Overview of Advertising

UNIT 4 : ADVERTISING AGENCY-

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS1
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Learning Outcomes
4.2 Emergence of the Advertising Agency
4.2.1 Global Advertising Agencies
4.2.2 Indian Advertising Agencies
4.3 Organisational Structure of Ad Agencies
4.4 Departments of an Ad Agency
4.4.1 Account Planning
4.4.2 Clie
Client
i nt S
ie Servicing
ervi
erv cing
4.4.3 Cr
rea
e tive
ve D
Creative epartment
Department
4.
.4.4 Production
4.4.4 Prod
o ucttion Department
Dep
ep
partm
men
nt
4.4.5
4. Media
.4.5 Me Planning
edia Plan
nniing
4.55 Leading
Le
eadin Advertising
ng A Agencies
dverrtisiingg Age
enc
ncie World
iees off World
d
4.6
4. Leading
Le
eadin Advertising
ng A dver
erti
tisi Agencies
singg A genc
ge ncie
nc India
ies off Ind
ndia
ia
4.77 Awards
A ds and
ward nd Recognitions
an Recogniti ns in the
itio
io he Ad
th A World
4.88 Let Uss Sum
Le u Up
4.9
4.
.9 Check
C k Your
heck Yoour Progress:
e s: Possible
Progrres Posssi blee Answers
sibl
bl Answ
wer
erss
4.10 Further
ther Readings
4 100 Furt
4. R adings
Re
4.11 Glossary
4 11 Gl
4. Glos
o sary

4.00 INTRODUCTION
INTRO
ODUCT
TION
The world of advertising can not work on a track without the proper working
of an Advertising agency. This agency offers a specialised skill, experience
and knowledge which are very much required to plan, design and execute
an effective advertising campaign. It is a composition of creative people
that has writers, artists, media experts, account executives, producers etc.
The modern advertising agency is a fountain head from where, most of the
advertisements we see, enjoy and hear from various media houses, emerge.
These specialists work as a team to understand the requirements and needs
of an advertiser and develop appropriate strategies and plans. They not only
create but also assist in delivering those creative ideas through proper media
outlets.
The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) de¿nes Ad
Agency as an independent business organisation, composed of creative and
business people, who develop and prepare and place advertising media for
sellers for their goods and services.
Unit 4 Writer : Dr. Sapna M.S.
88
In this Unit, we shall discuss in detail, the role, structure and various Advertising Agency : Structure
functions undertaken by the advertising agency to deliver the best in the and Functions
advertising world.

4.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this Unit,you should be able to:
Ɣ Understand the importance of Advertising agencies
Ɣ Comprehend their nature of work and activities
Ɣ Analyse the various activities of ad departments
Ɣ Examine their organisational structure
Ɣ Gain idea about leading advertising agencies across the globe

4.2 EMERGENCE OF THE ADVERTISING AGENCY

Originally, before the bona ¿de advertising agencies age
geenciees mam
made de their appearance,
ads were delivered to various media outlets th tthrough
roug
ugh representatives who,
in the early day days
ys of advertising, sold d aand
nd res
resold
sold thtthee spac
space.
ce.
e T Thus
huss wa
hu w
wass th
tthee
humblee bbeginning
eginniing ooff th
he so ccalled
the alled ad aagency.
genccy. T he ¿rst
The ¿rst ad aagency
genc
ncyy date
nc es ba
dates ack
backk
to ass ffar
ar ass 11786,
7866, w
78 henn Wi
he
when W lliaam Taylo
William or ope
Taylor enedd up his of¿
opened f¿ce in
of¿ce in Loondoon, but
London,
was
itt w as Volney
Vol ney B.
olne
ne B Palmer,
Paalmer, who
whoh took
toook forward
forrwardd the
he idea
th ideea across
accrooss the
t e world.
th woorldd.
PPalmer,
alm
mer, op oopened
en
ned d his ad agency y in PPhiladelphia,
hilladellph
p ia America
i , Am merrica in the yyear 1840.
ear 18840.
Hee use to to buy
b y spaces
bu aces from
spac rom thee newspapers
fro w papeers at very discounted
news
ws dissco
c ununtedd rates
tes andd
rate
resold
ressold thehee same sp space
acee to tthe
pac advertisers
he ad dverttissers oon n a higher rat rates,
e , thus ggiving
attes iving a
iv
humble
huumble beg beginning
gin
nni ng ooff th
ning this activity
his actctivityy off sspace selling
pacee selellling anand cocoining
coin
inin
ng of the h tterm
em
er
“Agent”.
“AAgent”. ”.. HHee al
aalso concept
so concep ualised
pt ualalisedd thee aactual Ad,
ctuaal Ad designing,
d, design ning,, aand
ndd ddoing
ngg all tthe
oing he
work
artt wo
w required
rk requi ired by th the client,
he cli e t, andd tthe
ien he ssame
amee way inÀuinÀuencing
Àuen
Àu ci g tthe
ncing creative
he creat tiv
ivee
sside
si de rrequired
equiuire
ui forr ann advertisement.
r d fo advertitisem
ti mentt. M Many the
anyy of thhe agents stastarted
t d tthis
rted his bbusiness
hi usiness
as tthey ffound
heyy fo und it more luc lucrative
lu
ucrat
ativ
ive an
iv and
nd iinteresting,
nterer sting,
re creating
g,, thus cr e tiing ddirectories
rea i eccto
ir t ri
ries with
es w itth
advertising
addve rtisingg rates
v rt rate
ra tess of news
newws papers.
papep rss.
pe
Francis
Fr
F anci Ayer,
ciss Ay
ci Ayer
er,, who wa
er wass jus 220
just
st years
0 year
ye
ear created
a s old crea
ated a fu ll sservice
full ervice
erv advertising
ce adv
dveertiisi
dv sing
ng
agency
agen c called
ency
en calle N.W
l d as N .W
W Ayer an considered
andd Sons, consid der
e ed to be
b one of th the world’s
he worl ld’s
oldest aagencies.
genc
gencie
ies.
4.2.1 Global Advertising Agencies
Tracing back to the history in UK, which has been a major part of the
capitalist economy for centuries, we notice that the advertising space selling
had a humble beginning. It became a major force to pull and organise
advertising agencies for the bene¿t of advertisers. The three forms of
advertisements that emerged in the nascent stage were: Trade Cards, Posters
and Display Advertisement in newspapers. The print ads, especially, got a
complete makeover with the emergence of standardised ad agencies which
revolutionised the way in which the ads were created for the public.
In UK, Thomas J. Barratt, who was working for Pears Soap company started
creating effective campaigns for the company products, which involved
targeted slogans, images and phrases, thus giving a new peek into the
formation of ad agencies in London and major cities of UK. He is credited
with laying the foundation of the modern ad agency concept, that has since
progressed a lot.
89
Overview of Advertising It was only in the beginning of the 19th century that the agencies started
preparing advertisements and delivering them to the media. Lord and
Thomas, in USA, started hiring copy writers, for producing creative work
in advertising. By then, the agencies had become the focal point of creative
planning, and advertising was very ¿rmly established as a profession.
The initial agencies were considered to be just brokers for the space in
newspapers, but with the well establishment of full service agencies they
even assumed the responsibility for advertising the contents.
David Ogilvy, a British advertising tycoon who founded the famous ad
agency, Ogilvy & Mather, which is one amongst the top global agencies
to this day. He is known as the “Father of Advertising”. Trained at the
Gallup research organisation, he attributed the success of his campaigns to
meticulous research into consumer habits.
4.2.2 Indian Advertising Agencies
B. Dattaram an nd Co
and o, ba
Co, bbased
sed in Bombay (Now Mumbai) claims to be the
oldest existing IIndian
ndian
an aadd agencyy, started way back in 1905. Followed by
agency,
India Ad
Advert tisin
Advertising ng Comp pan
Company ny in 190
907, aand
90
1907, ndd Cal
alcutta Ad
al
Calcutta A veert
rtiising Ag
Advertising Agene cy
Agency y inn
11909,
19 09, annd S.
and .H. Ben
S.H. nsen in
Bensen n 19228. S
1928. l wly andd stea
lo
Slowly adily
y, th
steadily, he In
the Indian
an
n age
g ncciess
ge
agencies
sttar
a ted eentering
started nteri
ringg the ddomain
om
maiin off being
ngg fo
oreiggn oowned
foreign wneed and
nd m an naged
managed. d.
Ma
MManyny agencies
agencnciess su uch as Ogilvy
such Ogil ilvy
vyy andannd Mather,
Maatherr, Hindustan
Hinduduustan Thompson
Thohomp pson
As ssoci
c ates(H
ci
Associates(HTA)HTA A) were formed
forrme
m d in in 1920s
19200s andandd they soon startedd operating in in
Inddia to
India too. M ajor
o ity of them
Majority m fo ffollowed
llowed ed tthe
he footsteps of the foreign agencies
in termsms of thei eiir activi
their viti
vities
ties. In
es
activities. I 11939,
939,
93 9, tthehe ¿ rstt marketing
rs
¿rst mark
ma rket
rk etin
ingg ca
in amp
mpai
campaignaign
ai g fforor tthe
he
“DDaldad ” as an exclusiv
da
“Dalda” ve br
exclusive ran
andd wa
brand wass pl pplanned,and
an
nne
ned,
d,an
d, andd ex
an exe ecutted
executed.ed.. ThThee agen en
nci
cies
agencies e
es
pparticularly
artic
icu
cularly y des signed thee fformat
designed orm
rmatt kkeeping
rm eepi
ee ping
pi n inn mindd tthe
he IIndian
ndia
nd iann ma
ia m rket
market. et. Me
et Merg rger
rg
Mergers erss
er
andd acquisitions
acquis i itions
is n gave rise to many new agencies, thus JWT was renamed
aand
an d launched
launnched ass HTA in India. Ind
ndia
nd iaa. The
Th professional
prof
ofes
of essiion
es onaal growth
gro
rowwth and
wth and the
the demand
d ma
de mandnd ofof
iinputs
nputs
ts iin
n the advev rtisin
advertisingng indudustry
du
industry ry ffastened
assteened
ned th
thee pa
pace
ce lleading
eaadi
ding
ng tto
o th
thee ne
next
xtt lev
vel.
level.
Various Advert
Va tising associations
Advertising asso
soci
so ciatio
ci io
ons aand
ndd gro
oups we
groups were
re formed
for
ormeed which
whic
wh ich brought
ic br ught
brou gh
advertising circuit to a closer knit. By 1950, these associations started
f di
safeguarding h iinterest off the
the h advertising
d ii iindustry.
d Th
The ¿ ¿rst R di
Radio
commercial made its appearance in 1967, which Vividh Bharti aired,
followed by television commercials - all designed by ad agencies. In
1986, Mudra Communications was created which targeted at airing ads on
Doordarshan, the sole TV medium of those days. With the emergence of
satellite television post 1991, the scenario changed and with the growth of
satellite television new promotions and responsibilities of the ad agencies
grew bigger and bigger.
Check your Progress: 1
Note: 1) Use the space below for you answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
1. Fill in the Blanks:
Volney B. Palmer opened his ad agency in _______ in the year ____ .
90
2. Who was David Ogilvy" Advertising Agency : Structure
and Functions
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
3. In which year was the ¿rst Radio Commercial aired in India"
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

