Advertising is a marketing tool that uses an openly sponsored message that is non-personal to promote goods or services. Advertising is also a crucial component of business management.
All organizations, both start-ups, and existing ones will have to advertise their products in one way or the other in order to make sales and have a breakthrough in the market. They can do this by creating a marketing team, and employing the services of a media group or ad agency. They both have similar functions as they all deal with media; digital, written, and audiovisual.
An advertising company is an independent firm that specializes in the creation, implementation, and sustenance of marketing strategies. An ad agency typically is outsourced by companies of varying sizes to help in their marketing efforts. This review will look at advertising agencies in the olden days and the functions of these agencies as well in today's world.
In the beginning, when advertising became a certainty, ads were transported to various media outlets by representatives who traded and retraded these advertising spaces for a return. This was all before the onset of full-fledged advertising companies.
These representatives would, in the future, have more errands such as designing, planning, coordinating, and writing advertisements for clients at a fee.
The first advertising company in history dates back as far as the 17th century when William Taylor formed one in London. While W.Taylor is considered the pioneer of advertising companies, it was Volney B. Palmer, who took the idea overseas and spread it across the globe.
Palmer set up the first overseas ad agency on American soil in the 18th century in the city of Philadelphia. It became the prototype of the ad agency in today's world. Palmer would purchase vast advertising spaces in key newspapers and sell them at a profit to publicists. This made him an ad space agent will little impact on the artistic side of advertisements.
Several other ad agencies were opened around the world and followed the same business model until the 19th century when N.W Ayer & Son kickstarted operations in New York. Rather than merely vending ad spaces, this agency brought the full array of services, including ad content creation, executing ad campaigns for its clients, ad planning, and plenty more besides.
The primary objective of an ad agency is advertising, first and foremost. These firms will carry out advertising for clients on various platforms as per the contractual agreements. Advertisements are done on billboards, print media, and digital media, among others.
Tracking advertising results is another role of ad agencies. This is done to find out if an ad is meeting its objectives. Afterward, the agency will dissect and analyze outcomes. If the result is not favorable, the agency will suggest new approaches.
Multifunctional ad agencies also specialize in graphic design for their marketing clients. They will come up will designs and slogans for an ad campaign. These designs will be used in print media and digital media. Poor designs will impact an ad campaign, so it's best to consult professionals.
Some ad agencies also specialize in branding the goods or services of clients. The primary role here is to endorse the company's brand and its produce as well. They will produce branded merchandise with the company's name and logo to attract attention as well as hold promotional events for the client.
An ad agency may be called upon to create a marketing plan. Factoring in your marketing budget, the agency will recommend the most suitable marketing platforms to go after. This will be significant to the success of a marketing campaign.
To sum it all up, advertising companies have evolved over time, as we have seen above. Nowadays, it is a no-brainer for organizations to source the services of these agencies so long as they are multifunctional and can do more than just create ads.
