Ads seem to be everywhere: filling magazines, on billboards lining the road, and showing up at regular intervals on television. Do you ever stop to wonder how many of them you come across daily, and just how many of your decisions are influenced by them? According to research, on an average we are exposed to 1000-1200 messages per day. Advertising is the most popular means of conveying messages and selling products and services.

From their origin as brokers of small time newspaper space, advertising has evolved into a US $350 billion plus industry worldwide which draws on the talents of a vast variety of specialists. In Pakistan it is a decent but growing ___ billion a year industry, with about 200 big and small agencies. There are two professional bodies: PAA – Pakistan Advertising Association and APG – Advertising Practitioner’s Guild. Agencies are the modern citadels of ideas where individuality of expression is encouraged and rewarded. In recent years, the advertising industry in Pakistan has seen a mushrooming of the smaller ad agencies, and with a greater array of media available to vie for the consumers’ attention, competition has sky-rocketed. Key parties involved in advertising are: The Advertisers who sell their products & services and the Advertising Agencies that create the ads, which are then placed in The Media – TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards.

Various departments within an agency—such as Client Services, Creative and Media, work together to meet the client’s goal— whether it’s increasing sales, switching brand preference, creating awareness or inducing trial. Client Services brings business to the agency and ensures that clients’ advertising programs are being executed to their satisfaction. The Creative Department develops a strategy for the clients’ campaign and brings the idea to life. Staff work together to transform a blank piece of paper into an advertisement. The Media Department is responsible for placing advertisements in the right media (Television, newspapers, outdoors, radio) at the right time, so that the ads will reach the desired audience. Typical jobs in advertising agencies include the following positions: Copywriters, Graphic Designers, Art Directors, Media Planners and Account Service Executives.

In the new millennium, if you decide to choose advertising as your career, you can expect greater creative freedom along with rising salaries. If you are bright, alert, aggressive, curious, competitive, and willing to work really hard, and if you like excitement and exciting people, then advertising is definitely for you.