Expert: Lawrence W. Saunders - 4/5/2002

Question
Hi!
  I was wondering if you could answer the following questions for me. I am a college student who is preparing to write a formal career report, and I am interested in a career in advertising. I have some general questions on advertising and more specifically, copywriting:

- What is a typical work-day like?
- What kinds of people tend to do well as a copywriter?
- What do you find most appealing about copywriting? Most unappealing?
- What training and/or experience are required?
- What is the current health of the advertising industry?
- What is the next step after graduating with a degree if someone wants to enter this field?

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you and learning more about the advertising industry.

Sincerely,

Kyleen Kenney


Answer
Kyleen,
A typical workday for an advertising executive is 9 to 6. But, Copywriters are always on a creative deadline, so they often work late into the night to develop concepts for TV, radio, or print ads. When the concepts are done Copywriters present the ideas to the Creative Director. From there they further develop the concepts that are approved. Then they present them to the Account Management team to determine if they meet client marketing and creative strategy, and to see which concepts will be presented to the client.

People that do well as copywriters are those with an ability to persuade with words. You have to be self-motivated, marketing savvy, and have a willingness to work hard.

Most appealing is that as a copywriter you are the lead thinker on the creative process, along with your art director partner. You and your partner are the most important people in the process and have the most power and make the most money in the long run. There isn't much unappealing about being in the creative area of advertising unless you are a people-person. Creatives seldom deal with clients and often operate alone while developing their concepts.

You should have good persuasive skills. Knowledge of language, pop and historic culture, entertainment, art, marketing and marketing strategy, and recognize good creative work best for a copywriter. Copywriters come from many education backgrounds. So being well rounded is a personality and education plus.

The advertising business is changing. There are so many different ways of marketing a product these days that agencies have to modify their traditional approach to advertising. But, advertising will always be needed, as long as there is competitive products available to consumers.

Find a university that has a good business school with advertising, marketing, and creative development courses. You will need to develop a copywriter's portfolio to show your work. Many schools have advertising departments that teach portfolio development. Overall, you will need to learn marketing if you want to create persuasive and focused copy.

Kyleen, I hope this answers your questions. Good luck on your report and your future career.
-LS