Creative Agencies

A creative advertising agency is responsible for creating and executing advertising campaigns for its clients. A creative agency is concerned with what messages to convey to the target audience, and how to communicate the message in a creative way that gets it noticed.

In creative agencies you'll see people take briefs from clients, then recommend the best way to answer that brief through the production of ads. They develop scripts for television commercials, then make those commercials. They develop billboard executions, radio ads, digital and social media content, or build digital experiences.

The process of developing ads can involve market research, developing concepts and messages, creating visuals and copy, and production.

The key thing that distinguishes a creative agency from a media agency is that the creative agency decides how best to communicate a message and produces the 'ad' that does so. The media agency is concerned with where to best place that ad so that it is seen by the right audience. They then negotiate with media companies (such as TVNZ, Stuff, or Google and Meta) to buy the space that the ad appears in.

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Producer

Producers are the glue that holds the production team together, and they work with the client requirements while also making sure the team is creating the best work, on time, and on budget for the client. Producers can focus on specific things, for example, digital or television production, and they will work with developers and designers to create all types of ads or products. They also work with the production teams; videographers, editors, and other production staff if there is video content to create. They are really good at managing projects – knowing who needs to do what, by when, and how much it will cost.

Career progression

Because production can sit across lots of different parts of the business, find the one that you want to focus on. Then learn as much as you can, starting out as general and ‘jack of all trades’ as you can, and build your skills around project management and understanding the full production process – this will then help accelerate your progression.
1. Production Assistant
2. Assistant Producer
3. Coordinator
4. Junior Producer
5. Senior Producer
6. Director of Experiential
1. Production Assistant
2. Assistant Producer
3. Coordinator
4. Junior Producer
5. Senior Producer
6. Director of Experiential

To be successful you'll need...

You can see all the little elements that need to work together to create the final piece of work – so you are great at planning how that would all fit together.
Does doing something new everyday sound appealing? A love of relationship building, creating great relationships with a broad range of people, and continuing to strengthen them all the time.
Solution finder – you can problem solve and find ways to get to the right outcomes.
Looking to know as much as you can about all things production so you can react quickly – being across what everyone else does will help if you need to change things up quickly.
Managing the day-to-day administration of your team to ensure you are meeting client expectations. You will need to be good with details and communication (of all kinds), as well as having control of budgets.

Common Study Choices for Producers

Producers are from a broad range of backgrounds, and tertiary study is not always a requirement; if you were wanting to keep studying, having a good understanding of the technical aspects of creating content or digital design might be helpful. If it was more towards the TV production, understanding screen and more about performing arts broadly would be helpful.

Getting a job as a Producer

Creating a portfolio/showreel or volunteer for roles which give you exposure to the industry and help you build connections within it. Like all of the advertising roles, it is good to start looking to make connections with other people in your chosen field, and understanding the role in more detail.

If you can, learning more of those transferable skills will help you stand out when you are applying to a place you have no previous connections.

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