If you are interested in advertising but unsure about what the industry has to offer, the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame would like to help. Below you will find a series of paragraphs that we have assembled, outlining the various departments of the advertising world. We hope this will help you to discover which of the fields aligns most appropriately with your interests. Though the names of these departments may vary across different agencies, the overall structure remains relatively similar.
For more information on job opportunities that may be available with our member agencies, please visit our membership roster for links to their sites.
Scroll at your leisure, or select a specific field below:
Individuals in Account Management act as a liaison between the client and the various departments within the agency. Account Management personnel are responsible for expressing the client’s needs to the agency, while simultaneously communicating the agency’s strategy to the client. Because of this unique intermediate position, working in Account Management requires well-developed interpersonal skills and a broad understanding of the various departments within the agency. Account Management personnel must work to harmonize the many different personalities and ideas that surface during a project’s lifespan, ultimately protecting the client’s best interests while encouraging the agency’s success.
People in Account Planning, in a sense, work as investigators. It is their responsibility to determine why a consumer/target audience thinks or acts the way they do, ultimately striving to discover and influence the best possible marketing strategy for a brand. Account Planners are inquisitive, multi-talented individuals who have an interest in observing and interpreting trends as a means to gain market insight. A dedication to research, unquenchable curiosity, and strong critical thinking skills are required to work in Account Planning. Perceptive, reliable discoveries made by Account Planning are essential to the agency’s success, as these insights will eventually influence the brand messaging and creative concepts.
Media Services is all about “when”, “where” and “how.” It is the responsibility of Media Services to understand the various means by which a brand’s campaign can be delivered. Given the immensity and variety of the media environment - everything from TV, to websites, cell phones, and radio - a lot of careful, strategic planning is required to ensure that the best possible avenue is explored at the most reasonable cost. Individuals in Media Services must not only investigate the many forms of media available, but also work to determine which type most accurately reflects the overall style and messaging of the brand while reaching the target audience.
Creative Services is the home of the agency’s artists, who can be found in the form of copywriters and art directors. Client direction, strategic planning, and market research are gathered by other departments and put forth to the individuals of Creative Services, who are responsible for brainstorming and assembling a series of creative concepts for presentation to the client. People in Creative Services are imaginative, dynamic individuals who also possess a keen understanding of design and strategic messaging. Because Creative Services must work in conjunction with many other departments to produce the most memorable, innovative concept possible, creative positions in advertising are best suited to artistic team-players who can communicate well. Creative Services ultimately works with Production to bring client-approved concepts to life.
The Production department is where the agency’s great ideas come alive. Individuals in Production positions ensure that a project gets done - that videos get shot, ads get printed, banners get produced, websites get built - they embody the idea of “follow-through.” Working in Production requires that a person be organized, detail-oriented, industrious, and resourceful. It is Production’s responsibility to ensure that the project is completed on time and on budget - whatever this may take, and however quickly. The Production department may work with outside vendors and studios, ultimately producing a polished final product that reflects the collective work of the agency’s creative and strategic “think tank.” Certain aspects of Production may be referred to as “Traffic,” which includes the processes of distributing and gaining exposure for production’s finished products.
The Interactive category is relatively new to the industry. With the advent of computers as a platform for interactive advertising, an entirely new set of skills and career opportunities have cropped up, and will only continue to grow as technology evolves. Specific positions in the interactive department will vary, depending on the nature of the technology involved - for example, a branded website will require an Information Architect to create a “blueprint” of the site and its functionality, an Interactive Designer to determine the appearance of the site itself, and a Programmer to write the code that makes the site work. Individuals who work in the Interactive department are creative, tech-savvy people who possess a keen interest in innovation. They not only appreciate technological developments, but also learn to understand how they work in order to maneuver them to suit the brand’s creative concepts and strategic planning.
Members of the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame have broken gender barriers, pushed the boundaries of graphic design, and launched the “miracle drugs” that have changed our world—meet them now.
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Members of the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame have broken gender barriers, pushed the boundaries of graphic design, and launched the “miracle drugs” that have changed our world—meet them now. 
