Creative agencies develop and implement imaginative solutions to help businesses increase brand awareness, better showcase products or services and, ultimately, increase profits. Knowing what a creative agency does can help you understand their business they are the right working environment for you.
In this article, we explore the types of creative agencies and what they do as well as provide tips for getting hired by one.
What is a creative agency?
A creative agency is an organization that uses creative strategies to help clients achieve their goals. Creative agencies, sometimes called marketing agencies, typically focus their efforts in one of the following areas:
Strategy: How a business serves customers and generates revenue
Design: How a business and its products look
Technology: How a business integrates technological solutions into its practices
Advertising: How a business markets itself and its products or services to consumers
Each of these agencies employs team members in roles specifically qualified for the service the agency provides. Some of the most common roles in a creative agency are:
Designers: Part of a creative department, they produce creative output, such as advertisements, websites and mobile apps.
Creative directors: Heads of the creative department, they oversee the work of designers to ensure they meet client standards, and they approve finished projects to deliver to clients.
Accounts representatives: These professionals work with clients to understand their business and goals, then share clients’ needs and visions with the creative department.
Researchers: These professionals investigate market trends and demand to help clients make informed decisions.
A creative agency could be a standard version that focuses on one element or a full-service agency that delivers several related services. For example, standard advertising agencies often specialize in simple advertising campaigns in a single medium, but a full-service advertising agency may create an integrated promotional campaign with social media, traditional print and offline event components.
Types of creative agencies
There are several types of creative agencies that focus on the four areas outlined above. Some of the most common include:
Advertising agencies
Digital agencies
Design agencies
Interactive agencies
Consulting agencies
1. Advertising agencies
Advertising agencies create promotional campaigns and materials that raise awareness for clients and their products or services. They help businesses attract new consumers and improve loyalty and recognition among their existing customer base. Some common services advertising agencies offer include:
Market research: Advertising agencies analyze market trends and hold focus groups to determine what target audiences think about a brand and its current or potential products and services.
Creation of branding strategies: Advertising agencies use market research to help businesses develop strategies that get their business and its products or services better noticed. This strategy includes a variety of advertising products that can help the business boost brand recognition.
Production of advertisements: Advertisements are conceived based on research and strategy. Advertising agencies produce a wide range of ads, including magazine, billboards, radio and television, to effectively execute strategic campaigns.
Placement of advertisements: Advertising agencies also organize the placement of ads. This may include magazines, newspapers, public places, radio or television. Advertising agencies that offer this service have contacts within these industries that make placing campaigns on behalf of their clients easier.
2. Digital agencies
Digital agencies work on the design and development of screen-based products and services. They help businesses use technology to engage consumers and set themselves apart from their competition. Digital agency designers have the artistic and technical expertise to create digital solutions that appeal to consumers. Some common digital agency services include:
Online presence: Digital agencies create web and mobile applications using responsive design and mobile optimization, social media posts and campaigns and online advertisements. They also use search engine optimization to ensure their clients feature prominently in search results.
Website analytics: Digital agencies collect data that measure the success of online campaigns, including click-through rates and conversions illustrating audience engagement.
Intranet and internal business app development and design: While much of their work focuses on public promotion, digital agencies also create websites and apps for use within an organization, such as internal contact databases for employees across a company’s multiple locations.
Digital signage: Digital agencies also create innovative outdoor advertisements using technology, typically with animated displays.
3. Design agencies
Design agencies focus on the look of brands, products and services. They make client offerings more enticing or attractive than their competitors. They often work with other creative outlets, including advertising and consulting agencies, to implement their work. Some of the services design agencies offer include:
Digital design: Design agencies create layouts for online desktop or mobile marketing tools, including e-newsletters and websites.
Print design: They also create layouts and design details for traditional print advertisements, including flyers, newsletters, catalogs and posters.
Branding design: Design agencies create visual elements that define a company’s corporate identity, including logos, typefaces and packaging.
Product design: These agencies also draft product designs to make them appear more attractive without sacrificing functionality.
4. Interactive agencies
Interactive agencies create innovative digital projects that usually incorporate new technology, multimedia and user-friendly design principles. Interactive agencies typically work with other creative outlets on large projects.
Some of the services they offer include:
Website design: Interactive agencies design engaging corporate websites for desktop and mobile browsing. Their sites have greater interactive emphasis than most digital agencies.
Branded games: Interactive agencies may design interactive games for websites and mobile apps that help consumers have fun and increase brand loyalty and awareness.
Interactive billboards: Interactive agencies often design high-tech billboards that promote engagement. Many use virtual reality, augmented reality and other new interactive technologies.
Projects integrating virtual reality and augmented reality: Along with interactive billboards, interactive agencies may also develop other branded projects using these technologies, including displays at product launches and in-store presentations.
5. Consulting agencies
Consulting agencies develop creative strategies to help businesses attract new audiences or hold on to existing customers. They use client data and market research to ensure their strategies have the best chance of success. Consulting agencies often specialize in a specific area of consulting, such as implementation, business management or a particular industry sector. They may advise their clients about a variety of areas, including:
Expansion into new markets: Using market research and data on a client’s product or service success, these agencies help businesses determine how they should expand their client base and where expansion may be profitable.
Increasing sales and revenue: Consulting agencies enable businesses to create strategies that boost profits and reduce operating costs.
Launching new products or services: This type of agency also guides businesses on which new products or services consumers want and how to launch them.
Improving operations and processes: Consulting agencies assess a client’s processes to determine more efficient and effective operations in all areas, including development, production, logistics and customer service.
(Source: Indeed)
How a Creative Agency Can Help Your Brand
Provide a fresh, unbiased perspective
A creative agency offers fresh insight that can improve your marketing strategy and help achieve your business goals faster. Its strategies are based on thorough market research so appropriate measures can be taken to build your business.
Deliver efficient and effective performance
Small businesses that can’t afford their own marketing team have the most to gain from a creative agency. A proven team of experts can craft and execute strategies for growth better than freelance consultants and creatives.
Access to industry knowledge
Creative agencies work with different clients from various industries. They have access to the latest practices in each industry and know what would work best for each business. They have a better understanding of which strategies would work for a certain niche and which ones would be ineffective.
Widen network and connections
To better serve their clients, a creative agency often works with several other teams of experts. This agency will have access to a wide network of connections in different fields. They can connect your business to a production house to film new video ads or to a development team to create a branded app. Small business start-ups can greatly benefit from this established network.
(Source: Influencer Marketing Hub)
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