What's an Ad Agency and Why Would I Want One?

If you're part of a small business, you probably don't have a marketing team devoted to branding and advertising your product or service. As a matter of fact, as an office professional or assistant, you may be given the task to perform yourself. Don't freak out if you have little to no experience with marketing; it may be in your best interest to hire an advertising agency. This doesn't mean you give up all of the responsibility of marketing (believe me, you'll still have plenty to do) but you might need an extra hand in creating the type of strategies necessary to get your product or service to the public.

So what does an ad agency do?

In a nutshell, an ad agency helps to develop your product with creative messaging and tactics to reach your target audience. If you've read our article on branding, an ad agency does that as well. It's all part of marketing.

Before you go out and hire the first person that tells you they can peddle your wares, consider a few things:

• What do you want to do with your product or service? (Create awareness or sell it?)
• What market are you trying to reach? (The masses or a more centralized group such as senior citizens)

If you're still confused, don't worry! An ad agency can help you answer these questions as well.

Generally, there are 3 types of agencies:

• General ad agency (These agencies are sometimes online)
• Direct response
• Online or interactive

It's not uncommon to hire more than one agency to create a well rounded team. These agencies will work together to build consistency in marketing your company.

When shopping around for an ad agency (and you should defiantly shop around), look out for a few things:

• Beware of the agencies whose employees are only interested in building their portfolio.
• Beware of agencies that tell you that they can do every type of marketing.
• Always ask for references and check up on those references.

Once you've chosen an agency or two, you'll be assigned an account manager that you will work with regularly. This is essential to keeping everyone on the same page. The account manager will then translate your needs to their creative department as well as their ad departments in order to create a cohesive message for the media.

Of course, you'll want to familiarize yourself with some marketing tid-bits in order to focus your plan. While an ad agency will help you devise a strategy, you'll need to have a good understanding of where you want your company to be heading. Read our article "How to Create a Marketing Plan" to help you devise these tactics. To further help assist you in the endeavor, use our marketing plan outline worksheet. Both of these combined will help you prepare for hiring an ad agency and getting your product off the ground. Remember to always be in constant contact with your account manager to maintain communication and facilitate consistency. This will be a great resource in building a successful business.