Ad Agency in Boca Raton

If you were to ask the average business owner what an Ad Agency does, they would be hard pressed to give you an answer. At SM Media Group (one of the top ad agencies in Boca Raton, Florida) we surveyed each of our clients. We asked them, what is the function of an ad agency. To our surprise, they really couldn’t answer the question. Some clients describe tasks that we handle, and others had a better handle of our function. However, they really did not fully understand our role. 

 

At first, we felt like we were failing to communicate our role effectively. Then through further conversation, we discovered that many of our clients did not have a deep understanding of marketing and advertising itself. So, how could we expect them to really understand what an ad agency is. 

 

Here is summarization, an ad agency is company that creates advertising campaigns, marketing strategies, the ads, and other branding materials needed to execute the campaign. I have broken down the role of an ad agency into different segments.

 

Generate More Traffic

The number one role of ad Advertising Agency is to increase traffic to their client’s businesses. Whether it is in the form of brand awareness, call to action ads, the announcement of a new product…it’s all about turning eyeballs into paying customers. 

 

Project Management 

Within an advertising agency the project is tasked with keeping the project on track. He or she will coordinate all moving parts of a production. This includes trafficking ads, to casting models to schedule meetings. The project manager is responsible for keeping the project on time and on budget.

 

The Creative Team

The creative team is led by the creative director. This position is similar to a film director. The creative director could be considered the heart of the ad agency. All ideas must be approved by the creative director. In many ad agencies, the creative director generates the creative ideas themselves, and he or she is fully responsible for the success or failure of the campaign.

 

Under the creative director you have copywriters, graphic designers, web developers, content strategists, market strategists, researchers, and the project manager. 

 

An ad agency’s reputation is highly dependent upon how recognizable their creativity is. The creative aspect of an ad agency is what businesses are really paying for. The execution of their creativity should be far superior to freelancers and other creative service oriented companies. 

 

Research 

A Full-service advertising agency provides detailed market research that assess a client’s market situation. They seek to understand a business’s customers and competitors in order to discover test markets. 

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A good advertising agency gathers information related to the client's product through focus groups, market trends, and current data reports. It’s important that a products features, quality, advantages, and limitations are included in the studies to determine present and future market possibilities. The data that is collected, compiled, and analyzed in order to draw reliable conclusions which all marketing and advertising decisions are made.

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Media Planning 

An Ad agency has a media buyer on staff who helps an advertiser select a proper media (ad platform) to promote the advertisement effectively. Selecting the proper media is a skill that requires a high level of expertise.

 

The media buyer and the strategist plan the entire ad campaign for the client. Like creative execution, ad planning is another primary function of an ad agency. Only after the research segment of the process is completed can sound media decisions can be made. 

 

Budgeting

One of the most misunderstood functions of an ad agency is helping their clients develop their budgets. It is such an important concept to understand. Ad agency professionals will always look to create a budget that will set up the client for the best possible chances for success. However, smaller businesses seem to try to cut corners in order to save money. Ad agency professionals often hear objections like, “We don’t need all that.” Or “We just need something simple; our customers don’t care how it looks.” 

This attitude puts the ad agency in a compromising position. On the one hand, the client wants to hold the agency accountable to for the results of the project. On the other hand, they are not willing to spend the money it will take to achieve that success. It is very important that a good level of trust is developed between the ad agency and the client. It’s critical when coming together on the topic of money. I will leave you with this regarding budgeting…you can’t invent value in someone’s head. 

 

In Conclusion

I hope this short article gives you a new understanding about the role and function of an ad agency.