Just the right way to write!!

Writing Skills

Getting Your Written Message across Clearly a colleague has just sent you an email relating to a meeting you're having in one hour's time. The email is supposed to contain key information that you need to present, as part of the business case for an important project.

But there's a problem: The email is so badly written that you can't find the data you need. There are misspellings and incomplete sentences, and the paragraphs are so long and confusing that it takes you three times more than it should to find the information you want.

As a result, you're under-prepared for the meeting, and it doesn't go as well as you want it to.

Have you ever faced a situation similar to this? In today's information overload world, it's vital to communicate clearly, concisely and effectively. People don't have time to read book-length emails, and they don't have the patience to scour badly-constructed emails for "buried" points.

The better your writing skills are, the better the impression you'll make on the people around you – including your boss, your colleagues, and your clients. You never know how far these good impressions will take you!

In this article, we'll look at how you can improve your writing skills and avoid common mistakes.

Audience and Format

The first step to writing clearly is choosing the appropriate format. Do you need to send an informal email? Write a detailed report? Create advertising copy? Or write a formal letter?

The format, as well as your audience, will define your "writing voice" – that is, how formal or relaxed the tone should be. For instance, if you write an email to a prospective client, should it have the same tone as an email to a friend?

Definitely not.

Start by identifying who will read your message. Is it targeted at senior managers, the entire human resources team, or a small group of engineers? With everything you write, your readers, or recipients, should define your tone as well as aspects of the content.

Composition and Style

Once you know what you're writing, and for whom you're writing, you actually have to start writing.

A blank, white computer screen is often intimidating. And it's easy to get stuck because you don't know how to start. Try these tips for composing and styling your document:

Start with your audience – Remember, your readers may know nothing about what you're telling them. What do they need to know first?

Create an outline – This is especially helpful if you're writing a longer document such as a report, presentation, or speech. Outlines help you identify which steps to take in which order, and they help you break the task up into manageable pieces of information.

Use AIDA – If you're writing something that must inspire action in the reader, follow the Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) formula. These four steps can help guide you through the writing process.

Try some empathy – For instance, if you're writing a sales letter for prospective clients, why should they care about your product or sales pitch? What's the benefit for them? Remember your audience's needs at all times.

Use the Rhetorical Triangle – If you're trying to persuade someone to do something, make sure that you communicate why people should listen to you, and pitch your message in a way that engages your audience and present information rationally and coherently. Our article on the Rhetorical Triangle can help you make your case in the most effective way.

Identify your main theme – If you're having trouble defining the main theme of your message, pretend that you have 15 seconds to explain your position. What do you say? This is likely to be your main theme.

Use simple language – Unless you're writing a scholarly article, it's usually best to use simple, direct language. Don't use long words just to impress people.

Structure

Your document should be as "reader friendly" as possible. Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and numbering whenever possible to break up the text.

After all, what's easier to read – a page full of long paragraphs, or a page that's broken up into short paragraphs, with section headings and bullet points? A document that's easy to scan will get read more often than a document with long, dense paragraphs of text.

Headers should grab the reader's attention. Using questions is often a good idea, especially in advertising copy or reports, because questions help keep the reader engaged and curious.

In emails and proposals, use short, factual headings and subheadings, like the ones in this article.

Adding graphs and charts is also a smart way to break up your text. These visual aids not only keep the reader's eye engaged, but they can communicate important information much more quickly than text.

Grammatical Errors

You probably don't need us to tell you that errors in your document will make you look unprofessional. It's essential to learn grammar properly, and to avoid common mistakes that your spell checker won't find.

Here are some examples of commonly misused words:

Affect/effect

"Affect" is a verb meaning to influence. (Example: The economic forecast will affect our projected income.)

"Effect" is a noun meaning the result or outcome. (Example: What is the effect of the proposal?)

Then/than

"Then" is typically an adverb indicating a sequence in time. (Example: We went to dinner, then we saw a movie.)

"Than" is a conjunction used for comparison. (Example: The dinner was more expensive than the movie.)

Your/you're

"Your" is a possessive. (Example: Is that your file?)

"You're" is a contraction of "you are." (Example: You're the new manager.)

Note: Also watch out for other common homophones (words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings) – such as their/they're/there, to/too/two, and so on.

