will spend a lot of time trying to get out of meetings so you can get your work done.

After the account executive brings in the work, it goes to what is generally called “creative.”

The Creative Director. This overworked soul often sits in meetings with the client and a representative from the agency’s sales team. He or she often wrangles a compromise involving what the client actually wants, what the client thinks he wants, and what the account executive has promised the client. Depending on what is needed, the Creative Director will then call in copywriters, art directors, or both. The CD tends to drink a lot of coffee, and the guys in production have a pool predicting when he or she will snap.

The Art Department: No more drafting tables; no more pencil sketching unless bar napkins are involved. Everyone has a computer. Almost everyone knows Photoshop and Illustrator. If you’re at the client presentation, you’re probably the art director. Staff artists stay behind, raiding the swag closet, designing their new tattoos, and waiting for the art director to bring back changes. Very often, art directors need to call in freelancers because half the staff has been laid off. Freelancers are useful because you don’t have to pay them benefits. Or remember their names.

The Copywriting Department: If you’re new, don’t expect to jump right into campaign concepts, catchy jingles, or tag lines. You will most likely be asked to flesh out other peoples’ ideas or “repurpose” a campaign into a promotional mailing, website landing page, or something equally unsexy but useful. You will probably work a lot of overtime, eat a lot of bad takeout, and fetch a lot of coffee. Freelancers abound here, too. Generally, copywriting is one of the few technical skills that is not outsourced to other countries. Agencies are sensitive to the clients’ need to have their message clearly understood. So they’re more likely to hire local, or at least in-country, writers.

Other departments that generally complain that they get no respect because they are not creative or sales

Media: With input from other departments and based on the clients’ needs and budget, they choose where the advertising and promotions will be placed. They reserve ad space, in print and online. They buy commercial time on television, usually by geographical region. With the growth of the Internet and social media, there’s a lot more crossover of responsibilities here. Make friends with them. They get the good swag.

Production: If an ad agency were a human body, the production department would be the tendons. Not very exciting, but just see what happens when you don’t have them. Words and pictures and ideas are great, but if the photographer isn’t hired and the schedule isn’t kept on track, they are worthless. If you like industry gossip, cozy up to these guys. They know everything.

Research: No client in his or her right mind is going to drop millions on designing a new logo or booking media time without knowing which eyeballs are paying attention to what. That’s where research comes in. Underlings can expect to gather a lot of demographic data via the interwebs. Meet your new friends, Google and Bing. Loosen up those typing fingers, too, because unless your agency is outsourcing to Bangladesh [no offense intended to the hardworking Bangladeshi], you will be transcribing a ton of focus group recordings. If you are an aspiring author, this is the place to be. Forget the copywriters with the half-finished novels in their bottom drawers. You, the research monkey, get to eavesdrop on dialogue and mine Wikipedia articles for story ideas.

Is there anything you’d like to get right? Let us know.

Author: Laurie Boris

Laurie Boris is a freelance writer, editor, proofreader, and former graphic designer. She has been writing fiction for over twenty-five years and is the award-winning author of four novels. She lives in New York’s lovely Hudson Valley. Learn more about Laurie at her website and her Amazon author page. View all posts by Laurie Boris