An Advertising Assistant working in an agency can have many different duties and responsibilities depending on the department he or she is assigned to. Advertising Assistants may work in account services, media, research, creative areas, production, or promotion.
The main job of the individual in this position is to help people in the department perform their work while learning as much as possible about the functions of the department. In some agencies the Advertising Assistant floats from department to department learning different skills.
This usually occurs in smaller agencies where fewer assistants are hired. Generally, Advertising Assistants working in any department of the agency are responsible for doing a lot of clerical and secretarial work. This includes typing, inputting information into computers, answering phones, and filing. The assistant may make calls to obtain information on behalf of his or her supervisor. The individual also messengers memos, letters, and other materials to departments within the agency. While the job may sound like that of a glorified secretary, it must be remembered that the reason most people become Advertising Assistants is to break into the advertising business.
Duties are diversified, depending on the department in which the individual is working. For example, duties for an Advertising Assistant working in the account services department with account executives could entail any number of responsibilities. Depending on the individual’s skills and qualifications, he or she may do anything from meeting clients and bringing them into the account executive’s office to becoming involved with client proposals. This might include both writing and presentation. He or she interfaces with other departments, delivering proposals, memos, and components of advertisements. By watching the account executive the individual learns how to write proposals, prepare and give presentations, and make clients comfortable.
The assistant begins to understand how to develop advertising campaigns, how to deal with clients, and the responsibilities of other departments in the agency.
Assistants in the art department might do anything from scouring catalogs for a specific kind of type to helping develop concepts for ad designs. The individual learns how advertisements are prepared from beginning to completion. The Advertising Assistant working in the copy department may write body copy, do research, or just take care of administrative tasks for the creative director. The individual should pick up more and more techniques as time goes by, learning through watching and doing.
It is important that the Advertising Assistant be selfmotivated. The individual who does just what is asked of him or her will not make it in this business. There is a lot of competition, and agencies want the best people. The Advertising Assistant must watch for an opportunity to prove himor herself and then grab it. The Advertising Assistant is responsible to the director or coordinator of the department to which he or she has been assigned. While the individual is supposed to work normal business hours, the Advertising Assistant who comes in early and stays after hours is often the one who advances up the career ladder the most rapidly and is the most successful.
Earnings are usually rather low for Advertising Assistants working in agencies. Salaries may range from $21,000 to $28,000 or more. Variables will include qualifications and responsibilities of the individual as well as the size and location of the agency. Most agencies also offer benefit packages to augment annual earnings.
A four-year college degree is necessary for those looking for positions in agencies as Advertising Assistants. Majors may include advertising, marketing, journalism, communications, English, or liberal arts. Advertising Assistants who hope to work in the art department should have a degree in fine arts or commercial art or art training. Any seminars on advertising, writing, or art skills will be helpful to the individual.
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