Indian market is one of the fastest growing corporate hubs of the world. Various multi national companies prefer Indian market for their rapid progress. Careers in Advertising and Public Relations could be one of the career options that one can choose in the fast growing Indian economy. Advertising and Public Relations is one of the major divisions of any industry so that they can remain competitive. Advertising and Public Relations become all the more important for companies that have operations across the globe. The purpose behind this is that they need to communicate with peoples of various cultures. Therefore, they use public relations to bridge the gap of communication.

Advertising is the means of informing as well as influencing the general public to buy products or services through visual or oral messages. A product or service is advertised to create an awareness in the minds of potential buyers. Some of the commonly used media for advertising are T.V., radio, websites, newspapers, magazines, bill-boards, hoardings etc. As a result of economic liberalization and the changing social trends advertising industry has shown rapid growth in the last decade.

Advertising is one of the aspects of mass communication. Advertising is actually brand-building through effective communication and is essentially a service industry. It helps to create demand, promote marketing system and boost economic growth. Thus advertising forms the basis of marketing.

Advertising plays a significant role in today's highly competitive world. A career in advertisement is quite glamourous and at the same time challenging with more and more agencies opening up every day. Whether it's brands, companies, personalities or even voluntary or religious organizations, all of them use some form of advertising in order to be able to communicate with the target audience. The salary structure in advertising is quite high and if you have the knack for it one can reach the top. It is an ideal profession for a creative individual who can handle work-pressure.

Today, new areas are emerging within advertising like event management, image management, internet marketing etc. Event management wherein events are marketed, Image management wherein a a particular profile of an individual or an organisation is projected. Internet marketing has also brought about a lot of changes in advertising as Internet means that one is catering to a select group of audience rather than a mass audience.

Eligibility

Educational: Most advertising agencies recruit candidates with a formal management or advertising/mass communication qualification. Preference is given for MBA's for posts in the market research, client servicing and media planning departments.
In the creative department, on the other hand, a general BA with a command of the language of communication plus knowledge of designing packages like Photoshop, coral draw or fine arts is the requirement.


There are also specialised courses in advertising/mass communication at diploma level and post graduate level for which basic qualification is graduation. However, 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. In addition there are also certificate courses for which 10+2 is enough.

Professional Courses

Advertising is a diverse domain, and different specializations have their own set of schools and courses. One of the most well known schools that offer a range of courses in advertisement and media management is MICA, or Mudra Institute of Communication and Management.

The most popular entry point to the industry is as a Copywriter. Though there are no set criteria for you to become a copywriter, advertising industry is becoming a highly competitive zone and most employers will prefer if you have a degree or qualification of a similar level. In India, copywriting is taught as a professional course in various institutes such as:

who will help you graduate in mass communication and help you enter the industry with much ease.

Being a medium of creative expression, Photography demands more of inherent talent rather than formal training. However, full-time photography courses are run at:

....and many more.

Courses in Account Management are conducted in the various Indian Institutes of Management, or IIMs, and several other management institutes. If you are qualified in Accounts Management, you can begin your career as Advertising Account Manager or as a Financial Advisor in an Advertising Agency and ensure yourself a flying future.

Colleges, Institutions and Universities

Some of Institutions offering courses in Advertising and Mass Communications in India are:

  1. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kasthurba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi - 1
  2. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kulapati K.M.Munshi Marg, Chowpatty, Mumbai - 600 007
  3. Bhavan's Harilal Bhagvati College of Mass Communications, Race Course Road, Bangalore - 560 001
  4. Bhavan's Institute of Communications and Management, FA/111 Salt Lake City, Calcutta - 770 064
  5. Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, JNU New Campus, New Delhi - 110 067
  6. Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai - 76
  7. Mass communications Research Centre, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jamianagar, New Delhi - 110 025
  8. Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA), Shela, Ahmedabad - 58
  9. Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai - 400 056
  10. Siddharth College of Communications, D.N.Road, Mumbai - 1
  11. Somaiya College of Arts, Chowpatty, Mumbai - 7
  12. Sophia College, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai - 400 026
  13. University of Mumbai's Garware Institute of Career Education and Development, Kalina Campus, Santa Cruz (East), Mumbai-8

Specialization

Specialised Advertising and Communications Management Programme is offered by:

  1. Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA), Ahmedabad - 380 058
  2. NMIMS, Mumbai - 400 056
  3. Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune - 411 004

P.G.Diploma in Marketing Management is offered by:

  1. Clarion College of Communication, Calcutta
  2. NIS, a division of NIS Sparta Ltd., a Reliance Sales Education Institute, with centres in all major towns of India
  3. Times School of Marketing, 10, Daryaganj, New Delhi-2

The MBA courses of reputed management schools also allow entry into the executive department of the Advertising sector.

To join as a Visualiser/Creative person in an advertisement agency, a degree or diploma in Fine/Commercial Art is the basic qualification.

Today, newer areas of specialization are emerging within the advertising industry, like Event Management, wherein events are marketed, Image Management, where the profiles of a personality or an organization are projected, and so on.

Internet marketing is also a lucrative field these days, which has brought about many changes in the industry aiming at a Niché audience rather than mass participation.

 

Top Advertising and PR Agencies in India:
Some of the major Advertising Agencies in India where one can think of making 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.