Advertising is a far-reaching business with many career options. Centennial College offers three unique advertising programs to get you started on the road to advertising success.

Advertising is literally all around us. It appears on our television screens in the form of commercials, in our newspapers and magazines as print ads, on the Internet via pop-up ads and banners on our favourite website, on our highways in the form of billboards and even in our mail through flyers and take-out menus from restaurants. This field is far-reaching: In 2010, spending on advertising was estimated at more than $300-billion in the United States and $500-billion worldwide. The careers in advertising are also far-reaching — not everyone is the creative mind behind the campaigns. Some people work behind-the-scenes to ensure that everything is running smoothly. Your career in this exciting, creative field begins by attending one of the advertising programs offered by your local college.

In Toronto, Ont. many students turn to Centennial College to obtain their advertising credentials. Founded in 1966, the school boasts a respected reputation and offers three advertising programs to suit your unique interest in the field. All three are facilitated out of the $36-million cutting-edge campus for the arts, which ensures that students have access to the latest advertising technology, professors who have experience in the field and much more.

If students have already graduated from an advertising program but wish to advance their career by obtaining a specialized diploma, the college offers two options. The first is Advertising: Media Management. This hands-on and intensive industry-approved program prepares students for the advertising and communications industry in the role of strategic media planning and buying. It provides students with the fundamentals of media management, with a focus on consumer-driven communication channel choices for advertising messages. Just three semesters in length, this advertising program sees students attending lectures and completing an industry field placement during which they work in the field and apply what they have learned.

Another post-graduate advertising program at Centennial is Advertising: Account Management. This section of the advertising field is all about maximizing your creative, strategic and business skills to develop and coordinate advertising, sales promotion, event marketing, interactive or direct marketing. This particular Advertising program, focuses on offering students the scope of advertising tactics so they can manage integrated communication plans from inception to final production. In addition to courses such as, Advertising Research, Media for Account Managers, and Agency Finance and Operations, there is a 15-week industry field placement that allows students to gain critical knowledge, professional relationships and work experience.

If you do not yet have an advertising degree or diploma, Centennial offers an undergraduate Advertising program, which prepares students for careers in account management, media buying and planning, marketing, copywriting, production, direct marketing, promotion and event marketing. The Advertising program focuses on: developing instincts and strategic abilities while meeting deadlines in a professional and creative environment; completing an industry field placement that allows students to acquire experience in the day-to-day activities of the advertising world; and learning the entire advertising process. Courses include: Foundations in Marketing, Consumer Psychology, Imaging, Advertising Media Selection, Campaign Planning and more.