Advertising is the art of conveying a message to the masses. Advertisements generally persuade people about commercial products, services and even draw attention towards social issues. Advertising is one of the chief divisions of any industry that ensures the industry’s competitiveness in the corporate milieu. The Indian advertisement industry is on a roll and is all set to provide quality jobs to thousands of individuals in the next few years.
Advertising is a great way to promote just about anything. It is a popular method opted by companies and brands to market their products/ services. Advertisements help in reaching out to your potential customers through impactful communication. Powerful ad campaigns that manage to leave a lasting impression on people’s minds are considered successful. If it is a field that interests you, pursuing a career in advertising would be a great option. You can find scores of lucrative and high-paying work opportunities in this field.
Advertising is done through newspapers, television, radio, flyers, billboards, websites, social media, and also other platforms. It is a big industry and also attracts huge revenue from different sectors. Lately, a new form of advertising has gained immense popularity. It is digital advertising, and also with increasing internet penetration, it is snowballing. It is all about advertising on digital platforms like websites and social media.
Scope of Advertising in India
The advertising industry in India was valued at 564 billion INR. It is predicted to grow to a market size of 700 billion INR by the end of 2022. It is growing exponentially, and also thanks to rapid digitalization, the industry is expected to grow more in the coming years.
There are immense job opportunities in this industry.
It offers numerous jobs to fresh graduates every year. As per your area of interest and also skillsets, you can take up a job in advertising and have a flourishing career in advertising in India. To get into a specific department of an advertisement agency, you could choose from the following courses:
- Client Servicing: A postgraduate diploma or an MBA in marketing
- Studio: Course in commercial art or fine arts (BFA or MFA)
- Media: Journalism, Mass Communication or an MBA
- Finance: CA, ICWA, MBA (Finance)
- Films: Specialisation in audiovisuals
- Production: A course in printing and pre-press processes.
The best way to get into this field after a course is to get on-the-job training. All good institutions offer internships as part of the curriculum.
Depending on your skills, you can choose any of the job roles. For instance, if you’re good at creating advertising messages, you can opt for copywriting. Similarly, if you are great at client servicing, you can go for account management.
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Is Advertising the right career for me?
If you are enthusiastic, naturally driven, creative, optimistic, and can multi-task then advertising is the best career option for you. People skills are a vital requirement for this career as it makes one understand what a client needs and also help in effective decision making. An institution running advertising related courses can help train and develop students to pick up traits such as:
- Effective communication
- Presentation and management
- Team and leadership skills
- Stress and pressure management
- Persuasiveness
- Confidence
- Competitiveness
Various domestic and multinational companies in India certainly need highly qualified and experienced manpower for advertising. However, individual creativity and capability for innovation any day count more than academic degrees in this fast-paced business.
A Career in Advertising: Degrees and Skills
Wondering how to start a career in advertising? The best way would be to get a degree in advertising. Usually, people study advertising as a specialization in their post-graduate program. The minimum eligibility to enroll in these PG courses varies from college to college. A few colleges also offer advertising as a specialization in undergraduate programs.
Skillsets and experience matter more than your qualification in the advertisement industry. Irrespective of your educational degree, you should work on developing skills specific to the area of work that interests you. It is one of those careers involving ideation skills. Here are a few other personality-based skills you must cultivate in yourself apart from the required technical skills:
- Creativity
- Patience
- Ability to think out of the box
- Power to influence others
- Time management
- Ability to persuade
- Decision making
Top Colleges in India for Advertising
Several colleges offer degrees in advertising in India. It is essential to choose the one that suits your requirements of location, course structure, fees, etc. Most of these institutions have an entrance test to secure admission to the courses. Let’s look at some of the top-ranking colleges that offer courses on advertising in India.
- Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi
- MICA – Mudra Institute of Communication Studies, Mumbai and Ahmedabad
- Xavier Institute of communications, Mumbai
- R J College, Mumbai University, Mumbai
- St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
- Panjab University (School of communication studies), Chandigarh
- Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune
- Calcutta Media Institute (CMI Calcutta), Kolkata
- Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, and Mumbai
Job Prospect
Job opportunities in advertising include openings in private ad agencies; advertising departments of private and also public sector companies. Job seekers can also find openings in newspapers, journals, magazines; commercial sections of radio or television; market research organizations, and so on. One can also work as a freelancer.
Advertisement manager, sales manager, public relations director, creative director, copywriter, and marketing communications manager are some of the major job opportunities in this field.
Pay Structure can vary from one agency to another depending on the size and also turnover. Accredited agencies have a large set up while small agencies may have just a handful of employees looking after all the various jobs.
Pay Packages
Salary is generally not a constraint for a suitable candidate in this industry. This will, of course, depend on the individual’s merit, qualifications, and experience. As a beginner, you get to do the basic stuff but experience enables you to negotiate deals.
You can easily get into an agency at the lowest levels but the sheer quality is demanded as you move up the ladder. However, the pay packets get heavier and heavier as the workload and level of experience rises. A beginner in the creative department usually starts with an average monthly salary of 8 to 15 thousand rupees.
International Focus
The global impact of the Indian aptitude concerning the advertising industry is not only being noticed but appreciated worldwide. Indian agencies today handle both national and international assignments. This is primarily because of the reason that the industry offers a host of functions to its clients. Some of the offerings include end-to-end solutions that consist of client media planning, servicing, media buying, pre, and post-campaign analysis, creative conceptualization, market research, marketing, public relations services, and branding. With all these services, there is no looking back for the Indian advertising industry that is all set to win accolades worldwide.
What to do After a Career in Advertising?
After you’ve worked in advertising, you would learn the tricks of the trade. It will help you become a competent and also sought-after marketer. With your experience in the advertising industry, you can become a freelancer, join a start-up, build an advertising-related product, or extend your services as a consultant. It would be all up to you and also your interest. An established career in advertising will help you make money and also gain skills that will open up many more avenues for you.
Conclusion
To make a successful career in advertising and public relations:
- Start preparing yourself early.
- Study for the entrance exams of top colleges offering advertising courses in India.
- Develop personality-based and technical skills that will help you excel in this field.
There is ample scope for talented individuals in the advertising industry in India. Those who are qualified in commercial art have great opportunities. MBAs can also play a significant role in client servicing. The advertising industry always has a perennial demand for creative talent. To succeed in the advertising arena, one has to have proficiency that is accompanied by varied talents.
With a little hard work and also the determination to perform well, you can have a great career in advertising. Since it is also the age of careers in social media, there are ample work opportunities for skilled individuals, and you should make the most of it.