An advertising agency will help you appear on the market

The first advertising agencies were not commissioned by advertisers, but by newspapers. The scope of their duties was limited to selling advertising space in the press. Today, agencies deal with the design and implementation of campaigns and individual advertisements in various media, as well as implement other projects related to promotion. What does the cooperation with such an entity look like? And how can an advertising agency help your business?

What does an advertising agency do?

An advertising agency is not exactly the same as PR agency. It is an entity that provides advertising activities to other entities. In other words, it is a company that creates and implements comprehensive advertising campaigns and individual advertisements for brands, products or services, using any medium - including radio, television, the Internet or the press.

What does an advertising agency do? In the Encyclopedia of Management, we can read that its main tasks include: "designing and implementing advertisements, developing a media plan, creating promotional strategies, selecting media and communication tools, managing the advertising budget, analyzing the market and evaluating the effectiveness of advertisements." In other words - the agency plans, organizes, implements and controls advertising campaigns or its individual parts. Its aim is to promote the brand (its product or service) in such a way as to help it develop sales and increase its reach.

Advertising agencies operate in the areas of BTL and ATL. BTL stands for "below the line", which means all advertising activities that reach the target group by means other than through the mass media. Whereas ATL, "above the line", is a strategy of activities carried out in traditional media, that is, on the radio, press, television, the Internet and through print advertisements. Agencies that combine both areas of activity are called 360 ° agencies.

Today's advertising agencies support companies from various industries in achieving specific business goals. They create advertising messages and ensure their consistency. What was it like in the past? When was the powerful power of advertising discovered? And who founded the first advertising agency?

How it started, or a few words about the first advertising agency

Ads have been with us for centuries. Oral promotion, which began with the development of commercial exchange in antiquity, can be considered the primary form of advertising messages. The traders of the time noticed that loudly declaring the exceptional features of the offered goods significantly increased their sales.

The papyrus from Thebes from 3000 BC is considered to be the oldest advertising advertisement in writing. Centuries ago, commercial signs hanging over the entrances to taverns or other premises were also a specific form of advertising. In addition, the first advertising materials resembling today's leaflets or posters have also appeared.

A turning point in the advertising world (and not only) was the invention of printing. The event triggered a rapid development of the press, and hence - also of press advertisements. Initially, they were free transfers. The first paid press advertisement appeared in the pages of the Boston News-Letter in 1704. It is worth mentioning that the first television advertising spot appeared in 1941, and the first internet banner - in 1994.

The beginnings of advertising agencies go back to the end of the 17th century. Then William Taylor founded the first advertising agency in London. Another British agency a little later, in 1800, was established by James White. However, the development of advertising agencies did not take place until the mid-nineteenth century, when Volney B. Palmer founded the first American advertising agency in Philadelphia. The company collected advertisements and had them broadcast in the printed press.

The end of the 19th century is considered the birth of modern advertising, when James Walter Thompson decided that his agency would create content for advertisers. Thus, he created the world's first creative department.

Advertising agencies today - in what areas do they operate?

Currently, advertising agencies deal with broadly understood promotion. The areas of their activity in Poland are defined by the Classification of Economic Activity (i.e. the contractually adopted division of socio-economic activity carried out by economic entities). According to the document, the tasks of advertising agencies include:

• designing, planning, placing advertisements in print media, radio, television, the Internet and outdoor advertisements in the form of billboards, display cases, window displays, etc.,
• creating stands and other exhibition structures,
• conducting advertising campaigns, including product promotion, direct marketing (i.e. mail order sales, telemarketing, sales at the customer's home), marketing consulting.

Today's agencies are not limited to classic forms of promotion. A good agency knows how to harness your marketing potential and uses different types of advertising - including ambient advertisingor also guerilla marketing. This, in turn, translates into real effects - because the more interesting the advertisement is, the greater the chance it has to reach the target group and translate into the expectation of benefits.

The scope of activity of an advertising agency

The scope of services provided by advertising agencies is closely related to the development of new media and the availability of innovative technologies. Together with them, new media and marketing channels were created, which agencies effectively use in their activities.

The activities undertaken by the advertising agency may vary depending on the nature of the project being implemented. The final shape of the cooperation is particularly influenced by:

• the goal that the client wants to achieve,
• specificity of a given market - including current market trends,
• company's marketing strategy.

However, we can distinguish universal tasks of advertising agencies, that is:

• help in choosing the right form of promotion,
• designing advertising materials,
• creating radio, television and internet advertisements,
• media planning and selection,
• developing other forms of promotion,
• placing advertisements in communication channels,
• supervision of ongoing projects - are the advertisements displayed in accordance with the contracts, purchased broadcasting time, etc.

