The Anatomy of An Agency

I have to admit that before my senior year, I had never even considered working at a marketing or advertising agency. Maybe it was because there has always been the idea of a corporate lifestyle or maybe it may have been the lack of general knowledge of agencies in general. Whatever the case may have been, I had no idea that I would intern at a fully integrated and creative marketing agency like i.d.e.a.  and absolutely love it. Before visiting and working at an agency, the types of jobs available at an agency were simply elusive to me.

In school, there was only a few times where someone actually described what types of jobs are available in the marketing communications agency world. While the popular TV show, Mad Men glamorizes the agency life, it only briefly scratches the surface on the type of jobs that someone can do in an agency. As a current graduate, I think it’s important for graduates to consider working at an agency. After talking with the team at i.d.e.a and doing some research on the opportunities at agencies, I’ve decided to take the time to enlighten those who are unfamiliar with the jobs that make up a marketing or advertising agency.

The different types of jobs at agencies:

Account Management-The account management team is a highly organized team that is responsible for the communication between clients and the agency. They work with every department and touch almost every project to ensure the strategy and the work for the client gets finished from inception to the final results of the campaign. 

Planners- The planning team is responsible for the research, business insights, and consumer behavior insights that will shape the strategy of a marketing campaign for a client.

Media- The media team is responsible for the strategy of the media, which includes negotiating, scheduling, and buying of the media that will help bring the campaign to life. 

Public Relations – The public relations team is responsible for maintaining communications for the client. This may include media outreach, press releases, social media, or any touch point of communication between the company, its stakeholders and customers.

New Business- The new business development team is responsible for prospecting and winning new business for the agency. This team or person helps the agency grow by growing relationships with companies who outsource their advertising, marketing or public relation functions. While there is a new business team dedicated to pitches, the entire agency comes together to create new business success.

Creative- The creatives are responsible for taking the strategy and making it come to life visually. The people on this team are artists, copywriters, graphic designers, digital designers, programmers, or anyone who provides creative input on projects.

Production- The production team actually creates television spots or videos. They often work closely with the creative team in order to get the creative vision across. This team is often made up of production editors, directors, camera people or others with technical production skills.

Administrative/Finances- Every agency needs people to make it run smoothly. This team can range in different types of jobs from the office manager, accountant, billing manager, finance manager, IT personnel, Human Resources to everything in-between.

Most advertising and marketing agencies offer some, all or even more than the opportunities I’ve listed above depending on the size, nature, and agency itself. Although most agencies have similar structures and positions, what is most important to understand about agencies is that every agency is uniquely different. What works in practice for one agency may not be the same for another agency. The people at one agency to the next may be completely different from one another.

From my time at i.d.e.a, I’ve learned that agencies are vibrant, creative, and chaotic workplaces that help bring companies to life to reach their audiences. I.d.e.a. has given me the chance to surround myself with some of the best and most creative people in the world and has changed my perspective on the workplace I want to work in after I graduate. I encourage those who are unfamiliar with agencies to take some time to take a peek inside the world of agencies and consider an opportunity with an agency like i.d.e.a. It just may change your life. 

Signing off from the intern coral permanently (& sadly!)

-Kristie