Advertising agency: business plan for a promising business. How to open your own advertising agency: nuances and business analysis

It is impossible to imagine any type of business without advertising, so many people are thinking about opening their own agency. The demand for such services has not subsided for a long time. The relevance of the advertising business is difficult to underestimate.

In Russia, like any other country, many large and small entrepreneurs use the services of such companies. But to have a highly profitable company, it is not enough to create a company and hire employees. We need to develop, expand the range of services and offer customers truly high-quality products.

The advantages include the high profitability of the company with proper organization of work. Such services are in great demand, so problems with finding clients usually do not arise. Also, the advantages include relatively small capital investments at the start.

The disadvantages include a lot of competition in the market. At the initial stages of work you will have to work with small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. The income may be small, but it will allow you to build a good reputation and portfolio, which will give you the opportunity to find larger clients.

Types of similar agencies

Before opening a company you must decide on its format. She may be:

full service agency;
design studio (specializing in the development of signs, logos, styles, and so on);
a narrow-profile agency that specializes in one type of advertising;
manufacturing company (production of business cards, banners, souvenirs, etc.);
buyer (advertising on TV, radio and other media).

It is easier for a company that provides a full range of services to get promoted, but it will also require a large amount of money to open.

Interesting information about this type of business is presented in the following video:

Possible range of services

Nowadays, advertising has different forms, ranging from printed materials to banners on the Internet. You need to decide what services you will provide, since the full range may not be affordable for you at the start.

Services include:

placement of outdoor advertising, including banners, signs and billboards;
production of printed products (flyers, brochures, business cards, etc.)
placement of information in the media;
carrying out promotions and PR;
creating videos and commercials;
website promotion;
production and distribution of souvenirs and so on.

To make it easier to decide on a direction, you need to study the market in your region. Find out what types of services are in greatest demand and what services your competitors provide. Remember, to interest your customers, you need to offer them something new, something that others don’t have.

Registration and required documents

After you have decided on the concept and direction of activity, you need to register the company. To register, select one of the organizational and legal forms: .

The package of required documents depends on the chosen form. You can find out what documents are needed at the tax office. You also need to pay a state fee:

for individual entrepreneurs in the amount of 800 rubles;
for LLC in the amount of 6,500 rubles.

When registering an LLC, you need to pay half (its minimum amount is 10,000 rubles), and the second half is paid during the first year of the company’s activity.

Signing agreements with partners

In most cases, the agency needs to collaborate with production bases. For example, if you are engaged in printing products, then you need to work with a printing house.

Be careful when searching for partners. Don't agree to the first offer. Study the terms of cooperation in detail, find out about the company’s reputation. This will help in the future to avoid unscrupulous partners who will let you down at the most inopportune moment.

Selecting a location

The next step is to find an office. The size of the room depends on how many people will work in it. Typically, meetings with clients take place on neutral territory or at the customer's premises. Despite this, it is advisable for the office to be located near the city center or in a well-developed area.

It should be convenient to get to, since the customer may want to visit you at the office.

Equipment purchase

When renovations are completed in the selected premises, you can purchase equipment. You definitely need to purchase:

several computers;
Printer;
Xerox;
scanner;
telephone sets for multi-channel communication;
devices for connecting the Internet.

Keep in mind that designers need powerful computers. You also need to take care of installing the necessary software.

Recruitment

When selecting employees, remember that the success of your company depends on the experience and qualifications of the staff. To minimize the risk of bankruptcy, hire personnel with experience in the advertising field. Such workers will be able to perform their work efficiently and on time. In addition, they often have their own clientele who will use the services of your agency.

The number of employees depends on the size of the company and the number of services provided. For a medium-sized company, you need to hire:

creative director responsible for developing new ideas;
two managers who will search for customers;
two designers, one of whom is responsible for the development of the advertising product, and the second for the layout;
directors, who will negotiate with customers and sign contracts with them.

But it is not advisable to hire an accountant. It is better to seek help from.

It is also advisable to have several freelancers on hand. They will help in-house designers get the job done when an emergency happens.

