Areas and tasks in a digital agency
Since 2016, Tim Rombach, Managing Director at 711media, has been showing trainees and students what characterizes an agency, but especially a digital agency, and what everyday life in such an agency looks like.
In order to convey this not only theoretically, but also practically, the trainees and students of the MHMK visit the 711media location in Stuttgart every year to get a better impression directly on site.
What types of agency are there?
There is not just one agency, but different types, such as
- Creative agencies
- advertising agencies
- digital agencies
- etc.
Depending on the industry and type of agency, the services offered to the respective clients can vary greatly.
Creative agency
Creative agencies offer services in the marketing sector. The focus here is on highlighting marketing strategies through suitable designs. Their tasks include, for example, the creation, conception, consulting and implementation of projects. As there is no standard definition of agencies, creative agencies are often referred to as design agencies.
Advertising agency
Advertising agencies also offer similar services in the area of print and mass media. Among other things, they take on services such as the design, planning, consulting and conception of communication and advertising measures.
Digital agency
A digital agency is a company that offers customers various digital services. These can be both consulting and implementation activities, such as involvement in the conception of an online marketing strategy or the design and development of a website or app.
As different as agencies and the services they offer can be, they also have things in common: On the one hand, there are many terms that are used synonymously, as is the case with creative agency and design agency, so that the services offered are not always directly recognizable. On the other hand, there are many different tasks in the respective areas in which agencies are active. If an agency offers the entire range of services, it is usually referred to as a full-service agency.
Full service digital agency 711media
711media also falls into the category of a full service agency, or more precisely, a full service digital agency, as the services offered relate to digital products and services.
Who is 711media?
711media was founded in Stuttgart in 2002 and today consists of a multicultural team of 65 employees in Stuttgart and Lviv, Ukraine. Together we work passionately on digital projects. These can be, for example, (re)launches and internationalizations of corporate websites, customer-specific developments of CMS or apps or tasks in online marketing, such as search engine optimization (SEO), search engine advertising (SEA) or social media marketing.
Possible tasks in a digital agency
The skills required in a digital agency are as varied as the areas of responsibility and customer projects. Therefore, you can have a completed apprenticeship or a degree, but career changers are also always welcome.
At 711media in particular, it's less about what level of education you can demonstrate through particularly good grades, but rather about where your strengths lie and where you can best contribute your own expertise.
Development
If you want to help develop websites, you should have IT skills and knowledge of software development, object-oriented programming, test concepts and requirements analysis.
To work as a web developer, for example, you can train as an IT specialist in application development or study computer science.
Design
If you like to analyze, are creative and can imagine developing products to improve the user experience, you might be better suited to the field of design. For this area, you should be familiar with UX/UI design and tools such as Sketch, Figma, InVision or the Adobe Cloud.
There is currently no special training for UX/UI design. Training as a media designer or studying Interaction Design or Interface Design can make it easier to enter this profession.
Project management
In project management, you are the interface between development, web design, customers and other areas. You should therefore have an understanding of website development and the various services and tasks of an agency.
However, there is no special training in project management. At best, you should have a degree or training in business administration, computer science or technology.
Online Marketing
If you are interested in SEA, SEO and social media, you are in good hands in online marketing. Typical degree courses for a career in marketing include economics, graphic and print design, media design, communication sciences or event management. But you can also enter the world of online marketing with a suitable apprenticeship.
Sales
As part of the sales team, you should have a talent for sales and be very familiar with the services of an agency. As you combine sales with distribution, you should have both marketing and commercial knowledge. Accordingly, the requirements for this career area are a commercial apprenticeship or a degree in business and communication science.