4.3 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF

ADVERTISING AGENCIES
The functioning and organising of Advertising Agencies across the globe
have evolved over the years. A lot of changes have gone through in the
typical set up of an Ad Agency for carrying its day to day activities. It
performs its functions as a team. Team work is very much needed to take
the task forward. If you look into the typical Organisational structure of an
Ad agency, it changes according to the funct functional
tio purposes
i nall pur rposes many a times.
We may across a full Àedged Ad agency, a medium med e ium m on
one and even a smaller
ad agency which
y wh
whic ddiffers
icch di ffer
fferss in the numbe
er number people
er off peoople w who are
hoo ar employed
re emplp oy
o ed there.
d the ere.
But thehe core aactivities
th c ivittiees of ann ag
ct agency rremain
emaiain thtthee sa
same.
amee. TThere many
herre aree ma anyy ad
agencies
aggencieses tthat
hatt aar
ha are globally
re gl lobally ly ppresent,
r seent, som
re some are
me ar re aatt the nat
national
tionnal llevel
evel andd a ffew
ew
ooperate
perrat only
nly aatt th
atee on llocal
thee lo cal level.
l
l.
Madison
Ma adisonn Avenue,
Aveenue, inn the
he city
city of NNewew
wY York,
ork, UUSA
S is regarded
SA regard e as
ded as the
the Mecca
Meeccaa off
Advertising,
Ad dvertisin ing, bbecause
in ecause number
see a num
ummber ooff ren
renowned
enowneed wo world
w agencies
rld ad age n ies aree llocated
geenc ocated
inn this area. IIn India,
n In
Indi
dia, MMumbai
umbbai -c-considered
conssidderedd to ¿nancial
o be thee ¿n
¿nan c al ccapital,
anci
an apit
ap ital
ita , ha
al has
as a
concentration
coonc
n entr number
trrationn of a numb ber ooff add agen
agencies, followed
e ciess, fo
en ollowed bby some
y soome m metropolitan
etro
et ropo
ro p liitann
cities
citiies like
e lik
ik Delhi,
ke Delh Chennai,
hi, Chenn Bangalore,
nnnai, Ba
B Puna,
nggalorre,, Pun Hyderabad,
na, H y erabad
yd Kolkata,
d, Koolkat
ataa, G
at Gurugram
urugra
ur ram
ra
aand
an d so on. n.
Ad agencies
age
g nccie uusually
iess us uall
ua llyy ha
have various
ve vario departments
ous dep partmentss headedd byy cconcerned
onnce
cerrned dHHeads.
eaads
ds.
But a typical
typi
typical organisationn sshould
pi hould ha
ho hhave senior
ve a sen management
nior maana
nageeme
ment nt tteam
eam
ea which
m wh
whicichh
ic
takes
tak s up the
ake the rresponsibilities
espo
espons
nsibi il
ibilit
itie
it the businesss and ¿na
i s forr th ¿nancial
anc
ncia
iall op
ia operations.
oper rat
atio
ons. Th
The
Ad
largerr A agencies
d aggencies usually l hhave
ly ave a management team, which includes a Chief
Executive and a Finance Director Director, a group of account of¿cers of¿cers, account
planners, media planners, creative team, administrative team, the sales team
and a production team. Usually, a member of the management takes up the
responsibilities for maintaining relationships with the Board in conducting
meetings. The success of anad agency depends on the team and its members
therefore the agencies choose their team members very prudently, based on
their calibres and capabilities.
Advertising agencies today mainly fall under two categories full service
agencies and specialised agencies. Full service agencies are those which
offer the complete range of activities related to media and market sectors.
On the other hand, specialised agencies have three categories of service,
that of - independent agencies offering only limited services such as media
planning and buying, secondly agencies speci¿cally focusing on internet
related activities and thirdly agencies working in a narrow market sector
such as business-to-business advertising.
91
Overview of Advertising
4.4 DEPARTMENTS OF AN AD AGENCY
Like any other organisation, ad agencies too have assigned the responsibilities
to their employees under different departments. All these departments have
to function according to their nature of activity, but are closely related to
one another.
The major classi¿cation of the personnel that we witness in an Ad ¿rm is
as follows:
Ɣ Accounts Department
Ɣ Client Serving Department
Ɣ Creative Department
Ɣ Production Department
Ɣ Media Planning Department
Roles and Responsibilities of Departments:
As mentioned eearlier,
arlieer, aadd agencies consist of various departments whose
main responsib bil
i ity is tto
responsibility o perfrfor
orm
perform m ththei
eir re
their esppec
ecti
respectivetive
v roles to cr
ve crea
eate the eend
create nd
result. E ach aand
Each ndd everry de
every epar
arrtmen
department nt iss int
terreelate
tedd an
te
interrelated aand
d th
they aare
re interdeepe
p nddentt
interdependent
o each
on h otheer. Y
other. ou ccan’t
You an’’t eexpect
xpecect th
hem
e to w
them ork
work rk
k in isol latio
io
on. A
isolation. Ann ag
genccy can
agency n
broa
br o dlyy be ddivided
broadly ivid
i ed iinto
id ntoo Tw
Two uunits:
nits:: Thhe C
The reat
ative sidee aand
Creative n T
nd he P
The roduucttionn
Production
s dee.
si
side.
No let’s
Now l t’s take
le takke a look
loook at the
hee ddepartments
ep
partm
men
nts aand
nd theirr rresponsibilities
esponsib
es ib
bil
ilit
itie
i s with tthe
ie hee
keey pe
key ers
rsonneel in
personnel nvolved.
involved.
4.44.1 A
4.4.1 ccou
untt Planning
Account Planni
ning
ni ng
On of
One o the m ajor
o departm
major tm
men
departments nts ooff an aadd aggen
ency
agencycy iss th
thee A cco
cooun
Accountsuntsts ddepartment.
e artm
ep tm
menent.
you
If youou go by by the
the advertising
adverrtisi
ti ing
n pparlance,
arrla
arla
lanc
nce, ‘A
nc Accooun
unt’
‘Account’ t’ m eanns clien
ea
means nt . U
client. sual
su ally
al
Usually ly
thee accoun
aaccounts
c ununts dep
e artment is headed by an accounts director who is also the
ep
department
me
member r of the board
b ard inn case
bo casse iff it
it is a limited
lim
imit
im ited
it d aagency.
genc
ge ncyy. H
nc Hee wi
willl bbee as
asssist
sted
st
assisteded bby
y
Acco ounts Execu
Accounts utives oorr ann Ac
Executives Acco oun
Account untt Plan
P lan
anne
nerr wh
ne
Planner whoo wiwill
ll aassist
s is
ss istt hi
him
m in ccarrying
arryyinng
ouut tthe
out he further activiti ies
es. Th
activities. Thee mamain n dduty
uty off th
hese
se aaccount
these ccoount
cc ount eexecutives
xecu
xe cuttive
cu ves iss to
understand the nneedseeds and requirements of a client. This will be briefed to him
by the sales department which gives him a ‘Lead’ and s/he communicates
the same to his/her agency people. The major responsibility of getting the
clients to the agency lies with the team of the Accounts department. They
need to keep a tab on all others departments so that ad campaign is created
in tandem. Clients approach your agency based on your past and current
assignments and popularity in the advertising market.
The very common and the colloquial term for account planning is client
servicing, which means that the account planner takes care of the needs
and requirements of the clients who approaches the agency for their
advertisement. It is the primary function of an agency to create advertising,
and this account planning function provides a base or ¿rm ground for
this activity. An account planning personnel has to perform a number of
activities as listed below.
a. Planning the main objectives of the advertising, where he makes use
of his analysis, logic, insights and use of various skills to bring in a
synthesis for the end product.
92
b. They are also responsible for selecting and evaluating the feedback Advertising Agency : Structure
which they have received in the form of research, so that it becomes and Functions
easy for the team to make further decisions and judgements.
c. They see to it that the objectives and the feedback are relevant and
stimulating to the rest of the team members especially the creative
team.
d. The accounts planners are also responsible to act as a bridge between
the client and the agency and solve all the queries raised by the clients
and ¿nd out suitable solutions for them.
e. They also assist in getting effective messages to their target audience
by creating desired responses, by planning a positive dialogue
between the creative team and the consumers.
f. Qualities such as a good and a friendly rapport with the clients
will go a long way in maintaining long term bonds between the two
entities.
Account Planner:
An account
accououunt planner
n pla lannerr iiss a pe
person who close closely
ely wworks
orkks wwith tthee cr
ithh th ccreative staff
reaativve sttafff
and ththe agagency
genency
c acc
cy accounts.
couunt
nts. TThey
h y ensu
he ensure
ure cacampaigning
ampap ignningg idideas
deass andd stra strategies
ateggies
that
th ree eeffective
hat are fffec
ectivev aandnd for ttheh rig
he right
ight au
ig audience.
udiennce.. The m main
ain qualities
n qu ualitiees ooff susuch
uch
account
acco u t pplanners
oun lannne
nersrs iinclude:
nclude: te team
eam
a w work abilities,
orrk ab bilit commercial
ities, com
it mmemercia awareness,
iall awar reneess,
verbal
rbal and
verb
rb annd communication
com mmuni nica
cati
ca t on skills,
lls, ppresentation
skill r sentaationn to cclients.
re lien
lientss. T The
hee aactivities
c iviitiess of
ct
thee accou
accountunt plplanners
pla include
anneers alsoo includ de ananalysing
nalysin interpreting
ng and interpre reeting iinformation,
nf rmation,
nfor
keeping updated
keeeping upda date
da information
ted infform matio about
on abo cultural
out cuultural
al and
n social trends ds iin
n ad
advertising,
conducting
co
ond
n ucti n qqualitative
ting
ng u litativee res
ua research
sea
e rchh ac activities,
acttiviti evaluating
ties, evaluati ng thee aadvertising
t ng dvere tisi
sing
si ngg
campaigns,
cammpaiigns, an and analysing
nd analy the
ysiing thhe ssales
ales ddata.
ata.
4.4.2
4. 2 Client
Cli e t Servicing
liien S rviicingg
Se
With
Withh tthe
he iincrease
ncre
nc reas
rease in ccompetition,
om
mpetiti tion ddemand
ionn, the de mand on the adaadvertising
dveerttissin
ng agagencies
gen
enci es tto
ciees
ci o
maintain
main nta in sstrong
tain trong rapportt wi
tr with
w thh tthe clients
lieents has bbecome
he cli
li ecome mmore pivotal.
orre pivvot
otal IIt’s
al. It
al t’s vvery
eryy
er
much
muuch important
c imp o taant tto
por hhave
o ha good
ve a goo compatibility
od compatibilit between
itty betwee the cclient,
eeen the ieent, aagency
lie gen
enncy
and itss br
bbrand.
a d. The serv
an service
vic pprovided
icee pr ovided by the agencies helps them to retain-
clients for a long runrun, and the agencies need to deliver their best for retaining
their accounts. The agencies have to evolve and adapt to the new changes
and demands from the industry. Many a time the clients grade the agencies
which give them an upper hand in the profession and among their rivals.
All the requirements needed by a client must be ful¿lled by the agency.
Therefore having all the services available under one roof is essential.
Client servicing refers to providing all the necessary assistance for a client in
terms of planning, designing, budgeting, production and media placements.
Some clients spread their budget across more than one agency, but some
prefer appraisal system too. Clients move out for a new agency when there
is monotony, difference in ideas, difference in opinions or if the creative
team moves out to a new agency in order to maintain brand continuity.
The following are the points which need to be adopted to maintain a healthy
Client Agency relationship:

93
Overview of Advertising a. Maintaining transparency with each other is very important.
b. The agency keeps the media commission for itself, and the client
undertakes the bill.
c. In case of media discounts, it has to be passed on to clients.
d. The agency should not be blamed by the clients for lapses in scheduling
and positioning.
e. The client avoids engaging its services with its rival agencies.
The clients select the ad agency basically on these criteria
a. Its popularity in the market.
b. Agency’s creativity in its work and delivery of the advertisements.
c. Agency which has a sound track record.
d. Agency which has good account executives who can solve their
issues.
e. Personal eequations
quattio
ions
n with their clients.
f. Commitment
m nt ttowards
Commitme their
owaards the
ow work.
eir wor
o k.
g. Unique
U exclusive
ive ccontributions
niquee orr exclusi onttri
ribu
buutionns to h iindustry.
o the
he ndustr
nd t y.
tr
Thee age
T
Th agencies
encieses aalso
l o hhelp
ls producing
elp inn pro
oducin ng aad
d ccampaigns
mpaignns ffor
am their
orr the clients
eir clieents at thee
stages
ges ooff plan
stag planning,
anniing, eexecution,
ion, aand
xeccutio nd bbranding
ranndin their
heir pproduct
ng th better
etterr rreach.
rodducct forr a be eaach.
Thee qqualities
T
Th uaalitiess off a ggood client
oodd clie
oo nt sservicing
ient ervi
er v cinng aagent
gennt inc
ge include: patience,
cludde: pa
ati
t en
e ce listening
c , li
listenin
ingg
in
skills,
sk i ls, aarticulation,
kil rticu
ula
l tiion, time m management,
anaga em
ag ment,t knowledge of the product, use of
t,
positive
posi
s tive words
ve wor rds aand oriented
nd result oririien
ente aactions.
tedd ac tions.
4.4.3
4.4 Creative
4.3 Cr
C Department
eattive Departm
men
nt
The
T h he heart
eart aand
nd soul of aan n aad agency
d ag
agen
ency
en tthee cr
cy iss th creative
crea
eati
eat ve ddepartment,
ti epaartmen
ep ent,
en t, wwhich
hich
hi ch
contributes,
cont ntri
nt ributees, by vvirtue
ri irtue of its work, to attracting as well as retaining the clients
of aan n ad d aagency.
gency.
y This is the hee ddepartment
epar
epartm
ar tmen
tm which
entt wh
en w transforms
ichh tr
ic ran
ansf
s or
sf ms aall
orms lll tthe
he iideas
deas
de as iinto
ntoo
nt
ppictures
pictur
i res and vis visuals
suals and packages
nd pacacka
ac kage
ka gess th
ge the bundle
he bu
bundndle
nd into
le int presentable
ntoo a pr
nt res
esen
enttabl
en tabl product
blee pr
prodoductt ffor
od or
ttarget
itss ta audiences.
rget audienc
n es.
The creative department is headed by a creative director who will be assisted
by a group of creative members which include, chief, copy writers
include copy chief writers,
visualiser, layout artists, typographers, freelancers and a full time artists.
These team members work together to develop concepts of advertisements.
In bigger and larger agencies, a creative director manages various teams
who work on different accounts. Where as, in smaller ¿rms, these creative
directors work with freelance writers to ¿nish the tasks. Creative team will
always have a vibrant and creative bunch of people, who are bright and
loaded with innovative ideas and stand ahead of others in creating some
new and attractive concept, copy or graphic.
The following are the activities of the Creative Department:
a. Conceptualise the idea for the client
b. Copywriters get on to do the copy and create story line for the ad
c. They also contribute to the theme of the advertisements
d. The copy is converted into various forms by the visualiser