Advertising and customer search

To find customers, you need to create a database of potential clients. Decide what industry you would like to work in. For example, your priority is to develop advertising for cafes and restaurants or companies specializing in a certain production.
It is necessary to write down the names of companies, their phone numbers and emails. The manager then contacts them and offers agency services. But keep in mind that you can find clients this way if you offer them something new.
Don't forget about the so-called word of mouth. If you do your work efficiently, clients will tell their partners, colleagues and acquaintances about you.

Potential problems and solutions

Many agencies close within a short period of opening. The fact is that this type of business also has problem areas. But if you approach possible problems correctly, your company will be able to operate for a long time and generate good income.

The main potential problem is the lack of clients. This is due to a lot of competition in this business segment. But the problem is completely solvable, you need:

choose a catchy company name so that it is easy to remember;
after opening the agency, place information about it in city directories, since many potential clients often use it;
at the start, work with small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to earn experience and reputation, which will make it possible to conclude contracts with large and prestigious customers.

Opening and operating costs

Investments at the start depend on the size of the company, the number of employees and other factors. Below are approximate costs:

rental of premises – 60 thousand rubles;
office renovation – 25 thousand rubles;
purchase of furniture - from 25 thousand rubles;
Internet and telephone connection – up to 10 thousand rubles;
purchase of equipment – from 125 thousand rubles.

After the first month of work, it is necessary to pay salaries to employees:

director – 30-40 thousand rubles;
designers - 20-25 thousand rubles;
managers - 10-12 thousand +% of transactions.

You also need to pay for the services of an accountant (5 thousand rubles), allocate funds for bonuses, pay taxes, telephone, internet, and purchase consumables.

Calculating project profitability

It is quite difficult to calculate how much income your company will generate. This is due to the fact that each agency sets its own markups, but usually at least 40% of the order value is profit. In addition, profitability is influenced by cooperation with partners and their prices for work.

With an average pace of work and completing two to three orders per week, the company’s income is 200-300 thousand rubles per month. A good company can make a profit of up to 600 thousand per month.

Why do you need to write a business plan? The answer to this question is obvious - to develop a clear business position. A detailed business plan is necessary in order to increase capital and, if possible, avoid getting into debt. Without it, a modern entrepreneur will not be able to achieve the desired success.

Business plan for an advertising company - what is its significance?

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of a business plan in the modern economy. You will never achieve a positive result at work if you do not plan your activities and predict the consequences of your work. A well-drafted document can easily be called the business card of an enterprise, the key to its effective development. It should be drawn up based on the chosen concept. One of the most important purposes of the plan is to enable the investor to look at your business from a new point of view and adequately evaluate it. Properly planned entrepreneurial activity is the key to rapid financial success.

A business plan is a document with the help of which the strategy and tactics of doing business are determined; it must clearly indicate the goals and production technologies. In addition, it examines aspects of the enterprise, takes into account problems that may arise in the process, and calculates methods for solving them. A business plan, as a rule, is developed for a period of at least 3–5 years, broken down into each year, and it is aimed at implementing a specific project. It can be developed both for a newly opened enterprise and for an existing one.

Tasks and goals of an advertising agency. Its target audience

The main task of an advertising agency as a business is to maximize advertising influence on the consumer. This issue can be resolved only through a creative approach to business. An advertising agency can safely be called a universal organization that must constantly interact with all participants in the advertising market. All employees of the enterprise must be fluent in communicating with clients and be able to pay attention not only to creative issues, but also to economic ones.

Highlight two main goals that are typical for many advertising messages:

developing awareness of the advertised object;
establishing relationships to the subject of advertising.

informs customers about the appearance of a new product;
informs about the qualities and advantages of products;
informs about possible new methods of using specific products;
informs about new prices;
explains the principle of operation of the product;
describes the services provided;
tries to eliminate misconceptions about the product.

try to persuade consumers to purchase a particular product;
convince customers to make a purchase immediately;
convince consumers to purchase new products;
change the presentation and evaluation of the product;
create a new image of the product in the consumer’s mind;
Don’t miss out on your existing loyal customers.

constantly remind the consumer about the availability of goods;
remind you that this particular product may be needed in the near future;
remind you of the place where you can purchase the product;
not to let the consumer forget about the main properties and superiority of a particular product.

