Differences between a Digital Agency and Creative Agency

Design is the most critical thing for any advertisement – for as long as the advertisement has been in existence. Be it a compelling headline, a striking logo, or attractive colors, design plays a crucial role in the world of advertisement and is the most important aspect of it. It is a wonder that in today’s advertisement world where the competition only keeps growing, how traditional and technical agencies are not only existing together but thriving as well.

Traditional agencies –also called creative agencies – are overlooked most of the time because of their technical counterparts. This is because of the rise of the internet and thus the digital world, which has made digital creative agencies the most sought after option for online advertisements. This results in a lot of confusion amongst people who become unable to decide which agency will make for a better option for their campaigns.

Before jumping to the differences between the two advertising agencies, let’s see what they really are and what do they do in the advertising world.

Creative Agency

Creative agencies - often called traditional agencies – are advertisement agencies using traditional marketing strategies and advertising methods. The main focus of creative agencies is to make your business aesthetically pleasant by making use of a combination of creative techniques like print, radio and television advertising, public relations and direct mail campaigns.

One of the creative agencies’ most definitive aspect is that they value the visuals like no one else – they are sworn to make to turn everything into pleasant and eye-catching. The design of all the advertising and marketing collateral is given preference over the technical aspects of any ad in the creative agencies. Their passion and thus, expertise lies in adorning everything in a creative way instead of implying the latest technological tools to their campaigns.

Another good thing about creative agencies is that they cover a broad range of industries instead of specializing in a particular industry or niche. If you are a business owner and are looking for efficiency improvement or boosting your sales by reaching your target group effectively, you will need an agency that is not inclined towards a specific niche because it will result in failure to produce desired results.

Digital Agency

In light of the above paragraph, it is important to clarify that digital agencies also care a lot about your design’s quality and its overall aesthetics of every brand associated asset, be it digital or print. However, their main focus lies in taking special care to make sure that every asset works in a way that would help the company meet its goals. To ensure this, they make use of tools and ideas and implement them to get the desired results.

Though, what makes a digital agency different from a creative agency is that its focus goes beyond just the design’s aesthetics. It takes into consideration all the factors to make better the user’s overall experience on a digital platform - regardless of the kind of device being used. From Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Web Development and content marketing on social media and other platforms, the digital agency covers everything in between and strives to deliver a design that is not only aesthetically pleasing but functional enough to drive business growth as well.

However, (most of them) digital agencies are not all-rounders; that is, they tend to specialize in a particular area of digital advertising in a specific business niche. Some of them also specialize in a specific business size such as small business, and even a specified clientele. Due to this, technical agencies hire individuals with a specific skill set and more experience in a particular area or industry instead of a jack of all trades.

It is extremely unlikely – impossible even – for advertising or marketing agencies to ignore or overlook the digital agencies, especially in today’s modern world. This means that to achieve the desired success and always stay ahead of your competitors in the digital world, and it is necessary not to overlook one agency for the other. Whereas making use of both digital and creative agencies can help you meet your goals efficiently, it is where your industry’s experience and focus lies that makes all the difference.

Digital Vs. Creative – Different Approach but Same Goal

Despite the differences, both digital and creative agencies have the same goals. The main objective of either of the marketing/advertising agencies is to bring attention and awareness about a brand to the masses with the help of strategic marketing efforts. A traditional marketing agency believes in working closely with the customers – and to so, they write compelling pitches, invest more time in research their target market, creating striking copy, and make use of a variety of methods to meet the desired objective.

Digital marketing agencies use a slightly different approach to make their way to the goal. They, too, operate with the same processes such as meeting the clients, developing plans and curating content and copy, but in addition to all this, digital agencies also use a different, modern set of methods in order to reach their audience.

Analytical Vs. Creative Skills

Both – digital and creative agencies depending on their creative and analytical skills to make their marketing campaigns effective. The key difference is their inclination towards either analytical or creative side. Digital marketing invests a higher percentage of their time and effort into analyzing the data while creative agencies are most focused heavily on marketing’s creative aspect. Creative agencies like to keep things pretty and fresh while digital agencies work to improve the campaigns.

Wrapping Up

Deciding which agency to choose for your campaigns –because of their equal pros and cons – could confuse even the sanest of people. You need to consider your needs across the entire marketing department primarily.

Regardless of which industry you choose, make your choice carefully. Not all agencies are going to fulfill your needs. The best option is to hire an agency agent or let your marketing team make the decision for you.