Oxford

ADVERTISING,
MARKETING + PR
Dynamic, diverse and fast-moving, this sector offers roles
for graduates from all degree disciplines. Employers look
for creative graduates who have high-level communication,
analytical and organisational skills. The ever changing digital
landscape requires you to have a keen interest in digital
and social media platforms and an understanding of how
companies can use ‘big data’ to analyse and harness customer
behaviour. For some roles, programming, web and IT skills are
particularly sought after too.
The specialisms within the sector (and the
terms used to describe them) overlap, but
can be broken down as:
ADVERTISING, uses paid-for space in
various media to motivate people to buy
products and services, or to alter their
attitudes.
PUBLIC RELATIONS, involves managing
and enhancing reputation (of a product,
person or service), principally by influencing
the media. Tools range from press releases
to promotional events.
MARKET RESEARCH, focuses on
collecting information about people’s
preferences to inform product development
or marketing campaigns.
MARKETING, encompasses and
strategically uses the industries above to
promote a product or service. The best
way to distinguish between advertising
and marketing is to think of marketing
as a pie, inside that pie you have slices
of advertising, market research, media
planning, public relations, distribution, sales
strategy, and so on. Advertising only equals
one piece of the pie in the strategy.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS, which is similar to PR,
but focuses on persuading policymakers to
adopt particular viewpoints.
Opportunities exist all over the UK in
MORE INFORMATION
If you want to find out more about this
sector, visit:
www.careers.ox.ac.uk/MARKETING
www.careers.ox.ac.uk/advertising
www.careers.ox.ac.uk/PUBLIC-RELATIONS
cities such as Leeds, Manchester,
Birmingham and Edinburgh, but the
main cluster of agencies is in London.
Large agencies and PR consultancies are
often international in scope. Many are
part of a larger communications group
with a parent company based in another
country.
GETTING IN AND
ENTRY POINTS
Deadlines for graduate schemes in this
sector generally fall between October
and January, with larger agencies
often setting late October and early
November deadlines. Marketing and
communication roles exist in all sectors,
so you could find initial opportunities as
an in-house marketing assistant with a
charity or technology firm, for example.
Large companies in other sectors – such
as FMCG or Media – also offer graduate
trainee programmes in marketing and
market research (often termed consumer
business insight). Deadlines for these are
generally in December.
Many agencies in the Advertising,
Marketing & PR sector accept
speculative approaches, for both
graduate roles and internships. Think
about a variety of ways to make a
speculative approach, because not all
agencies will want to read a traditional
CV. Creative alternatives can sometimes
be effective, such as an infographic
or videographic CV, or a website
showcasing yourself. Use The Careers
Service’s vacancy database and the
Institute of Practitioners in Advertising
(IPA) website for listings of agencies
to approach. PR and Public Affairs
rely heavily on networking skills, so be
prepared to develop and use these to
get in!
EXTRA-CURRICULAR IDEAS
+ + Get involved in the marketing of an
event, fundraiser, or any aspect of
promotion for a student society.
+ + Join the Advertising Society (AdSoc)
to learn more about, and demonstrate
interest in, the sector.
+ + The Student Consultancy (p.29) often
has projects that involve market
research for Oxfordshire companies:
a great way to provide evidence of
practical experience and commercial
awareness.
+ + Get involved with promotion of one of
OUSU’s campaigns.
+ + Consider applying for ‘Brand
Ambassador’ roles for large firms
looking to raise their brand awareness
at Oxford.
+ + Keep up-to-date with social media
platforms: you will be expected to
understand how to use Twitter, for
example.
Enni-Kukka Tuomala
Strategist– Saatchi & Saatchi
“
You can be creative when
applying for jobs; we receive
videos, posters and even
cakes with CVs written on
them from people trying to
stand out.
”
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