How about a career in Advertising or Public Relations?
Looking for a career in marketing but confused about which field to choose? Consider Advertising or Public Relations as a career option.
Advertising is the field that deals with promoting a companys value proposition through paid medium and persuading customers. It is a subset of Marketing.
Whereas, Public Relations (PR) involves building good relations with the public. It involves everyone, including the general public, government, investors, media, etc.
Both of these are subsets of marketing and fall under the category of the promotion mix tools.
Let us look into both of these tools in detail individually.
Advertising
Advertising can be traced back to the very beginnings of recorded history. Cattles, crafted items, even cosmetics were sold through advertising tools in earlier days when there was no sign of modern-day advertising.
It is mostly used by business firms, but it is also used by non-profit organizations, individuals, or even social agencies to promote their causes for various target publics.
Career options in advertising can be categorized into two broad categories- Executive and Creative.
- Executive
It includes those profiles which are focussed on customer service, market research, and media research.
Executive services require the understanding of clients needs, how they can be satisfied, and being able to retain them in the firm.
Also, it analyses the market conditions and plans the medium of advertising accordingly. It involves critical-thinking jobs which establish a base for the other functions. - Creative
The Creative team consists of Writers, Visualizers, Creative Directors, photographers, typographers, animators, Editors, and so on.
They put all the planning and strategizing into real action and create advertisements as per the clients requirements.
To be a part of the creative team you need to understand the medium of advertising you want to be a part of.
Different mediums require a different kind of creativity and analysis, and advertisements are made on the basis of that.
There are various mediums of advertising. Lets look into the pros and cons of each medium and what can be suitable for you-
Television
It is a form of mass media that involves sight, sound, and motion. There are plenty of career options in TV advertising, such as in the field of Production, Casting, Acting, Reporting, Directing, etc.
The benefits of considering advertising on Television is that it is a low-cost per exposure method. Which means that the cost, when compared with the amount of audience that is watching, is considered it makes it a low-cost tool of advertising.
Also, it offers good mass marketing coverage. That makes Television a great tool for advertising.
The only drawback of TV advertising is that there is less selectivity in the audience. As it is a mass media tool, there is high clutter of responses with fewer selectivity options.
Television advertising as a career has many pros and very fewer cons.
Job options in the field include television advertising Sales Agent, MultiMedia Artist, and Media Planner.
All these fields require creativity and a great sense of marketing. The only drawback here is that creativity is a relative and subjective concept.
Thus, the stability of a job depends a lot on various market factors and market requirements. Which are ever-changing and dynamic in nature.
Digital, Mobile & Social Media
The popular tools of marketing these days, Digital, Mobile and Social Media are the new generations weapons of advertising.
They have rightfully gained their place in the market. These tools are highly used because of digitalization and its variants.
Advertising through these mediums provides high selectivity of the target audience. It is a cost-effective measure with immediacy in its actions.
We can all relate to the times when we are scrolling through our social media and we stumble upon an ad which grabs our attention.
Most often we end up opening that tab and reading more about it, even if we dont really need the product/service that much, we will have a look at least. And many times the ad is so convincing that we end up making a purchase.
Advertising through digital means has a wide scope. It is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy.
The career options that it offers are increasing day by day, but as of now, it has some of the most intriguing job profiles. Such as Digital Ad Sales Agent, Digital Marketing Specialist, Software Developer, Media Analyst, Content Marketing Manager, and so on.
Newspapers
Newspapers have been a medium of advertising for a long time now. And it is one very important and recognized form of advertising.
Even after the introduction of digital mediums in the market, newspapers still remain a king in the field of advertising.
It is because of all the advantages it offers. Newspapers are a reliable source of information for the audience as it has been in society since time immemorial.
Its reach and timeliness make it an optimum method of promoting something.
Advertising in the newspapers is very flexible as the advertiser can choose the size and location of the ad.
It offers great opportunities to those interested in this field. Includes job profiles, like Content Marketing Manager, Visual Media Manager, Graphic Designer, Creative Designer, etc.
Radio
We know that it is annoying to listen to advertisements while your favorite song was coming up next on the radio, but do you know how well paid those advertisements are?
Radio advertising is a very popular form of advertising. Its popularity goes to the fact that radio is another mass media tool that is used to spread the word among the masses.
It demands a very high level of creativity as radio uses only audio media to engage its audience.
Here are some of the career options in radio advertising- Creative Writer, Audio Mixer, Audio Editor, Singer, Market Analyst, etc.
