Advertising Agency Services: What They Are & How to Choose One

When it comes to advertising, business owners have a lot of choices. One of those choices is hiring an advertising agency.

So, what are advertising agency services? And how do you choose the perfect one for your business? In this blog post, I will answer those questions and more.

We'll discuss what an advertising agency is, the different types of services they offer, how to determine if an advertising agency is right for your business, and how to choose the perfect one for your needs.

Advertising by the Numbers

Advertising remains to be one of the most essential tools for businesses to promote their products and services to target audiences. It helps them reach out to potential customers and create awareness about their brands.

However, the world of advertising keeps evolving with the ever-changing technology and media landscape. Businesses need to keep up with the latest trends to stay ahead of the competition.

Right now, digital marketing tactics are taking over the majority of advertising activities by businesses all around the world. According to a report by eMarketer, 2/3rd of the global ad spend will go to digital this year.

Social media advertising, video ads, and interactive formats like playable and shoppable ads are some of the most popular advertising trends today, according to Smaato’s 2022 Global Digital Advertising Trends Report.

Another report by eMarketer shows that TV ad spending will rise to $68.35 billion this year (2022) but then, it will also decline over the coming years.

What’s more?

Paid advertising is an important part of the overall marketing strategy of most businesses, as per 68% of marketers.

Social media, email, and website/blog are the top marketing channels for both B2B and B2C businesses. Other than these three channels, B2B businesses see great results from content marketing, while B2C businesses use influencer marketing to drive more leads and sales.

The graphs below represent the same:

Another important marketing channel that generates high conversion rates for businesses today is the search engines like Google. You need to optimize not only your website/blog, but also your Google My Business (GMB) listing, YouTube channel, and even your podcast episodes to get more visibility and traffic.

Now that we have seen the trends and advertising channels that are working well for businesses, let’s look at the advertising agency services that can help you make the most of these channels.

What is an Advertising Agency?

An advertising agency is a company that creates, plans, and manages advertising for businesses. The services an advertising agency provides can vary, but most agencies offer a full suite of services that includes advertising strategy, creative development, media planning and buying, and more.

As a business owner, you might be wondering if hiring an advertising agency is right for you. Here are a few things to consider:

• Do you have the time to manage your advertising? Advertising can be time-consuming. If you don't have the time to dedicate to creating and managing your advertising, an agency can help.
• Do you have the budget to hire an advertising agency? Advertising agencies typically charge a fee for their services. The cost will vary depending on the size of your business, your advertising budget, and the services you need.
• Do you need help with advertising strategy? If you're not sure where to start or what kind of advertising will work best for your business, an agency can help. They can provide insights and recommendations based on their experience and expertise.

Now that we've answered the question, “what is an advertising agency?” let's move on to discussing the different types of services they offer.

Types of Advertising Agency Services

As we mentioned before, advertising agencies offer a variety of services. The type of service you need will depend on your business goals and needs.

Here are some of the most common advertising agency services:

Advertising strategy: An advertising agency can help you develop an advertising strategy that aligns with your business goals. They can also provide recommendations on the type of advertising that will work best for your business.

Media planning and buying: An advertising agency can help you plan and purchase advertising space in print, online, and broadcast media. They will negotiate rates on your behalf and ensure that your advertising reaches your target audience.

Creative development: An advertising agency can help you develop creatives for your advertising campaigns. This can include developing advertising copy, designing print ads, and creating digital advertising assets.

Account management: An advertising agency will manage your account and be your point of contact for all things related to your advertising. They will make sure that your campaigns are on track and that you're happy with the results.

Campaign tracking and optimization: An advertising agency will track your advertising campaigns and provide you with reports on the results. This can help you measure the effectiveness of your advertising and make changes as needed.

Advertising agency services can help you reach your advertising goals. If you're not sure if hiring an agency is right for you, consider the factors we listed above.

And if you decide to go with an agency, be sure to ask about the services they offer and how they can help you reach your advertising goals.

What Are the Different Types of Advertising Agencies?