Types of advertising agencies

There are many advertising agencies on the market. Some of them offer comprehensive services, i.e. full promotional support for the brand, while others are limited to specific areas or forms of promotion. Ultimately, however, the idea of the work of each of them is the same - the agency supports the company in promotion and sales through direct and indirect methods.

Among the most popular advertising agencies, we can distinguish:

• "full service" agencies, also known as 360 ° agencies - provide a full range of services in various areas of marketing,
• interactive and internet agencies - they do internet marketing, that is, promotion on the Internet; their tasks include positioning of pages, planning and implementing link building campaigns, e-mail marketing and social media marketing, as well as creating websites,
• SEO / SEM agencies - focus on optimization, positioning and paid campaigns,
• social media agencies - they operate mainly in social media and carry out advertising campaigns there.

In addition, we will distinguish:

1. local agencies cooperating mainly with small, local entrepreneurs - they most often use traditional forms of advertising, i.e. leaflets, posters, banners, etc.,
2. media houses that plan and buy mass media advertising.

In which channels does the advertising agency operate?

We mentioned that the activity of advertising agencies is heavily dependent on the development of technology. But that's not all. The constantly growing expectations of consumers, new market trends and other variables also have a great influence on advertising. So where to advertise the companyto effectively reach potential customers?

In the past, advertising agencies only dealt with promotion in the press. Today, with the development of other delivery channels, the range of their services has expanded significantly (and will likely expand further). Contemporary agencies use various forms of promotion, most often focusing their activities on the Internet. The Internet offers great promotional opportunities. There is tremendous potential in the network. Through it, you can reach hundreds to even thousands of potential customers. What's more, the Internet speeds up purchasing decisions, is a great tool for creating a brand image, and also enables effective dialogue with customers.

Along with technological development, advertising has ceased to be something exclusive, available only to the largest brands. Currently, it is used by all brands that want to be saved in the minds of their recipients and generate high profits. New technologies offer great opportunities. Advertisers create personalized advertising messages that are extremely effective (which is confirmed by numerous studies).

What are the benefits of working with an advertising agency?

Today's advertising market not only offers a lot of opportunities, but also places greater demands on advertisers. Currently, it is difficult to promote a company on your own and successfully stand out from the numerous competition. Companies must compete for customer interest. Today, it is not only the quality of the offered products or services that matters. The form of presenting these goods is equally important. Advertising must be interesting, tailored to the target group, well-thought-out and, most importantly, not tiring for the recipient.

Preparing an effective advertising message is an art. How to get it right? The key to success is the support of specialists!

An advertising agency knows how to prepare an advertising campaign tailored to the expectations of even the most demanding people. Cooperation with such an entity translates into real effects. Depending on the business goal, it may be growth sales efficiency specific products, gaining new customers, or successful expansion into new markets.

The entrepreneur can be sure that the advertising campaign prepared by a professional agency will be consistent. Specialists take care of the aesthetics and authenticity of each element of the message. They make every effort to ensure that the message reflects the character of the brand and the values that guide it. In addition, they attach great importance to the correctness of the campaign - they ensure that the messages display the appropriate advertising slogan, correct logo, etc.

Working with an agency saves time, money and nerves. The agency knows what it's doing! He can prepare materials faster and better. She often manages to get attractive discounts from subcontractors, and consequently the client pays less for the entire campaign. Cooperation with an advertising agency is a well-placed capital!

Until recently, it was believed that only large companies, especially global brands, could use the services of advertising agencies. Fortunately, today more and more companies are opening up to cooperation with agencies - which is undoubtedly good for them! It can be especially helpful for those companies that:

• do not have their own marketing department,
• are new to the market, do not have a strong position,
• want to implement several promotional projects at the same time.

But how to choose the right advertising agency? What to pay special attention to?

Choosing an advertising agency in a few simple steps

There are many advertising agencies on the market. Choosing the right one is a real challenge. What to look for when looking for an agency?

First of all, at the first contact - does the agency understand your expectations, is willing to help, is open, and proposes solutions. A good agency will dissuade you from bad, wrong ideas, replacing them with better ones. If the agency agrees to everything, it most likely does not know what it is doing.

Search for an agency that meets your expectations. Check the company's experience, carefully analyze the scope of services provided, pay attention to previous projects and opinions left by existing customers. If you run a small business, choose an agency that specializes in small-scale promotions - and vice versa.

