Agency Copy Titles

We’ll take a journey up the copywriter career path to try to establish some commonalities and expectations at each stop along the way.

Jr. Copywriter Welcome to advertising. Jr. copywriters are just beginning their careers in the industry. You probably have a degree in English, Philosophy, Journalism, or maybe even Advertising. You might have gone to portfolio school, where you built a student portfolio and possibly already have some internship experience.

You’ll work on projects to prove yourself, learning the ropes from more senior creatives. Everything you touch should have significant oversight. You may or may not interact with clients. If you do, it will be in very controlled environments.

Your biggest assets are your raw point of view and personal experiences. Expect to be here about a year or two.

Want to get promoted? Network within your agency, ask a lot of questions, and always provide a ton of options for copy assignments.

Copywriter You likely have a year or two under your belt. Some agencies will pair you with an art director, but often you’ll also float and partner with many different ADs.

You’ll be exposed to a lot of different types of projects and clients, often at the same time. Ideally, you’ll get oversight and direction, but you’ll be expected to produce professional copy and concepts. You’re an idea generator. You produce headline after headline, concept after concept. The final work that goes to the client will most often be some version of an idea you came up with. You’ll have some exposure to clients, usually with CD supervision. Expect to be here two to four years.

Want to get promoted? Generate ideas, get curious about your clients, practice presenting your own work, try to start thinking in headlines, bring something extra to the table.

Senior Copywriter After five or six years you’ve become a creative force for your agency and been promoted to senior copywriter. Seniors have the most fun. You’ve gotten the swing of things but aren’t yet officially managing anyone. Junior creatives come to you for advice and ACDs and CDs rely on you for important projects that require your agency’s best thinking. Your job is to deliver.

Here you’ll start presenting a lot of your own work to clients with ACDs and CDs standing by to offer support. Expect to be here two to four years.

Want to get promoted? Show an interest in fostering others’ work and growth, start learning about strategy and business goals, become one of your agency’s best presenters, think strategically and conceptually.

Associate Creative Director After seven to ten years of learning the ropes - welcome to management, kind of. You now oversee the creative product of a team of writers, art directors, designers, and more. However, most management decisions around salary, promotions, etc. are still the responsibility of your creative director. You’ll often have an ACD - Art partner to bounce ideas off and provide support. Your creative director is also a resource.

As an ACD you’re in a key position at the intersection of business and art. You need to understand budgets and timelines in a way that isn’t usually required of a senior copywriter or senior AD.

You present the bulk of your team’s work to the client and often serve as the face of the creative team, allowing your creative director to remain a bit above the fray, at least in front of clients.

Want to get promoted? Foster the talent on your team, show an interest in the business side of the creative department, show how reliable you are with big projects and important clients.

Creative Director The CD job is hard to define. You’re where it all comes together. Make sure the work is good and on brief. If a client has a problem with the work product or feedback that changes the nature of the project, you’re the one who is going to work with them to create a path forward and then communicate that path forward to your creative team.

You make the job your own. Play to your team’s strengths. Help fill in if there are weaknesses. Advocate for your people. You need to show empathy. You need to push properly. You need to have a tough side and a compassionate side.

Want to get promoted? Some CDs stay CDs. Other’s jump to Group Creative Directors. The next big leap is Executive Creative Director or Chief Creative Officer. Or you can always start your own agency.