Question - What is Advertising Agency? Describe functions of advertising agency.
Answer
Definition of Advertising Agency
According to American marketing Association, "An Advertising agency is an independent business organization composed of creative and business people who develop, prepare and place advertising in advertising media for sellers seeking to find customers for their goods and services."
Advertising Agency is an independent business organization specialized in advertising related work which undertakes the work of planning, preparing, and executing advertising campaign for its clients. Advertising Agency is a body of experts specialized in advertising. Advertising Agency performs following activities for its clients:
- Planning: Advertising agency studies the product or services of clients to identify the inherent qualities in relation to competitor's product or services, analysis competition and marketing environment to formulate advertising plan.
- Preparing: After the study of product, competition, and marketing environment the experts of agency has to write, design, and produce the advertisement, it is also called formulation of ad-copy.
- Executing: Now, media is selected for time or space, ad is delivered to media, checked, verified, and released in media. After ad release payment is done to media and client is billed for the services provided.
Functions of Advertising Agency
Advertising agency performs following functions:
- Contacting Clients: Advertising agency first of all identify and contact firms which are desirous of advertising their product or services. Ad-agency selects those firms which are financially sound, makes quality products or services, and have efficient management.
- Planning Advertisement: Advertising agency's next function is to plan ad for its client. For ad planning following tasks are required to be performed by ad-agency:
- Study of client’s product to identify its inherent qualities in relation to competitor’s product.
- Analysis of present and potential market for the product.
- Study of trade and economic conditions in the market.
- Study of seasonal demand of the product
- Study of competition, and competitor’s spending on advertising.
- Knowledge of channels of distribution, their sales, operations, etc.
- Finally, formulation of advertising plan
Conclusion
After the above explanation we can conclude that ad-agency has to perform all the advertising functions for their clients.