Not every advertising agency is created equal.

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Design At Work takes a traditional and a digital approach to advertising to gain exposure and market share for your business.

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So, you have a great sales team, a real nice website and a pretty good referral network. You even send out an email to current customers every now and then.

But how do you get the word out to potential customers outside your networking circle? How can you create a buzz when you’re using just one or two channels to do so? What are you doing to generate warm leads for that great sales team? Word of mouth or referrals can only take you so far. Let a full-service advertising agency like Design At Work make advertising a budget-friendly option to better market your business.

What kind of advertising should my business consider?

Print ad for an industrial company with green and yellow font and photo of a building with corrugated tin siding.
An example of print advertising for an industrial company that highlights the brand’s value proposition with an arresting design.
Green and navy billboard for Houston-area healthcare system with clever wordplay.
A striking billboard advertisement for a Houston-area healthcare system that grabs the viewer’s attention with clever wordplay.
Examples of digital advertising for a local grocery store with photos of grocery cart and produce.
A digital advertising campaign for a local grocery store featuring consistent messaging that drives users to the company’s website.

If you have your marketing strategy in place, and advertising is part of it, you’re probably looking at all the different methods and modes of advertising that will best reach your target audience.

Advertising promotes a product or service through paid media channels with the intention of informing and persuading an audience to buy, try or do something.1 And as an ad agency, Design At Work takes into consideration how best to promote your company, so that you’re hitting that right audience and meeting your marketing objectives, so customers will learn about your product and want to buy it.

Advertising comes in many forms and isn’t limited to just the print ads of old. It’s important to know the options available and identify the top outlets where your target audience will see or hear your company’s ad. You may also want to be careful not just to focus on one channel. A good advertising plan takes into consideration multiple ways to get your message out.

Types of advertising.

From traditional to digital, advertising spans the airwaves, the internet, the newspapers and the mail. Finding the right ad strategy for your company means identifying the best means of advertising it.

  • Direct mail advertising
  • Television advertising
  • Radio advertising
  • Outdoor advertising
  • Guerrilla advertising
  • Public service advertising

Traditional advertising vs.
digital advertising.

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The most significant difference between traditional advertising (e.g., print ads, billboards, radio ads) and digital advertising (e.g., social media ads, Google Ads, digital display ads) is the medium through which your target audience encounters your marketing and message.2

Both are important and still relevant in their own right. And when you’re marketing your company, you shouldn’t choose a side. Traditional and digital, when working together, can elevate and greatly influence how a customer finds you and ultimately chooses you. They both showcase your company’s brand. They both give your message legs and a platform to reach a target audience.

If you’re wondering which medium is best for your business, it may be best to weigh the pros and cons of each. Design At Work can help to align your budget and your goals with an effective advertising strategy, so you’re getting an ROI from what you’re running.

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The Pros and Cons
of Traditional Advertising.

PROS

  • Impactful and memorable. Print, TV and radio ads can be entertaining and capture attention, while also leaving their mark.
  • Long-lasting. Print ads specifically have staying power when run in a media with a shelf life, such as a magazine.
  • More opportunities to show your brand. Traditional advertising typically provides a larger canvas than digital to showcase your brand or message.

CONS

  • Tough to measure. While some data is available (e.g., subscribers, impressions), tracking effectiveness or ROI for traditional advertising is less definitive than with digital.
  • Price. Most forms of traditional advertising come with a high price tag due to production costs, limited space and more, and can be hard to afford for small businesses.
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The Pros and Cons
of DIGITAL Advertising.

PROS

  • Engaging. Advertising on social media, for example, gives you a real-time opportunity to communicate with potential customers and quickly evolve if needed.
  • Better to measure. Tools like Google Analytics can provide a super in-depth view of how your ads are doing, and all in real-time.
  • More personable. The ability to tailor your ads to a specific audience or even an individual is a game changer.

CONS

  • Lost in the mix. Competing against the entire internet of competitors to get your ad in front of someone can be a constant battle that you may never feel like you’re winning.
  • Less permanent. One minute you see it, the next you don’t (or you just get ignored altogether).
  • Always changing. The world of digital marketing is ever-evolving, so having the strength of a digital marketing agency can help this con become a pro.

Work with a pro to help your business navigate the intricacies of advertising.

Let Design At Work be your
marketing compass.