BMGT1349

Chapter 5 Objectives

After reading this chapter you will understand

1. The agency
2. The history of the agency business
3. The full-service agency
4. Global advertising agencies
5. Agency and client relationships
6. Forms of agency compensation
7. Other advertising services


Chapter Overview

An advertising agency is an independent business composed of creative and business people who develop, prepare, and place advertising in media for sellers seeking to find customers for their goods and services.

The advertising agency is an American invention. The history of the advertising agency is traced from Colonial Times to the present in the chapter. The foundations, evolution, legal control, and organizational designs are explored so the reader will understand the dynamic forces that have caused and are causing change in the agency industry. Today’s agencies are reengineering themselves to become more receptive to client needs. Roles of personnel and structure are changing in many agencies as they experiment with means of being more efficient and responsive.

A variety of agency forms are examined in this chapter. Chief among these forms is the full-service agency. Full-service agencies offer all the services necessary to handle the total advertising function for clients. In to day’s integrated agency this may include promotion, public relations, direct response, and other services in addition to traditional media advertising. The agency develops a plan revolving around “what is the marketing problem?” The plan would include a strategy, a creative response, a media plan, and a method for billing the client and paying the media. Agencies are usually organized into four divisions: account services, j marketing services, creative services, and management and finance. There is a trend toward I more of a team approach to developing and marketing products. This may affect organizational design in the future. In fact, reengineering of the modem-advertising agency has been underway for several years.

The chapter concludes by discussing agency compensation methods, ancillary agency services, and unique hybrid forms of agency design that offer customized and specialized services for clients. The agency of the future or creative organizations will have to deal with marketing problems beyond advertising tactics. It will have to have an understanding of international communications and be organized to support clients throughout the world. Finally, compensation will be more and more based on the success of the client and the profitability of the goods and services promoted.

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