Postgraduate Profile: Hannah Cartwright

Hannah Cartwright completed a MSc in Advertising at Dublin Institute of Technology

“I work at a creative advertising agency called Owens DDB, as an account handler on Volkswagen. My role includes competitive monitoring, and analysis of communication put out by our main competitors.

“I generally deal with all requests for pieces of creative from dealers all over the country. My role would also require various work-in-progress meetings with the client, planning for future campaigns and brainstorming/strategy sessions for events.

“One day I could be on a TV ad or photo shoot ensuring that all is running smoothly and that the client is happy – the next day I may be back in the office brainstorming for upcoming campaigns. The role of an account handler is to ensure that the running and handling of clients goes as smoothly as possible.

“An account handler’s general uniform is all black clothing – the jobs you do during the day constantly change and you never know where you might be needed.

“I did my primary degree at Royal Holloway University London in drama and philosophy. I started off as a drama major and swiftly was told repeatedly that I would “never find a job”. Rather than packing it in altogether I decided to change to joint honours. Although I loved my degree, without a vocational degree it was incredibly difficult to get into the area I wanted to be in which was advertising. Apart from a graduate degree there are other ways in, such as internships, however competition is fierce – especially in London where 200 people could be going for 20 spots.

“DIT has a brilliant reputation and the course has great ties within the industry both in Dublin and further afield. There seems to be at least one person in the big advertising cities such as New York and London who did the MSc at DIT. The more I researched the course the more people [I found] who had either done the course themselves or knew someone who recommended it.

“I really enjoyed the intensity of the course; it was far more structured than my undergraduate would have been.

“What is really great about the course is that there’s a real mix of theoretical and practical aspects. The course also has a final practical examination, which takes the form of a month-long pitch period and a final pitch to a large group of industry members. The pitch was great experience and taught us all the value of being able to work as a team and, ultimately, produce strategy and creative that could potentially win you a client.

“Advertising is all about people – the way people think, act and what will make them loyal to a brand, or switch to a new product. Understanding the way people work is inherent to the industry and to the job.

“One great aspect of the course is the diversity it allows you. In the first term, you take copywriting and art direction modules alongside strategy and planning.

“Although they may not all be where your strengths lie, you quickly learn to appreciate the amount of effort and focus that goes into something such as art direction for example.”