Production coordinator
This is the partner position to the traffic coordinator. The two work closely together-constantly feeding each other information back and forth. The traffic coordinator schedules a job only after an update from the production coordinator as to exactly where everything stands with each ongoing project in the production department.
The production coordinator is not always the most popular person in an agency. That is because they are vigilant watchdogs who have to follow the progress of each project as it passes through agency production and hound everyone involved to be sure they stay on schedule. Bodily injury is frequently threatened when someone lags behind a deadline. Sometimes they have to be merciless to keep production moving smoothly.
Account coordinator
Account coordinators have been known to save the necks of many an account executive. As account executives' right arms, account coordinators keep track of all of the activity generated by each account they are assigned to. When some detail is about to fall through the cracks, it is often the account coordinator who catches the problem after it has slipped right by everyone else.
Account coordinators are in constant contact with the traffic and production coordinators to update them on the status of various projects or when a particular account is about to become active. No account is constantly active; they all have their seasons. And all agency people thank their lucky stars for that. Imagine if every account an agency had was active all the time. An agency would have to be ten times its size just to handle that much work.
Account supervisor
Following a successful track record as an account executive, the next step up is usually to that of account supervisor. I say usually because there are those individuals who are not interested in die management arena of agency business. They like working directly with the clients and prefer to avoid supervisory responsibilities.
Account supervisors are exactly that-supervisors who monitor a specified number of accounts and the account executives who service them. They are also ultimately responsible for the coordination and final results generated by each account executive assigned to those accounts.
Marketing director
Marketing directors are mostly found in the larger to middle-sized agencies. They work closely with the research department to stay current on new market trends, socioeconomic conditions, and marketplace competition. When the research team feeds the marketing directors new information factors, these people analyze the data and make recommendations to both the client and the creative people in the agency on the best strategy to use when approaching an advertising campaign. When a smaller agency hires a person with a background in marketing, it generally brings that person in as an account executive since small agencies cannot afford the luxury of a full-time market specialist.
Creative director
Creative directors work with copywriters and art directors to develop the creative concepts that will be used in specific campaigns and projects. It is the creative director's responsibility to encourage the creative team to explore all avenues of possibility as they work to develop a useable creative approach to a project. The creative director is the team's inspiration, the spark that ignites their flame. Once the team is ignited, the creative director then fans that flame to keep it burning brightly throughout the entire length of the project.
Creative directors also must evaluate all the ideas that are proposed by the creative team and then make the final decisions as to which ones are the best.
They then pass their recommendations on to the account executive in charge of that project. In addition, creative directors monitor the progress of each project as it goes through production, to be certain that it is in line with the initial concept and serves the needs of the client.
When you reach the rank of creative director, you and everyone around you will know that you are a seasoned professional. You have most likely earned your stripes in either the art or copy department as an outstanding performer. You have proven beyond a doubt that you can be consistently counted upon to come up with exciting concepts. You also have proven that you have the ability to inspire and lead a team of other creative people to perform in a superior manner.
Take the next step
At this point, you may feel confident that you have selected an area of specialization, a niche that feels right to you. That is great, but before you dash off and revise the Career Objectives section of your resume to reflect your chosen specialty, you still need a bit more information. You may think that being an art director or an account executive sounds like your cup of tea, but first you need to know if you have the right combination of personality traits, training, skills, and interest.
Those of you who are still uncertain about the direction you want to pursue in advertising may just need more information. Or perhaps you have not read enough, yet, that relates to you. Even though nothing is clicking for you right now, it will-that is, if you are meant to be in advertising. There will be some people who, after reading everything about all the different types of jobs, still will not have a strong personal reaction to any of them. If you find that happens to you, then advertising may not be in your deck of cards. You may have been looking at this profession for the wrong reasons. Maybe you have been drawn to it because it looks like fun or people have told you that advertising is where the action or money is. Or maybe you just always assumed that you would go into advertising because you thought it was interesting enough to get a degree in it. If any of this rings true for you, you may need to take a few steps backward and try to understand what led you to advertising in the first place. If you can get back to this root, you may be able to discover what other options you can explore that will put to use your own special blend of talents, skills, and interests.
Step Three will tell you more about the specific job responsibilities in each niche or area of specialization. It will also present the educational or experiential qualifications you should have to pursue these areas and describe something about the kind of person who functions well in each of these positions. Then at the end of the chapter, you can do the Area of Specialization Evaluation workshop. This will help you sort through and evaluate all the reactions you have had while reading Step Two and Step Three. Upon completing the workshop you should know what areas of specialization are right for you and why.
