Want to work in a Communications Agency? Here is your team setup with skills required at your next workplace

When I began my journey into Marketing Communications, what was most obvious about the industry to me was the creative departments.

Behind every print ad, video commercial, radio jingle, digital or out-of-home campaign, there is a creative department with a team of skilled individuals working in the background to ensure you see those beautiful branded works of art.

My first lesson on the composition of an advertising agency was that, in an ideal situation, it should comprise of the following roles or people:

1 – The Client Service Executive 

Who serves as the middleman between the agency and the client. As the bridge of information, this individual must be the combination of a salesman, business development manager, relationship manager, and excellent customer service personnel. (S)he delivers the brief from the client to the creative department through the creative director.

Skills Required

• Fantastic interpersonal communication and presentation skills
• Excellent at speaking, convincing and persuading people. Should be able to write emails
• Great with identifying potential business, gatekeepers, and decision-makers within industries and organizations
• Understands how to deal with crisis management when it comes to clients. #YouMustNeverMakeAClientUnhappy
• Dresses to kill (when necessary; depending on the individual)
• Great at using Microsoft Office tools, especially Excel
• Best friends with the head of finance at the agency 😊

Movie/Series Character Reference

• Peter Campbell (Mad Men)
• Roger Sterling (Mad Men)

2 – The Creative Director

Who works directly with client service; shares the big idea with everyone in the creative department, assigns tasks, vets and approves the ideas, copy, visuals, scripts and more from copywriters and art directors and makes presentations to the client.

(S)he is the go-to guy for all things creative and most times, may have spent years excelling in the copy or art department before being promoted to creative director. This person is usually so intelligent and imaginative that he’s probably best of friends with the MD or CEO.

(S)he stays updated on global trends, may have an eye for bagging awards, and serves as the ultimate nerve centre of the agency.

Skills Required

• Must have fantastic presentation skills
• Must have creative solutions for every problem
• Must have very high standards and have an eye for details
• Must stay updated on international trends
• Must have years of experience excelling in the copy or art department of a reputable ad agency and may have won international awards or gained recognition in the local industry
• Has a network of creative producers and artisans for executing scripts and so on.

Movie/Series Character Reference

• Don Draper (Mad Men)
• Michael Scofield (Prison Break) 😂

3 – The Copywriter

Who works with the strategy and big idea shared by the client service personnel and creative director to create captivating and witty written messages to be transformed into print ads, billboards, jingles, website copy and so on.

This person has to be really good at writing and must possess the ability to wear different personalities for the brands (s)he works on.

Skills Required

• Possesses excellent creative writing skills
• Must be able to tell stories
• Must be witty and enthusiastic
• Must stay up-to-date on trends (from business, pop-culture, etc)
• Must consume content voraciously (through reading, watching YouTube, listening to podcasts, binge-watching movies and series)

Movie/Series Character Reference

• Peggy Olson (Mad Men)
• Michael Ginsberg (Mad Men)
• Saul Goodman (Better Call Saul / Breaking Bad) 😂

4 – The Art Director

Who works with the copywriter and creative director to create visual pieces that will blow the clients’ minds. They are the artistic ones that are great at using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, In-Design and so on.

They may also have a knack for creating videos or music.

On some days when the client is spitting fire and brimstone, the client service executive jumps the creative director and works with the art director because the final work for every brand comes from his/her table.

Skills Required

• Can use CorelDraw, Adobe Tools
• Can tell applaudable stories using visuals
• Must stay up-to-date on trends (from business, pop-culture, etc)
• Must consume content voraciously (through reading, watching YouTube, listening to podcasts, binge-watching movies and series)

Movie/Series Character Reference

• Stan Rizzo (Mad Men)

Now, having worked in Communications for over 5 years, I have come to see how these roles extend beyond advertising agencies and these individuals can be found in Public Relations agencies, tech companies, banks, financial consulting firms, and generally, industries with communication departments.

Copywriters can also be called content writers or managers and their duties extend beyond creating sellable copy for brands. Art directors may be referred to as designers and their work goes beyond creating visually captivating materials to promoting user experience.

Client executives (also known as account managers) work in B2B organizations and act as the face of their companies.

Creative directors seem to be the exception here but they exist in every organization as the CEO, COO, MD, Head of Communications, and so on. If you know, you know😩😅

Whatever the case may be, communications is an interesting profession that lets you work in any industry. You always have one job – to communicate clearly.

Got any questions you’d like me to answer? Please drop a comment.