In order to determine the target audience of an advertising agency, it is necessary to conduct marketing research. Exists two types of target audience:

target audience in the field of business;
target audience in terms of individual consumers.

The target audience includes not only direct buyers, but also those who take part in the decision on the acquisition. Example: advertising men's suits. In this particular case, the target audience will include women, since such purchases rarely occur without initiative from the weaker sex.

Relevance of the advertising services market

In the modern world, advertising is the engine of business. At the moment, no one doubts the relevance of advertising. Undoubtedly, it plays a leading role in the development of a market economy and is its primary component.

It is not without reason that advertising is the best guarantee of product quality. A quality product should be bright, simple and interesting. If advertising is organized according to all the rules, it will have a quick effect and contribute to the rapid sale of manufactured products.

How to open an advertising agency in accordance with the Law?

In the Russian Legislation “On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities”, work in the advertising business is not subject to mandatory licensing. You can or Closed Joint Stock Company.

In order for the company to operate officially, it must be in its own name. The next step is to open a bank account and order a custom stamp. When writing an application for an individual entrepreneur, you must indicate the type of activity of your advertising agency.

Required documents to register as an individual entrepreneur:

application written in form No. P21001;
copy of the main document;
receipt of payment of state duty (400 rubles).

Organizational matters

Selecting a room

The premises for an advertising agency may not be located in the city center. Most negotiations can take place on the customer’s premises, so for the agency to operate effectively, the location of the office cannot play a dominant role.

A beautifully decorated office can play into the hands of a budding businessman. Many clients prefer to meet with advertising agents in rented premises and club offices. It costs much less.

Some try to make a good impression on the customer and sometimes overact. The premises are furnished with expensive furniture and equipment, but, unfortunately, customers rarely delight advertising agents with their presence in their offices.

The premises are necessary for employees to work with documentation and take phone calls, to discuss their plans and ideas.

As mentioned above, the company’s employees usually go to the customer themselves, so you don’t need a large room. If they want to attract wealthy clients with a prestigious office location, they rent premises in the city center.

Equipment for advertising business

The equipment you will need is the following:

several computers,
modem,
scanner,
Fax,
Xerox;
landline phone.

Particular attention should be paid to technology for creative design.

In addition, do not forget about purchasing office furniture. It should be comfortable and practical. Computers for designers should be the most progressive. You shouldn't skimp on them.

The software must meet all the new requirements that exist in this area, otherwise your enterprise will not be successful.

Recruitment

The business plan should take into account the costs not only of personnel, but also of their number. A small agency will need a small number of employees.

Financial plan

Costs and estimated expenses for opening an advertising agency from scratch

Rent of premises - depending on the area of the city (from 1,000 to 4,000 dollars).
Renovation of the premises – $1,000–2,000.
Equipment and furniture costs: $10,000.

Employee salaries will directly depend on their work experience and percentage of transactions. An experienced designer will have to pay 2-3 times more than a beginner.

Additional costs may also apply. This includes, for example, the salary of a hired driver with a personal vehicle. Freelancers can be good helpers in this type of business - they will help you create high-quality creative projects.

Income

Everything will depend on the direction in which you are planning your advertising activities in business. Monthly income after six months of work is up to 50,000 rubles per month, after a year – 150,000 thousand rubles, and after two years – already more than 300 thousand rubles. per month.

Enterprise profitability– 30–40%. In the advertising business, only creativity can bring the greatest profitability. You can come up with the price for your services yourself. In advertising, a lot depends on your acting ability and the capabilities of the client.

Payback– from 4 months to 1 year. In no case should you refuse minor orders at the beginning of your journey. They can bring good income and strengthen relationships with entrepreneurs.

