Are you launching a brand new product? Have you perhaps decided to rebrand? In any event, partnering up with an ad company is of crucial importance for popularizing your brand and staying competitive.
The advertising world is dominated by thousands of ad agencies, providing various types of services, ranging from traditional, digital, and social media agencies to PR, creative ad, and media buying companies. The marketing objectives of businesses are crucial in selecting the best type of advertising company, as every firm requires a specific approach.
The majority of marketing experts specialize in a given industry and marketing method. For instance, some marketing agencies are experts in Amazon advertising management, assisting brands in scaling their businesses.
This is everything you need to know about ad companies.
Types Of Advertising Companies
The selection of advertising companies in the market is somewhat overwhelming. These can be divided into multiple categories depending on the type of services they offer to clients. For instance, full-service advertising agencies, as the name suggests, provide a vast range of services that correspond to both traditional and digital marketing.
Moreover, the staff in these companies includes experts who specialize in providing a variety of services such as ad campaign management, social media management, content creation, TV advertisements, print advertising, radio commercials, graphic design, search engine optimization, web development, strategic planning, and lead nurturing.
Hiring a full-service agency is beneficial for businesses that need an ad campaign involving not only digital but also traditional marketing approaches. The role of these professionals is to guide clients from the planning to the execution stage while measuring the effectiveness of the campaign.
In contrast, traditional advertising companies are focused solely on using traditional marketing techniques like TV commercials, magazine and newspaper ads, radio commercials, prints, and billboards. These services are mainly hired by businesses looking for local promotion, such as the opening of a new local restaurant or bar. Billboard ads are still effective when it comes to promoting local events and businesses.
Digital ad agencies, on the other hand, place their focus on online marketing. Both brick-and-mortar and online businesses stand to gain from hiring such services, as it’s the best way to increase their online presence and target large audiences. Digital advertising companies specialize in social media marketing, web design, email marketing, SEO, content marketing, lead generation, account-based marketing, etc. Check out this Investopedia article to get familiar with the channels and challenges of digital marketing.
Additionally, digital ad agencies are the most suitable choice for businesses whose goals involve targeting a specific audience. These specialists employ targeting techniques for the purpose of reaching the desired audience, such as geotargeting. This method makes sure content is delivered to visitors in accordance with their location, including state, region, country, zip code, IP address, ISP, etc.
Despite the opportunity to target audiences, digital advertising companies help clients who wish to boost their online presence and improve lead generation. The staff of these agencies includes not only ad specialists but also copywriters, videographers, graphic designers, and photographers.
Businesses looking to promote their products and services on social media would benefit from hiring a social media advertising company. The ultimate goal of social media marketers is to make the most out of social channels when promoting their clients. While some ad agencies work with multiple social channels, others specialize in a single channel like Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
Another specific type of advertising company is the public relations ad agency, whose role is to manage and boost the public image of a particular business. PR services are usually required by enterprises and reputable companies whose CEOs need to appear on the news, newspapers, and community events. Any business that needs to improve the public awareness of its brand should consider investing in PR services. This Forbes post includes five things everyone should know about public relations.
Furthermore, branding ad agencies are experts in branding. In order to understand the competition in the market, these specialists conduct detailed market research. Once the research is completed, they use the data to provide clients with ideas related to brand names, logo design, signage, and creative identity. These services are suitable for companies planning a rebrand or curious to discover the reputation of their existing brand.
Creative ad agencies solely specialize in graphics and design, not the entire marketing strategy. The execution of the other aspects of the strategy is usually outsourced to other specialists. The main focus of creative advertising companies is designing logos, business cards, billboards, flyers, etc.
Ultimately, media buying ad agencies are an appropriate choice for businesses planning to use a single advertising channel. These experts recommend a timeframe to clients during which they are supposed to promote their products or services. Also, media buying ad companies set a budget, which is considered necessary for targeting the desired audience. Businesses can receive maximum exposure as long as they know their target audiences.
How To Choose An Ad Company?
When in search of an advertising agency, businesses are expected to know their advertising objectives beforehand. Some firms require such services when launching new products or promoting important events, whereas other companies need to boost their search engine ranking. Make sure you determine your intent before looking for ad specialists.
The essential aspect to factor in when hiring an advertising company is the size of the agency. There are both large and small ad agencies addressing the needs of different clients. The former are abundant in resources and talent but mainly work with enterprise brands. Generally, large ad companies use their A-teams to pitch the services to potential clients but assign the projects to their B-teams if the clients aren’t well-known brands.
Small ad agencies, on the other hand, are more affordable and quicker when it comes to developing marketing campaigns. The majority of these agencies specialize in a given industry instead of providing a wide range of services. Client satisfaction is always a must, as ad specialists will do everything in their power to make clients happy.
Another important factor to take into account is the culture of the advertising company. In order to achieve the expected results, make sure the team you hire is inventive, productive, and, most importantly, collaborative. The philosophy and vision of the agency should comply with your ideas so as for the collaboration to be successful.
When having interviews with candidates, make sure to inquire about the process of work. For instance, it’s of vital importance for potential candidates to learn how the team handles deadlines in case you have such an experience with your project.
Team members should be researched in order to decide whether to place your business in their hands. Remember to check their blogs and social media accounts to learn more about their personality. The most crucial thing when selecting a team of advertisers is for you to feel comfortable around them. You will be communicating with these professionals on a daily basis, which means you need to get along with them as much as possible.
Experience is an important aspect to factor in when hiring an ad agency. Therefore, make sure to choose a company that has extensive experience in your industry. The portfolios of these firms speak volumes about their design, concept of work, and creativity. Unless you find a particular portfolio impressive, move on to evaluating the following one on your list.
Creativity is an indispensable aspect of advertising, which is why ad teams should consist of gifted and creative professionals. The ideas they come up with are supposed to be memorable in order for individuals to memorize the logo, slogan, or products of a particular business. Their work has to be unique, as it’s the only way to stand out in the crowd of advertisements available online for people to see.
Reasons To Hire One
Businesses stand to benefit a lot from hiring an advertising company, which is why the largest number of firms invest a portion of their budget for such services. Instead of handing out the advertising responsibilities to your employees, why not hire professionals to take them over.
Consequently, you will remove the burden off the chest of your workers and let them focus on their normal duties. Ad specialists will handle the campaign much faster due to their experience and expertise in the field.
Moreover, ad specialists tend to keep clients up-to-date about the most recent trends, which isn’t the case with in-house employees. In-house workers cannot spare enough time to get educated because of the other work obligations they have.
Outsourcing your advertising services will help you eliminate the high costs of training, which you must pay when training your employees to become marketers. In contrast, the professionals employed by ad agencies are already trained and qualified for the job. Also, they employ the latest tools without requiring clients to pay additional costs.
The Bottom Line On Ad Agencies
Unless you advertise your business through the right marketing channels and ad services, the chances for success are minimal. Hiring the right ad agency is the path to plentiful profits.