Now that we've discussed advertising agency services, let's talk about the different types of advertising agencies. There are four main types of advertising agencies:

Traditional Marketing Ad Agency

This type of advertising agency provides clients with offline marketing services such as print advertising, TV commercials, and radio ads. They also often handle public relations tasks like organizing events and handling media relations.

But these days, most people loof for full-service digital marketing agencies that can help take their business online and reach a wider audience without any geographical restrictions.

This is where digital marketing agencies come into the picture and play a pivotal role in advertising and marketing for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Digital Marketing Ad Agency

A digital agency is an advertising agency that specializes in online or digital marketing. They can help you with tasks such as:

• Planning a digital marketing strategy
• Developing website content
• Creating and managing your social media accounts
• Developing and running digital advertising campaigns
• Running email marketing campaigns
• Handling search engine optimization (SEO) tasks like keyword research and link building

Most digital marketing agencies have the ability to offer a wide range of services because they have a team of experts in different areas. 

From a team of designers to web developers and copywriters, a lot of people work together to create effective online advertising campaigns for businesses.

Some of the services a digital ad agency offers are:

• Market research
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Social media marketing (SMM)
• Pay-per-click advertising (PPC)
• Content marketing
• Email marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO)

But what separates the best digital advertising agencies from the rest is their ability to integrate all these channels and create a results-driven marketing ecosystem that can take your business to the next level.

Creative Ad Agency

A creative advertising agency focuses on the development of advertising campaigns. This type of advertising agency works with clients to create a unique selling proposition, target market, and overall ad strategy.

They are responsible for coming up with the big idea or angle that will sell your product or service. This might include coming up with a tagline, designing an ad campaign, or creating a social media strategy.

What makes a creative ad agency different is its focus on the creative aspects of advertising. They are often involved in the early stages of advertising, such as market research and target market analysis.

When you think of creative ad agencies, some names that come to mind are HUb, Wieden+Kennedy, and McCann. They have created amazing advertising campaigns for some of the top brands worldwide including Mastercard and won numerous awards.

You can reach out to creative agencies for everything from cinematography to branding, animation, out-of-the-box marketing videos, brand positioning, and more.

Social Media Ad Agency

A social media ad agency will help you to create advertising campaigns specifically for social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. They will also be able to advise you on the best times to post your ads and how often you should be advertising on social media.

You should choose to work with a social media ad agency if you are looking to specifically target your advertising to social media users. But, you don't have the time or knowledge to do it yourself.

The top services offered by a social media marketing agency are:

• Social media accounts creation
• Designing ad creatives and videos
• Social ads creation and targeting
• Managing posting schedule
• Campaign management and tracking
• Social listening and monitoring

Also, check out my list of the Top 24+ Influencer Marketing Agencies

Media Buying Ad Agency

A media buying advertising agency is one that specializes in negotiating advertising rates and placement on behalf of its clients. This type of advertising agency will work with both traditional media outlets (television, radio, print) as well as digital media (banner ads, directories, pay-per-click advertising).

Some good examples of media buying agencies are Publicis Groupe, Mindshare, and WPP.

When selecting a media buying ad agency for your business, you should:

• Consider the size of the ad agency. You want an advertising agency that is large enough to have clout with media outlets, but not so large that they will charge you more for their services.
• Look at the agency's client list. Make sure the advertising agency has experience working with businesses in your industry.
• Check out the ad agency's case studies to get a good idea of their creative capabilities as well as their successes.

Full-Service Ad Agency

As the name suggests, a full-service advertising agency provides a wide range of services to their clients, from media buying and placement to creative development and even public relations.

This type of advertising agency is often the best choice for large companies that need an all-in-one solution.

You can find full-service marketing agencies of all sizes, but they often have a large team of experts to handle everything from strategy to implementation. However, they may cost more than other advertising agency types.

So as a small business owner, you'll need to decide if the benefits of a full-service advertising agency are worth the cost. It might be better to opt for specialized advertising agencies that can focus on specific aspects of your marketing needs (be it social media ads or SEO).

The Benefits of Leveraging Advertising Agency Services

Advertising is a process of calling public attention to something. It is usually done through paid announcements in print media, television, radio, or the internet.

