Following The Structure Of An Advertising Agency

Let’s talk about the structure of an advertising agency; some of these departments are broken out again for efficacy. But the fundamentals are the same, and it's because this model was born out of necessity, and it works.

The Six major departments in any advertising agency-

Six very different, but essential, departments make it possible to produce effective creative campaigns and advertisements. These can be split into other sub-departments, or given various new creative names, but the skeleton is the same across the globe. These departments are:

• Account Services & Account Planning
• Creative
• Finance and accounts
• Media buying
• Production team

Now, let's take a look at the breakdown of those six major departments in an advertising agency-

1. Account Services& Account planning

The account service department comprises account executives, account managers, and account directors.

This department creates a link between the many departments within the agency and the clients who pay the bills. A good account services team is vital to a successful advertising campaign.A solid creative brief is one of the main duties of account services.

Often this department is a combination of researchers and account managers; the account planning department provides consumer insights, strategic direction, research and focus groups.

2. Creative

This is the engine of any advertising or creative agency. It's the lifeblood of the business because the creative department is responsible for the end product. And an ad agency is only as good as the ads the creative department puts out. The roles within the creative department are many and varied, and usually include:

• Copywriters
• Art Directors
• Designers
• Production Artists
• Web Designers
• Associate Creative Directors
• Creative Director(s)

In many advertising agencies, copywriters and art directors are paired up, working as teams.

3. Finance and Accounts

Money.At the end of the day, that's what ad agencies want. And it's what their clients want, too. The finance department is responsible for handling payment of salaries, benefits, vendor costs, travel, day-to-day business costs and everything else you'd expect from a business organization.

4. Media Buying

It is the function of the media buying department in the agency to procure the advertising time and/or space required to make an advertising campaign successful. This includes TV and radio time, outdoor (billboards, posters, guerrilla), magazine and newspaper insertions, internet banners and takeovers, and, well, anywhere else an ad can be placed for a fee.

5. Production team

Ideas are just ideas until and unless they're turned into reality. This is the job of the production department. Once an advertisement has been sold to the client, the creative and account teams will collaborate with production to get the campaign produced on a budget.  Production team also works closely with the media department, who will supply the specs and deadlines for the jobs.