Chapter 4 Advertising Agency Management

What is an Advertising Agency

An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency, is a business dedicated to creating,

planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its
clients.

Functions and Role of Ad Agencies

The work of an advertising agency may be divided on the basis of sub-functions of advertising such as:

1. Creation of Copy – Delivers or develops the words and verbal content of an advertising concept.
2. Graphic design - Create visual concepts, by hand or using computer software, to communicate
ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and
production design for advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.
3. Media Planning – It is the function of the media buying department to procure the advertising
time and/or space required for a successful advertising campaign. This includes TV and radio
time, outdoor (billboards, posters, guerrilla), magazine and newspaper insertions, internet
banners and takeovers, and, well, anywhere else an ad can be placed for a fee. This usually
involves close collaboration with the creative department who came up with the initial ideas, as
well as the client and the kind of exposure they want. This department is usually steered by
a media director.
4. Advertising Research - One type of common advertising research focuses on the effectiveness
of the created advertisement. This is done in all different walks of advertising, including print,
television, radio and digital forms. Individuals are shown various forms of advertising and are
asked what they think about the different products that are featured, such as whether they
would consider purchasing them and how well they know the product overall as a result of the
ad. 
5. Account Management - Acts as a link between the agency and its clients. You'll be responsible
for the coordination of advertising campaigns and therefore communicating clearly to all those
involved.
6. Production - Ideas are just ideas until they're made real. This is the job of the production
department. During the creative process, the production department will be consulted to talk
about the feasibility of executing certain ideas. Once the ad is sold to the client, the creative and
account teams will collaborate with production to get the campaign produced on budget. This
can be anything from getting original photography or illustration produced, working with
printers, hiring typographers and TV directors, and a myriad of other disciplines needed to get
an ad campaign published. Production also works closely with the media department, who will
supply the specs and deadlines for the jobs.
Agency Compensation

Ad agencies are often paid in the form of commission from media placements. In some cases, Ad
agencies are paid fix amount for a specific ad campaign. The fees and rates are negotiated between the
advertiser and agency.

Agency Evaluation

It is important to evaluate an Ad agency before selecting and entering into an agreement. Among the
important factors to evaluate are the agency’s experience in your industry, quality of creative work,
range of services, quality of the account team and commitment to your business. Some of the
evaluation process are the following:

1. Select a shortlist to evaluate

2. Assess the agency in your industry
3. Review the agencies creative work
4. Compare the range of agency services with the services you need
5. Meet the teams of short listed agencies and review the qualifications and experience of the
people who would be working on the account