Advertising media buyer to creative director
An advertising media buyer already meets 32% of what the creative director role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
67.9/ 100
1 How much of what a creative director is expected to do is already part of an advertising media buyer’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 6 of its required skills as things an advertising media buyer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advertising techniques
- coordinate advertising campaigns
- copyright legislation
- identify customer's needs
- manage budgets
- meet expectations of target audience
What stands in the way is 12 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 12 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 media buyer background worth leading with.
- already held create media plan management skills
- already held media planning arts and humanities
- already held meet expectations of target audience information skills
- already held perform media outlets research information skills
- already held evaluate advertising campaign information skills
- already held types of media arts and humanities
All 12 carried skills, including the 6 the creative director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 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 brainstorm ideas required
- still to learn give live presentation required
- still to learn manage workflow processes required
- optional, not held create advertisements optional
- 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 develop media strategy 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 desktop publishing required
- optional, not held adobe creative suite optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- still to learn examine advertisement layout required
- optional, not held analyse cultural trends optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- still to learn graphic design required
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held use CAD software 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held advertising techniques knowledge
- already held coordinate advertising campaigns skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- 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 create media plan skill
- already held evaluate advertising campaign skill
- already held media planning knowledge
- already held perform media outlets research skill
- already held types of media knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held design management optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held adobe creative suite optional
- optional, not held create advertisements optional
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held analyse cultural trends optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
- optional, not held develop media strategy optional
- optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
- optional, not held perform market research 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
20 held skills the creative director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role buy advertising space skill
- not needed by the target role create media schedule skill
- not needed by the target role demography knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop online community plan skill
- not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
- not needed by the target role digital media knowledge
- not needed by the target role document interviews skill
- not needed by the target role draw conclusions from market research results skill
- not needed by the target role interactive media knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage online communications skill
- not needed by the target role marketing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role media studies knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor media industry research figures skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate buying conditions skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate terms with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role polling techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role present arguments persuasively skill
- not needed by the target role study sales levels of products skill
- not needed by the target role use analytics for commercial purposes 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 desktop publishing required
- 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
Common questions about this move
Can an advertising media buyer become a creative director?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An advertising media buyer already covers 32% of what a creative director is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 6 of which the creative director role treats as required.
What skills does an advertising media buyer need to become a creative director?
12 required skills are missing, plus 15 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 media buyer to creative director?
Its learning distance is 67.9 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.