Advertising Courses in India

Advertising is a mass communication field which deals with drawing public attention to goods and services. It is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to to buy products or services. Different types of media are used to influence the general public, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, ordinary mail, direct mail, websites, text messages, bill-boards, hoardings etc. It is essentially a service industry as it provides information service to the general public. 

Basically there are two types of Advertising:

• Commercial Advertising - It is mainly aimed to generate increased consumption of certain products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate related qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers.

• Non-Commercial Advertising - It is aimed at generating awareness and publicity by political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Non-profit organizations generally rely on free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcements.

Broadly speaking an Advertiser deals with a broad spectrum of activities depending on his area of expertise. An Advertiser deals with media, marketing, management, planning, research, creativity etc. 

Some of its specialized fields are -

1. Client Servicing.
2. Media Planning / Research.
3. Creative Department.
4. Copy Department.
5. Art Department.
6. Market Research.

Content

The study of this field includes all or few of these –

• Principles of Advertising.
• Media Planning.
• Copy Writing.
• Campaign Strategies.

Objectives

• To utilise means of audio and visual to their maximum potential.
• To actually know and deliver what the public expects from a product or a campaign.
• To be highly proficient in one's own respective field.

Basic Requirements

Educational Qualifications - Educational Qualifications vary depending upon the type of job is one seeking.

• Candidates with a formal management or advertising/mass communication are mostly required by Advertising Agencies. Preference is given for MBA's for posts in the market research, client servicing and media planning departments.

• General BA with a good command over language of communication plus knowledge of designing packages like Photoshop, coral draw or fine arts is the requirement, in the creative department.

• Advertising is also offered as a subject for the graduate degree course in mass communication studies at certain institutions for which minimum qualification is 10+2. There are also specialised courses in advertising/mass communication at diploma level and post graduate level for which basic qualification is graduation.

Some of the major Institutes providing Courses in Advertising:

1. Amity School of Communication, Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
2. Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, New Delhi.
3. Indian Institute of Journalism, New Delhi.
4. Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
5. National Institute of Advertising, New Delhi.
6. Rajendra Prasad Institute of Communication and Management, Chowpatty, Maharashtra.
7. The Advertising Academy, New Delhi.
8. Xaviers Institute of Communication (X.I.C.), Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Personal Attributes

To be on the top of the ladder an Advertising aspirant needs:

• Basic qualities like creativity and flair for writing or ability to translate ideas into a visual format.

• One should have insight into the interests of people from all walks of life, ability to work as part of team, mental and physical toughness to be able to withstand high pressure, criticism, must be sociable and have a calm temperament.

• Market and media researchers should have an analytical and logical brain.

• Those in creative field should possess artistic abilities to make the ad appealing to the masses.

Job Perspectives

Advertising is a major industry in India. General public is very much influenced by Advertising and prefer to be 'Brand Loyal'. A product gains a 'Larger Than Life' image with all the glitter and glamour of audio visuals and star appeal of various celebrities. Which is why various multi national companies prefer Indian market for their rapid progress. Various domestic and multi national companies in India certainly need highly qualified and experienced manpower for advertising. Some of the major Advertising Agencies in India where one can make a good career in the Advertising are- Lintas India Ltd, Ushak Kaal Advertising Pvt Ltd, Triton Communications Pvt Ltd, Ogilvy & Mather Ltd, Madison Advertising Pvt Ltd, Mudra Communications Ltd etc. India is also good destination for starting a career in Public Relations. Some of the good PR agencies in India are- Howard Ruben public Relations, Insight Communications Services, Porter Noveli, Allison public Relations, Eileen Koch and Company, GCI Group, NM Marketing Communications Inc. etc.

Remuneration - Job positions and earnings in an agency vary with its size and turnover. Accredited agencies have a large set up while small agencies may have just a handful of employees looking after all the various jobs. The earnings range from 7,000 for production mangers to 8,000 for copy writers up to 35,000 for General Managers plus perks.

Some Job Types

• Advertising Managers.
• Advertising Sales Director.
• Account Executives.
• Account Planners.
• Media Director.
• Media Coordinator.
• Media Buyers.
• Photographers.
• Visualisers.
• Copywriters.

Some Employment Areas

• Advertising Agencies.
• Newspapers.
• Television Industry.
• Educational Institutes.
• Advertising Research Companies.
• Websites.
• Newspapers.
• Mobile Communication Companies.