Interactive Marketing Agency

Ad agencies vary in size and include everything from small one or two-people entities (these types rely mainly on freelancer talent to complete most project functions), small and medium agencies, larger independents, and multi-national, multi-agency conglomerates such as Omnicom Group, WPP Group, Publicis, Interpublic Group of Companies and Havas.

Full-service, or media-neutral advertising agencies especially larger ones, produce work for many types of media (creating integrated marketing communications, or through-the-line (TTL) advertising). The "line", in this case, is the traditional marker between media that pay a (traditionally 15%) commission to the agency (mainly broadcast media) and the media that do not. The majority of full-service agencies work on a combination of fee-based (to help offset the cost of non-commission production and planning) and commission based (the traditional 15% for electronic) compensation.

Lately, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firms have been classified by some as 'agencies' because they create media and implement media purchases of text based (or image based, in some instances of search marketing) ads. This relatively young industry has been slow to adopt the term 'agency', however with the creation of ads (either text or image) and media purchases, they do technically qualify as 'advertising agencies'. Recent studies suggest that both SEO and SEM are set to outpace more traditional channels of media spending over the next 3-5 years.

An interactive marketing agency may differentiate itself by offering a mix of Website Design and Development, Search Engine Optimization, Internet Advertising and Marketing, or E-Commerce consulting. Interactive agencies rose to prominence before the traditional advertising agencies fully embraced the Internet. Offering a wide range of services, some of the interactive agencies grew very rapidly, although some have downsized just as rapidly due to changing market conditions.

Today, the most successful interactive agencies are defined as companies that provide specialized advertising and marketing services for the digital space. The digital space is defined as any multi-media enabled electronic channel that an advertiser's message can be seen or heard from. The 'digital space' translates to the Internet, Kiosks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, and Lifestyle Devices (iPod, PSP, and Mobile). Interactive Agencies function similarly to advertising agencies, although they focus solely on interactive advertising services. They deliver services such as strategy, creative, design, video, development, programming (Flash and otherwise), deployment, management, and fulfillment reporting. Often, Interactive Agencies provide: Digital Lead Generation, Digital Brand Development, Interactive Marketing and Communications Strategy, Rich Media Campaigns, Interactive Video brand experiences, Web 2.0 website design and development, e-Learning Tools, email marketing, SEO/SEM services, PPC Campaign Management, Content Management Services, web application development, and overall Data Mining & ROI Assessment.

The recent boost in Interactive Agencies can also be attributed to the rising popularity of web-based social networking and community sites. The creation of sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube have sparked market interest, as some Interactive Agencies have started offering personal and corporate community site development as one of their service offerings. It still may be too early to tell how agencies will use this type of marketing to monetize client ROI, but all signs point to online networking as the future of brand marketing.

Not all advertising is created by agencies; companies that create and plan their own advertising are said to do their work in-house.