Thursday, 3 December 2015

The Digital Revolution




LO2+LO3 Advertising


In 2013 the creative industries made up 5.04% of the UK's total economy, out of the nine DCMS sectors Advertising and Marketing contributed the second highest amount to this total, turning over £10,248m of the £76,909m. 



There are many different positions in the advertising industry, relying on a range of skills.


Account management: Director of account services, account director, management supervisor, account supervisor, account executive, assistant account executive, assistant account executive

Account planning: executive account planning, directing account planning, account planning manager, account planning supervisor, account planner, assistant account planner

Creative: chief creative director, creative director, associate creative director, creative supervisor, copywriter, art director, illustrator

Media: executive media director, executive media buying director, group media director, media buying director, associate media director, media supervisor, media planner

Interactive marketing: computer based designers, programmers and strategist

Freelance work in advertising is also common, many graphic designers and illustrators are self employed and are hired by companies and brands to create designs for advertisements. Other self-employed positions can include photographers, models, accountants and editors.  
Hard skills that are crucial in any advertising job include writing and reading skills and IT skills .Necessary soft skills include the ability to use initiative, being a team player, punctuality: meeting deadlines and arriving to work on time.

 SPECIFIC ROLES IN ADVERTISING
Media: Media Planner
(May also be known as brand planners, strategists and communications planners)
Media Planners work with television, press, radio and new sources of media such as the internet. The Media planner is responsible for matching a client’s product or brand to a media platform, using their creative skills and knowledge to identify the media platform(s) that will allow their client to advertise to their target audience successfully. Daily tasks for a Media Planner include meeting with clients and account executives, researching information about target audiences and how they use different media, planning the best places and times for advertisements to be shown and working with a media buyer to book advertising space.

Creative: Art Directors 
Responsible for creating and designing the visual elements of advertising campaigns in all kinds of media such as posters, radio, cinema and television and press. 
Art directors work closely with Copywriters, who are in charge of producing words to accompany the visuals. It is common for the Art Director and Copywriter to work as a team, both having an input in the visual and written part of the advert. Daily tasks for an Art director may include brainstorming with a copywriter, creating storyboards, pitching ideas to clients, choosing locations for shoots, ensuring deadlines are met and sticking to a budget and overseeing the final editing of the finished advertisement.

Media Buyer
In charge of organising advertising space and airtime for their clients. Their objectives are to reach a maximum target audience at the lowest possible cost. Duties include identifying the target audience and the best way to directly advertise to them, booking advertising spots and sticking to a budget.


Digital Revolution
The digital revolution has affected the advertising industry in many ways. Traditional adverts normally shown on TVs and in newspapers were once directed at  a global audience, however, now with the rise of the internet people have more choice and the public audience is widely spread across many different platforms. Advertisers must reinvent themselves and rethink techniques/ideas to reach their target audience. One example of this is Cookies. Cookies allow companies to advertise to their target audience directly online.  
The digital revolution has also provided a brand new platform for freelance companies to advertise. Apps like Instagram and Facebook give small brands/sellers a platform to advertise for free. Facebook offers an option for users to create a business page, this enables them to put their business on the map, advertising to consumers and allowing consumers to "like" and leave a review of their business. This is revolutionary as small businesses and freelance workers can attract business without paying extortionate advertising fees.

The law and advertising
There are Twelve Key Advertising laws put in place to protect consumers. One of the most important laws in advertising is the Federal Trade Commission Act which protects consumers from deceptive advertisements. Before publishing an advertisement it is important to ensure your advertisement complies with laws put in place 


 Health and Safety Issues in Advertising
Most advertising jobs are office based, which can cause both mental and physical health problems. Stress of meeting deadlines can cause anxiety and long working hours can be linked to depression.Lower back pain is also a common health issue associated with office jobs, due to working long hours sitting in the same position, particularly if you have bad posture. Other common health and safety issues include Carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist strain from typing and eye strain from staring at a screen for too long.


There are many opportunities for Self-employed professionals in the advertising industry. The biggest advantage for those who are self employed is is choice. For example self-employed graphic designers and artists can take on the work that they are interested in, whereas artists and graphic designers working for advertising firms will be given their clients and their brief. However, there are many challenges involved in being self-employed. 
If you are working freelance you are classed as a "Sole Trader" and must register with HM Revenue and Customs as self employed. If your business turnover is over £82,000 you must also register for VAT. Freelance workers must also take legal and financial costs into consideration before starting their own business. Another obvious challenge freelance workers are faced with is not having a guarantee of work.



Leila Hay


Bibliography


other sources:
https://www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/self-employed
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/ftca.pdf
http://www.lawpublish.com/12-key-advertising-related-laws-you-should-know.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/07/29/omnicom-publicis-digital/2597351/

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

The Creative Industries sector in the UK














What are the Creative Industries?
From 2015 DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) recognise nine creative sectors:
1) Advertising and Marketing
2) Architecture
3) Crafts
4) Design:  product, graphic and fashion design
5) Film, TV, video, radio and photography
6) IT, software, and computer services
7) Publishing
8) Museums, galleries and libraries
9) Music, performing and visual arts

How important are the Creative Industries to the UK economy?
The Creative Industries bring wealth to the UK economy and provide many jobs. Though it may not be the UK's largest source of income the creative industries benefit the UK greatly.

Major developments in the creative industry
The internet has had a major impact on the Creative Industries. It has enabled people within the industry to promote their business/talent. Facebook gives users the option to set up business, giving them a platform to promote and sell their crafts. It is becoming more common for artists to use sites such as Instagram to post photographs of their artwork. One example of this is a young artist named Jack Ede. Jack regularly posts detailed photos of his drawings, often over a series of days so his 111,000 followers can see the process of how his masterpieces are created. This young artist often does drawings for people around the world at an agreed price. He has recently used his drawings to create unique watches to sell to the public. This is a prime example of how the internet  is making it easier for talented people within the creative industry to get discovered. 



Cultural importance of the Creative Industries
A great way to show culture is by creativity. The Creative Industries allow people to use their skills to create and produce work that represents their society. You can differentiate between many cultures by taste in art, music and fashion.

Cultural Industries sector
The Cultural Industries sector focusses on preserving arts and history. Museums around the world are home to many artefacts that represent a city’s culture during a particular time period.                                                




                                                                                                                                                
Synergy
Synergy is extremely common in the creative industries. An example of this is the relationship between books and films. Many successful movies were originally books. Harry Potter is one of the most successful examples of synergy between book and film. What began as a series of books written by J.K. Rowling has now evolved into a booming empire with eight films, video games, its own theme park in Florida's Universal studios and an estimated $15billion value.



The film industry and games sector can also combine to create video games. An example of this is the teaming up of film producers and game makers to create the
 Star Wars Playstation games.


 Yet another example of synergy in the Creative Industries is the relationship between art and fashion. Artists and designers often work together to create unique pieces of work.



Vocational Area: Photography
The main issue in the photography sector of the Creative Industries is copyright. Many photographers have experienced other people/websites using their photographs without asking and in some cases even taking credit for their photographs. One way to tackle this is watermarking an image. Most photographers watermark their name, website, email address or logo onto their photographs to stop their image from being copied. Photography merges with many other areas of the creative industries. Photographers work hand in hand with the fashion industry to get the perfect shot of the designer's creation. Photography combines with publishing to illustrate newspapers and magazines with photographs that are relevant to the articles written. 

References