An examination of computer usage in creative departments at southeast advertising agencies

This study examined the use of computers in creative departments at southeast advertising agencies. Surveys were sent to 585 advertising agencies located in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The first part of the questionnaire tapped into demographic information, while the second part measured respondent's attitudes/ perceptions of the use of computers in creative departments. Results revealed that 79.4% of the advertising agencies in the southeast had implemented computers into their creative department. The most cited reason for using computers was increased job speed and efficiency. The most cited reason for not using computers in the creative department was costs and lack of computer experience. The vast majority of respondents (76.3%) preferred Apple Macintosh equipment and the most popular software programs were QuarkXpress and Aldus PageMaker. Over 80% of the respondents viewed the computers as a competitive necessity for the advertising industry. Overall the southeast was found to be keeping pace with nationwide surveys in terms of computer acceptance.