Advertising Agencies

Most advertising or promotion can be divided into three parts. One is

the agency that plans and prepares the campaign. Another is the adverti-

ser who pays the bills and whose name usually appears in the advertise-

ment. And finally there are the media that carry the message to the public.

The function of the modern advertising agency, to help a company

to market and advertise its goods and services efficiently, is fundamen-

tally different from the function of the original advertising agents who

were agents for the newspapers and magazines rather than the advertis-

ers. The original agents acted as media brokers selling advertising space

to anyone they could persuade to advertise and receiving commissions

from the publications for the space they sold. Agencies began to employ

copywriters, to think up and write effective advertising copy. Then, as it

became more important to make advertisements stand out from the edi-

torial and from an increasing number of other advertisements, graphic

artists were employed. Finally, production staff were employed to order

the printing services, ensure the best possible reproduction of advertising

literature, arrange for TV and radio adverts to be produced.

Nowadays an advertising agency is an independent organization of

creative people and businesspeople who specialize in developing and

preparing advertising plans, advertisements, and other promotional

tools. The agency also arranges or contracts for the purchase of advertis-

ing space and time in the various media. It does all this on behalf of dif-

ferent advertisers, or sellers – its clients – in an effort to find customers

for their goods and services.

This definition offers some good clues as to why so many advertisers

hire advertising agencies. The definition points out that agencies are in-

dependent: the are not owned by the advertiser, the media, or the suppli-

ers. This independence allows the agency to bring an outside, objective

viewpoint to the advertiser’s business. Good agencies possess the savvy,

skill, and competence to serve the needs of a variety of clients because

of their daily exposure to a broad spectrum of marketing situations and

problems.

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