Marketing agency, advertising agency; what’s the difference?
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008I’m often asked the question, what’s the difference between an advertising agency and a marketing agency. Clearly we have opted to position Vovéo Marketing Group as the latter so what better way to kick off our corporate blog than with a discussion of the topic.
A simple place to begin is Webster’s definition of the terms advertising and marketing. Advertising is defined as the action of calling something to the attention of the public, especially by paid announcements. Marketing is defined as the act or process of promoting, selling and distributing a product or service. From this simple description, one can quickly surmise that advertising , presuming the ultimate goal of gaining one’s attention is to sell something, is a single component of a broader range of strategies and tactics that comprise the marketing process.
From the above description, one might conclude that advertising agencies are very narrowly focused, whereas a marketing agency like Vovéo might offer a much broader range of services. While the latter is true in our case, it is not necessarily an assumption that you should make - and I’m sure it is one that most advertising agencies would take exception to. In fact, frequently agencies will use the term “full service” in describing their offerings. In Vovéo’s case, full-service means everything from branding and web design & development , to collateral and lead generation. With the exception of the lead generation, which very few ad agencies offer, marketing agencies and advertising agencies tend to offer a lot of the same range of services.
Ok, so I know what you are thinking. The premise of this article is to answer the question, “what’s the difference between an advertising agency and a marketing agency” and I’ve led you to conclude… nothing. Well, not exactly. My 25 years of marketing experience have taught me that the differences are less tactical and largely philosophical.
During my years in the corporate world, working in director roles at SAP, Sun, and HP, I had the opportunity to work very closely with sales executives and their staffs. I also had the opportunity and sometimes misfortune of working with a number of outside firms including some of the most prestigious multi-national ad agencies. It was then that the differences became crystal clear to me. While my advertising agencies were focused largely on developing award-winning creative, my sales execs needed something that would immediately translate into results for the next quarter. I often found myself frustrated that my advertising agencies cared very little about the sales process, offered little or no help around strategic messaging, and would refer me to third party telemarketers any time the topic of lead generation popped up.
When I finally left corporate America in 1995 to start my own agency, I was bound and determined to offer my clients an improved agency experience. I began with a simple philosophy; that as an agency, we would work toward a single common goal – results. Having now walked in my clients’ shoes, I recognize that a sensitivity to the needs of sales people is critical to delivering value. Oh yeah, and as for my agency… I chose the name “Vovéo” – meaning a commitment, vow, or to promise to God, and of course, “Marketing Group”. Need I say more?