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Five Types of Advertising Agencies


You’re one Google search away to find out hundreds of advertising agencies existing in your region, and most likely, thousands all over the world. When you’re starting a business particularly in advertising, it’s essential to find out what type of ad agency you want to work with and how it will align with your advertising and marketing goals for your business. The question is - which type of ad agency suits you best?


In this write-up, we'll survey the 5 most common types of advertising agencies and when they're the most ideal choice if you plan to set up your own ad agency business. We’ll also cover common tips for you to find out the best type of advertising agency as you evaluate potential model competitors for your business.

Full-Stack (Full-Service) Ad Agency

Full service or we refer to nowadays as a full-stack advertising agency offers a complete scope of services that address both the conventional and advanced advertising methods of a business. These are usually large agencies that deal with all stages of advertisement and have different experts within the company for different departments or teams.

Services offered by a Full-Stack (Full-Service) Ad Agency

  • Campaign Management
  • TV Advertisements
  • Social Media Management
  • Content Creation
  • Radio Commercials
  • Print Advertising
  • Strategic Planning
  • Search Engine Optimization

How to know if a Full-Stack Advertising Agency is right for you?

A full-stack ad agency is suitable if your target client base needs a full line of advertising and marketing services. This type of ad agency can convey results through a TV ad promotion and a social media campaign at the same time. Since their marketing efforts are so far-reaching, you'll likewise need a dedicated ad specialist/s who can commit a ton of their chances to work with this agency. Typically, full-service ad agencies start work by gathering and analyzing data and finish off on payment distribution to media entities.

Traditional Ad Agency

Traditional ad agencies basically work with traditional types of media, like papers, TV plugs, radio, and print.

Services offered by a Traditional Ad Agency

  • TV Advertisements
  • Content Creation
  • Radio Commercials
  • Direct Mail Advertising
  • Print Advertising
  • Outdoor Advertising

When to choose a Traditional Ad Agency

Traditional ad agencies are most appropriate towards organizations that are attempting to reach the masses or local target audiences. Doing a direct mail campaign for a nearby café or an announcement for seasonal promotion of a beauty clinic are examples of effective campaigns done by traditional ad agencies.

Digital Ad Agency

A digital advertising agency has some expertise on almost everything on the web. They likely have knowledge and specialty around traditional media, however, their essential focus lies mostly in the digital core.


Digital ad agencies, like FiLDEV, are a solid match for businesses aiming to improve their online presence and produce more leads through their website. In general, this type of agency comprises a team of graphic and web designers, copywriters, ad experts, and some having their own photographers and videographers to support their content creation activities.

Services offered by a Digital Ad Agency

  • Campaign Management
  • Brand Design & Identity
  • Web Design & Development
  • Content Creation
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Marketing Automation
  • Strategic Planning
  • Search Engine Optimzation

Is a Digital Advertising Agency right for me?

So if your clients aren't planning on running print advertisements for their products or services and just want to utilize bringing in customers to their website, then a digital advertising agency may be the more appropriate option for you and your business.

Social Media Ad Agency

Social media ad agencies are usually focused only on social media. They are a group of content makers and ad analyzers that will maximize the potential for your social channels to grow - by gaining more engagements and following. They may zero in on numerous social channels or be specialists in a specific channel, like Facebook or Instagram. In most recent social media trends, changes that brought about a drop-off in organic reach, expect social media ad agencies need to come up with a certain budget plan for ad spending.

Services offered by a Social Media Ad Agency

  • Campaign Management
  • Social Media Management
  • Content Creation
  • Social Media Stategy
  • Community Management
  • Paid Social Advertising

Is a Social Media Ad Agency right for me?

Social media agencies are a solid match for organizations that are hoping to achieve a sole objective, like selling a weight loss supplement, through various social media platforms. This type of agency usually comprises separate teams for creatives, contents and they may even have photographers and videographers working with them.

Creative Boutique Ad Agency

A creative boutique is a type of advertising agency that has solid experience in creative planning and designing services. These agencies were created on the grounds that some businesses would like to track their progress and monitor their success rate in their ad placements. However, the cons of this are that they don't have the creative talent to produce the appropriate designs and content copy for them.

Services offered by a Creative Boutique Ad Agency

  • Creative Design Assets
  • Brand Design & Identity
  • Content Creation
  • Marketing Collaterals
  • Ad Creatives
  • Creative Direction

What makes me a Creative Boutique type of ad agency?

Creative boutiques are best for organizations that know precisely what they want to achieve for a specific campaign, and the ability to execute those creative assets into their promotions fittingly. Technically, this type of ad agency only provides creative assets to their clients - no more, no less. Also, a creative boutique is a lot smaller than a full-service ad agency, which means the operational cost for this type of ad agency will be a lot more cost-effective.

Key Takeaway

Finding out the best type of ad agency to work with your business will help drive your marketing campaigns and goals to achieve your expected results. By knowing, evaluating, and making a smart decision on choosing the right one, you will not only save yourself from headaches and hassles of dealing with an agency but choosing the best one will skyrocket your business and get you conversions beyond the moon.

Next Step

Now that you know the different types of ad agencies, have you chosen which makes a solid match for your business? FiLDEV is a digital ad agency and your technical partner in improving your branding and online presence. Click on the link below to take the next step


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