Other than the above-mentioned mediums, advertising is also done through other organizations. Such as advertising agencies, government organizations, other private organizations. All these also offer a variety of career options.
Public Relations
Do you have the ability to maintain good relations with people?
Do you know how to deal with different kinds of people?
Do you have the patience and caliber to perform the above tasks?
If the answer to all the above questions is yes, then you might consider PR as a career for yourself.
Public Relations, or most commonly referred to as PR, is a field of marketing that deals with building good relations with various kinds of public and maintaining those relations for the betterment of the firm.
PR is used to promote products, people, places, ideas, activities, organizations, and even nations.
It is a crucial tool of the promotion mix.
Companies use PR to build good relations with consumers, investors, the media, and their communities.
PR is a strategized tool and it requires its personnel to be well-experienced to be able to deal with the dynamic nature of the market and the clients.
The Role and Impact of PR
Like any other promotional tool, PR has the power to engage consumers and make a brand name in the market by integrated efforts of the team.
However, PR can have a strong impact at a much lower cost than advertising can.
More than any other department, PR has always been responsible for creating relevant marketing content that draws consumers to a brand rather than pushing messages out.
The rise of social media is moving public relations professionals from the back-room, crafting press releases and organizing events, to the forefront of brand development and customer engagement
An expert in PR
The impact of PR on the organization is increased when it is working hand-in-hand with advertising within an integrated marketing communications program to help build customer engagements and relationships.
Tools of PR
Just like advertising uses different mediums for promotion, PR also uses several tools.
These include- News, Audiovisual materials, Special Events, Corporate Identity materials, Public Service activities, etc.
- News: Sometimes PR professionals try to organize such events which will catch the attention of the media and become news. This way they can promote a healthy image of the firm through news, which is a reliable source for the public.
Many times news stories occur naturally. Both ways, the firm benefits as their image gets highlighted in the market. - Special events: A very common tool of PR is organizing special events to announce something to the public or update them about a change in their product or policies.
Special events such as news conferences, speeches, brand tours, etc. are organized by PR firms. The sole motive of these events is to spread the word and make a positive image of the company or the brand. - Corporate identity materials: You must have seen coffee mugs, T-shirts, note pads, pens, and other articles with a companys name and logo. These materials are also a form of marketing and are used widely all over the world.
They aim to create a corporate identity in the market by using various kinds of tools. - Public service: Another way of improving public goodwill is by investing time and money in public service activities.
Many firms have a special department for this which takes care of the events related to public service.
After the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by our PM Narendra Modi, many PR departments of major companies have started contributing to the scheme by taking measures to reduce pollution in their surroundings. Such activities have a good impact on the public and it makes them believe that the firm cares about society and the environment.
All these tools offer a wide variety of career options. It is one such industry which cannot fall, instead, its growth will only rise in the future. As it is directly linked to the companies and the number of firms is only increasing day-by-day, the need for PR is also rising with it.
Following are some common roles in Public Relations-
- Publicist
A Publicist deals directly with the clients to help develop and execute their brand strategy. They are also responsible for suggesting measures to promote the clients brand and organize campaigns for the same.
Publicists are also hired by individuals like celebrities to promote their brand image or professional projects. - Copy Writer
The job of a Copy Writer is very crucial and important. It involves writing content for all the PR tools that are being used, such as blog posts, campaign project, press releases, etc.
A Copy Writer has to be consistent with the content to maintain a brand image in the public and not get out of thought. The profile involves complying with the promotion strategies created by PR professionals.
Someone who has a keen interesting in marketing and also reflects good caliber in writing can work towards this profile. - Spokesperson
You must have seen that major companies usually have an individual who answers to the media and the public on behalf of the company. That person is known as the Spokesperson of the company.
A spokesperson makes statements on behalf of the entire company. It involves dealing with criticism as well, which is to be done very professionally. Thus, the job of a spokesperson is analytical and requires good knowledge of the market and society.
- Social Media Manager
A job profile that grabs the attention of a lot of newbies.
Social media management requires promoting the brand through social media as a medium.
Social Media Managers use tools like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc to interact with the consumers and keep them updated about the companys relative actions.
This profile involves creating engaging content for the audience and measuring the success of various campaigns taken up for PR.
In conclusion, we can say that PR offers great opportunities for those who are willing to indulge with the public to promote a brand and for those who are persistent with their efforts.
Both of the above-discussed tools of the promotion mix, Advertising and PR, are sectors which offer many good roles for those who are inclined towards marketing and are willing to learn and grow in the field.
The scope of both of these sectors is said to increase in the future. One can choose either or as a career field and become a specialist in marketing.