Its/it's

"Its" is a possessive. (Example: Is that its motor?)

"It's" is a contraction of "It is." (Example: It's often that heavy.) (Yes, it is this way around!)

Company's/companies (and other possessives versus plurals)

"Company's" indicates possession. (Example: The company's trucks hadn't been maintained properly.)

"Companies" is plural. (Example: The companies in this industry are suffering.)

To learn more about commonly misused words, misused apostrophes, and other grammatical errors, take our Bite-Sized Training session on Written Communication.

Tip:

Some of your readers – arguably an increasing number – won't be perfect at spelling and grammar. They may not notice if you make these errors. But don't use this as an excuse: there will usually be people, senior managers in particular, who WILL notice!

Because of this, everything you write should be of a quality that every reader will find acceptable.

Proofing

The enemy of good proofreading is speed. Many people rush through their documents, but this is how you miss mistakes. Follow these guidelines to check what you've written:

Proof your headers and sub headers – People often skip these and focus on the text alone. Just because headers are big and bold doesn't mean they're error free!

Read the document out loud – This forces you to go more slowly, so that you're more likely to catch mistakes.

Use your finger to follow text as you read – This is another trick that helps you slow down.

Start at the end of your document – Proofread one sentence at a time, working your way from the end to the beginning. This helps you focus on errors, not on content.

Key Points

More than ever, it's important to know how to communicate your point quickly and professionally. Many people spend a lot of time writing and reading, so the better you are at this form of communication, the more successful you're likely to be.

Identify your audience before you start creating your document. And if you feel that there's too much information to include, create an outline to help organize your thoughts. Learning grammatical and stylistic techniques will also help you write more clearly; and be sure to proof the final document. Like most things, the more you write, the better you're going to be!

The New PR: Super Responsibility, Solid Research & the Equity of Relationships

The New PR: Super Responsibility, Solid Research & the Equity of Relationships

It was early 2006: Biz Stone was working at Google before launching a little something called Twitter, Facebook was only open to college and high school students, and Chris Anderson had just started telling us about The Long Tail of the Internet in WIRED. In another corner of the Web, Richard Laermer and Kevin Dugan joined forces and started talking about the current state of the public relations industry.

“The media was making fun of PR people and a lot of people were asking, ‘What’s the point of PR?’” recalls Laermer. “Kevin and I thought it would be really fun if the two of us could find ways to improve our own M.O. What if we could make the people who really shouldn’t be in PR leave the industry?”

Hence the launch of the Bad Pitch Blog, celebrating its fifth anniversary this month of acting as PR industry watchdog. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Bad Pitch Blog, I highly recommend checking it out. So, here’s the basic idea: Dugan and Laermer ‘out’ PR people who have written really bad pitches and then sent them, untargeted, to the media masses.

Oh, and by the way, the blog covers other great insights, new ideas and savvy news for and about the industry, too. But, Laermer explains, “If you look at our page views, when we really go to town on somebody, our numbers are through the roof. People love the bad pitch posts.”

The bad pitch posts aren’t written with ill intentions, however. In the very first post on January 20, 2006, Dugan explains, “It’s our hope that the Bad Pitch blog will entertain the true victims of this practice, the PR industry, and it will help the guilty parties improve. Hopefully the blog will someday become obsolete.” That’s quite the goal, but has anything really changed?

When asked if he thinks the PR industry has changed since the launch of Bad Pitch Blog, Laermer replied, "I definitely do. Back during the blog's third anniversary, Kevin and I met and we weren't sure. Now we are certain - the last 18 months have been a real shift. People are starting to realize how important it is to stop squandering the equity of relationships. You are putting out info on behalf of other people; that's a huge responsibility."

The Equity of Relationships

Where did the PR industry originally go wrong – and how have we improved? “I have this theory called ‘Super Responsibility’,” explains Laermer. “In the ‘90s we used to say being responsible meant not lying. I would hope everyone knows that today. Super Responsibility is being completely true to the things that come out of your mouth: don’t confuse people; don’t use jargon; be 1000% sure of data and statistics that you share with people. All that non-assuredness we are glib with comes back to bite you in the behind.”

