Advertising agency vs digital agency - what's the difference?

In the creative industry, there are all kinds of terms for the various forms of agencies. Everyone knows the advertising agency. A collective term that is often also used for agencies with other specializations. There are also marketing agencies, web agencies, Internet agencies, SEO agencies, social media agencies, creative agencies, full-service agencies and digital agencies. We would like to compare the latter with the classic advertising agency and draw meaningful conclusions.

The classic advertising agency

The classic among agencies. The supposed focus here is the offline area. That means flyers, posters, brochures, business cards, marketing campaigns, logo design and much more. This is how many still imagine "real" agency work. No wonder, after all, the time factor plays an important role here. The first pioneers in Germany were McCann Erickson, Lintas and J. Walter Thompson. The first advertising agency with a modern outlook is usually called "werbebau. This was founded in 1924 by M. Buchartz and J. Canis.

The young, dynamic digital agency

Digital, that alone sounds modern and progressive. Apart from the image transfer, what does a digital agency actually do? Primarily web design, websites, programming, apps, online marketing, etc. In addition, the range of services can be expanded to include SEO, social media and other areas. Does a digital agency start where an advertising agency reaches its limits? We don't think so, quite the opposite. Both positions combine offer-specific expertise.

Lochbronner Design Studio - advertising agency or digital agency...

... or maybe both? Better digital advertising agency? It's difficult to draw a clear line between advertising and digital agency when you offer services from both sectors. Despite our extensive expertise in the digital sector, the term digital agency is confusing or not meaningful enough for many customers. Under advertising agency, the broad masses can at least still get a pretty good picture. Whether that should be the deciding factor for the designation? Potential for discussion!

At the same time, an advertising agency today might already be assumed to have extensive knowledge of "online". A difficult topic, then. There is probably only a clear classification for agencies that offer exclusively digital or print.

A clear statement for the end - coffee and design lovers, we definitely are!