Millions of Americans recognize personalities such as Ronald McDonald and the Taco Bell Chihuahua and slogans like Nike's "Just Do It" and Visa's "It's Everywhere You Want to Be." This mass recognition is the sign of a good advertising campaign, and the success of the advertisers who created it.
Of course, a highly successful ad is no accident. Design is one of the most important aspects of a good commercial. A career as a multimedia advertiser offers the opportunity to design the memorable ads that lead consumers to a certain product. It is the chance to play within the boundaries of an idea, and then use technology to make that idea reality.
What Does a Multimedia Advertiser Do?
Working in the multimedia aspect of marketing means you'll be on the creative end of the advertising campaign, working out the visual aspects of a slogan, personality, or design. The job combines the visual and the audio to produce TV or radio commercials, Internet content, or software. This creates public exposure for a brand or product through a mix of marketing, merchandising, technology, and business.
Advertisers generally work for agencies, or for advertising departments of large companies. If your specialty is the creative aspect of multimedia campaigns, there are different areas you could focus on. ArtSchools.com mentions careers in print, video, internet, and broadcast production areas.
How Do I Get Started?
Although opportunity abounds for those interested in advertising and marketing-especially in the area of multimedia design-competition will always remain tight. If you are naturally gifted with art, you have a good start. But to get your foot in the door, it's essential that you get the right training.
Courses in multimedia advertising can include areas such as general marketing and advertising, drawing, management, and e-commerce. Those in multimedia are often the first to use new technology, so classes also deal with software like Macromedia Flash, Microsoft Producer, Dreamweaver, Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and many more. Students of multimedia design learn visual design, 2D and 3D animation, publishing, special effects, game design, time management, and in many cases, basic advertising and marketing principles.
Multimedia advertising is a very competitive field. Failures can be huge, but fortunately, successes can be enormous as well. Those who show exceptional talent and ambition, and work well under constraints such as time and budget, will always go far.