In what cases is the Law on the side of an Individual Entrepreneur? from our authors for all small business owners.

Freight transportation as a promising activity with great financial returns:

Promotion of advertising services

At the very beginning of your career, there is no point in heavily advertising your company. This should not be done for one simple reason: excessive activity can attract a lot of unnecessary attention from competitors.

Promotion of advertising services will greatly depend on the operating principles of the advertising agency and on the connections your employees have. At first, this will provide the company with a certain number of necessary orders. The most important thing is to develop your own portfolio. It may take you a long time to create it (about a year). Until then, you shouldn’t take orders from reputable clients. First you need to learn from small and medium-sized businessmen. Beginning advertising agencies through the media - reference books. Small companies in search of advertising campaigns turn to such media. Attend various events where you advertise your company and talk about its projects.

There is such a thing as “direct sales”. What does it mean? The company's managers themselves call clients and offer them their services. This option can only be advantageous in one case – if your agency has a completely unique product. Advertising in the media and direct sales in the first year of the company’s operation will bring it only 25% of customers, the rest will only come from connections of your employees.

And finally...

In order to achieve good success in this business, you need to be a creative person. Another important character trait is communication skills, without which it will be very difficult to find a common language with clients.

This business plan involves opening an advertising agency in Moscow. The advertising agency plans to provide the following services: conducting advertising campaigns, creating a brand of a product or service, manufacturing a wide variety of advertising media and equipment, organizing press conferences, presentations and other events aimed at promoting the customer company’s product.

The decision to open the company was based on marketing research, which revealed an insufficient number of advertising agencies that could satisfy the growing public demand for quality services in the field of advertising and promotion of goods and services.

The goal of this project is to show what real advertising should be like and how to provide the client with high-quality advertising.

How much money do you need to open an advertising agency?

To launch the project, you will need to raise 300,000 rubles. The source of financing is a commercial bank where our company’s current account is located.

To locate the company, premises were rented in a public place, very convenient for customers to visit. The organizational and legal form of the future agency is a limited liability company. The estimated number of newly opened jobs is 9 people. Among them: a director, an executive director, an accountant, a psychologist, an artist-designer, two managers, a driver and a courier.

Approximate data:

Monthly income – 280,000 rubles.
Net profit – 67,830 rubles.
Initial costs – 414,800 rubles.
Payback – from 7 months.

This business plan, like all others in the section, contains calculations of average prices, which may differ in your case. Therefore, we recommend that you make calculations for your business individually.

In this article we will draw up a detailed business plan for an advertising agency with calculations.

Description of service

Providing advertising services for various companies. The work will include consulting, selection of a suitable advertising strategy, risk assessment, and the actual provision of advertising services (creation of the necessary accompanying elements such as leaflets, as well as their distribution). Please note that we are considering a situation where an entrepreneur opens a small advertising agency.

Market analysis

The market for advertising services is quite large and is constantly expanding. How can you characterize it? The demand for services is constantly growing, and so is the volume of work provided. There is no seasonality in this type of business if we evaluate the entire sector. Seasonality of enterprises applying for advertising has little impact on work. The bulk of the market seeks advertising services on an ongoing basis.

Today, this market segment is the most promising among all available services. The success of almost any business today depends on advertising. Thus, we can talk about a high level of demand.

The advertising agency market is no more than half full. Therefore, entering the market is quite easy. In this type of business, it is very important to show flexibility, ingenuity, and creativity. The ideal option would be for the company to be headed by an experienced, knowledgeable person working in this field. It is difficult to regulate work in a niche about which an entrepreneur has no knowledge. At first, he can himself participate in the development of advertising campaigns.

The most difficult thing in this area is capturing part of the market. Today there are many advertising agencies. In addition, well-known media occupy more than a third of the market, which significantly affects the number of “free buyers.” The main competitors will be large companies engaged in both providing a wide range of advertising services and processing highly specialized market segments.

