What Does an Advertising Agency Handle?

Many people mistakenly assume that an advertising agency doesn’t handle much more than the creation of ad campaigns. But current day advertising agencies do far more than that.

A business advertising agency handles a large number of tasks including planning and creating as well as managing various aspects of advertising campaigns for their clients. A full-service advertising agency handles a wide variety of tasks such as:

• Online and social media campaigns
• Direct mail material design
• Design and creation of brochures
• Radio and TV commercials
• Print ads in newspapers and magazines
• Other

Cater to a Varied Clientele

While most business advertising agencies handle very similar functions, they can’t all be categorized in the same manner. There are 3 basic advertising agency types:

• Above the Line- Also called ATL agencies, they are very large establishments that handle corporate accounts and cater to companies that have big marketing and advertising budgets. These companies manage advertising campaigns on a national as well as international level.
• Below the Line- These are also called BTL for short and they generally handle direct ads, online text, banner ads as well as regional ads. While they don’t operate on the same scale that ATLs do, they are quite an important part of the media mix.
• Through the line- Through the Line business advertising agencies are a combination of BTL and ATL. They generally create social media campaigns, microsites and coupons as well as print ads.

Specializations in Advertising

Apart from these three basic types of advertising agencies, there are companies that specialize in certain aspects such as:

• Digital advertising- These agencies manage all types of digital campaigns
• Tech and financial- They cater to clients in the technical and financial sectors
• Healthcare- These companies focus on campaigns for companies in the healthcare sector
• In-house advertising- Some large conglomerates and global brands have their own in-house advertising teams that work on projects exclusively for those clients.

As mentioned at the outset, full-scale advertising companies handle every aspect of their client’s ad campaigns. They work closely with their clients, understand what the business does, what its USP is, and how they want to position themselves in the market. The campaigns they create are robust and cover a vast gamut of services ranging from print ads, TV commercials and the company’s social media and online presence.

A number of different employees work in different capacities in these agencies such as graphic designers, account executives, the media director, the agency president and the creative director. Some of these agencies may also hire freelance content writers, graphic designers etc. that work offsite, but in tandem with the rest of the team that’s handling a particular client’s project.

When you are looking for a business advertising agency to handle your advertising requirements, keep all these factors in view and choose one that has some experience in creating campaigns for companies in your industry. Choose an agency that will be able to work within your budget and is proactive and efficient with their response.