Advertising, Marketing & PR

Advertising

Marketing
Public Relations

Advertising
Event Organising

There are a number of roles on offer within the Advertising industry. With positions for creatives, copy writers and account mangers, media planners and photographers.

Account managers are responsible for handling client accounts and overseeing and co-ordinating activities and campaigns. They take a project right the way from a brief through the planning and creative processes to bring the campaign in on time and in budget.

As a media planner you could be responsible for researching the market and planning the best places to advertise and a schedule to advertise to.

Advertising agencies employ very few staff as the nature of the business can be heavily affected by the economy which means the use of freelancers is common for roles such as Mac art workers, photography and copywriting.

Developments in technology are leading to a greater variety of advertising media, including advertising in print, on the web, at events, use of outdoor advertising, television and now, 3-D adverts.

While Advertising is a sector in its own right, it's also very closely linked to Marketing, which takes on a broader and more varied role in promoting or selling a company and its image.

Jobs in this sector are scarce and competition high so employers will be looking for graduates who have a proven interest in the market. A work placement or volunteering with you Student Union's marketing and promotions team are good ways to get some hands on experience. Student Brand Managers are now being employed by many large companies such as The Guardian and Jack Daniels to promote their products on campus and can be a great way to get a taste of the industry.

Industry knowledge is essential and if you want to work in advertising you need to take an interest in campaigns in the media and it's a good idea to subscribe to a trade publication such as The Drum, for industry news outside of London, or popular industry weekly's Marketing, Design Week or Campaign.

In the region most advertising agencies are small but larger firms such as Brahm and Poulters can be found in Leeds and Sheffield's direct marketing agency Dig for Fire has forged a name for itself in the city.

Graduate jobs are rarely advertised but keeping an eye on the Media Guardian is a good place to start as well as making sure you are signed up to receive Jobs By Email from our site so you don't miss out on that perfect role. Sending a CV along with a good covering letter to agencies in the region can also be a good way to gain your first position.

Working within Advertising sales is another route you could follow in to the industry. Local lifestyle and business magazines and local newspapers are a good source of these jobs. Look out for the free magazines distributed by bars and restaurants for an example of the lifestyle magazines available. There are others which target a certain postcode within a city too and are sent out free to the corresponding addresses.

The Sheffield Star and Yorkshire Evening Post feature in the Top 20 Regional Dailies list in terms of circulation numbers and could be a good place to start as well as the Regional Magazine Company and opportunities also exist with local commercial radio such as Leeds based Galaxy FM or South Yorkshire's Hallam FM.

Useful links:

Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA)

Provides the facility to do a regional search of the agencies registered with them. The IPA Graduate Factfile is a directory which contains details of vacancies throughout the year. New users will need to register with the site.

Creative & Cultural Skills

Creative & Cultural Skills is the Sector Skills Council for various sectors including advertising. They are an industry-led, campaigning organisation operating across the United Kingdom.

Advertising Association (AA)

The Advertising Association is a federation of trade bodies representing advertising and promotional marketing industries including, agencies, media and support services.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

The ASA is the independent, self-regulatory body for non-broadcast advertisements in the UK. They administer the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion to ensure that ads are legal, decent, honest and truthful.

Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA)

ISBA is the body representing the interests of British advertisers in all areas of commercial communications, including TV advertising, radio, press, outdoor, new media, direct marketing, sponsorship and sales promotion.

Leeds Media

Offers the facility to search for Leeds-based companies offering media and communication services including advertising.