Onset of open economy in 1991 saw the ingress of a number of new goods and services into the Indian market and eventually the advertising industry grew by leaps and bounds. The aggregate media spend of Indian industry increased from Rs.4,700 crore in 1996 to Rs.12,000 crore in 2006, while the number of people employed in the ad business rose from 3,000 to 5,000 during the past decade. (Source- Association of Advertising Agencies of India)
Subsequently the requirement for advertising professionals, especially copywriters, has increased phenomenally. Copywriters are individuals with the flair for creating fascinating headlines and/or catch-lines that triggers sale of products or services. In other words, copywriters communicate the advertisement agency’s resourcefulness in illustrious ideas, to boost sale.
Any agency’s creative process starts with a copywriter, who drafts a ‘copy’ to endorse a product or service. According to the medium of the advert – through print, radio, TV, or a direct mailer – the copywriter crafts a tag line to promote a product, service, or brand.
Normally, a creative director heads a team of copywriters, who provide with written words, while the art director completes the copy with visuals and designs. The main objective is to make advertising look new and alluring to convince customers to pay for a product, service, or brand.
Course details
You do not need any specific qualification in order to be a copywriter. However, the world of advertising is fiercely competitive and most agencies ask for a graduate degree in humanities, liberal art or mass communication. The selection process always includes writing a copy.
Ad agencies are now mushrooming all over the country, but there is still serious lack of designed courses to train copywriters. However some useful programmes are as follows-
The Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad, offers a six-month certificate programme in crafting advertising.
Post graduation programmes in mass communication and advertising are offered by –
1. Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi
2. Xavier’s Institute of Communication, Mumbai
3. Branches of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
4. Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
Undergraduate courses can be pursued from Indraprastha College, Delhi University, and Sophia College, Mumbai. Besides, many polytechnics in India also have diploma curriculum in advertising.
Job Opportunity
With more and more young graduates with attractive profiles entering the advertising industry looking for jobs, we are witnessing a parallel blast in the demand for copywriters. Jobs are available in various levels and the remunerations depend on the size of the agency. The starting salary for freshers and trainees are slated between Rs.3,000–8,000 per month. The starting pay may appear low but in a year or two a talented copywriter can earn really big depending on creativity, agency size and dimension of its business.
The interesting part for a copywriter is that he or she gets to do different things every day which include working on a TV commercial to writing copy for a radio jingle or print ad. The job profile is diverse, demanding, and exciting. It requires a lot of ingenuity, imagination, and the aptitude to deliver under narrow deadlines.
Related Post: Advertising & Public Relations Careers and Jobs in India
List of top advertising companies in India
1. DDB Mudra
2. Dentsu Communications Pvt Ltd
3. FCB Advertising Agency
4. FCB-Ulka Advertising Ltd
5. GroupM
6. Grey India
7. Havas Worldwide
8. JWT
9. Lowe Lintas
10. Madison Communications
11. McCann Erickson India Pvt Ltd
12. Ogilvy & Mather Pvt Ltd
13. Rediffusion – Y&R Pvt Ltd
14. Seagull Advertising
15. Triverse Advertising
There is no dearth of first-rate advertising agencies in our country. The domain of advertising is now thriving with innumerable talents. While the old Indian advertising companies are still dominating the market, young guns are increasingly making their presence felt in the highly competitive milieu. Agencies like Ogilvy, GWT, Rediffusion are some of the leading advertising companies who serve premier brands.