What Is an Advertising Agency?

An advertising agency is a business that provides advertising and services to clients in order to increase the exposure of the client to their market, usually to increase sales.

Function

An advertising agency can perform many services for a client, such as creating advertisement ideas for print, TV and radio, conducting surveys of target markets, setting prices and handling public relations.

Benefits

Advertising agencies often have expertise in marketing that other companies do not have in-house; for many companies, hiring a well known advertising agency is a more effective way to increase market visibility than hiring new employees to market the company's product or services.

Effects

Companies that use advertising agencies may experience an increase in sales as a direct result of efforts by the agency.

Size

The size of a company can have an impact on the need to use the services of advertising agencies; small businesses may have limited advertising capabilities on their own, while large corporations can usually afford to hire their own marketing staff.

Considerations

An advertising agency may not be able to effectively increase the sales of a certain product or service if the product holds little appeal to the market.

References

• Business Dictionary: Advertising Agency Definition
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Advertising, Marketing, Promotions, Public Relations, and Sales Managers