All about the profession of advertiser

Whether we like it or not, advertising is present in our lives explicitly and implicitly. We can say that its necessity was determined historically, since ancient times, accompanying and developing trade. The profession of an advertiser corresponding to this activity is now in demand, and experienced workers are valued and earn decent money. At the same time, erudition and versatile knowledge, as an immutable quality of a real professional from advertising, often command respect.

In terms of its semantic content, the profession of an advertiser is an ancient phenomenon. About 3000 years ago, "peddlers" wore clay breastplates in Babylon with a list of goods sold, and lists made on papyrus by ancient Egyptian merchants informed the public about the goods and services provided. On the squares of ancient settlements, sonorous invitations of heralds were heard to attend various events, with calls to purchase various products or to receive services.

The importance of the respective brand was well understood by ancient Indian, and later - domestic and foreign manufacturers. A special brand was specially applied to the products, meaning a special quality mark. In the 11th century, French hoteliers carried out productive "promotions" in which guests were offered to taste and evaluate the quality of wine for free.

From about the 18th century, publications specializing in the production of advertising publications (such as the Boston Newsletter, 1704) began to be constantly distributed in the colonies of America, and in Great Britain, in 1812, the first advertising institution appeared. Nowadays, an advertiser is an extremely widespread and demanded profession in various fields, in which advertising and public relations are inseparable in terms of their functionality.

In Russia, the advertising business is developing dynamically and young, creative minds are always in demand - there are usually no problems when choosing an advertising specialist. Such a professional is able to carry out research, conduct market analysis, conceptually build a tactics and strategy for the presentation of an advertising product. Quite often a couple of well-constructed words, a simple phrase can multiply the effectiveness of sales, attract a mass potential buyer.

Let us touch on the description of the socio-psychological a portrait of an effective advertiser... First of all, he is an optimistic and purposeful specialist, "sharpened" only to win. He is sociable and benevolent, excellently masters the tactics of persuading people, understands them perfectly, possesses the necessary knowledge in the field of communication psychology, is capable of making extraordinary decisions.

Such a formulation of the question requires serious emotional costs and a fair amount of decisiveness. It is enough to remember the film "What Women Want" and the attitude to the work of Mel Gibson's character to clearly imagine that this work is not up to everyone. Here, immense imagination, creativity and perseverance should be harmoniously combined with logic and an analytical mindset.

The well-known American specialist D. Ogilvy called this type of activity "living wisdom". Let's add here intuition and the ability to take risks, and multiplying everything that has been said by a certain talent and high working capacity, we will get only a “semi-finished product” of a real professional advertiser.

The disadvantages of the profession include:

• the highest level of competition in the field of advertising;
• the presence of significant amounts of paperwork;
• the need for a stable psyche, especially when working with clients;
• often arising great difficulties with understanding the goals and intentions of customers;
• a high level of responsibility, when even a single erroneous phrase can drastically change the customer's opinion in a negative direction.

The positive aspects of the profession include:

• the possibility of multifaceted development of a creative way of thinking;
• communication with a huge number of people;
• participation in various interesting and exciting events;
• dynamic and exciting pace of activity;
• the possibility of rapid career growth and salary levels;
• wonderful prospects;
• the opportunity to provide a broad development of their horizons and practical skills, studying activities in various fields.

The main functionality of an advertiser, as interpreted by the professiogram, is:

• informing the consumer about new types of products and services;
• in creating a positive image of a product (service), its manufacturer;
• in stimulating the sales process.

The functional range of an advertiser's job depends mainly on the area of ​​work and its scale. For example, in the media, employees call the clientele, make them offers of services and goods, advertising space on the pages of publications or airtime. The duties of specialists at enterprises are different, they are looking for favorable conditions in order to place their advertising in the media, and then monitor its effectiveness. Specialists perform the following functions:

• investigate the degree of demand for a product or service;
• study the possible needs of buyers;
• organize (planning, coordination) advertising campaigns;
• analyze the effectiveness of advertising and teach their young colleagues.

