January 29, 1996
Susan Porter
The advertising industry in Southern California represents $4 billion in annual billing, making it an important segment of the Southern California business community. Interest in advertising as a career choice has been fueled by its glamorous depiction on the popular television series, "Melrose Place." Yet, many young professionals start out as receptionist or support staff members thus aren't exposed to the "exciting," real world of advertising until they work their way up the corporate ladder.
A new advertising course, the brainchild of local advertising veterans Cliff Scott, director of business development of Mendelsohn/Zien; Scott Gilbert, co-chairman/CEO of Team One Advertising; and Renee Miller, president of The Miller Group, is aiming to address this issue, exposing junior staffers to the sexy side of advertising in a fun and interactive way.
This program titled, "Adventures in Advertising: A Behind-The-Scenes Look At Broadcast & Print Production," is fully funded and staffed by members of the Western States Advertising Agencies Association (WSAAA) and its purpose is to elicit excitement and inspiration in young advertising professionals. Open to junior members of WSAAA agencies and students participating in its Minority Advertising Training Program, the courses take these young professionals out of the copy room and into the field.
"We wanted a program where you not only learn something, but you see it working in practice," says Scott. "One of our growing concerns is how to instill the passion we've developed for this business into the next generation of ad executives. We think that this course will take a big step towards accomplishing that goal, in addition to better preparing our junior staffers for the next step."
The 12-month course, which kicked off last October 26, consists of two six-month sessions. The first session focuses on broadcast and the second session covers print production. WSAAA board members Cliff Scott and Scott Gilbert are implementing the program at no cost to the participants.
"There's a complex language in advertising and this course has helped to bring the language barrier down and given me a better understanding of the terminology used," explained Danielle Cote, an audio visual coordinator at Rubin Postaer and Associates in Santa Monica.
"In my job I get the commercial after it's been shot. I had a general idea of how it came to fruition but I didn't realize how involved the whole process is. The detail of the sessions really has enlightened me," Cote said.
Gloria Larkin, who worked in the broadcast production field before joining TBWA Chiat/Day as an executive assistant in 1988, was interested in attending as a refresher course.
"I have found the teachers to be very informative. The course so far has given me a comprehensive overview of broadcast production and that's exactly what I was looking for," said Larkin. "It's not meant to be a rigorous program, but a tool to excite people about the prospects advertising offers, and I think it's accomplishing that."
"The classes have opened my eyes," noted John Cayne, account executive at Eisaman John & Laws. "No matter how knowledgeable I think I am, I always learn something I didn't know before."
Lara Wardrop, an account executive with The Miller Group, said a smaller agency is a good place to start because there are fewer people which means you end up doing more. Dealing mostly with the clients on the account side of the business, she found the trips to Western Digital to learn about on-line editing and Hollywood Center Studios to learn about producing commercials including the bidding process, the shoot and post production, especially fascinating.
"I love my current job, but after each session I've gone home thinking that would be a cool area to get into," says Wardrop.
The "Adventures in Advertising" program continues through June. A sampling of the classes for broadcast include prop design and building, post production, special effects, and script recording. Print production class topics include art buying and techniques for taking shots; visiting a print studio to see how mechanicals are created on the computer; photograph retouching and special effects creation through morphing or colorization, and learning how home pages are created on the World Wide Web.
"The WSAAA is committed to the improvement of the industry here on the West Coast," said Bart Young, CEO of Fraser/Young, and president of the WSAAA. "With this program, we hope to offer students something more stimulating than what they can read in a text book, and give young professionals already in the field a glimpse of the more exciting aspects of our business."
For additional information on the "Adventures in Advertising" program or WSAAA membership, contact the WSAAA offices at (213) 655-1951.
The Western States Advertising Agencies Association is an industry organization representing more than 200 advertising agency owners and managers on the West Coast. Information about WSAAA membership is available through the WSAAA executive offices located at 6404 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1111, Los Angeles, Calif. 90048
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