94
e. Visualiser with the help of layout artists designs the ad Advertising Agency : Structure
and Functions
f. The typographers and the ¿nal artists prepare the ¿nal artwork
g. The creation of logo, selection of colour, using appropriate fonts, are
all decided by the creative department members in consultation with
each other.
h. The members use creative energies, they coordinate with designers
and visualisers to ¿nish an advertisement.
Personnel in a Creative Department:
Ɣ Copy Writers: They are the creative back bone of an Agency. They
need to have a creative bent of mind to survive in this competitive
ad world. Their main responsibility is to give shape to the ideas in
the form of words. Their content adds more life and vibrancy to the
advertisements. They are responsible for creating, and designing the
promotional content for their clients. They need to be humours as
it’s one of the ingredients of a quality y advertisement. They are the
ones who create the taglines, jingles,, con content
ntentt texts which makes
the ad linger in the minds of the consum consumers.
u errs. Copyy w writers
rite
ri rs aare
ters re tthe
he
brains
brai n bbehind
aiins eh the
hindd th
he bi
billboards, cacatalogues,
ataloggues emails,
ess, em websites
mailss, we
websit tes
e w which
hiich aree
extensively
extenssivel
iv
ve y us d bby
used
ed the
y th aadvertisers.
he ad Qualities
vertiseers. Quaali such
ch aass ccommunication,
l tiess suc ommmu catiion,
munic
good
good llanguage,
angu
g ag power
ge, pow oobservation,
wer off ob serv reasoning,
e sonningg, aand
vationn, rea nd aanalytical
nalyt skills
yticall sk
kills
are
a e much
ar ch nneeded
eede
eed d to be a good o copy w
od writer.
rit
itter.
Ɣ Graphic
Grraph hic Designers:
Desisignnere s: Graphic
Grap phicc ddesigning
ap esignningg is aan inseparable
n in
inse epa
p ra ble ppart
rabl
bl artt off an
advertisement.
advevertisem
ve e en
em nt. Nowadays
t Now wadayss adveadvertisements
vertisememen e ts use gragraphics
aph
p ics to a larger
extent ntt tto make
o ma
makke iitt more attractive
re attrractiv
ive andd ef effective. Graphic
ffective. Graph phiic ddesigners
esiggners of
an
n aad agency havee an eequal
d ag role
o e in ppopularising
quaal rol
ol opul the ccontent.
u arising th ont
nten
nt entt. iit’s
en t s th
t’ their
hei
eir
ir
skill
sk of ppresentation
resentatio i n wh
io which
whic matters
ch ma Graphic
attters a lot.. A Graphi h c DeDesigner
Desi sign
si gneer nneeds
gn ds tto
eeds o
bee a person
perrsoson with
with strstrong
rong ddedication,
ediica thick
cationn, thic ttake
ck skin too ta criticism
ke criritiici
ri sm inn hhis
cism is
stride,
stri
st r de, innovative vee aand
ndd hhave
av mind
ve a min nd to lillisten colleagues.
sten to colleagu g es. He needs
gu
to hhave
avee abil
av ability
bilit logical
ityy of logic cal tthinking
hinkkin
ing iced d by wowork
ork eethics
thiicss tto
om meet
eett th
ee the
he
deadlines
dead
de adlines with app
ad appropriate
ppro
pp priiate ttime
ropr
pr ime mana
im management.
ageg mentt. Hi
His ro role
ole iiss tto create
o crereat
re atee
at
designs,
desisign
si gns,
gn s,, logos,
log oss, characters
ogos char
ch a acterss which
which suit th the
he copy ccontent,
onte
on tent
te nt,, by iidentifying
denntifyi
de nt yinng
the
the colour textures, s, tthe
he fonts, the back background,
kground, and the animation to
convey tthe he message in a stronger way way. Proper knowledge about the
software’s like Photoshop, designing programs, quark express is
essential for a graphic designer.
Ɣ Art Directors: They are the individuals who are responsible for the
visual images and styles in newspapers, magazines, product packaging,
television and movie productions. Their main role is to create the
overall design and direct others to develop art work and layouts. They
are the individuals who need to have a thorough knowledge about
the typography, photography and printing techniques. They work as a
part of a team, so that they can create a campaign which can instantly
have a positive impact on the consumer regarding the product and
the brand. Their list of activities include: discussion with the creative
team, planning a budget, working with artists, photographers,
maintaining on and off location shoots, presentation of the ¿nal draft
to the clients. Most of the art directors work under the supervision of
a creative director.
95
Overview of Advertising 4.4.4 Production Department
The team which is responsible for the delivery of the approved ad copy
is the production department. The production department is headed by a
production manager, who is assisted by several assistants. The responsibilities
of these assistants is to do typography, making blocks, lettering, stereos
and electros. They are also responsible for supplying all the required text
and artwork for the photogravure process. It is in this department, that the
work gets organised in the form of copy, artwork proofs, corrections and
then the ¿nal output in the form of ¿nal copy as per the schedule. In bigger
agencies the work is supervised under traf¿c controller (who has a say for
the ¿nished ¿nal copy) but, in smaller agencies the work can be done by
using freelancers in production.
In the evolved world of the agencies, now we have ad makers who prepare
the end product. Ad agencies might have in-house ad makers who do their
work or some have outsourced or freelance ad makers who give you the
¿nished produc
product. ct.t Theyy assist you in doing the ad production, by identifying
the artists, music
musicians, jingle
iccianss, jin
ngle makers, voice over artists , set designers , editors
who ¿nish yo yyour work
urr wor rk as per tthe
h rrequirement
he equi
eq remeent ooff th
uire tthee clients. T
There
here
he r is a hu
re huge
ge
demand d for vvisual
issual aadsds nnowadays
ow ys ddue
wadaays ue to the TV medium
V med e ium
ed m anand oother
nd ot social
heer so
ociall
media.
m dia. T
me This
his iiss aalso
lso ddone under
nderr the ssupervision
onee un production
upeerviisionn of a prod manager
ductiion m anag ger butt
exclusively
ex
xcl
c usivvely ffor
or vvisual media
isuaal m dia ccommunication.
ed o municcatiion.
om
This
T is department’s
Th dep
partm
men work
nt’s work areas
k are a are aass follow
eas follows:
ws:
a. They
Th m manage
an schedules
nage the sche
h duule
he less ooff th
the
he clients
b. They
Th aare
re rresponsible
esponsible ffor managing
or m anag
ana ing the campaign budgets
c. They
hey ccoordinate
Th the
ooordinate th
he wo
work
kwwith ccreative
ith cr
it tivee aand
eaati media
nd media ddepartments
ed eparrtm
ep tmeents
d. They
They coordinate
y coo with
ordinate w th eexternal
ith xter
xt erna
ernall su
na suppliers
upplier
erss su
er ch aass videog
such videographers,
ogra
og raph
ra pher
ph ers,
ers
photographers,
phot
o ograph
ot p ers, artists and printers
e.
e They
hey are responsible
Th responssiblee ffor
or aall
lll tthe ¿nal
he ¿ na ou
nal outt pu requirements
putt re
equ
quir
irem
iremen
ements
en clients
t off cl
ts clie
ient
ientss
nt
of agency.
of the age
ency.
Out-sourcing
Out-sourcing ooff the Pr
Production
oducti
d ti Work:
tion Work:
Many a times, Ad agencies have to depend on out sourcing to ¿nish their
services. Many of the renowned ones have in house teams, but smaller
agencies have to depend on freelancers to get the work done. They hire the
creative people according to their requirements and get the activities done
for a price. There are many freelance professionals who are ready to lend
their services and ¿nish the end product on time and submit to the agency.
Free lancers can include:
Ɣ Directors: The directors are the strategic pillars of an advertisement.
Apart from instinct and their intuitions, they plan strategically.
They have to plan tactically and execute their campaign carefully. A
Director needs to have the quality of a good team leader, as he needs
to work in consensus with all the departments for producing quality
work. Experience, resilience, diplomacy, good track record, abundant
imagination and knowledge of the market are the basic prerequisites