If we are required to have Super Responsibility and our job is to get our news noticed, we, as PR people, have to find new ways to navigate the new media landscape. Laermer offers a few tips: “We used to just reach the press, but now it’s the end-user. We can’t be a wannabe – it confuses the customer, or the person we are trying to reach. I’m always vying to find what works the most within the current situation – sometimes that’s the old-fashioned aspect of our business: picking up the phone or, like the other day, when I sent mail to a journalist. He called me right away and said, ‘I haven’t gotten mail in ages!’”

The message folks in the PR industry have been hearing again and again is that we need to target our news to the people that are most interested in it – and the ones we’ve built relationships with. “People love to be thought of – everything is about relationship and equity,” said Laermer. He continues, “Targeted pitches are the ones that will work. Never ever waste people’s time; the person who wastes the least amount of time will be looked upon as someone whom journalists and others want to use as a source. It’s just karma.”

Laermer finds that producing great content is becoming one of the most important facets of our industry, “We have to pay attention to the words we use—it can’t just be about the commas and quotes that say how 'thrilled' we are; our content needs to be so good that it’s immediately usable. You don’t need a dateline; you just need to learn how to be a writer who finishes their writing – in other words, don’t do drafts.”

It’s All About Research

I use that phrase all the time in Cision’s Media Research department, and was delighted to hear from Laermer that he felt the same: “Do your research, too – I remember not too long ago when I had to go to the library to look stuff up; we are so damn lucky today. I love spending time in the Library of Congress site—it’s like magic to me! When you go deeper than just a Google search, you’ll find knowledge that is both shocking and thrilling– and that’s how you start trends. Like the Mannings always say: ‘Go deep!’”

He continues: “A lot of people have realized this is no longer a profession where you can succeed just by being ‘a people person.’ You have to be the best possible communicator—to all parties. Researching trends, providing great ideas, going in directions no one has thought of, educating clients and bosses, and making people think and laugh. It’s how you get so-called influencers to pay attention—and it’s how you get buy-in at work!  In the last year or so, that’s really started taking hold because we have no choice; to rise above the chaff you’ve got to grab attention. And take lots of risks.”

As we start a new year, think about these questions: What’s your big, trend-starting idea? What have you discovered through research? Who have you built relationships with this year?  If we all find answers to these questions, perhaps in another five years, the Bad Pitch blog will be obsolete. Here’s hoping.

COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE

COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE The debate which always rant and rave whenever there is a talk about communication is the mystery of cultures which vary from place to place and through times and which cause perhaps the strongest hurdles in understanding of what has been said (by people of one culture) and what has been understood (by people of an other culture). Before we start to examine as what factors are responsible to generate this debate, it seems only logical that we understand what culture is. Though no definition of culture exists on which all will agree, the one which is close to everyone’s belief is the way people live, or say the living style of people of a particular area is denoted as their culture. This includes their living habits, eating and cooking style, dressing up, language they speak in, social values and traditions they observe along with the religion they follow. Well, for a student of communication – who believes that a slight change on part of the sender or receiver may effect a huge change in the meaning of a message – the definition of culture and its little explanation offers only an embarrassing situation for there is plenty in the name of change that can vary (or destroy) the meaning and hence the process of communication may face hurdles. Enculturation The process of passing on culture from one generation to the next is referred to as enculturation. Most people are encultured – they receive their cultural values from their parents including language, religion, dressing up eating and living habits etc. The impact of enculturation is very strong. You generally carry this culture with you wherever you travel or even settle for some time. For instance a Pakistani settling in UK will continue to practice its eating, living habit along with other cultural values. In the field of communication he or she would remain on the look out to find another Pakistani with whom he/she could talk in Urdu or they sit together and dine the way they have been doing back home. The two would enjoy the enculturation to the utmost by communicating to each other matters pertaining to their life style. Acculturation The most difficult part in the process of communication and cultural conflicts is the process of acculturation. In this process one tends to learn the rules and norms of a culture different from one’s native culture. Easy said than done. It may take years even to those who command some expertise on communication techniques for it is very difficult to break the shell of your own culture only to adopt another. But people do tend to do so if they have to live longer in another land. For instance if a Pakistani is settling in America, he will have to acculturate himself by learning the living style of that part of the world –at least in areas where it could be adopted. It does not mean to scrap your religion but it certainly means living by the rules and practices of that part of the world if you want to stay there for generations. If one resists acculturation, one is bound to face embarrassment in every day communication for every message from him / her will be understood differently (wrongly) by fellow people there and vice versa. The communication problems arising out of cultural conflicts will simply make life miserable. And not to be seen as a cross country phenomenon, the cultural differences may exist among different shades of culture within one society. For instance all the Muslims around the world make one community but vary drastically in their life style. There being dressing up, traditions at the time of child-birth, weddings and other major events in life are very contrasting. Within a country these traditions may vary. A Sindhi life style is different from Baluchi’s and Punjabi traditions on scores of matters are different from what are observed by Pashtoons. The existence of sub-cultures also leads to communication snags and problems may arise only due to these factors when people from sub-cultures undertake a joint business. Cultural Shock This phenomenon in communication is very common around the world. It occurs when people from one culture have to live in another culture where normal life values are radically diverse. One may not like to send his daughter to join dancing, or swimming classes at school in Pakistan, it is a must in certain 28 countries. You may have separate colleges, universities or even medical colleges for boys and girls in Pakistan and some other Islamic countries. But there is no such concept in the west. A family going to the west will have to face the cultural shock – which is complete breakdown of communication, as long as they live there without conceding to the concept of acculturation. Principles of Intercultural Communication Prepare yourself The best to overcome communication gaps in multicultural society is to prepare yourself in advance about the new culture you may face. These days videos, newspapers and magazines are widely available which tell about the social norms of a society. By learning a good deal on these values, the process of communication is eased out to a great extent. Overcoming fears of unseen Scholars believe that even learned people have a sense of fear when they tend to communicate to the people of a different culture. At ordinary people level this fear exists even more. That is one reason you would not find foreign tourists mixing up with local people frequently. Not that they feel superior, but the fear that any miscommunication by way of words and gestures should not infuriate a local and put the visitor in an embarrassing situation. The solution here is again in making a fair assessment of what you want to communicate juxtapose to the social values of the people to whom you want to communicate. Once getting a positive feedback on your message would dispel the earlier fear and equip you with confidence for more communication. Know different meanings due to change in culture One most important aspect of improving communication in a new culture is the consideration of meanings of different phrases, gestures and body language in the new culture. Some body gestures which stand for certain meaning to you due to enculturation may be entirely different in the other culture. A study of some basic differences in meanings of words and actions between the two cultures is obviously going to ease the communication gap hence making the process of communication gainful for all involve in the interaction. Knowing some hard and fast values As mentioned earlier, certain societies are strongly under influence of their centuries old traditions. For instance Muslims do not like eat with left hand or even shake left hand. Others may not find any problem in using the left hand. In Indonesian culture direct eye contact is a case of disrespect especially when talking to older people. For Americans avoiding eye contact means disinterest. Think if a young Indonesian is talking to an American and the two do not know cultural values of each other, where the communication end up! There are some times few small things but which have strong implications in the sense of communication. In America if some one says ‘come over and pay us a visit’, it amounts to only a friendly gesture and not a formal invitation. In some other cultures the same set of words make the listener (receiver) take the words seriously and a formal invitation. Think of a situation when an American family says this to a family from a different culture. World moving towards acculturation But with the advancements in electronic media, internet chatting and enhanced movement of people due to increased traveling facilities, the level of understanding of each other’s culture is going up and so is the communication. It appears that the communication hurdles raging for the last many centuries would be reduced as people see more of each other’s living style on the high number of TV channels now available in most parts of the world.

