Advertising Careers:
Experiences. Meaning. Well-Being.

Participants wanted for study into advertising careers, workplace cultures and well-being!

What does it mean to work in advertising today?

Thank you very much for your interest in my research into career trajectories, workplace cultures and job satisfaction in the advertising industry.

My name is Dr Sven Brodmerkel, and I am an Assistant Professor for Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications at Bond University at the Gold Coast.

This project is inspired by Studs Terkel's seminal book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. Published in 1974, this book was special in that it gave voice to the subjective experiences of workers and the meaning they ascribed to their jobs and careers. It sparked a particular form of public sociology that goes beyond the 'sound-bite' reporting of qualitative research by giving space to more extensive career narratives. Thus, public sociology seeks to engage a wider audience beyond academia.

Such research is even more important since in the academic realm advertising practitioners are still mostly 'Hidden Persuaders' – professionals who are talked about, but rarely listened to. This project aims to change that. And while doing so, it will hopefully contribute to developing a normative framework of ‘good work', potentially informing initiatives and policy responses aiming to improve the well-being and work satisfaction of practitioners in the creative industries.

About the study:

Who can participate?

That's easy - more or less anyone who works or has worked in advertising for a minimum of 12 months.

If you have experience with the big network agencies, even better.

  • I am keen to talk to the suits as well as to the creatives.

  • To the planners as well as to the producers.

  • To males and females (or non-binary identities, of course).

  • To the newcomers and to the experienced.

  • To the full-time employed as well as to freelancers.

In short: The more diversity, the better.

You would like to take part in the study? Great!

Just get in touch with me and we can agree on a time and a place for the interview.

How does it work?

  • We can meet in person, if possible, but of course we can also put our now highly developed video-conferencing skills to good use.

  • Based on experience, interviews typically last about 60 minutes.

On the topic of research ethics:

  • If you decide to take part in the study, you still may withdraw at any time without risking any negative consequences.
    If you choose to withdraw your participation, the information you have provided will be immediately destroyed.

  • The information I obtain from you will be dealt with in a manner that ensures you remain anonymous.

The outcomes:

  • A clearer sense of the relationship between working in advertising and well-being.

  • Engaged debates across industry platforms and contributions to the trade press.

  • A book and other academic publications.

More about me:

Here is a bit more about me, my research and my pre-academic career as a copywriter and creative strategist:
https://research.bond.edu.au/en/persons/sven-brodmerkel