Advertising and promotion strategies in modern marketing

Advertising & Promotion

The role of the advertising agency is an important one, because it is focused on ensuring that a company or individual is marketed correctly to the public (Altstiel & Grow, 2006). Without the right kind of marketing, any company or individual that is trying to sell a product or service could fall by the wayside. This could be the result no matter how good the product or service actually is, because the quality of the offering is only half of the issue. The other half of the issue has to do with the way the offering is presented to others - and that falls under the role of the ad agency (McChesney, 1999; Silverman & King, 1970). In the past, ad agencies were focused on marketing a product, but now they have to be much more than just companies that come up with catchy slogans and sales copy. Now, they have to show people not only the value of the product, but also the value of the company that made the product in order to be successful (Martin, 2003).

Today's ad agency must also be aware of the many different ways that a company and its product or service can be marketed, as well. Social media, the internet, and a global business environment are all highly significant when it comes to how ad agencies interact with their clients and with the customers of those clients (Eskilson, 2007). Some companies act as their own an agencies to a certain degree by making sure that they take full advantage of the free social media offerings that are available. Other companies avoid all of that and ask the professionals to handle things for them. Of course, the vast majority of companies choose something in between the two extremes. They manage some of their own social media, but they also contract with an ad agency to come up with slogans and logos, provide them with sales copy, and run a campaign for them that will attract clients.

Whether an ad agency is effective, however, is based on a large number of factors. One of the largest of those factors is the creativity of the people who are working for that agency (Altstiel & Grow, 2006). Without creativity, people who work at an ad agency will not provide their clients with fresh, new ideas that can be used to ensure those clients are successful in the marketing and selling of their products and services. Whether the client is a single individual or a large company - or anything in between - it is still very important that the client receives good treatment from the ad agency. For those who are interested in an integrated marketing communications (IMC) program, ad agency creativity is a must (Eskilson, 2007). Marketing communications involve more than just ads, and agencies that can see past advertising and look at a total branding of a client are often much more successful than companies that remain more traditional (Martin, 2003).

Companies focused on IMC have a more comprehensive plan than would be seen if the company only had an ad agency working with it. That does not mean, however, that an ad agency does not have any value. At this point in time, and with the development that has taken place in business in recent years, ad agencies are clear on the fact that they have to be more open to working with clients in new and unique ways. When ad agencies are more open to their clients they can become part of a team that will allow them to provide great service to their clients and offer ideas that will keep those clients moving forward and succeeding in business (Altstiel & Grow, 2006). In order for an ad agency to be successful in an IMC program, however, the agency has to be more creative than it would be if it were working with the client alone. That is due to the fact that being part of an IMC means the ad agency is part of a program, and that program involves other agencies and companies that all coordinate the offerings of the client (Martin, 2003).

A foundation has to be laid for the company through a strategic understanding of what the market is like and where that same market will be headed in the future. From that point, the IMC must also address the corporate culture (Eskilson, 2007). Past work done by ad agencies was mostly focused on the product, and that did not have much of a relationship to the rest of the company. Companies made all kinds of products and provided various services, some of which may or may not have had much to do with the vision and mission that was espoused by that company. With that in mind, the ad agency today needs to be able to integrate the mission and vision of the company into the ad information provided for the product or service (Martin, 2003). When the agency is able to do that, it becomes a team player and part of the IMC. That helps the agency, the company, and any other agencies that are working with that company to provide a good, overall experience for the customers.

The brand focus is one of the most important parts of the IMC, and it is also a part over which the ad agency often has a great deal of control (Altstiel & Grow, 2006). That is very important for any company to consider, because each and every company that works within the confines of an IMC must be sure that all the members of that team are strong and that they are all capable of providing what the company needs in the form of ensuring the product or service the company provides will be marketed correctly (Martin, 2003). The experience that the consumer has with the product or service, and the experience he or she has with the company, both have to be good experiences in order to retain that customer. Part of the job of the ad agency and any other agencies or companies that are working with the company as part of the IMC is to ensure that customer experiences are good ones. That can entice a customer to return for more of a product or service, and can help build company and brand loyalty that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.