Advertising Programs Launch Lucrative Careers

Advertising is an extremely creative field that requires people to constantly think outside of the box when persuading an audience to purchase or support products, ideas or services. Through mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, mail, websites, text messages and mobile applications, advertisers send messages to the public in hopes of gaining their support. In fact, advertising is such an important field that in 2010, $300-billion in advertising was spent in the United States and $500-billion was spent worldwide. However, there is much more to the field than being on the frontlines as an advertiser. There actually exist many positions, depending on your interest. Advertising programs that reflect these areas are offered by a multitude of post-secondary institutions across Canada.

In Toronto, Ont. students can attend one of Centennial College’s three advertising programs. Although they range in focus, these programs all require students to use strategic thinking, business savvy and, of course, creativity.

If students have already obtained a degree or diploma in advertising, they can choose one of two Graduate Certificate programs — Advertising Media Management or Advertising Account Management. First, the Advertising Media Management program is an industry-approved undertaking that prepares students for the advertising and communications industry in the role of strategic media planning and buying. Just three semesters in length, its focus is on consumer-driven communication channel choices for advertising messages. The in-class portion of the program is complemented with an industry field placement providing them an opportunity to work in the industry and hone their skills. Specifically, this advertising program helps students to develop an expertise in reaching target audiences with a creative message as well as build their business and negotiating skills on behalf of advertising clients to achieve strategic results.

The other Graduate Certificate program is Account Management. If you like planning, managing and working in collaborative and professional teams, then this program may be for you. It looks to meet the needs for specialized account managers who understand the full scope of advertising tactics and can manage integrated communication plans from inception to final production. During this three semester Advertising program, students are provided with both practical learning as well as theory through courses such as Professional Practice, Media for Account Managers, Broadcast Production Basics, Copywriting Techniques, Interactive Production Management, and more. It, too, offers a field placement to its students.

If, however, you have not obtained a post-secondary degree but are interested in advertising. You can attend the three-year Advertising program. The focus is on learning to tell clients’ stories with persuasive advertising in addition to planning and developing ad campaigns. Throughout the three years, students learn advertising process such as: research, developing strategies, campaign planning, copywriting, production, media planning and buying as well as copywriting, media and account management.

The Advertising program puts a emphasis on the following: developing instincts and strategic abilities while meeting deadlines in a professional and creative environment; completing an industry field placement that allows students to acquire experience in the day-to-day activities of the advertising world; and learning the entire advertising process.