Advertising copywriter to creative director
An advertising copywriter already meets 48% of what the creative director role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.9/ 100
1 How much of what a creative director is expected to do is already part of an advertising copywriter’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the creative director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A creative director role treats 9 of its required skills as things an advertising copywriter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advertising techniques
- brainstorm ideas
- coordinate advertising campaigns
- copyright legislation
- desktop publishing
- give live presentation
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A creative director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an advertising copywriter background worth leading with.
- already held brainstorm ideas communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create advertisements communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse cultural trends information skills
- already held meet expectations of target audience information skills
- already held perform media outlets research information skills
- already held evaluate advertising campaign information skills
All 18 carried skills, including the 9 the creative director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assess each stage of the creative process required
- still to learn define creative components required
- still to learn provide input to collaborators to guide their work required
- still to learn select artwork developed by staff members required
- still to learn manage workflow processes required
- optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- still to learn manage creative department required
- still to learn manage staff required
- optional, not held create media plan optional
- optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held receive actors' resumes optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn graphic design required
- optional, not held media planning optional
- still to learn examine advertisement layout required
- optional, not held adobe creative suite optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held design management optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a creative director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assess each stage of the creative process practise this
- 02 define creative components practise this
- 03 provide input to collaborators to guide their work practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 18 skills that carry over
- already held advertising techniques knowledge
- already held brainstorm ideas skill
- already held coordinate advertising campaigns skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held desktop publishing knowledge
- already held give live presentation skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held meet expectations of target audience skill
- already held analyse consumer buying trends skill
- already held analyse cultural trends skill
- already held apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- already held create advertisements skill
- already held develop media strategy skill
- already held evaluate advertising campaign skill
- already held perform market research skill
- already held perform media outlets research skill
- already held types of media knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held adobe creative suite optional
- optional, not held create media plan optional
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
- optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
- optional, not held media planning optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held receive actors' resumes optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
17 held skills the creative director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- not needed by the target role conduct search engine optimisation skill
- not needed by the target role create storyboards skill
- not needed by the target role develop creative ideas skill
- not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
- not needed by the target role draft press releases skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate writings in response to feedback skill
- not needed by the target role follow a brief skill
- not needed by the target role lay out digital written content skill
- not needed by the target role practice humour skill
- not needed by the target role printing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role product comprehension knowledge
- not needed by the target role proofread text skill
- not needed by the target role social media marketing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role typography knowledge
- not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
- not needed by the target role write to a deadline skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn graphic design required
- optional, not held adobe creative suite optional
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held media planning optional
Other moves recorded from advertising copywriter
- advertising specialist 53% covered · moderate
- advertising assistant 36% covered · substantial
- advertising media buyer 34% covered · substantial
- speechwriter 34% covered · substantial
- desktop publisher 31% covered · substantial
- advertising media planner 30% covered · substantial
- copy editor 28% covered · substantial
- graphic designer 26% covered · career change
Common questions about this move
Can an advertising copywriter become a creative director?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An advertising copywriter already covers 48% of what a creative director is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 9 of which the creative director role treats as required.
What skills does an advertising copywriter need to become a creative director?
9 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is assess each stage of the creative process.
How hard is the move from advertising copywriter to creative director?
Its learning distance is 54.9 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.