How can you fight such serious competitors? It’s worth being creative when developing your own ideas. Make special efforts when preparing proposals. The success of the business will depend on their quality. A low price is unlikely to attract large clients, but you shouldn’t inflate it either. The ideal option is to set the average market price or slightly lower.

All existing companies will be potential buyers. Today, the success of an enterprise directly depends on product promotion. It’s not for nothing that they say that advertising is the engine of trade. When choosing a mid-price segment, you must understand that the main clients will be small and medium-sized companies. Large enterprises, as a rule, turn to well-known advertising agencies. It will be very difficult to catch such a “fish”.

SWOT analysis

Possibilities

Changes in advertising technologies, the emergence of new ways to promote the client’s product.
Wide range of suppliers.
Possibility of rapid and low-cost expansion of services provided.
Prerequisites for the development of the information industry.
High level of differentiation in this business sector.

Threats

A sharp change in the preferences of the service consumer.
High level of competition.
Price fluctuations.
An increase in the number of unemployed, a decrease in business activity and, as a result, a decrease in demand for the service.
There may be an increase in legislative restrictions and tightening of legal aspects in this industry.

There are a number of factors that the enterprise itself can influence. They are called internal. These include:

Strengths

Opportunity to offer clients exclusive services.
In-depth analysis of the market situation.
Offering a wide range of services.
Quality services.
Clear advertising policy.
Low cost.
Possibility of developing a system of discounts, gifts, promotions.

Weak sides

Lack of reputation, unknown company.
Lack of experience in this area.
Possible downtime due to delays in the supply of materials.
Weak motivation.
Lack of qualified workers, long search for them.

Opportunity Assessment

As mentioned above, the seasonality of individual enterprises has virtually no effect on the advertising agency. It can always find clients who need this service. Therefore, work will proceed as usual at any time of the year.

The organization will have a 5-day work week. The work schedule will be as follows:

Total: 40 hours per week.

This mode of operation does not violate labor laws. You don’t have to make up shifts, arrange part-time jobs, or pay overtime. One team will work as a single whole.

You can start working by hiring a minimum number of people. To provide a full range of services, the following specialists will be needed:

manager;
marketer;
artist (aka designer);
computer technology specialist;
operator;
Poster of advertisements.

Each of them will perform their functions and receive a certain salary.

The company will seek some services from other organizations (printing posters, banners, advertising in the media). The client will receive the final service. Once the company has developed, you can think about expansion. For example, about creating your own workshop for outdoor advertising or souvenirs.

Organizational and legal aspects

First you need to register your company. This could be an individual entrepreneur or an LLC. OKVED codes for this type of activity will be as follows:

40 – Advertising activities
13 — Research of market conditions and identification of public opinion
81 – Activities in the field of photography
22 — Printing execution of advertising materials
25 — Other printing activities
40 – Activities of news agencies
20 — Activities in the field of radio broadcasting and television

You don't necessarily need all of these codes. First you need to decide on the range of services provided. There may be other OKVED codes; the most basic ones are listed here. Please note that here are new codes that will be valid from 2016.

No licenses or patents to obtain not required.
If you turn to the All-Russian Classifier of Services to the Population (OKUN), you can see that advertising services belong to “Other Services”. An entrepreneur can calculate and pay UTII or simplified tax system. The second tax is possible in two versions - simplified tax system “Income” 6% or simplified tax system “income minus expenses” 6-15% (the rate is determined depending on the region).
To work with cashless payments, it is necessary.
Familiarize yourself with local laws governing the work of advertising agencies, as well as the procedure for providing services.
Placing advertisements in some public places requires permission to carry out this activity from the owner (for example, posting in elevators).
Notify Rospotrebnadzor about the start of your activities in order to avoid unpleasant moments.
Bring the premises into compliance with all standards developed by the fire department.
Remember that work on the simplified tax system can only begin after registering a cash register with the tax authorities. With UTII, KKM is optional.
Get a stamp with your own logo to sign contracts with your clients.
remember, that the lease agreement must be official.

When choosing a location, you need to decide what functions the office will perform. If you will meet with clients on their or neutral territory, then you can choose a budget option. Otherwise, you should look for an office in an accessible part of the city.