of a good director. He needs to plan and execute things in a proper
96
 way which can be different from the lot. His innovative and new ideas Advertising Agency : Structure
should reÀect in his production. He is the person who shoulders the and Functions
responsibility of getting the concept through, from the paper to the
¿lm.
Ɣ Camera Persons: The men/ women behind the lens have a huge role
in creating an ad. The visualisation and its screen presentation matters
alot. Camera persons must possess qualities such as: experience, past
records, working with reputed directors. Creative technical ideas add
more value to the work. It is the duty of a camera person to shoot and
present visuals according to the story board. They work under the
guidance and suggestion of the director. It’s their duty to add life to
the storyline, by adding colour, using various shots and angles and
createvisual treat for its audience. Thus making the process complete.
4.4.5 Media Planning
Another important department in an agency is the Media Planning
department. The ¿nished end product (advertisements)
(advererrtiseme
ment n s) has to be sent to
different media. The Media planning depart department
tmentnt iiss headed by a Media
Controller oorr Pl
Planner,
Plan
a ne
anner, who
r, w assisted
ho is usually as
ssi
sist e bby
sted number
y a nu mber ooff saless eexecutives
umb xeccutiv
vess
marketing
and ma ark eexecutives.
r etingg ex eccutives.
The
Th marketing
he ma ark
rket ingg tteam
ettin eam which
m whi ich consists
h consi
sists off a re
si research
eseaarch tteam,
eamm, wworks very
orrks veery cclosely
lossely
with
w ith tthese
hese
se m media
edia
ed ia pplanners
lanners to give
o giv better
ve a bette er iidea
dea aabout
bouut ththe market
he ma
mark ket aand
rk ndd its
demands.
dem Thus,
mandds. Th hus, ggiving
ivin
iv in
ng a clear pippicture
ctturee as tto hhow
o ho thee pplan
w th lan ccann bbee exe
an executed
ecut
uted
ed
favour
in favou ur of ttheir
h ir cclients.
he lientss. Their main coordinate
in role is to coordina ate w with
ithh thee media
it
houses
ho
ouses andndd tthe agency.
he agen ncy.
y
The
Th he very ry
y ¿ ¿rst
rstt question
rs which
n whi hich aarises
risees is tthe
h allotment
he budget
nt off bu udgett fforor tthis
hiss
hi
process.
prococess. Budget
s. Budg plays
get play ys a vevery
ery ccrucial
ruci
ciaal rol
ci role,
o e, bbecause
ol ecause ddepending
ep
pendi
end ng upon th thee
bbudget
bu dgge aavailability,
dget va bil
vailab ility, tthe
ity, clients
he cliene tss are gguided
en position
uidedd to pos their
o ition thheir ad
ads inin tthe
he vvarious
he arioious
media ou
me ooutlets
tlets such as Pr
tl Print,
Prin
int,
in TV,
t,, T V, rradio,
adiio, ou
ad outdoor
utdoorr and so on. Not oonly nlyy the memedia
m diia
butt al
bu also thehe ddecision
ecis
ec isio which
ionn of whi ich media selected,
ia to be selected d, w what should
hatt sh
shouould
ou d bbee th
the
he
frequency,
frequeuenc
ue ncy,
y size of the ad,
y, when
d, w hen to gget
he published
et it publishe all
ll tthese
h d - al major
hesee ma
majo jor ddecisions
jo eccission
sion
onss
lie
li with
ie wi
w th the
he mmedia
edia
ed ia pplanners.
laanners.
nn The executive
he sales executi t ve actss as a bbridge
ti ridg
ri dgge inn ggetting
ettti
tinng
allotment
the al llo
otmment of space in ne newspapers
new wspapers and magazines, time in Television, and
Spots in radio for their clients clients. The clients have to depend on these media
planners to get their ads in the public domain. All the media planners have
to maintain a very good rapport with the media outlets. Majority of the
ads reach the media through ad agencies. Both media and these agencies
are interdependent on each other, one can’t survive without the other. The
chances of getting the ads published and broadcasted is more if the clients
go through any of the reputed ad agencies.
The following are the main activities performed by a Media planning
department:
a. Identifying a proper medium for their client.
b. Suggesting ideas and helping to place their ads on the right time.
c. Helping the clients get a good deal in terms of budgeting.
d. Buying space / Time /Spots for the a client in various media.
e. Conducting periodic market research for their clients.
97
Overview of Advertising f. Coordinating all the activities between clients and media in terms of
billing, commission, consent and getting the ¿nal approval.
The media department completely works on a commission basis. The
amount is shared between the ad agency and the media houses in the ratio
of 70-30, which is universal in nature.
The primary principles followed in a Media and Agency relationship.
a. The agency is responsible for all the payments to media.
b. There is no cut in commission by the agency which is received from
the clients to the media.
c. Uniform policy is followed by the media for all the agencies.
d. The media does not alter any material without prior consent of the
agency.
There are a number of Media planning agencies across the globe who take
up the responsibilities of assisting and guiding the clients in all way. Some
of the noted one
ones
n s arare:
re: VVowels
owels Advertising, The Media Ant, Grey, Adver
labs, Good Apple
Appple Digital,
Dig ital, YoYo
igit Yo Media,
Med ia, Seagull
dia agull Advertising
Seeag Ad g and
and so on.
In this ever changing
cha
hangin
ha ng mamarket
markrket sscenario
cenarioo it
ce it’s
t’s vvery necessary
eryy nec
er cesssaryy to uunderstand
nd
der
e sttandd
the
t e market
th marrket la landscape
ands
dscape fo for
or tthe
he bbusiness
usineess devdevelopment.
velo opmenen Companies
nt. C ompaanies aacross crooss thee
globe
o e hhope
gllob ope to sspread
preaad tthe word
hee wor o d off the
or their offering,
eir off customers
feringg, cuustoomeers ssatisfaction,
to atisfaaction,,
at
engage
e gaage
en g them m anand ultimately
nd ult timaately
ly retain
y to reta taain tthem
hem m fo their
for thheir bbusiness
usi
sine
si growth.
n ss growt wth.
h T The
he
advertising
addvertrttissing ccompanies
omp
m anie ies hhave
ve bbeen
ave een uusing
ee various
singg va ariou
io s sosoftware’s
ftware’s ffor
oft or tthe
h purpose
he purpose, e,
to help p them remain
m rem relevant
e ain releva vaant
n and m master
aster digital marketing. Some of the
noted
noote
t d so software’s
softwa are’s
’ which ch aree eextensively
xten
ensisivelyl uuseds d be
se because their
ecausse of the eir uuser friendly
seer frie
iendlyly
y
and
annd easy
eaasy adoptability
addopttability ar are M Marketo,
ark
rket
rk Vocus,
eto,, Voc
et cus,, Hubspot,
Hubs
Hu pott, Sailthru,
bspo
po aillthrru, Yesware,
Sai Yesswa
warere,,
Localvox,
Loocalvlvox, M
lv Mailchimp.
aillch
c imp. T These
hese softwares
se sofoftw
of wares are re usedd for va various
variiou activities
ouss activi v tiess such
as
a ccustomising
ustomi
us missing Emails, iincreasing
ncreasin i g user engagement, provi providing marketing
iding marke k ting
solutions,
soolu
luttions, customer
s, custot mer ac
to acquisition
acqu uis
isittio
ionn an andd rerretainment,
taain
inme
ment
me nt, to llaunch
nt a nc
au nchh ma marketing
markrket
rk etin
etingg
in
campaigns.
campai
ca aign
ai g s.
Qualities
Quaalities of a Media
Qu Media Planner:
Pla
lann
nner
nn err:
Media planners are those who create the action plans for the ad campaign and
prede¿ne
d ¿ theth marketing
k ti objectives.
bj ti Their
Th i ttypical
i l jjob
b requires
i th them tto hhave
a good liaison between the clients,consumers and agencies. He or she has
to strategically help in selecting the proper mix of media platforms to place
ads in order to achieve the proper targets. The qualities such as systematic
attitude, clear perspective, focus, communication skills and prioritisation
will help them to be successful in the long run.
Check your Progress: 2
Note: 1) Use the space below for you answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
1. List out the major department of an advertising agency.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

