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You’ve heard about advertising agencies and marketing agencies but are not sure about their differences. Many business owners get confused about these terms, which can lead to budget wastage, misguided campaigns and ultimately missed opportunities for growth.

In this article, we will help you distinguish between an advertising agency and a marketing agency. This will make it easier for you to choose the right partner for your business whether you need assistance with brand awareness, lead generation, sales growth or a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Advertising Agency vs. Marketing Agency: The Difference

Why the Confusion Exists?

Advertising and marketing agencies can be easily mistaken for one another. They both claim to help grow your business, they both discuss campaigns and creativity and they both make use of digital tools. However, in their focus, in the skills they have and in their deliverables they differ. Choosing one of the two by mistake means spending your budget on an agency that doesn’t meet your goals.

What Does an Advertising Agency Do?

Advertising agencies focus on helping you build brand awareness and drive attention to your products or services. They will do this through creative advertising campaigns.

Services of an Advertising Agency

• Ad Campaigns: The design and execution of ads, be they on television or radio, in print media or on social media and search engines.
• Creative Production: Video production, graphics, logo design and catchy taglines.
• Media Buying: Purchase of ad space where your target audience is likely to spend time.
• Brand Positioning: Consistent look and feel for your brand across all channels and ads.
• Performance Analysis: Measures and reports the success of an ad or an ad campaign reach, clicks, conversions, etc.

Example:

Joe’s local bakery wants more foot traffic. The advertising agency creates a set of Facebook ads and a catchy radio jingle. It also places ads during prime morning commuting hours and measures how many people mention hearing the ad when they walk into the bakery.

What Does a Marketing Agency Do?

What Does a Marketing Agency Do?

Marketing agencies take a broader view of your business and of your brand. They understand your customers, your business and your goals, and will craft a strategy that positions your brand against the right audience and grows your business in the long-term.

Services of a Marketing Agency

• Market Research: Customer research, competitor research and trend analysis.
• Marketing Strategy: Developing a plan to achieve your marketing goals, be it brand awareness, lead generation or sales growth.
• Content Creation: Blog writing, social media management and email newsletters.
• SEO & PPC: Search engine optimization and pay per click advertising.
• PR & Reputation Management: Reputation management and PR activities.
• Lead Generation: Lead generation and nurturing.

Example:

Amy has a new fitness studio and wants to build memberships. The marketing agency she has hired researches the local area and demographics, builds a marketing strategy, develops a blog and social media plan, runs Google ads, and starts email campaigns to nurture leads.

Here’s a quick comparison table between an advertising agency and a marketing agency:

Real-World Scenarios: Which agency do you need?

1. You Want More Brand Awareness

Go for an advertising agency. An advertising agency will create an advertising campaign that makes an impact and increases your visibility.

2. You Want More Leads/Sales

Go for a marketing agency. A marketing agency will take a wider view of your business and build a comprehensive marketing strategy to drive more leads and conversions.

3. You Need a Marketing Strategy for Your Business

Go for a marketing agency. As they specialise in full-cycle marketing strategies, a marketing agency will help you create a plan to grow your business.

4. You Want to Launch a New Product and Need a Creative Campaign

Go for an advertising agency. An advertising agency will design and run an advertising campaign to launch your new product and drive awareness.

5. You Want to Increase Your Online Visibility

Go for a digital marketing agency (a type of marketing agency). A digital marketing agency will design and run a digital marketing strategy to improve your online presence.

Common Misunderstandings

We have received a couple of questions from readers who are new to advertising and marketing, and we thought we would address them here for everyone to see.

“Can’t one agency do it all?” A digital marketing agency will typically cover both advertising and marketing, but as a rule, one does not fit all.

Advertising agencies excel in creative campaigns and media buying.

Marketing agencies are experts in building marketing strategies and focusing on long-term growth. There are some advertising or marketing agencies that can do both, but they are in the minority. Most specialize.

“Isn’t digital marketing the same as advertising?” No. Digital marketing is a broad term that includes search engine optimization, social media, content creation and advertising (pay per click).

“Do I need both?” Sometimes. If you are running a large advertising campaign, and building a marketing strategy for long-term growth, you may want to work with both an advertising and a marketing agency. Alternatively, you can go with an agency that specializes in integrated solutions.

Online Advertising vs. Offline Advertising: Examples

• Online Advertising: Facebook ads, Google search ads, YouTube video ads.
• Offline Advertising: Billboards, radio jingles, newspaper ads.

Online Marketing vs. Offline Marketing: Examples

• Online Marketing: Search engine optimisation (SEO), email newsletters, social media management, blog writing.
• Offline Marketing: Event sponsorships, direct mail, community outreach.

How to Decide: Which One is Right for Me?

Checklist to Decide Whether You Need an Advertising or Marketing Agency

1) Do I need a creative advertising campaign to stand out?
Ans: Advertising agency

2) Do I want to increase the size of my business, grow my leads and generate more customers and sales?
Ans: Marketing agency

3) Do I need a digital marketing agency to help with my online presence?
Ans: Digital marketing agency

Tip:If you are unsure, call both an advertising agency and a marketing agency and ask them what they would suggest for your business. Ask them about their experience working with businesses like yours. Request to see samples of their work and some case studies.

Key Takeaways

• An advertising agency specializes in advertising campaigns. A marketing agency specialises in marketing strategies.
• An advertising agency helps you create brand awareness and draw attention to your business. A marketing agency helps you grow your business and generate leads.
• A digital marketing agency specialises in online channels: search engine optimisation, social media, pay per click.
• The main difference between advertising and marketing is that advertising is the execution of a strategy, while marketing is the actual strategy. The other differences between them are execution vs. strategy, short-term vs. long-term, and broad vs. focused.
• Choose an advertising or a marketing agency that is aligned to your goals and to your budget and that has experience with businesses that are similar to yours in terms of industry and business stage.

Final Thoughts

We hope this article was helpful and that you now have a clearer understanding of the differences between an advertising agency and a marketing agency. Whichever option you choose to help with your advertising or your marketing, your business is bound to benefit from a third-party service with an experienced team that can take some of the load off you as a business owner and that has the resources to properly execute the work. So don’t wait. Define your goals and get in touch with the right agency today.

Understanding the difference between advertising and marketing agencies can help you make more informed decisions, save your budget from being wasted, and help you see better results. Whether you need brand awareness, lead generation or a complete marketing strategy, hiring the right partner is a vital step towards business growth.

Are you ready to level-up your business? Begin by identifying your goals, and reach out to an advertising, marketing or digital marketing agency and watch your business grow!