In any case, it is necessary to bring the room back to normal. The office must be respectable.

Marketing plan

The main components of the marketing strategy will be:

Using an integrated approach. This means that all intermediate actions are carried out by the company, including planning, market assessment, creation of printed products, work on the Internet and much more.
Focus on medium and small enterprises.
Offer average prices.
High level of service provided.
Advertising your own products (working through all stages).

Since the organization provides advertising services, there is no need to go anywhere to promote your own business. You can do this yourself. However, there will be costs here too. You will have to spend money on raw materials, various materials, as well as on placing contextual advertising on the Internet. The development and content of the site will be handled by .

Own website. Your employee can work it out. It is important to create a website that is understandable and pleasant for visitors. It is imperative to update information, inform about promotions and discounts. It makes sense to share your successes with site visitors by posting photos, reviews, and video reports.
Internet advertising. An important aspect, since many legal entities are looking for advertising agencies via the Internet. You can negotiate advertising with organizations that provide related services or those who are focused on working specifically with legal entities.
Distribution of offers, prices. This can also be done by an employee of the organization, namely a manager. He can also collect information about organizations, their contact details, and conduct negotiations.
Advertising in the media. This is also a fairly effective method. It is best to contact local television, shoot an interesting, catchy video and put it on the air. Radio advertising is also great. You can send a ready-made advertising layout to newspapers or magazines, paying only for placement.

You can include other methods in your advertising campaign. But it’s still not worth posting cheap advertisements. It’s better to go around to potential clients yourself, leave them your offers, business cards, and perhaps talk to the people responsible for advertising. But there is no need to be intrusive either.

Calculation of projected income

In the first months, revenue will be small. It all depends on the activity of employees and the number of attracted clients. We calculated average monthly revenue for the first year.

We will make calculations assuming 59-60% load. Then the income will be 280,000 rubles.

Production plan

The office will require minor renovations to operate. Some landlords rent out excellent premises, already furnished.

The equipment includes the cost of purchasing specific devices. Namely:

Set for printing and presentations.
Photo and video equipment.

Office equipment includes 3 computers and an MFP.

The furniture you will need is as follows:

chairs;
tables;
cabinets;
chairs for clients.

Job title	The number of employees	Type of salary	Total:
manager	1	salary (10,000) +5%	24,000 rubles
marketer	1	salary (12,000) +5.5%	27,400 rubles
artist (aka designer)	1	salary (12,000) +7%	31,600 rubles
computer specialist	1	salary (14,000) +6.5%	32,200 rubles
operator	1	salary	20,000 rubles
advertisement poster	1	salary	18,000 rubles
Total:	6	salary (5,000) +	153,200 rubles

Total wage costs – 153,200 rubles.

I would like to note that the manager partially performs the duties of a secretary. Makes calls and answers phone calls. He is also actively looking for clients and maintaining a database.

The marketer conducts market research, identifies the most effective methods of advertising, and, together with the manager, draws up a plan for further action.

The artist is engaged in the development of layouts and layout.

A computer technology specialist works with graphics, photo and video editors. He is also involved in developing the site and filling it out.

The operator is engaged in printing the necessary attributes. If necessary, negotiates with other companies to provide support services.

Organizational plan

Financial plan

Monthly revenue is: 280,000 rubles.

Initial costs: 414,800 rubles.

Profit before tax: 79,800 rubles.
Tax: 11,970 rubles. We calculated the simplified tax system (15% of the difference between income and expenses). Other calculation methods can also be used.
Net profit: 67,830 rubles.
Profitability: 24.23%.
Payback: from 7 months.

Risks

As you know, all risks can be minimized or avoided, regardless of whether they are internal or external. Let's consider the most important of them, and analyze methods of struggle.