Become an Award-Winning Photographer« Back to Article Category

By Nancy Hill

I’d be less than truthful if I said, “Photography contests abound! Your path to fortune and fame! Here’s how to win big!”
However, if you pay attention, you can find numerous photography contests, and you have nothing to lose by entering them. A bonus is that just by entering, you will begin to take a more critical look at your photographs, which will improve your photography skills. You may also win money, some degree of recognition, and will most certainly have bragging rights.
Reasons to Enter a Contest
Whether you’re a pro or amateur, there are a number of good reasons to enter photo contests.
You might win money (always handy, right?).
You will gain recognition (how much depends on the contest).
You will be able to honestly say, “I am an award-winning photographer.”
You will learn more about photography if you create an image for the contest.
If you use an existing photograph from your files, you will look at your images with a more critical eye to determine what to enter. This will help you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as a photographer.
Finding Contests
Photography contests are pretty easy to find.
Do a search online for “photo contest.”
Peruse the chapter that lists contests in Photographers Market 2007.
Watch your local newspaper. Many papers run at least an annual contest.
Spend some time in your library looking at the latest issues of magazines. If someone is running a contest, they’re likely to publicize it on the front cover.
Check out the photography magazines in chain bookstores like Barnes and Nobles, which has an excellent selection of photo magazines. Many photography magazines run contests every month. The award is usually low in terms of dollars, but having your work printed in a photography magazine is very cool. You can certainly put it in your portfolio.
Check out your local camera stores and the electronics departments in big stores. Again, many run annual contests.
Entering Contests
Read all the rules, all the fine print, every single word. I can’t stress this enough.
Be particularly aware of any requirements that relate to:
Size of print
Type of image (print, transparency, color, black and white, etc.)
Packaging
Number of entries allowed
Whether or not captions or titles are needed
Model release requirements
When photo was taken (be prepared to provide proof if asked)
Required format. If you are entering a photo for a calendar, for instance, the contest sponsor will specify whether they want a vertical or horizontal layout. No matter how masterful your work, if it’s in the wrong format, it will be disqualified.
Required technology. Film? Digital? Manipulated images?
Winning a Contest
While every judge and every panel of judges is looking for something different, there are some things that matter to everyone looking at entries. You’ll face competition, so sending in something that is “kinda” all right, won’t cut it. Judges want photographs that jump off the page and grab them.
Photos must be sharp unless you have an obvious artistic reason that your image is “soft.”
Photos need to be well composed. Make sure horizon lines are straight. Use the rule of thirds. If your image has unnecessary information in the background, crop the photo (unless the rules don’t allow it).
Photos should be properly exposed. If your highlights are washed out or your shadows are blocked, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage. If you can see detail on the negative, make sure the lab printing your work brings that detail out.
Photos should be well-lit. This isn’t just about exposure; photography is about light, so use light well in your photo to create a mood.
Color photos should have the proper color balance, and the colors should work well together. If you’re sending black and white or sepia photos, make sure you pay attention to contrast and tone.
Photos should be high-quality prints that are printed on good paper. Contest sponsors almost always reprint your work, so they want to know that winning entries will print well when reproduced. A great photograph with mediocre printing won’t make the final cut.
Make sure your photograph tells a story. What’s your image about? If you don’t know – if you can’t sum it up in a sentence – it’s unlikely to capture much interest. Simplify your image until it says exactly what you want it to say, no more, no less.
Choose the right category for your photograph. A flower might go under nature, but it could also go under color. A child handing a flower to her mother might be a “person,” but it could also go under “flower.”
Make your image unique. Avoid clichés. Children eating ice cream cones have been done a million times. Think of something original. Show a subject in a new way.
Action is good. The action doesn’t have to be grand – a simple bend in a wheat field as a breeze blows by will be far more dramatic than the wheat standing straight up.
If there are several different categories, there’s no need to limit yourself to just one (unless the rules specify you may only enter once). However, if you can send 10, it’s better to send five excellent images than five so-so ones and five excellent ones. The so-so images will detract from the excellent ones.
Increase Your Odds of Winning
Obviously, the best way to increase your odds of winning is to send a great photograph. That said, there are several other things you can do to improve your chances of winning.
Do your homework. If the sponsor has run contests in the past, check out the winners from previous contests. What do the winning entries have in common?
Try to anticipate which category will get the fewest entries, and submit something to that category. You’ll be competing with fewer images.
If the contest is recurring, like it is in many photography magazines, enter every month.

The 21st Century Journalist’s Creed

A former newspaper editor urges journalists to ‘let go of the sense that we have control and recognize how much better public service journalism can be when we accept the public as true partners.’

