Full-Service Advertising Agencies in Washington, D.C., Key Terms

Learn the jargon to communicate with advertising professionals in the U.S. capital

By Paul Hirsch

Washington, D.C., is a government town, which means that there is more positional advertising than in other areas, but there is plenty of product advertising, too. Working effectively with full-service advertising agencies in Washington, D.C., means you will have to become familiar with terms like account executive, creative director, rate cards, advertorials, blueline and eye tracking. By learning full-service advertising agencies in Washington, D.C., key terms, you will be well on your way to sounding like an expert.

Account executive

An account executive will be your primary point of contact when you work with a full-service advertising agency in Washington, D.C. Account executives are responsible for effectively communicating the client's needs to the agency and overseeing that the agency's approach is satisfactory to the client. Account executives rarely develop campaigns.
Try: WiseGEEK has a thorough description of the account executive position.

Creative director

The creative director supervises a team of "creatives" who are responsible for developing the content and scope of advertising campaigns for full- service advertising agencies in Washington, D.C. This is one of the key positions in a full-service advertising agency anywhere.
Try: Sessions Online School of Design offers a description of the creative director position.

Rate cards

If your goal is to impress your contacts at a full-service advertising agency in Washington, D.C., understand the term rate card. Rate cards are the published rates for ad space or ad time. You can often negotiate these rates.
Try: Crucial Marketing gives a definition of rate cards.

Advertorials

Advertorials are ads that look like editorial copy. This is a terrific tool for high-level executives or government officials who want to communicate with their stakeholders. With an advertorial, the ad looks like a regular print story, but the full-service advertising agency controls the content.
Try: Advertorial offers an in-depth look at advertorials.

Blueline

This is another inside term used at a full-service advertising agency in Washington, D.C. Blueline is the final copy that you can check before an ad goes to press.
Try: Love to Know provides a definition of this term.

Eye tracking

Full-service advertising agencies in Washington, D.C., use this term to describe the process for laying out an ad to take advantage of established human reading patterns.
Try: A good description of eye tracking is available at Prompt Research Insights.