All major advertisers maintain an advertising department. The structure of the department however may vary from one organization to another, as each one tries to develop a form, which is most suited to one’s requirements. The principal forms of organizational structure are based on

(i) sub functions of advertising, such as copywriting or artworks

(ii) communication media

(iii) geographical spread

(iv) product and

(v) end users.

Irrespective of the specific form, the advertising department has to perform several functions. Principal among these are setting advertising goals, plans and budget, selecting the outside ad agency, maintaining contacts, providing support to the marketing staff and monitor the functioning of the ad agency. Selecting the ad agency is one of the important tasks of the advertising department. Several criteria, including experience, size, track record and the quality of the personnel, are considered in the selection process.

As you know, there are different categories of advertisers. Depending upon their functions, each organization develops its own structure, of which advertising department is a part. What is important in this connection is to analyze the functions an advertisement department is expected to perform.

Organization of a Typical Advertising Department Click Image To View Larger Size