Media Planning and Buying
Media specialists plan the most effective and economic way of bringing the advertising concept to the target audience. They are very creative people who do their best in searching for fresh and stimulating media opportunities for revealing their advertising message. They also need to haggle the best time slots, spaces and prices for advertising in various media. They are dealing with newspapers, magazines and television companies daily to accomplish the best deals.
The Creative Department
A creative team usually consists of a copywriter and art director working together as a pair, and guided by the creative director, who is responsible for the agency’s creative output. The creative team comes up with advertising ideas and concepts, using a creative brief provided by the account team. The client must approve of the idea first, before the creative team goes ahead with it to its final completion.
The Production Department
At the approval of a creative concept, it’s the job of the production department turn the idea into reality in the format required, and they work closely with the art director to produce the correct interpretation intended. The production manager often needs to use outside help, such as TV production companies and poster print specialists, so it’s important they find the right people needed at the right cost. Sometimes the clients have a list of approved suppliers they’d like to work with, so this must be taken into account by the production team. Working in this department is very high pressure, as various deadlines need to be met and everybody must be working up to speed in order to avoid delays and inconveniences.
Roles within the Advertising Agency
- Managing Director
- Copy Writer
- Art Director
- Creative Director
- Creative Group Head
- Creative Consultant
- Graphic Designer
- Production Manager
- Studio and Production Executive
- Chief Accountant
- Account Manager
- Account Executive
- Account Director
- Accountant
- Proof Reader
- Finalizer
- Public Relations Officer
- Personal Assistant
- Receptionist
- Trainee
- Office boy
Various media used for advertising
- Posters
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Television
- Cinema
- Radio
- Direct mail
- Online
- Ambient media
Mock Creative Brief for Oxford Notebooks
DATE: May 2007 JOB NUMBER: 34576645
CLIENT: Oxford Notebooks PROJECT: Oxford Notebooks - The Wind
ACCOUNT MANAGER: Joe Bloggs
PRODUCTION BUDGET:
JOB DESCRIPTION: A standard length TV ad
DEADLINES: June 2007
Background:
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What is required? To advertise Oxford’s new range of notebooks in an imaginative way.
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What is the business objective? To sell Oxford’s new range of notebooks.
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What is the communication objective? Letting prospective consumers know how useful the notebooks are in writing down their thoughts and feelings, much like a diary.
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What is the USP? “With crisp, white, optic paper, so you can write on both sides of the page.”
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What is the support of this USP? Oxford notebooks have good quality paper.
- What are the product/service/offer attributes?
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Who is the target audience? Young people, mainly between the ages of 14 and 22.
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What do they currently think and feel? Going through typical hardships of youth and teenage angst, as they transition into adult life and experience new mature experiences and feelings.
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What would we prefer they think, feel and do? To channel all this energy into writing in a good quality notebook, and treasure their memories, both good and bad, for many years to come.
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How do we bridge the gap? Letting the target audience know exactly how the company’s products can relate to them.
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What is the tone of the communication? Suitable language for the young people (target audience) that they can understand and engage in.
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Describe the competitive environment? Companies with popular notebooks at the moment are Laura Ashley, Cath Kidston, etc. They all rely on garish cover designs, whilst Oxford Notebooks has more to offer, in a different way.
- How will the communication be measured?
- Mandatories:
Where could I fit into the Advertising Industry?I am a creative person, and I am very interested in many various aspects of the arts, my strengths being in writing and fine art, as well as some computer graphic design. The roles in an advertising agency that would most appeal to me are copywriter, art director and graphic designer.