Cooperation with an advertising agency in a nutshell

It all starts with a decent brief! The brief is a specific basis for the agency's cooperation with the client, a base for the implementation of individual project steps. The better structured and detailed the brief, the greater the chance that the agency will understand the client's expectations and prepare an effective advertising campaign.

Brief is a document that defines the scope of the order. This is the initial concept of the campaign, created by the client (i.e. the company). What information should be included in the brief?

At the beginning, an introduction should appear, containing a description of the company, characteristics direct and indirect competition and short information about advertising campaigns and other forms of promotion used so far.

Then it defines itself target audience, detailing information about the age, gender, education of recipients and their potential interest in the brand / product.

Next, you should include:

• advertising goals - effects to be achieved by the campaign,
• promise - brand distinguishing features to encourage customers,
• endorsement - consumer opinions that confirm the authenticity of the promise,
• effect - desired reaction of recipients to the campaign,
• executive guidelines - any suggestions for people creating the advertisement,
• media - media selected to conduct the campaign,
• budget - capital for promotion,
• effectiveness measures - criteria and tools for assessing the effectiveness of advertising activities.

The results of market research, sales data, results of previously conducted promotional campaigns and other documents can be attached to the brief.

The agency, after reading the brief, conducts a comprehensive audit and analyzes the current situation of the company, and then prepares an offer consisting of ideas and proposals for actions that can meet the client's expectations. The agency, together with the client, sets business goals for cooperation and refines the project. Then it is time to implement, i.e. create all the elements that will create the campaign - i.e. graphic materials, promotional films, banners, advertising texts and others. The last stages of cooperation are: campaign implementation, ad monitoring for correctness and final measurement of the effects.

How to check if cooperation with an advertising agency is profitable?

You don't need to know marketing to run a successful business. A professional advertising agency can help you promote your brand. Agency support can contribute to your company's ultimate success in the marketplace. But how to check if cooperation translates into real benefits?

First of all, make sure you have a logical, detailed brief. We mentioned that the brief is the basis for cooperation. It is a kind of project base, the starting point for the implementation of individual components of the entire order. A well-structured brief is a recipe for success!

In order for the cooperation to bring the expected results, set specific goals and present them to the agency. Determine where the company is to be located in a year's time, what areas you want to develop, which elements of your business you want to strengthen. Put your business goals into cooperation goals.

Be sure to describe the next stages of achieving the goals of cooperation. Thanks to this, you will be able to verify on an ongoing basis whether the agency is implementing the plan step by step. At the beginning of cooperation, set up indicators for measuring the effects of any advertising activities undertaken by the agency.

What else can you do? Check the organic traffic on your website (it can be slow at first, because SEO takes time), analyze the increase in search engine position after entering specific keywords, and also measure conversion rate.

Advertising, marketing and creative agency - differences

Advertising, marketing and creative agencies are of a similar nature - they deal with similar things. That is why many people cannot distinguish between these entities. What are the differences?

The marketing agency deals with all marketing, in other words - it guarantees a comprehensive view of marketing. Usually, it offers a comprehensive service that includes the development of a marketing strategy, preparation of materials and marketing implementation - including social media support, content marketing, word of mouth marketing, etc.

The advertising agency creates advertisements at the client's request - both entire campaigns and individual promotions. The scope of her duties includes, inter alia, preparation of an advertising strategy, development media plan, planning and organizing a campaign or a single advertisement based on a brief prepared by the client. The advertising agency monitors the course of the campaign - that is, it watches over the correctness and aesthetics of advertising messages.

A creative agency has a slightly wider range of services than advertising and marketing companies, and its activities are mainly internet-based, while advertising and marketing agencies use both online and offline methods. Creates web pages and online stores, conducts various activities related to social media, places advertisements on the web, creates logos and deals with other things related to the functioning of the company on the Internet.

Which agency should you choose? It all depends on what you want to achieve. First of all, clearly define the goals you want to achieve when working with the agency. This will certainly help you make the final decision.

Cooperation with an advertising agency - summary

Is cooperation with an advertising agency profitable? Without a doubt! Your company needs promotion to successfully operate on the market. This is especially true in this day and age where brands have to constantly compete for customers. The company that can stand out and present itself in an interesting way has the best chance of success. The experience and competences of specialists working in a professional agency may prove to be invaluable support in the promotion of the company. Cooperation with the agency is an opportunity to become a recipient of the mind, gain a stable position on the market, and even become a leader in the industry. By working with an agency, you ensure the success of your brand!