An advertising[4] agency is a professional service firm that specializes in creating, planning, and managing advertising campaigns for its clients. It acts as a mediator between advertisers and media outlets, providing various services such as creative design, marketing strategies execution, media planning and buying, and market research[3]. These agencies originated in the late 18th century, with their roles and services evolving over the centuries. Today, they operate on a global scale and have expanded their services to include digital and mobile advertising[2], data analytics, influencer and experiential marketing, and more. They also focus on integrating sustainability and corporate social responsibility[1] in their advertising campaigns. Their operations and campaigns are influenced by cultural differences and technology[5], with a growing trend of international creative collaborations.
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally independent of the client; it may be an internal department or agency that provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services, or an outside firm. An agency can also handle overall marketing and branding strategies promotions for its clients, which may include sales as well.
Typical ad agency clients include businesses and corporations, non-profit organizations and private agencies. Agencies may be hired to produce television advertisements, radio advertisements, online advertising, out-of-home advertising, mobile marketing, and AR advertising, as part of an advertising campaign.