In accordance with one of the standard job descriptions, the list of duties looks like this:

• the advertiser organizes the development of the artistic image of the brand, a system of possible priorities focused on the final product, taking into account consumer preferences and tastes, ethics and mentality;
• studies market research related to advertising of goods or services, focusing on which makes a promising advertising strategy program aimed at achieving a significant advertising idea;
• approves development strategies and plans for an advertising campaign with the customer, makes up the points of the media plan;
• ensures the organization of advertising activities, negotiates to determine the directions of development and the scale of the campaign aimed at promoting the advertising product in the markets for goods and services;
• highlights the specifics of the subject of advertising and the circle of potential consumers, manages the process of information filling of advertising communication in the creative group;
• oversees the development of all the details of the campaign;
• prepares an advertising product for the media and other communication areas, offers text messages, words, names of companies and products, composes advertising poems;
• provides high-quality creation of an advertising product, taking into account the specifics of the type of advertising used and modern technologies;
• makes competent recommendations for improving the quality side of the subject of advertising;
• implements control over the advertising campaign in the media and other means of communication during its implementation;
• makes timely proposals on the advisability of adjusting tactical techniques during the advertising campaign, is responsible for its quality and effectiveness;
• directly involved in the development of projects, shows, presentations, provides methodological and practical assistance;
• establishes stable relations with partners, a system of collecting information through "feedback" to improve work with the media;
• organizes creative contacts with leading advertising agencies, institutions, individuals;
• studies, analyzes and implements best practices for creating an advertising product, works to improve their creative potential, trains young employees, helping them to become more useful and effective;
• shows his work at exhibitions, festivals, competitions and places them in special print media.

The specialist must know:

• legislative provisions on advertising and the regulatory framework governing activities in the field of advertising;
• foreign languages;
• features of competing firms;
• advertising preparation and production technology, basic principles of marketing and management;
• the specifics of the trade brand mechanism;
• fundamentals of ethics, aesthetics, culture and art;
• forms of interaction with the media, new advertising technologies, forms, methods of developing and implementing advertising campaigns;
• modern methods and means of processing advertising information;
• advanced domestic and foreign experience in advertising, the basics of forming a brand, trade mark;
• ethics of business communication, management fundamentals, requirements of potential customers for products and services, current price lists;
• methods of persuasion of a potential customer;
• fundamentals of psychology, sociology, marketing, design, politics, branding, labor legislation, labor protection, fire protection, computer work and related software.

Training of professional advertisers is the prerogative of art colleges and institutes... Usually, this training is characterized by a rather narrow focus, for example, an advertising photo, the initial design of advertising for goods, its design, and so on. The most prestigious institution in this area is the London College of Printing (LCP). In addition to the employees mentioned, he also graduates bachelors in marketing and advertising.

Advertisers have been trained in Russia since 1995. Now they study in 3 types of institutions.

1. Within the walls of special universities - the International Institute of Advertising, the Higher School of Advertising, the Institute of Design and Advertising.
2. A number of universities have about 70 advertising departments.
3. Such professions are taught at the departments of journalism, publishing, and commerce. Here, specialized directions are mastered, starting with senior courses.

In accordance with the State Standard, training in this area is organized in a special order. The first 2 years are devoted to the study of general and general disciplines (basic aspects of advertising, management and marketing, elements of business communication, film history, cultural studies). In the activity of an advertiser, these items are often relevant, since the profession is complex.

After college, the options for activities can be very different. You can get a job in the media (press, Internet publications, television, radio, information institutions), advertising agencies, reputable companies or various government agencies. It is quite difficult to enter prestigious companies immediately after graduation, since there are often large competitions there, sometimes up to 20 people per place. You can get there with considerable experience. In addition, a solid portfolio is required.

In Russia, the average salary of an advertising specialist (Moscow) is in the range of 35,000–45,000 rubles. In St. Petersburg - from 20,000 to 30,000 rubles. At the same time, it is important to understand that the size of the salary is largely determined by the quality of work and the employee's portfolio. A newcomer initially receives about 17,000-22,000 rubles from a small agency or publishing house. Added to this is a percentage of sales. The salary can roughly double as the customer base grows. Plus a good percentage of sales in the amount of 25,000-30,000 rubles.

Advertisers with extensive experience receive income from 35,000 rubles, plus high interest rates. That is, the salary can be quite high. Advertising is said to be the engine of commerce. Before being hired, the management of the organization carefully examines all the previous results and achievements in the work of the candidate, his socio-psychological and personal qualities.