98
2. What are the main roles that an ad agency serves for a client" Advertising Agency : Structure
and Functions
..............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
3. How many different types of ad agencies can you name?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

4.5 LEADING ADVERTISING AGENCIES OF THE

WORLD
The popularity and sustainability of an agency depends upon many factors
such as credibility, innovativeness, the team, the success rate, and the
compatibility. In spite of hurdles in the business, many agencies have
braced themselves up to face the storm in the ma market
m rket and have made a mark
for themselves. The prominent agencies, for yo yyour convenience,
ur connvenience, have been
discussed here, under global and national pl players. These
layerrs. T hesee aagencies
geenc
ncie listed
iess list
stted
d
below ha have
v bbeen
ave eeen in he ttop
n the op list of aagencies
genccies and thee kinkind
nd ooff clcclients
i ntts th
ie they
heyy
handle
hand l for ttheir
dle heir
he business
ir bussin
ines
esss grow
es growth.
wth the
th. Heree is th list
he li
ist agencies
enccies ffrom
s off age romm thtthee glo
global
obal
platform
pla
pl at rm
atform
mw whoho are
are renowned
reenowneed for th work:
their w ork::
Ogilvy
O v aand
gillvy nd MMather:
ather: A New York Yoork based
baseed advertising
t singg and marketing
advverrti ar ing company
marketi com mpaany
was
waas started
startted inn 1948
19948 by David
a id Ogilvy.
Dav Oggilvy.y Among
y. Amo ong its
its key people
peopple is,
s John
is, Johhn Seifert,
Seiffertt,
Chief
Chhief Executive,
Exxec
e utive, W Worldwide.
orldwi
or d . It iiss a ppart
wide
wi art ooff WP
WPP
W P group anand by revrevenue
venue is
one
ne of the largest
on larrge
gest marketing
st m communication
arkketingg andd com mmunnicaation com companies
ompa
p ni
pa nies ooff thee wo
world.
orlr d.
They
Th
hey hanhandle
anddle ma
an many
m ny of tthe renowned
he reenow wned clients
d cliennts ssuch
uch as A Amazon,
maazon,
n, C Coco-Cola,
oco-
o Coola
la,,
IBM,
IBMM, Doveo e and
Dov an American
nd Amer riccan Express.
Expx reess.
Mullen:
M e : Considered
ulllen C nsid
Co i ered
id b tthe
d to be he A
he American
m ricaan bes
me best
st ad agency, it was founded
b JJim
by im M Mullen he yyear
ullenn in the 1970.
eaar 19700. It kknown
It is kn own ffor content
or its co
cont
n en creation,
ent crea
crreaati
tion brand
onn, br
brannd
planning,user
plannniing
ng,user ex experience,
expe
peri designing,
rience, de
desi
siggning,
si g perform
g, performance
mance an analytics.
nallytiics. It aalso
lso fefeatures
eat
atur
ures
ur es
in the ttop
opp 110
0 innovative
inno
in nova
vati
ative
v m
ve marketing
arke
k ting advertising
ng and adverti tising com
ti companies.
ompa
om es. Their
pannies
pa es Thei
Th clients
eiir clie
ient
ients
nt
include
incl
cllud Google,
ude Googl le, Acura,
Acura, Jet Blue,
luee, Zappos andd soon.
Blu s on.
so
McCann World
Wor ld group:
orld roup: Formerly known as McCann Erickson, is also a
gro
global player, and has network in more than 120 countries worldwide. They
are majorly into digital marketing, relationship management, professional
communication, media management, consultation and so on. Their list of
clients include: Loreal, Master Card, Nespresso and Cigna.
Publicis Group: Founded in the year 1926, in France by Leo Burnett. They
are known for their acquisitions in the global market and have alist of digital
specialists working for them. It provides marketing, POS, Video editing
along with communication services. The clients are Coca-Cola, Garnier,
Vicks, American Airlines.
Dentsu: Is a Japan based ad company which dominates 30 of the global
market. Founded by Jerry Bhulman, it is one of the leading agencies in
Japan too. It has its corporate of¿ce in London to take care of the European
markets. Asia region is an unexplored region for this company, but it has
acquired many global ad agencies such as Mc Garry Bowen in the USA.
The main clientsinclude Airtel, Flipkart, Pepsi, Barcardi, Red Bull and so on.
99
Overview of Advertising Havas: Founded in the year 1991, this American ad agency is now taken over
by a French Media Group, considered to be the ¿fth largest communication
group in the world. It was formerly known as Euro RSCG till 2012. The list
of clients includes: Lactose, IBM, Air France.
Grey Global: Founded in the year 1917, this century old ad agency is
based in New York. It specialises in Public Relations, Public Branding,
Interactive Marketing. Known for its subsidiary groups such as GCI Group,
Media Com Worldwide, WING and so on. Its clientele comprises of Canon,
P&G, Advil, Cover Girl.
Drogan: Set up in the year 2006, its known for its presence in all platforms
including broadcast, print, social, experiential and out of home. Based in
New York, it is known as one of the best among its rivals. Its list of clients
includes, BBC, Johnsonville, Google, Heineken.
BBDO: Founded by George Batten, its arguably among the world’s most
admired creative networks. Has been a recipient of many Global ad awards.
Its marketing seservices
ervices es aare
re sought after in most of the countries across the
globe. It has alalliances
lliancces w with
ith many of the acquired local subsidiaries. The
most renowned
ren
enow
ow n d clients
wne ntss include
clieent includ Subway,
udee Su
ud S bway, PepsiCo,
bw iCoo, Hewlett
PeepssiC leettt and
Hewle and Packard,
Packa
kard
rd,,
Price.
Fisher P rice..
aand
Y an d R (Young
(Yooungngg & Rubicam):
Rub biccam)): Onee of thee icon
iconic
onic aagencies,
ies, ffounded
genncie oundeed byy Johnn
Young
Orrr Youung in h year 11978.
n the 78. Itt iss aan
978 ideal
n id company
deall com ha e sspecialisations
mpanny too have peci
pe cialissatiionss
ci
digital
in dig
i ittal
ig and
a an nd aadvertising
dver media
ertisiing m edia ffor both
or bot th oonline and
nlinee annd oofÀine
fÀine ad
fÀ advertising
dve
vertissin
ing
Has
Haas more
m re than
mo thhan 300
300 peoplee as
as employees.
e pl
em ployeees. The list of clients includes Sony,
Adobe,
Addobe, Burger
e, Burg ger King,
King, Dell.
Apart
Ap from tthese,
part fr other
hesse, othe renowned
er re nownned nnames
reno
no ames iinclude
am nclu
nc lude
lu Lintas
de L in
nta Worldwide,
tass Wo
Worl
rldw
rldwid
dw FCB,
i e, F CB,,
CB
TBWA,
TBWA
TB Bozell,
A, Boz Thompson,
zell,, J.Walterr Tho
hoomp
mpso
son,
so Saatchi
n, S aatcchi & S Saatchito
aatc
aatchhito nname
tc amee a ffew.
am ew.

