Selection of an advertising Agency An advertising agency may be a full-service agency or part-service agency.

Each has a different

outlook and advertising activities. The selection of advertising agencies depends on whether one wants a full-service agency or a part-
time agency. The selection is also made on the basis of compatibility of the agency team, agency stability, services, credibility and the
agency’s problem solving approach.

Full service agency or part- time agencyThe full-service agency is involved completely in the advertising functions. It has a large
number of expert employees. The organization is typically useful for performing advertising agencies. It looks upon customers as key
clients. It communicates with the prospective purchasers. The distinguishing characteristics of the various agencies lie in the creative
skills of the personnel of each organization and in the philosophy of advertising. Larger agencies offer better services.

The part-time agency offers service on free of cost or project basis. These agencies perform various outside activities and co-ordinate
the activities of the advertiser and media men. Clients have greater control over advertising campaigns. Advertiser’s research agencies
generally perform job of part-agencies. The selection of a particular agency depends on its size, its services, knowledge and growth

Compatibility the selection of an advertising agency depends on the compatibility of the agency. The needs of the company
determine the fitness of the agency. The advertiser visits several agencies and chooses the best agency on the basis of its merits,
demerits, accreditation, its methods of handling the accounts and using the available opportunities.

Agency TeamThis includes management specialists, market researchers, copywriters, media experts, production managers and art
directors. The attitude, thinking, experience and personalities of the team members have positive effects on the selection process.

Agency StabilityAn agency, which has been long in existence generally, performs efficiently and effectively. The greater the
investment in the agency, the more vital the contribution of the agency to the advertising activities. The personnel, finance,
management and credit are examined before selecting a suitable advertising agency.

Services The services rendered by the agency are evaluated with a view to choosing the best advertising agency. Cost accounting,
general agreements, project estimates, selling attitudes and other services performed by the advertising agencies are considered to
evaluate their efficiency and credibility in performing advertising jobs. The greater the range of an agency’s services, the more fully it
can serve the clients’ needs.

Creativity Creativity is the main element in advertising. If the advertising agency is capable of great creative efforts, it is selected for
the purpose. Style, clarity, impact, memorability and action- these are taken into account while evaluating creativity.

Problem-solving approachThe agency which has a problem solving approach is considered to be superior and useful. The
importance of choosing the right agency cannot be ignored. Caliber, compatibility, balanced services, responsiveness, talent an
equitable compensation-these are important factors in selecting an advertising agency.

Types of advertising agencies

Ad agencies come in all sizes and include everything from one or two-person shops (which rely mostly on freelance talent to perform
most functions), small to medium sized agencies, large independents

Limited-Service Advertising Agencies Some advertising agencies limit the amount and kind of service
they offer. Such agencies usually offer only one or two of the basic services. For example, although
some agencies that specialize in "creative" also offer strategic advertising planning service, their
basic interest is in the creation of advertising. Similarly, some "media-buying services" offer media
planning service but concentrate on media buying, placement, and billing..

Specialist Advertising Agencies In addition to the full-service, general-line advertising agencies, there
are also agencies that specialize in particular kinds of advertising: recruitment, help-wanted,
medical, classified, industrial, financial, direct-response, retail, yellow pages,
theatrical/entertainment, investment, travel, and so on.

In-House Advertising Agencies

Some advertisers believe that they can provide such advertising services to themselves at a lower cost than would be charged by an
outside agency.
Interactive agencies

Interactive agencies may differentiate themselves by offering a mix of web design/development, search engine marketing, internet
advertising/marketing, or e-business/e-commerce consulting. Interactive agencies rose to prominence before the traditional advertising
agencies fully embraced the Internet. Offering a wide range of services, some of the interactive agencies grew very rapidly, although
some have downsized just as rapidly due to changing market conditions.

Search engine agencies

Lately, pay per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) firms have been classified by some as 'agencies' because they create
media and implement media purchases of text based (or image based, in some instances of search marketing) ads. This relatively
young industry has been slow to adopt the term 'agency', however with the creation of ads (either text or image) and media purchases,
they do technically qualify as 'advertising agencies'.

Social media agencies

Social media agencies specialize in promotion of brands in the various social media platforms like blogs, social networking sites,
Q&A sites, discussion forums, microblogs etc. The two key services of social media agencies are:

• social media marketing

• online reputation management

Healthcare communications agencies

Healthcare communications agencies specialize in strategic communications and marketing services for the Healthcare and Life
Science industries. These agencies distinguish themselves through an understanding of the strict labeling and marketing guidelines
mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and industry group guidelines, most notably ADVAMED and PHARMA.

Medical education agencies Medical education agencies specialize in creating educational content for the Healthcare and Life
Science industries. These agencies typically specialize in one of two areas:

• Promotional education - education and training materials tied to the promotion of a given product
or therapy
• Continuing medical education - accredited education and training materials created for continuing
physician and medical professional education.

Other agencies While not advertising agencies, enterprise technology agencies often work in tandem
with advertising agencies to provide a specialized subset of services offered by some interactive
agencies: Web 2.0 website design and development, Content management systems, web
application development, and other intuitive technology solutions for the web, mobile devices and
emerging digital platforms.The student-run advertising agency model, which mainly operates
out of university classrooms or as a student groups, provides free advertising services to clients in
exchange for the educational opportunity.
THE ADVERTISING AGENCY CONTRACT

The relationship with the advertising agency should be formalized in a contract. In the absence of a formal
contract, there are bound to be discussions, if not confrontations, about what exactly the advertising
agency is supposed to do, how it is to be compensated, and how the relationship may be terminated.
There is substantial evidence that many advertisers, particularly larger advertisers, have a formal contract
or memorandum of agreement with their agency. A question on this topic was included in the 1989
Association of National Advertisers' study of agency compensation, and 89 percent of all companies
responded that such a formal document existed. When a similar question was asked in 1979, 76 percent of
the respondents said such a document existed.

The Major Issues Between Advertisers and Agencies...

No two advertiser-agency contracts are the same. There are matters that seem to be important to some
advertisers and agencies, but are not to others. This is true, for example, in the case of cooperative
advertising. If an advertiser has a cooperative advertising program, both advertiser and agency will want
to be sure that the agency's participation in that program, if any, is clearly specified. Both sides also will
want to clearly specify questions of agency compensation for its contributions to the cooperative
advertising program.

Yet there are certain issues that should be covered in all advertiser- agency contracts. These include
matters that are either of universal concern or likely to concern most advertisers and agencies, such as
the following:
* The brands or products to be handled by the agency.
* The agency's responsibilities.
* The client's obligations to the agency.
* Agency compensation.
* Ownership of advertising prepared by the agency.
* The term of the relationship.
* Termination of the relationship.