Advertising Agencies

Today, the advertising job has become so complex that normally, no business firm chooses to handle the function directly. They employ advertising agencies. And the advertising agency has become a major institution in the field of advertising and marketing.

The advertiser- advertising agency relationship is a very crucial aspect of advertising management. Only when the advertiser and the advertising agency work in close contact and collaborate with each other can the advertising function can be carried out effectively and successfully. The collaboration cannot be limited to the mechanics of developing the advertisements; it has to pervade the entire task of marketing communications.

The firm and the agency must work together in media selection, theme development, message construction and copy development. It is essential that the agency have all the relevant information about the firm, its products and markets, the consumer, the competition and the channels. The agency must become an \'insider\' and right at the \'fact finding stage\'; full collaboration between the firm and the agency must be established.

The agency should also have a correct idea of the marketing and communication objectives of the firm; how the particular product/brand is positioned or proposed to be positioned, and how the other elements of the marketing mix, such as distribution and pricing, are conceived and handled by the firm.

In the modern context, knowledge of just advertising related matters is not sufficient for an advertising agency to succeed. It must have a comprehensive appreciation of all the aspects of marketing. The advertising agencies have to acquire more and more professional expertise, again, not merely in advertising-related matters, but also in all aspects of marketing. They have to appreciate that advertising is a method of marketing. Their advertising effectiveness would be proportionate to the extent that they are aware of the overall dimensions of marketing.