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An advertising agency creates, plans and manages all aspects of a client's advertising. Advertising agencies can specialize in specific areas, such as interactive advertising, or they can be a full-service agency that creates advertising materials like websites, online and social campaigns, brochures, catalogs, direct mail, print ads, radio and TV commercials, sales letters, and more.
Above The Line (ATL)
These are the big agencies that handle the prime accounts and create the national (and even international) advertising campaigns that take a significant chunk of the client's budget. Big TV campaigns, outdoor, magazines, newspapers, and non-traditional media (stunts, guerrilla campaigns).
Below The Line (BTL)
These agencies don't have the budgets or recognition of the ATL agencies, but they are still vitally important to the media mix (even more so these days with online being so prevalent). BTL agencies typically handle direct mail, regional ads, text ads, online text and banner ads, and other smaller media placements. However, they will sometimes handle ATL type of accounts too, although it is not their bread and butter.
Through The Line (TTL)
Perhaps the most common of the three these days, TTL agencies are a blend of ATL and BTL. They will create campaigns from soup to nuts, from the big stunts, outdoor, TV and radio, right down to microsites and coupons. TTL agencies are so common nowadays due to the rise of social media, and the smart phone. Tactics that were once considered BTL are getting big budgets put behind them, including campaigns on SnapChat, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Aside from those three basic advertising agency groups, there are also specialist agencies that could be ATL, BTL, or TTL. These include:
Digital Advertising Agencies
These agencies have a primary focus on all things digital. They develop websites, apps, online campaigns, and anything else considered "digital advertising." While they can also produce print, radio and even TV, their day-to-day operation is all about digital.
Healthcare Advertising Agencies
There is a need for specialists that focus on just healthcare products and services, because these areas can be a legal nightmare to handle. Healthcare ad agencies will handle pharmaceutical accounts, hospitals, medical equipment, and anything else that would be considered too niche for a traditional ad agency.
Financial/Tech Advertising Agencies
Just like healthcare, the worlds of finance and technology can be a minefield to negotiate. These agencies have specialist writers and art directors who know the ins and outs of these subjects.
In House Advertising Agencies
These agencies are based within a corporation or company, and do work only for that entity. Whether it's a big brand like Apple or Nike, or something much smaller, they work exclusively on that product or service, and are employed by the company they advertise for. Some people consider this to be "selling out" because you are no longer working on a diverse range of brands, but in house agencies produce some breathtaking work.