Whether you want to build awareness for your brand, create interest for a new product, or drive sales for a special promotion, advertising can help.

And to do it right, the best way is to hire an advertising agency that has all the expertise, resources, and connections to get your advertising campaign up and running quickly and effectively.

Here are a few advantages that an advertising agency brings to the table:

• An objective opinion on your advertising campaigns and ideas
• A team of experts with a wealth of experience and knowledge in advertising
• The ability to negotiate better advertising rates with media outlets
• Access to the latest market research and advertising trends
• A network of industry contacts that can help get your advertising campaign off the ground quickly

If you're looking to get the most out of your advertising budget, then working with an advertising agency is the way to go.

How to Choose the Perfect Advertising Agency for Your Business

When it comes to choosing an advertising agency, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

• Define your goals. What are you hoping to achieve with your advertising campaign? Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or do something else entirely? Once you know what your goals are, you can start to narrow down your list of potential agencies.
• Research the ad agencies. Once you have a list of advertising agencies that you're interested in, it's time to start doing your homework. Read reviews, look at their portfolios, and see what other clients have said about their work.
• Get a proposal. Once you've narrowed down your list to a few agencies, it's time to get a proposal from each one. This will give you a chance to see what they're thinking for your campaign and how much it will cost.
• Ask the right questions. You should ask them to tell you the number of leads they’ll send your way, what their creative process looks like, and how they determine what constitutes a successful advertising campaign.

Choosing the perfect advertising agency for your business can seem like a daunting task, but if you keep these things in mind, you'll be well on your way to finding the right fit.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing an Advertising Agency

Now that you know what you should do to pick a good full-service ad agency for your business, let's take a look at a few common mistakes that you can avoid to save money, time, and headaches.

• Don't set unrealistic expectations for what an advertising agency can do for your business. Remember that an advertising agency is a business, too, and that they are in the business of making money. They are not your personal marketing department and they are not miracle workers.
• Do your homework before you meet with advertising agencies. Know what you want, what you need, and what you can afford. Have a list of questions ready to ask each advertising agency that you meet with.
• Don't just go with the first advertising agency you find. It's important to do your research and compare a few different options before making a final decision.
• Don't base your decision solely on price. While it's important to find an advertising agency that fits within your budget, you also want to make sure you're getting quality services.
• Don't be afraid to ask for referrals. If you know someone who has used an advertising agency before, see if they have any recommendations.

Advertising agency services can be a great asset to any business, as long as you take the time to find the right one. So take your time in your decision-making process and you're sure to find the perfect agency for your needs.If you're looking for full-service digital advertising agencies, be sure to check out my services. We offer everything from SEO to email marketing and influencer marketing to landing page optimization.

The Must-Have Marketing Software Solutions for 2022

Advertising agencies will do their job but here are some marketing software solutions that you can use to help make your advertising more effective and also track results.

• Google Analytics to track website traffic, page views, and conversions
• AdRoll for advertising on popular sites and social media platforms
• Semrush for managing your SEO
• Surfer for effective content marketing
• HubSpot to power your customer support, sales, and marketing
• Zoho Social or Sprout Social for managing your social media accounts
• Mailchimp or Constant Contact for email marketing
• Brand24 for media monitoring and your brand's reputation management

FAQs

Ready to Find the Perfect Advertising Agency Services for Your Business?

Advertising agency services can be extremely helpful when you need to create or improve your marketing strategy to reach more customers and grow your business. So don't hesitate to use them to your advantage.

However, there are a few things to keep in mind when you're looking for advertising agency services. First, you need to make sure that the agency has experience in your industry. This way, they'll be able to understand your business and customers better and create an advertising campaign that targets the right people.

Another important factor to consider is your budget. Advertising agency services can be expensive, so you need to make sure you have the funds to cover them.

Finally, you should also consider the agency's reputation. Make sure they have a good track record and that they're known for creating successful advertising campaigns.

If you keep these factors in mind, you'll be able to find an advertising agency that can help you reach your business goals.