By MichaelThe whole world is watching.” Demonstrators chanted those words in the streets of Chicago in 1968, and many people throughout the world did watch as the story was told through the voices of professional print and broadcast journalists. 
That summer I had graduated from the University of Oregon and would spend those next 40 years in journalism, working for just two newspapers. I left The Kansas City Star as city editor in 1978 and spent the next 30 years at The Seattle Times, 20 of them as executive editor. I worked with amazingly talented journalists and for principled owners dedicated to public service journalism. When I retired in 2008, I could not have asked for a more fulfilling career.

Today, the words “the world is watching”—uttered from the streets of Iran and by President Obama—convey a wholly different sense of the instantaneous global reach of news reports and the multitude of ways that information is collected and delivered. Consider how the world watched Neda Agha Soltan, a 26-year-old music student, die in Tehran this summer. Independent news organizations were prohibited from being in the streets, but two amateur videos—one 37 seconds long and the other 15 seconds—put a tragically beautiful face on the story of post-election protests that the Iranian government sought to suppress. Try as it might, the government couldn’t block transmission of images from mobile phone cameras, e-mails, and social networking sites.  R. Fancher

In 1914 Williams wrote “The Journalist’s Creed,” which begins:

I believe in the profession of journalism. I believe that the public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full measure of their responsibility, trustees for the public; that acceptance of a lesser service than the public service is betrayal of this trust.

I first read “The Journalist’s Creed” as a sophomore working for my high school newspaper, and it inspired me throughout my career. Its core principles of clarity, accuracy, fairness, truth, independence and, above all, public service, remain the heart of journalism today.

But Williams’s “Creed” was written at a time when information was scarce and access to it was limited. Journalism was mostly a one-way relationship with journalists deciding what best served the public. Today, anyone can perform the traditional functions of journalism, and thus arises a serious question about whether the kind of public service journalism Williams advocated can remain viable in the digital age.

After I retired from The Seattle Times, I was offered a fellowship in the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism for the 2008-2009 academic year. Through public forums, research and study during my fellowship, I’ve come to believe that the imperatives facing journalism are far more fundamental than I had appreciated. They go beyond the collapse of the business model that supported journalism in the past century.

Restoring Public Trust

One particularly compelling explanation for what is happening comes out of Forrester Research and is captured in the book “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,”published by Harvard Business School Press in 2008. The authors, Forrester analysts Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, define this “groundswell” as “a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.” They assert in “Groundswell” that this is “an important, irreversible, completely different way for people to relate to companies and to each other.”

Li and Bernoff offer this advice: This groundswell won’t be stopped, but it can and should be understood. We ought not only to live with it, but thrive in it. Doing so requires new thinking—skill, knowledge, experience and, eventually, enlightenment.

I think everyone associated with journalism and journalism education appreciates the need for acquiring new skills, knowledge and experience. New business models will and are emerging. Of necessity, journalists are rethinking what they do and how they do it.

As for enlightenment, my belief is that journalism must also develop a new ethic of public trust through public engagement. This will require that journalists let go of the sense that we have control and recognize how much better public service journalism can be when we accept the public as true partners. Instead of fearing and resisting this shift, journalists must embrace and lead the way. This fundamental change in perspective isn’t just necessary for journalism to survive; it is the right thing for journalists to do.

In the foreword to Charlie Beckett’s book “SuperMedia: Saving Journalism So It Can Save the World,” Jeff Jarvis calls this “the natural state of media: two-way and collaborative.” As he observes, “The one-way nature of news media until now was merely a result of the limitations of production and distribution. Properly done, news should be a conversation among those who know and those who want to know, with journalists—in their new roles as curators, enablers, organizers, educators—helping where they can.”

As the economics, architecture, tools and technology of journalism change, Jarvis writes that he hopes what changes most is the culture: “I hope journalism becomes more open, transparent, inclusive and flexible.”

Career in Advertising

Introduction

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. – Mark Twain

Advertising is the art of conveying a message to the masses. Advertisements generally persuade people about commercial products, services and even draw attention towards social issues. Advertising is one of the chief divisions of any industry that ensures the industry’s competitiveness in the corporate milieu. Indian advertising industry is on a roll and is all set to provide quality job to thousands of individuals in next few years.

A career in advertising is a lucrative employment option that one can choose in the rapidly growing Indian economy. Advertising agencies generally prefer highly creative and talented individuals who can think independently and at the same time work as excellent team players. If you are interested in pursuing a career in advertising, you must be highly target oriented and willing to work in a pressure cooker like environment. Since this industry is very competitive, you must be willing to give your best at all times to make a successful career.

