Media agencies advise companies on how and where to advertise, and on how to present a positive picture of themselves to the public. Primary services include

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

and other forms of

media management Media management is a business administration discipline that identifies and describes strategic and operational phenomena and problems in the leadership of Mass media, media enterprises. Media management contains the functions strategic management, ...

. Media agencies were first launched with their main focus being the transaction of media space more efficiently than the mainstream advertising agencies, which had previously managed the process of media buying. A media agency ensures that a marketing message appeals to consumers, appears in the right place, at the right time and that the advertiser pays the best possible price. There are cases, mainly within the large conglomerates, where both media and creative agencies are housed under one roof, however their P&L usually remains separate.

Categories

Media buying

Media Buyers, or practitioners in media, are the people who liaise with publishers from various media titles. They are equipped to advise and negotiate targeted

media inventory Advertising inventory or media inventory is the space available in the media, advertising, and marketing industries to advertisers on newspapers, magazines, and digital platforms. History Traditionally advertising inventory was sold during upfront ...

dependent of the briefed key performance indicator. Media agencies act as independent

brokerages A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks and ...

that transact in media space and take control of the marketing process once the

creative agency 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 ...

has completed its remit of preparing and releasing the targeted creative message.

Account services

Media Agencies follow a structural hierarchy as seen in the creative agency environment. The usual hierarchy is * Account Executive * Account Planner * Account Manager * Account Director * Client Director * Head of Department These titles may vary slightly from one company to another.

Digital Media Agencies

Digital Media Agencies (also known as Digital Agencies) offer a varied array of services including Display Media Planning and Buying, pay per click (PPC),

search engine optimization Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of Web traffic, website traffic to a website or a web page from web search engine, search engines. SEO targets unpaid traffic (known as "natural" or "Organ ...

(SEO), Marketing Technology Services, social media marketing, online reputation management and programmatic media.

Trading Desk

Agencies have been the traditional power brokers in the media inventory. A recent phenomenon is seeing agencies developing their trading models in the form of a trading desk that transacts in media inventory.

References