4.66 LEADING
LE
EADIING ADVERTISING
R AGENCIES OF INDIA
Advert
Advertising
A rtis
rtising toda
today
d y has em
eemerged
merrgedd as oone
ne ooff th
thee mo
mostt ssought
ough
ou ghtt af
gh aft
after
ter pr
ter prof
professions
ofes
of esssionns in
thee mmedia
edia world.
d With th growing
thee gr
grow
win economic
ng ec
ecoonomomic
om power
wer aand
ic pow
ow ndd bburgeoning
urge
ur geon
ge onin
on ng m market
ark
rket
rk
fforces
fo rces and the ccorporate
orporate sector in the h country, there is a hhuge uge ddemand
emandd fforor
marketing and its subsidiary activities. The paradigm shift in production
and sales has made the large corporations to indulge in popularising their
products and services, through the medium of advertising, which in turn has
paved way for advertising agencies, which have been mushrooming across
the country. Even Global players in the ad world look towards our country
and have started subsidiaries here. Mergers and take overs have become
a common phenomenon in the advertising world. The quality of creative
work in the ad industry of our country has made the world look towards
Indian market with lot of positivity. Some of the leading ad agencies of
India have been listed below, that have carved a niche and made a name in
the industry through their work and product branding:
DDB Mudra Communications: Founded in the year 1980, by A.G.
Krishnamurthi, initially in Mumbai, it had a very humble beginning with
just 15 employees. Today it has emerged as one of the most well established
ad agencies of our country. In 1990, they signed an agreement with DDB
Needham Worldwide, and merged with DDM. It has been a recipient of
100
many national and international awards like Cannes, Adfest, Spikes Asia. Advertising Agency : Structure
The leading clients in their kitty include Aditya Birla Group, ACC Limited, and Functions
Bharat Petroleum, Puma, Reebok and so on. Their iconic campaign for
RASNA, made it the largest selling soft drink in 1986.
Grey India: Situated in Mumbai, Grey India is a part of Grey Global group,
who have shown some of the famous and effective work to the India’s
prestigious clients. They usually handle projects related to retailing, visual
designing, and ¿xture design. Their client list includes Sensodyne, Indian
Air force, Cadbury Silk, Kinder Joy.
Rediffusion (Y&R): This Ad Agency was started in 1973, with collaboration
between three friends, Arun Nanda, Ajit Balakrishna and Mohd. Khan. It’s
a part of Y&R global network which has 187 of¿ces across the globe. It
has regional of¿ces in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore&Colombo for
providing creative and strategic outputs to its Asian clients. Their client list
consists of Tata Motors, ITC, Ambuja, Emani.
0F&DQQ±(ULNVRQ,QGLD/WGAwarded as the the
h Global agency thrice, this
Ad agency has of¿ces in more than 120 coun countries
ntr and
t ies annd has a strong global
network. Known for its creativity, intersectionn of tectechnology,
echn
hnologgy, y ssolutions,
olut
ol utio
ions
n , an
andd
measurable
measurabab performance
ble per rform c aand
mance
ce understanding
nd unique unde erstaandin ng ooff ppeople.
eople. The
e. T he cclients
lieentss
y ddeal
they eal wi
withh aare
th Maybelline,
re M aybe
ayb lline, Card,
e, Masterr Card Microsoft
rd, Mi
M croosofft an many
and m more.
anyy mo ore.
Ogilvy
Og nd Mather:
vyy and Mata heer: It operates
oper a es iin
errat the
n th major
he 6 m ajo cities
or cit oourr coun
ties off ou country,
ntry, andd is
leading
a lead
a ingg ag
ad agency
e cy here. The ¿rm
gen m hhas
rm a bbeen
as aable
een ab lee to ggrab
rab
bm many
any awar
an awards
a ds forr its
quality
ality ooutput
qual utpuut aand works
nd w orks
or k on th
ks the principle
he prini ciple of 360 ddegree
in branding
egreee br
eg bran dinng oon
andi n bo
bothth
local
loc gglobal
cal andd gl scale.
obbal sca
ale The
le. Th clients
he majorr clie IBM,
ents aree IB
BM, Dove, N NASCAR,
ASCA CAAR,, PPhilips,
hilips,
Coke
Cooke Zero.
JWT:
WT: Known
JW Knownn for its int integrated
tegraated nnetwork
etwwork an iitss widesp
and it widespread
ad aactivities
pread ctiv
ct vitiess in tthe
itie
ie he
cities
citi
ies like
e lik
ik Hyderabad,
ke Hyd derabad,d, DDelhi,
elhi Chennai,
h , Ch
hi hennna Bangalore,
nai, Ba
angaalo JWT
l re, JW
WT ha has been
as be n ooperating
een p rati
pe ting
ti
more
in m o e th
or than 990 countries,
0 co
couuntries,s, aand
nd wwas
as taken
as e over
en oveer by Hindustan Thompson in
2002.
2002
20 Thee ma
0 . Th
T major
ajo clients
jor clie
ient
ie n s ar
nt are NeNestle,
esttle Unilever,
l , Un
Unilever r, DTC. Some
C.. S om
me ofo ttheir
h ir iiconic
he coniic
co
campaigns
camp
mpai
mp aign
ai iinclude
g s in clud
cl Kitt Ka
udee Ki
K Katt an
K Burger
andd B urgger King.
Triverse:
T
Tr se:: Gurgoan
iverse Gurg
Gu rgoa
oann babbased
sedd agency,
se agency, was founded
ncy u ded in the
foun the year
yeaar 2008,
20008, by
by
Suresh
Sure sh Tiwari, which is onee of
resh o the popular oones
nes now, known for its brand
architecture,
architecture design
e, de
desi gn llanguage
sign angguage and social media communication. It includes
an
both luxury and mass brands. The clients include Vardhaman, PARI India,
SMC and so on.
FCB ULKA: The agency has been retaining its slot among the top 10
agencies of the country for many years now. Founded in the year 1961 by
Bal Mundkur, it has its corporate of¿ce in Mumbai. The agency has its
presence in more than 92 countries with over 150 of¿ces in all major cities.
Presently ULKA in India handles above 53 clients from all leading brands.
The notable clients include Amul, Hero, Indian Oil, Sunfeast, Wipro,
Whirlpool and so on.
Leo Burnette: Thead agency based in Bangalore, has its global presence.
With over 100 of¿ces located in different parts of the world. The company
works on the principle of satisfying people purpose and needs. Samsung,
Kellogs, Coco Cola are its clients.
Madison Communications: Established in the year 1988 by Mr. Sam,
and incorporated its of¿ce in Mumbai, the agency is known for its iconic
101
Overview of Advertising campaigns. It has a diversi¿ed communication group with 26 units
specialing in sports, mobile, outdoor, aviation, entertainment. The clients
include CEAT, Asian paints, Cafe Coffee Day, BJP party, Levis etc.
ACTIVITY
Pay a visit to an Ad agency in your vicinity to understand the organisational
structure and its function. Interact with the Ad Professionals from various
departments and enquire about their roles. This will give you a practicalin
put to the theoretical knowledge you have gained in this Unit.

4.7 AWARDS AND RECOGNISATIONS IN THE AD

WORLD
The kind of creative minds these agencies have is a proof that they are
here to stay to create and market their ideas in the media. Ad agencies have
millions of turn overs every year. In order to boost the working spirits among
the ad professionals many awards and reconciliation have been instated in
They
the industry. Th re hheld
hey are e d and given out every year. Some of the renowned
el
awards in the Ad
A world
wor ld are:
orld
Ɣ The
Th Cannes
he Ca
annnes Lions
e Liionss
Ɣ The
he ADDYs
Th AD
DDY
DYs
Ɣ The
Th CLIO
he CL
LIO
O Award
Ɣ The
he OBIE
Th OB E awards
BIE awa
ward
rdss
Ɣ The
Th D & Ad
A Awardss (Design
(Desiign and
(D nd Art Direction)
an
The
Thhe popularity
poopulari Ad
rity of an A agency
d ag
agen
ency
en y aalso
lsoo de
ls ddepends
ndss on tthe
peend h kkind
he indd of aawards
in ward
wa r s it ggets
etss
et
for
or itss pperformance.
fo erfo Clients
ormaance. Cliientss cchoose
hoos
ho osee an
os a add ag agency
agen cy bbased
ency
en asedd oon
n it ppopularity
itss po puula
lari
rity
rity
and
an it strength
itss stren
ngth market.
h in the ma
markete . So
et agencies
So,, ag
agen
encies
en among
e vivee am
es amon themselves
ongg th
on them
emselv
em ves tto
o gi
give
v
ve
their
t eiir bbest.
th est.
The competition
The compm etitio
mp among
on amon the
ng thhe well
welll eestablished
stab
abli
ab lish
lished
sh eddAAd agencies
d ag
agen
enci
en cies
ci es aare
re vvery
eryy in
er intense,
nte
tens
nsee,
ns
they
hey aare
th re knownn by thee ccreativity ty aand
reativvity nd ttheir
heeir nnewness
ew
wne ss iin
ness n th market.
thee ma
mark rket
rk et. T
et The
he AAdd
agencies
ag
gen bbeen
encies have be giving
en giv
vin their
ingg th
thei best
eiir be
estt too ma
make
ke it mo re ssuccessful
more ucce
uc ceess full in aall
ssfu
fu lll sspheres
pher
eres
ere
of their activities.
activitiees. A good team work and good minds are a plus point for the
growth of an agency. Ample opportunity lies in front of the professionals
to broaden its scope of services in spite of the emerging challenges on the
advertising scene. These challenges pertain to media, motivations, messages,
audience and of course the market. But, these agencies are here to stay and
will for sure grow bigger and bigger in the coming years.

4.8 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we went through the functioning of an advertising agency, its
various departments and the personnel who work at different roles in an
agency.
The size and range of an agency can vary and so can the roles and
responsibilities of those working in it.
As a client, the structure of the advertising agency needs to ¿t your needs
from results to communication. Ad agencies work closely with the client to

102
gather information and pitch their campaign ideas, followed by the creative Advertising Agency : Structure
process of actually making and distributing both print, other media and and Functions
online ads. Advertising agencies use a wide range of advertising strategies
to create marketing campaigns tailored to their clients’ needs.
These days, the trend of specialised boutique agencies is picking up. Only
planning media or doing only the creatives for the client is what these
specialised agencies offer.
We saw that the broad departments of an agency are: Account Planning
& Client Servicing, Creative, Production, Research and Administration.
Though it is rare for an agency to do all these on its own Work is usually
out-sourced to experts in the ¿eld.
We also went through some famous agencies of the world and of our country.
Hope, that you were able to a have a sneak peep into what an ad agency is
like. Try and visit an ad agency in your vicinity to get a real-life experience
of what you have learnt here theoretically.

