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Jobs in advertising/marketing?

cerveloguy

Oct 30, 09 13:41

Post #1 of 9 (210 views)

Jobs in advertising/marketing?	Can't Post

Not for me but for my son. The thread "I love Marketing" got me thinking about it. My son did a 12 month film production course right out of high school at the Vancouver Film School. The reason for this is because he's been making movies and winning youth film awards all through high school. He has a lot of talent in this area. But at 19 yrs old he realized that he just can't go to Hollywood and tell Spielberg that he's arrived, so he wisely decided to continue his education. He's now in a three year Advertising and Marketing Communications community college program that is supposedly the best community college course of this type in Canada. He can also transfer to a university after graduation for a fourth year to get a B.A. in Communications. With this and his film experience he hopes to work in the advertising/marketing field, particularly in the area of film.

It sounds like a good plan but I know absolutely less than zippo about this area, so am wondering what this field is like. Are their good jobs out there? Anybody work in advertising/marketing? Your feedback would be appreciated.

Fleck

Oct 30, 09 15:51

Post #2 of 9 (194 views)

Re: Jobs in advertising/marketing? [cerveloguy] [In reply to]	Can't Post

It sounds like a good plan but I know absolutely less than zippo about this area, so am wondering what this field is like. Are their good jobs out there? Anybody work in advertising/marketing? Your feedback would be appreciated.

Right now, I would say it's a tough time in the advertisng and marketing buisness. I have heard of many lay-offs at the agency level. Understandable given the tough times that some companies who normally do a lot of advertising are facing - Car Companies, banks, insurance companies, other financial services companies etc . .

There is a friend of mine who is sometimes on here(LR) but is on the main forrum mostly. He has worked in Advertising and Marketing his whole life and could give a better perspective His username - mfreeman72

Seek him out.

Steve Fleck
http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com
http://stevefleck.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/stevefleck

tigerchik

Oct 30, 09 15:58

Post #3 of 9 (190 views)

Re: Jobs in advertising/marketing? [Fleck] [In reply to]	Can't Post

did you see the thread in here about "do any of you wait staff know these?" right up your alley I think. Fun article.
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atl_tony

Oct 30, 09 16:04

Post #4 of 9 (186 views)

Re: Jobs in advertising/marketing? [tigerchik] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Traditional agency or interactive? I have done both...interactive definitely has more jobs now.
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Gator1736

Oct 30, 09 19:45

Post #5 of 9 (167 views)

Re: Jobs in advertising/marketing? [cerveloguy] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm a creative director at an agency in chicago, and as the previous poster said, things aren't great. Also, it sounds like your son may be a bit more interested in working at a production studio or post-shop rather than an agency. Someplace like this: optimus.com.

If he is interested in working at an agency, it sounds like he'd probably want to work in the creative department as a copywriter or art director. He'd need to put a portfolio together. He may want to look into a place like this: http://www.portfoliocenter.com/ or http://www.miamiadschool.com/.

Hope that helps.

cerveloguy

Oct 30, 09 21:10

Post #6 of 9 (156 views)

Re: Jobs in advertising/marketing? [Gator1736] [In reply to]	Can't Post

He's got a few years in front of him before graduation so economic conditions could be completely different. He's even mentioned as an alternative becoming a high school visual arts teacher, which might be the best gig with those summers off. Or he could even still go into the film industry. His choice, not mine. I was just curious about the advertising/marketing industry. Thanks for the replies.

scb

Oct 30, 09 21:31

Post #7 of 9 (151 views)

Re: Jobs in advertising/marketing? [cerveloguy] [In reply to]	Can't Post

My entire career has been in marketing, both agency and client side (corporate). The early years can mean lean pay (relatively speaking of course) but the career progression can be quick if you are worth your salt. Pay is solid once you get some experience but marketing folks are generally at the front of the line when things start going south in the economy.

mfreeman72

Nov 1, 09 19:50

Post #8 of 9 (125 views)

Re: Jobs in advertising/marketing? [cerveloguy] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks Fleck, I'll try to weigh in on this.

Your son will have to ask himself (likely after his program is done), does he want to make films/commercials? Market films? Work in an ad agency?

If he's into making the commercials (ie, directing), he'd be best to focus getting a job at at a production house/with a production company after graduation. It's a tough slog, you start at the bottom as a P.A. and slowly work your way up. The early years suck -- weird hours (super early or late), low pay, dictatorial Assistant Directors and an inconsistant schedule. But you slowly gain responsibility, and rise up the ladder. Right now is slow; while the Canadian economy is healthier than the US, it's still moving at a glacial pace. Marketing budgets are down, therefore production budgets are done = sucks for the production houses.

If he wants to market movies, well, the marketing departments of the big studios are weird places. I had a friend go though a major one, and get royally f@cked -- worked her ass off for years for a woman, and when the woman was promoted and sent to LA, not only did she not bring my friend along (which she had inferred she'd do) but didn't do much to help her out in her old job. I know, N=1, but I think it's endemic of studio marketing departments.

If your son wants to work at an agency, there are no in-house directors at ad agencies (at least in Canada). He could end up being a producer, which means taking a sold creative concept from a creative team, and quoting it out to various productions houses to cunningly find ways to make the budget work. He'd then work with the chosen production house to get the concept made. It's not a very creative job, it's more of a logistics kind of thing. Lots of travel, lots of numbers-juggling, lot of hostage negotiation (try sitting in an Avid studio and telling the client oops, looks like we're going to be $125,000 over on a $450,000 job). And the agency world in Canada is moving away from having full-time in-house producers to simply bringing in producers on contract.

Happy to discuss with you or your son, feel free to PM me.
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(This post was edited by mfreeman72 on Nov 2, 09 8:50)

austin79

Nov 1, 09 23:32

Post #9 of 9 (110 views)

Re: Jobs in advertising/marketing? [cerveloguy] [In reply to]	Can't Post

mfreeman and gator both had great things to say. there is definitely room in the industry for more good people, but not a whole lot right now. i've been in the agency world for 7 years - both large and small. advertising in general is brutal, constantly in flux and thrives on youth and caffeine. agencies are all cutting back right now, so anyone entering that world can expect to work their butts off and wear multiple hats. what used to be our 'broadcast production' team is now an 'integrated production' team and producers are expected to be competent with broadcast, print and digital content.

it sounds like what you're son would be on a path towards is being a producer. there are a lot of logistics involved and mfreeman did a great job summing up the job description.

agency life can be really stifling for someone that is truly, uncompromisingly creative. it can also be really exciting if you have great clients and a smart team of coworkers.

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