Risk name	Negative impact on business	Ways to avoid
Changes in the economic situation in the country	Declining demand and subsequent reduction in profits	Active work in the field of forecasting and planning of own work.
Changing consumer preferences
Capture of a large market share by competitors		Studying the policies of competitors, tracking their work and successes. Using forecasting regarding their future actions.
Dumping policy from competitors
Changes in legislation, regulations		Mandatory study of all current acts. Monitoring the situation happening in the country. This needs to be done not only at the level of adopted legislative acts, but also at the level of draft laws.
Lack of employee motivation, unwillingness to work	Decrease in efficiency, decline in production volumes, sharp decline in the profitability of the enterprise and its profitability	Offer adequate wages. Working with employees, providing feedback to them (studying their desires, preferences and requirements). Creating a psychologically favorable environment in the team.
Client insolvency	Sharp deterioration in financial situation	A thorough study of the situation in the customer’s company before concluding a contract. Development of agreements that ensure security. Development of an advance payment clause.
Exposure to the elements, fires	Unforeseen costs, downtime, property damage	Insurance of this type of risk, their preliminary assessment.
Possible failure to fulfill one's own obligations to clients	Decrease in profits due to the allocation of funds for the payment of penalties and increased costs	Contacting insurance companies to obtain bonds (guarantees).

Important: Remember that you can independently create a business plan specifically for your business. To do this, read the articles:

One last request: We are all human and can make mistakes, leave something out, etc. Do not judge strictly if this business plan or others in the section seem incomplete to you. If you have experience in this or that activity or you see a flaw and can add to the article, please let me know in the comments! This is the only way we can jointly make business plans more complete, detailed and up-to-date. Thank you for your attention!

In the modern economic model, advertising, PR, and marketing occupy a prominent place. Not a single serious enterprise can do without advertising. This situation is unlikely to change in the near future. Which means advertising business has a future and it makes sense to invest in it. In addition, the advertising field of activity is very democratic. Here you can find both small advertising companies working “from scratch” and large agencies with huge budgets. You can start working in advertising without having any start-up capital at all..

Advertising business is the general name for the field of activity related to marketing. In general, it includes a fairly wide range of activities. Let's consider one by one what services relate to the advertising business, how this business is organized, how to open an advertising agency, give an idea of the business plan of an advertising agency, and give an approximate calculation of income and expenses.

Advertising activity

Advertising is not the main link in human economic activity. It performs auxiliary functions in the economy. Although from the point of view of economic entities the advertising business is an independent sphere of production, it would be more logical to designate it as “business for business.” The attribution of a particular function to advertising is somewhat arbitrary.

Informational. Bringing certain information to the target audience;
Incentive. Formation of specified preferences among the target audience;
Manipulative. Formation of specified desires among the target audience, bypassing consciousness;
Image. Creating the required image.

creation of advertising content;
creation and promotion of advertising content;
full advertising cycle.

Large investments and a team are not necessary to create advertising content. It is enough to have clients who need such content. The full cycle usually includes placement and analysis of an advertising campaign. This requires placement sites (media, billboards, etc.), various analytical tools (surveying agents, sales indicators, etc.).

Types of advertising

Printing. All variety of printed products: booklets, leaflets, business cards, magazines, etc.;
Outdoor advertising. Posters, signs, billboards, etc.;
MASS MEDIA. Advertising in television, radio, newspapers;
Internet. It stands out separately from the media, as it has its own specific characteristics;
Agents. Conducting advertising campaigns with the involvement of distribution agents;
Rhetoric. Organization of various lectures, conferences, presentations;
Hiden advertisment. Advertising that takes place indirectly with any main event.

Characteristic features of the business

The advertising business in Russia is quite young and continues to develop. For a number of reasons, the formation of this business follows the formation of other areas of activity. Those. it develops mainly from requests and understanding of the need for advertising by the customer. An advertising agency thus has two types of target audiences: customers and an impact audience for the advertising content being created. This is one of the main distinctive features of business.

Target Audiences

In this regard, it is necessary to say a few words about target audiences. Target audiences for advertising content are quite diverse; they can be divided into broad and specific – aimed at a specific client.

industrial enterprises;
the shops;
financial companies;
political associations.

