Advertising
The advertising industry is concerned with the communication of ideas, which aim to persuade, inform, promote or sell. Its practice is a combination of business and creativity, delivering solutions to help clients achieve a business goal, whether that be to increase sales or influence attitudes. It is a multi-billion pound business operating across all industry sectors at a local, national and international level.Due to the sheer size of the industry, advertising is categorised in terms of its main forms and audiences, with companies or departments specialising in certain areas.

The two principal audiences are businesses and consumers, with target markets being defined much more specifically by size, type, age, demographic group, social behaviour, attitude etc. Knowledge of the target market is the key to a successful advertising campaign.When talking about a career in advertising, most people immediately think of the creative side and yet this is actually just one part of a process which involves a great deal of research and analysis, as well as presentation and negotiation work. For an industry with such a broad scope, it actually employs a relatively small number of people, with only a handful of agencies employing more than 500. As a result, competition for places is very high as agencies can choose to be extremely selective.

Marketing
Marketing in days gone by was just as simple as the name sounds – bringing goods, perhaps parsnips, to a market and attempting to sell them. Because all one’s customers were face-to-face, the process was very direct – involving shouting “pound for a pound” for example at the top of one’s voice.

Things have changed since then and marketing has become more sophisticated, with the internet for example the most recent technology to revolutionise the field – allowing companies to reach millions of potential clients at the click of a button. The essential principle remains the same however, as in the days of the original markets - producers want shoppers to choose their offering and not their rivals’; so they call attention to it and try to make it sound tastier, riper and fresher. 

Any enterprise, and many public bodies, require a marketing function. This means that the profession in the UK is huge, and it’s also among the most popular for graduates – providing fantastic career prospects, interesting and varied work and the opportunity to work in an area that is key to the image and success of any organisation.

PR
PR is defined by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations as 'the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour'. Essentially, it is the presentation of information about an organisation or individual to the outside world – to the media, and the public. Public relations activities will often seek either to raise the profile of the organisation or individual, or to alter and influence their perception in the public eye. The work might be proactive or reactive – either disseminating news about the client, trying to get it featured in media outlets; or responding to publicity, for example adverse coverage.

The theory of PR, keeping a good reputation, is simple. The realities are often more challenging as companies are rarely blessed with an ideal public profile at all times, and, at worst, can face an uphill struggle to change a strongly negative opinion into a positive one Careers in PR are highly sought after, and are thought of as quite glamourous – after all you might be working with exciting clients, such as high-profile companies or celebrities; and working in PR means being on the pulse, staying informed about and influencing the news and the media. The work tasks include planning campaign strategies, managing client relationships, calling up editors to place stories, and running events; as well as administrative functions like coordinating campaigns, updating contact lists and so on. As with most industries, progression up the ladder of responsibility will lead to moving from the slog-work to more desirable work.