Agency Roles: What’s Your Perfect Fit?

by Krissy Schmidt in DONOVAN WORLD

25

Jan
2012

FILED UNDER

Advertising Week 2012 runs January 23-27. Follow our blog for daily Ad Week posts.

When I decided to move into agency work, I began to realize that what I wanted to do was actually a crossover of multiple roles. As the saying goes “you can’t have it all.” I needed to make a decision.

Information that explains the various roles in an agency is hard to find, partially because each agency has its own unique model for how they work. Smaller grassroots agencies tend to have overlapping roles, while larger agencies tend to have very specific definitions for what a team member’s tasks are.

Below is a look at one common agency structure, along with brief outlines for the main roles and responsibilities to help you determine which role is right for you.

Overall Structure

At minimum, agencies are divided into two primary areas: Account Services and Creative. As agencies grow larger, you may also find Interactive, Research, Public Relations and Media departments.

Account Services

Account Services is the liaison between the Client and the Agency. This department’s job is to understand and/or translate the client’s requests and ensure the client’s expectations are aligned with the Creative Department’s execution.

The Account Services role is both as a project manager and a consultant to the client. As The Institute of Communications and Advertising explains:

The job of the account service person is to understand totally his or her client’s business in order to:

• Advise the client on a variety of marketing/strategic/financial issues
• Identify and motivate the correct agency resources to build the client’s business
• Co-ordinate overall agency involvement and projects between client and agency

Creative Services

Creative is responsible for ideas from concept to completion. Lead by the Creative Director, the team is a combination of roles including Art Directors, Graphic Designers, Copywriters, Producers and Traffic Managers.

Print, radio, television and interactive design are all provided by the Creative Department.

Interactive Services

The Interactive Department is responsible for web development, software development and social media. To be more specific, the Interactive Department programs and builds websites, mobile apps and other any other type of digital executions. They provide SEO, SEM and their respective analytics, and also manage social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

It’s important to note that Interactive is sometimes considered part of the Creative team because the two work closely together.

Research

The Research Department provides analytics and data for client projects. They are responsible for organizing and evaluating surveys, focus groups and other forms of data collection. From this data, the Research Department creates a strategy that is used as the basis for each campaign.

Public Relations

Public service announcements, press releases, and press meetings are the responsibility of Public Relations. It is Public Relations’ job to manage the flow of information and, ultimately, brand perception.

Media Services

Media Services takes care of all the media buying, coordination and analytics for print, radio, television and online. This involves an immense amount of time negotiating with media outlets and also determining the best placement to effectively reach target markets.

While all the roles in an agency offer exciting opportunities with unique challenges, it’s important to remember you can only pick one. A career in advertising begins with determining which role you’d like to pursue and understanding the responsibilities it entails. Once you’ve figured that out, you’re on the right track to a successful interview. It’s all about what you can give to the agency, and how you fit into their business.

Read more about agency life:

So… You Want to be in an Advertising Agency? 1995. Institute of Communication Agencies: http://icacanada.ca

Krissy Schmidt is an Account Executive at DONOVAN. Comments on this post or suggestions for future topics are welcome.