Types of advertising agencies

The division of advertising agencies is different and is based on an understanding of the goals of advertising activities. To start operating, you need to decide on the format of the advertising agency; the business plan must reflect the main key points of the planned enterprise. The format will determine costs, the approximate customer base of customers and further direction of development.

In this aspect, it is best to classify advertising agencies according to the following format:

Small advertising studios. These are studios that create custom advertising content, do not have platforms for posting this content and do not implement the full advertising cycle. Those. in fact, these are artists fulfilling orders according to clear technical specifications. In this case, there are no costs or additional specialists for placement, promotion and analysis of advertising. Also, such studios do not have much capacity to create high-budget advertising content;
Small advertising agencies. These are essentially the same studios in a wider format. In their services they include the entire range of promotion of fairly cheap advertising content. Those. There are platforms for advertising; some analysis of advertising services may be offered;
Full service advertising agencies. Agencies ready to offer a full range of services. It is possible that some of the services are delegated to various subcontractors - the same small advertising studios or specialized companies for creating advertising. They are characterized by significant costs for working with both types of target audiences.
Specialized companies. These could be large studios for creating videos, companies specializing in a certain type of advertising, for example, political, etc. The costs will be specific and the work will be highly specific with a specific audience.

Location and premises

For an advertising agency, location does not play a significant role. The main activities related to working with customers are carried out electronically or on the customer’s premises; in rare cases, work is carried out in the office of an advertising agency. Exceptions may include specialized firms. But even in these cases, location does not play a special role - the customer can visit the company anywhere.

Additional requirements are put forward for the premises if it is planned to carry out some work with the target audience in the office: meetings with the customer, advertising campaigns in the office (say, lectures). Premises for specialized companies have their own requirements. In both cases, everything is situational and the premises are designed depending on the specific implementation.

Equipment

The same can be said about equipment. It all depends on the format and specific implementations. Small advertising studios do not require complex, expensive equipment. This is usually one or more computerized workstations. As services expand, the equipment may include: powerful graphics stations, specialized equipment for printing, holography and other things.

Documentation

In our country, there is a practice of not purchasing licenses for some products, primarily for software products. If the advertising studio is very small and is not actively preparing commercials, then this situation may not lead to negative results. Large advertising companies sell advertising content created using a software product and must provide information on the legality of using the products they use.

Staff

The staff may include quite a few specialists:

director;
area managers;
artist, designer;
psychologist, sociologist.

Competition

In the sphere of smaller businesses and excluding a few of the largest metropolitan areas, the situation is somewhat simpler. True, demand and profitability are lower here. Among other things, small businesses are strongly influenced by the economic situation in the country. This is the area of expenses that enterprises cut first.

Advertising agency marketing

Good advertising style is about creating advertising content that promotes the advertising agency itself. Advertising includes the same advertising that is the product being sold to the customer. Those. in this vein, it is easier for an advertising agency: it advertises itself with the same means that it subsequently sells (advertising in the media, on billboards, mailings, etc.).

Work with customers:

system of bonuses and discounts;
preferences for regular customers;
working with agents.

Financial plan

The epilogue to an advertising agency’s business plan is the financial plan. It reflects the expenditure and revenue side, the achievement of profitability, and calculates the payback period for investments. Due to the wide variety, it is not possible to provide a standard financial plan. Here is a small calculation from an advertising agency.

Small advertising agency. Premises for rent 20 sq.m. Staff 3 people: director, 2 managers. Several platforms for posting advertising content. The agency creates advertising and places it, in particular on billboards.

Income. Judging the income of an advertising agency can be very conditional. So the price of placing on a billboard along a highway in one of the cities is 10 thousand rubles per month. We get it. From advertising on sites 50 - 80 thousand per month. Other advertising services 50 – 80 thousand per month. Total monthly income is 100 – 160 thousand rubles. Or profit: 15 – 20 thousand per month.

The payback period will be from one to one and a half years. Naturally, a very small agency in a small city was taken as an example; the factors of its further development, as well as changes in the external environment, were not taken into account.

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