4.9 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE

POSS
SIB
BLE ANSWERS
Check Your
Yoour
u Progress
Pro
r grres
esss 1:
1
1. Volne
V neyy B.
ne
Volney B Pal lme
merr op
Palmer opened
ed his add agen
ncy
y in Philadelphia,
agency Philaadeelph
hia, Am
Amer
ricaa in
America
the ye
the year 18
11840
400
22.. David
Daavid
dM Mackenzie
ack
c en June
nzie Ogilvyy (233 Ju 1911
une 19 July
9111 – 211 Jul 1999)
ly 19999 was
9 ) wa British
as a B rittish
ad
dverttis
i in
ng tycoon,
advertising ty
ycoon
on,, founder
on foundder of
o Ogilvy
Ogillvy
v & Mather, an aand
d kno
own as the
known
«F
Fat
ather of Advertising».
«Father Adv
dver
dv e tisiing».
3. Thee ¿rst
¿r R ad
dio ccommercial
Radio omm
mercia
ial ma
made iits
t aappearance
ts ppearaanc
ncee in 1967,
19967
67,, aired
ai d on
Viividh B
Vividh harti.
Bharti.
Ch
C ecck Your
Check Yo Progress
Pro
rogr
gres
ess 2:
es
1
1. Brroa
oad departmentalisation
Broad depa
de part
rtme
menntal
me alis
alisatio
is on in an ad
ad agency
agenc
n y entails:
enta
taail
i s::
Ɣ Account Planni
ning
ing
Planning
Ɣ Cl
lie
ient
nt S
Client e vi
ervicing
Servicing
Ɣ Cr
C rea
e tive
ve D
Creative ep
epa
partm
t ent
Department
Ɣ Production Department
Ɣ Media Planning
Ɣ Research
Ɣ Administration Department
2. Roles of Advertising Agencies include:
Ɣ Creating an advertise on the basis of information gathered about
product
Ɣ Doing research on the company and the product and reactions
of the customers.
Ɣ Planning for type of media to be used, when and where to be
used, and for how much time to be used.
Ɣ Taking the feedbacks from the clients as well as the customers
and then deciding the further line of action
103
Overview of Advertising 3. There are basically 5 types of advertising agencies.
1. Full service Agencies
 Large size agencies.
 Deals with all stages of advertisement.
 Different expert people for different departments.
 Starts work from gathering data and analyzing and ends
on payment of bills to the media people.
2. Interactive Agencies
 Modernized modes of communication are used.
 Uses online advertisements, sending personal messages
on mobile phones, etc.
 The ads produced are very interactive, having very new
concepts, and very innovative.
3. Creative
Crea
e tivee B
ea Boutiques
o tiques
ou
 Very
Ve ry ccreative
reative and innovative ads.
 No oth
other
therr ffunction
unctio
on is per
performed
rform
rm
med oth
other
ther
the tha
than
haan creati
creating
ing actuall
ads.
ad
ds.
 Sm
Small
malll ssized
izeed agagencies
genccies wwith
i h thei
it their
ir ow
own
wn cop
copywriters,
pywritters,,
directors,
direct
tors,
s,, and
nd ccreative
r ativ
re ve ppeople.
eopple.
4. Media
Meedia Buying
B yingg Agencies
Bu Age
g nc
ncie
ies
 Buys place
ce ffor
or adv
advertise
dveertise and sells it to the advertisers.
dv
 Sells
Sell
ls ti
time
me iin
n wh
whic
which
ichh adve
ic advertisement
vert
vertis
rt isem
isemen
ementt wi
en will
ll bbee pl
plac
placed.
aced
ace .
ed
 Schedu
Schedules
duless slot
du slots
lot
ots att ddifferent
i fere
if rent
rent tel
television
eleviisio
el ion ch
io chan
channels
anne
annels
ne lss and rradio
adi
dio
stations.
stations
n.
ns
 Finaall
Finally
llyy su
supe
supervises
peerv
r isses
e oror checks
chec
ecks
ecks whether
whe
h thther
er the
thee aad
d ha
hass been
been
telecasted
telec
casted
ed
d att op
opte
opted
ted ti
te time
ime aand
nd pla
place
lace
lace oorr no
not..
5. In-House
-House Agencies
In-H
-H Age
genc
nciess
 As good as the full service agencies.
 Big organization prefers these type of agencies which are
in built and work only for them.
 These agencies work as per the requirements of the
organizations.
There are some specialized agencies which work for some special
advertisements. These types of agencies need people of special knowledge
in that ¿eld. For example, advertisements showing social messages, ¿nance
advertisements, medicine related ads, etc.

4.10 FURTHER READINGS

Ɣ The Art of Client Service: 58 Things Every Advertising & Marketing
Professional Should Know, Robert Solomon. (Kaplan Publishing,
2008
Ɣ Ogilvy on Advertising, David Ogilvy (Vintage, 1985

104
Ɣ Creative Company: How St. Lukes Became “The Ad Agency to End Advertising Agency : Structure
All Ad Agencies”, Andy Law (Wiley 1999) and Functions

Ɣ Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age,

Clay Shirky (Penguin Press, 2010
Ɣ Truth, Lies and Advertising: The Art of Account Planning, Jon Steel
(Wiley, 1998)

4.11 GLOSSARY
Agency commission: The agency’s fee for designing and placing
advertisements. Historically, this was calculated as 15 percent of the amount
spent to purchase space or time in the various media used for the advertising.
In recent years the commission has, in many cases, become negotiable, and
may even be based on some measure of the campaign’s success.
Ala carte services: Rather than provide all advertising services for one price,
an agency may provide only the services that a client wishes to purchase.
Bait Advertising: Advertising a product att a ve very
eryy low price, when it is
dif¿cult or even imp impossible
mpossible to obtainn th pproduct
thee pr o uct fo
od price
forr the pr
pric advertised.
icee ad
adve
vertissed
ed.
Barter E Exchanging
x hanggingg merc
xc merchandise,
cha something
h ndise, orr som meth other
hing oth her than
an m money,
oneey, for
advertising
adve ttime
veertisingg ti space.
me or sp
spac
acce.
e.
Billings:
Billin
Bi ngs: Total
Total aamount
mouunt charge
mo charged
geed to cclients,
lien including
nts, in
nclud agency
u ingg thee ag cy ccommission,
gency ommissiion,
media
medi
d a co
di costs,
osts, pproduction
ro
odu
duct ion costs, eetc.
ctio t .
tc
Boutique:
Booutiquee: An
An aagency
gen
ncy that
y tha provides
hatt provid
ha limited
ides a limitted such
e service, suc one
ch ass onne ththat
hat does
creative
cr
rea work
e tive w orrk but ddoes
ess nott pprovide
oes media
roviide m planning,
ediaa pla research,
rcch, eetc.
anning, researc Usually,
tc. Us
tc U ually,
this
th
his
i referss to small
o a relativelyy smal company.
all com
mpan
any.
Cardrate:
Ca
ard
r rat : Media
ate published
Meedia rates publi lished broadcast
e byy a bro
ed station
on orr pprint
oadccast statio in ppublication
rint ubl
blicati
tion
tion
o a “rate
on card.”
tee card.
d ” Th
d. is iiss ty
This typically
ypi
p caall the
l y th highest
he high rate
hest ra
ate chargedd bby vehicle.
y a vehihicle.
l
Collateral
Coll
Co materials:
l aterrall mat
ateria
at lss: Sales
als: S le
Sa brochures,
les brocochu
hures,
hu catalogs,
s,, catalog
og ssheets,
gs, specc sh eets
ee eetc.,
ts, et generally
c., ge
c. gene
nera
ne r llly
delivered
deli
live
li r d to cconsumers
vere
vere onsu
on meers (or ddealers)
sume eaalers) by
b a sales person
e perso on rarather
her tthan
ath hann by m
ha mass
asss
as
media.
m
me dia. TThese
heese materials
se mater
eria ls aare
rials considered
re consi siddered “col
si “collateral”
l teral” tto
lla o th sales
the sa
salel s m
le message
esssag
ge
delivered
deli
liive
vered by theh ssales
ales
l person.
Dailies: Also
Als called
lsoo ca
called rushes, this refers to unedited ¿lm. These are called
lled
Dailies because the ¿lm typically is viewed from a single day’s shooting,
even if the ¿nal commercial or program will take many days or weeks of
shooting.
Fringe time: A time period directly preceding and directly following prime
time, on television.
House agency: An advertising agency owned and operated by an advertiser,
which handles the advertiser’s account.
Net cost: The costs associated with services rendered by an advertising
agency excluding the agency commission.

105