As a business owner: you’re probably aware that investing in advertising is one of the best strategies to increase your bottom line, in 2021 and beyond.
However, it’s hard to identify the right ad agency for your exact needs, since there are countless types that offer a wide range of advertising services – and they all say they’re the best.
Fortunately, we’re an advertising agency and this is our bread and butter.
My promise to you is that by reading this article, you’ll end up with a clearer vision of the right advertising agency to hire.
Let’s dive in.
What is an Advertising Agency?
First things first, let’s get on the same page.
I like this definition from Wikipedia: “An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients.
An ad agency is generally independent from the client; it may be an internal department or agency that provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client’s products or services, or an outside firm. An agency can also handle overall marketing and branding strategies promotions for its clients, which may include sales as well.”
Put simply, you’re using advertising to inform people about a new campaign, tighten up your message, or just buy targeted clicks that’ll result in sales. To achieve that you have to:
- Hand-pick the platform (place) where you’re going to advertise
- Prepare the right message to compel your target audience
- Have a clear ask, a.k.a what’s the customer’s next step?
- Hit the goal (add a new subscriber, make a new sale, or whatever your goal is)
That’s what advertising is used for. So how do agencies help?
There are many agencies that offer one or more different types of service depending on what you’re looking for. Let’s break down the different types of advertising agency to find out which one is best for your exact needs.
Note: We’ve helped Zain, LuLu, and a ton of the biggest companies reach their advertising goals within their budget through our advertising service. Let’s see if we’re a good fit!
What Are The Different Types of Ad Agency?
A quick search on Google using a keyword like ad agency is guaranteed to get you lost. There are a LOT of agencies. Thousands of them!
But not all advertising agencies are created equal, and not all of them offer what you need. You might be looking for design and copywriting. Perhaps you need traditional ads. Or maybe you’re going full-on social media, but have no clue where to start.
Which one to hire? Frustrating, I know.
So, let’s talk in more detail about the best-known types of advertising agencies and which one is right for you.
Type #1: Traditional Advertising Agency
These agencies put more focus on traditional marketing methods. Think radio, TV, billboards and the like. They don’t use digital media at all.
This type of ad agency is best if your business is targeting a local audience that doesn’t use the internet that much. People on the drive to work who listen to radio and see billboards, who watch local TV channels, who shop locally and prefer companies that are locally owned, who spend more time in the 3D world than staring at their mobile phones.
Type #2: Full Service Advertising Agency
Exactly as the name says, full-service agencies offer you everything you need to run an ROI-driven advertising strategy. From TV ads to radio, digital ads, design, content writing… everything.
This type of ad agency is best for businesses who want it all, who need a mix of advertising services to maximize effect, or who know little to nothing about advertising and need real experts to advise them on everything from laying solid strategic foundations to delivering awesome ads. We’re a full service advertising agency. We’d be happy to set up a call with you to discuss your needs. Let’s talk.
Type #3: Social Media Advertising Agency
From creating your profile on social media networks to writing the content and handling the design, running ads, and optimizing them for better ROI. This is what a social media marketing agency is responsible for.
This type of ad agency is best for you if you’ve been meaning to build your online presence or improve your current setup. With their creative, content, design, and ads teams, they’re the best agency for companies whose target audience spends more time tapping and swiping than anything else.
Type #4: Creative Agency
Creative agencies offer a very specialized service: design. They provide external expertise and talent to your in-house marketing and content teams.
This type of ad agency is best when you have your own marketing and content writing team already. If all you’re missing is creative design, hiring this type of ad agency can bring artistic expertise to the mix.
Type #5: Media Buying Agency
I like media buying agencies since they’re the drivers of growth. These agencies often focus on a small number of channels (e.g: Twitter or LinkedIn ads, or both) and help you reach your audience and hit your marketing goals.
This type of ad agency is best if you’ve tried advertising before and aren’t quite sure what to do to scale your efforts. Hire them, sit back and relax.
Final Thoughts
That’s it. I hope you’ve enjoyed this short guide and have a clear vision of the advertising agency you should hire. Or at least know where to start looking.
As you can tell, every advertising agency is different because of their domain of expertise and their market’s demand.
Ready to hire an advertising agency? Schedule a call with us and we’ll show you the results we can accomplish together.
