Outsourced Marketing vs. Advertising Agency – What’s the difference?

People don’t take much time to try to figure out what a company does. Mentally, they will slot a firm into a category regardless of whether it is a perfect fit for that bucket or not. Unfortunately, that is what happens to Marketri and we feel misunderstood!! Okay, so no pity parties here. Marketri happens to participate in a space that is emerging which is exciting and challenging at the same time. We are an outsourced marketing company.

People try to classify us as an advertising agency, graphic design firm or public relations boutique. While our offering does incorporate many of the services offered by these types of firms, Marketri’s value proposition is actually quite different. The best way to view outsourced marketing is as a large, full-service marketing department that exists outside your company that you tap to scale up or scale down as needed. Outsourced marketing companies have subject matter experts in every area of marketing, including strategy, planning, online, print, public relations and social media.

Clients can tap each expert as needed to reach their target markets and reach their goals. Outsourced marketing relationships tend to be more consultative, proactive, long-term and fluid. Advertising agencies are more project-based – you need a brochure and they will deliver. You want a Web site, they can program. For companies that have in-house marketers, this model might be fine as those professionals know how to maximize these tools to realize a return. Those without savvy, dedicated marketers, will often leave the collateral on the shelf to get dusty and leave their Web site to grow stale.

For companies looking to grow and that do not have dedicated marketing resources, outsourced marketing is often a very cost-effective solution. Many companies prefer outsourcing so that they can focus on the core business and tap experts that study marketing best practices day in and day out. Regardless of whether outsourced marketing is right for you and your company, it is important to understand the difference between outsourcing and contracting with a project-based service provider like an advertising agency and/or public relations firm.