Step-by-step

Advertising firms employ people with different educational backgrounds in various departments at various levels. Possessing a professional Degree or Diploma in a particular field of study can give you a head start in this industry. Further, flair for language and excellent communication skills are other factors essential for breaking into the realm of the advertising business.

To get into a specific department of an advertisement agency, you could choose from the following courses:

1.    Client Servicing: A post graduate diploma or an MBA in marketing
2.    Studio: Course in commercial art or fine arts (BFA or MFA)
3.    Media: Journalism, Mass Communication or an MBA
4.    Finance: CA, ICWA, MBA (Finance)
5.    Films: Specialisation in audio visuals
6.    Production: A course in printing and pre – press processes.

The best way to get into this field after a course is to get on- the- job training. All good institutions offer internship as part of the curriculum.

Start early

The first and the foremost requisite to take up a position in advertising world is to have a creative spark in one’s life. This creativity can be in any form, be it in language, communication skills, drawing, innovative thinking, and so on.

Eligibility for most of the advertising postgraduate courses is graduation in any discipline with a minimum of 50 percent marks. Admission to most of these courses is based on an entrance exam and/or interview. Some institutions also offer graduate level courses in advertising, for which they admit students who have cleared class XII.

Is it the right career for me?

If you are enthusiastic, naturally driven, creative, optimistic, and have the ability to multi task then advertising is the best career option for you. People skills are a vital requirement for this career as it makes one understand what a client needs and also helps in effective decision making. An institution running advertising related courses can help train and develop students to pick up traits such as:

1. Effective communication
2. Presentation and management
3. Team and leadership skills
4. Stress and pressure management
5. Persuasiveness
6. Confidence
7. Competitiveness

Various domestic and multinational companies in India certainly need highly qualified and experienced manpower for advertising. However, individual creativity and capability for innovation any day counts more than academic degrees in this fast paced business.

What would it cost me

Studying at institutes such as the MICA (Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad) could cost you up to Rs.1 lakh per year. But at government and some other private institutions, the fee is much lower.

Funding/Scholarship

Earning a scholarship may be a difficult task.  In most cases, scholarships are awarded to applicants on the basis of excellent academic performances.

Job prospect

Job opportunities in advertising include openings in private advertising agencies; advertising departments of private and public sector companies. Job seekers can also find openings in newspapers, journals, magazines; commercial section of radio or television; market research organizations and so on. One can also work as a freelancer.

Advertising manager, sales manager, public relations director, creative director, copy writer, and marketing communications manager are some of the major job opportunities in this field.

Pay packet

Pay Structure can vary from one agency to another depending on the 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.

Salary is generally not a constraint for the suitable candidate in this industry. This will, of course, depend on the individual's merit, qualifications, and experience. As a beginner, you get to do the basic stuff but experience enables you to negotiate deals.

You can easily get into an agency at the lowest levels but sheer quality is demanded as you move up the ladder. However, the pay packets get heavier and heavier as the workload and level of experience rises. A beginner in the creative department usually starts with an average monthly salary of 8 to 15 thousand rupees.

Demand and supply

There is ample scope for talented individuals in the advertising industry  in India. Those who are qualified in commercial art have great opportunities. MBAs can also play a significant role in client servicing. The advertising industry always has a perennial demand for creative talent. In order to succeed in the advertising arena, one has to have proficiency that is accompanied with varied talents.

Market watch

The Indian economy is on the move in spite of the global financial meltdown and the ad market is on a continuous trail of expansion. Growth in businesses has lead to a consecutive boom in the advertising industry as well.
 
Advertising in India is quite superior and the local talent boasts of high production values with interesting ideas and concepts. All this has made India a desirable hub for recruiters within the country as well as internationally.

International focus

The global impact of the Indian aptitude with respect to the advertising industry is not only being noticed but appreciated worldwide. Indian agencies today handle both national and international assignments. This is primarily because of the reason that the industry offers a host of functions to its clients. Some of the offerings include end-to-end solutions that consist of client media planning, servicing, media buying, pre and post campaign analysis, creative conceptualization, market research, marketing, public relation services, and branding. With all these services, there is definitely no looking back for the Indian advertising industry that is all set to win accolades worldwide.

