What does an advertising agency actually do?

In Turkey the phrase 'advertising agency' covers two different things: workshops that make signs and print, and teams that build a brand's communication. Both use the name, but the work is different. Knowing which one you are looking for keeps you from knocking on the wrong door.

Advertising agency

In the classic sense, an advertising agency decides what a brand will say and where it will say it: the idea, the copy, the visual, the film and the media they run in. Printing the sign, the brochure or the billboard is the last step of that job; the real work happens before it.

Digital agency

A digital agency does the same job for online channels: websites, social media, search work, Meta and Google ads. Measurement is easier here, which is why reporting is part of the job rather than an extra.

Design studio

A design studio builds the visible face of the brand: logo, identity, packaging, catalogue. It comes before advertising, because the thing an ad promotes needs a face first.

Getting all three in one place

For a small or mid-sized business, giving these three jobs to three different suppliers means explaining the same brand three times. That is why Redesign Ajans keeps them in one team: as an advertising agency and design studio based in Antalya, we run identity, websites, social media, ad management and production together.

One question tells you which you need: does your brand have a face? If not, start with design. If it does but nobody knows it, start with advertising. If people know it but it does not sell, the problem is usually the website or the offer itself.