Positives/Negatives

+ives

• Challenging and satisfying job
• Hefty growth prospects that are one of the best in the country
• Heavy pay packets with dollops of project related incentives
• Chances of meeting the legends of advertising

-ives

• An industry that is known for its extremely long working hours
• High pressure and stress inducing work environment

Different roles, different names

Advertising field offers a range of lucrative and interesting careers. The job in this field is categorised into two broad categories, namely, Executive and Creative.

• Executive: The executive side includes: Client Servicing, Market Research and Media Research.

The executive department understands client requirements, seeks new business opportunities and retains existing business. This department also selects the appropriate media, analyses timing and placement of advertisements, and negotiates the financial aspects of a business deal.

• Creative: The creative team comprises of copywriters, scriptwriters, visualizers, creative directors, photographers, typographers, animators, and so on. The creative department creates the actual advertisement in different media formats. They verbalize and visualize the specific need of the client.

Since ads are of different kinds depending on the media- print (newspapers, magazines, billboards,etc) and broadcast(radio, television and the internet), you can choose the area of specialisation depending on your interest.

Top companies

Some of the giants in advertising and media planning that most students dream of working with are as follows:

Hindustan Thomson Associates (HTA), McCann Erickson, Leo Burnett, Grey, R K Swamy - BBDO, Bates, Redifussion Dy and R, Lintas India Ltd., Ogilvy & Mather Ltd., and Mudra Communications Ltd..

Tips for getting hired

1. For many people interested in a career in advertising or public relations, internships are the key to unlocking the door to the industry.

2. The advertising industry has a voracious appetite for creativity and innovative thinking. Though the industry is said to be in its infant stage as compared to the western world it has been receptive to the changing times.

3. Excellent communication skills along with a specialisation in your field of study from a reputed institution give you a cutting edge over fellow job seekers in this industry.

Indian print media will flourish for next 15 years: Robin Jeffrey

In contrast to the West, the Indian newspaper industry will grow strongly for another decade and a half due to mounting literacy, says international media watcher Robin Jeffrey.

"My prediction is that newspapers will continue to grow for at least another 10 years and television will consolidate - painfully," Jeffrey said in his Rajendra Mathur memorial lecture at here Saturday evening.

"I think print in India has 10 to 15 years to go before it hits the sorts of downturn that is changing the print landscapes in the US and elsewhere," said Jeffrey, author of " India's Newspaper Revolution" book.

He was speaking on "Media Meditation: History, Prospects and Challenges for India", organised by theEditors Guild of India.

He attributed the continued growth of the print media in India to rising literacy.

Pointing to the 30 percent illiterates, Jeffrey said, "more than 300 million people are still to be equipped with the ability to read a newspaper".

Re-use value of the old newspaper is another factor that Jeffrey thinks would not shrink the newspaper industry in the country unlike in the West where many media establishments have shut down.

He says in India, where hundreds of millions live without luxuries, newsprint is so useful because it can be recycled and "can be used for so many things - from lining walls and ceilings to packaging bhel puri".

Jeffrey, who has been a journalist in Canada, and has also lived and worked in India, Australia and Singapore, said the challenges the media faces in India were both "uncomfortable" and "exhilarating".

Cautioning the media to guard against paid news, Jeffrey said: "None of this is to say that the society - or the media industries - should tolerate 'paid news'." He described as abhorring the practice of "selling the news pages for propaganda masquerading as reporting".

He advised Indian media publications to be vigilant against the invasion of privacy.

Industry should not "tolerate the tasteless, cruel and illegal invasion of privacy that brought the downfall of the UK's News of the World", Jeffrey said.

He added: "The contest over ethics, taste and security in Indian media are similar to those that have gone on in the US, UK and other English speaking countries for more than 200 years."

Why is India not having a respected, " global Indian voice" like Al Jazeera, BBC and CNN?

Jeffrey said an Indian global news presence could become a world standard because India has it all and "there is no country in the world better able to reflect the world" than what India could do.

"India has a huge pool of talented, multilingual, English speaking journalists" coupled with the Indian diasporaon every continent who can provide both journalists and contacts.