Advertising agencies were earlier the one-stop solution for all promotional and marketing needs. Services ranging from designing logos to creating video ads and campaigns, the advertising agency was in charge of it all. But as the number of brands rose along with advertising avenues, the ad agency’s job became complicated. Specialists for designing, strategising, audience research, campaigning, promotional activities, etc., became a prerequisite in all agencies. Today, separate agencies exist for each activity, providing brands with the best designs and promotions. The design agency plays a central role by contributing creative designs for every brand, from packaging design and brand logos to social media posts. These designs are the visual representations of the brand’s message and influence brand perception among the target audience.
The Designing Agency: Role and Significance
The ad agency outsources designing to a design agency themselves, but they provide the briefing and instructions. When brands approach a design agency, they have more power in building or establishing their name according to their visions.
The design agencies have in-depth knowledge of design theories and trends and target audience preferences. This knowledge places them in a prime position to help a brand design everything from logos to the product.
Product Design
Product design refers to the visual elements of a brand’s products or services. For example, shampoos are a usual product, but designing their containers and labels helps them stand apart. The design agency can help brands create innovative product designs, which are helpful for new entrants to stand out from other existing brands.
Package Designing
Packaging refers to the box and other accoutrements that cover the product. The packaging could be as rudimentary as a ribbon on the product or as complex as layered boxing or baskets. The design agency helps match the packaging to the brand’s identity and message, shaping the brand and product perception among the target audience. For example, a product with jute packaging proclaims itself as eco-friendly, and consumers who prefer green products will opt for these brands. Packaging design is a vital part of the promotional process, as it determines the success of a brand. The promotions bring the consumers to the outlets, but the packaging design ultimately determines their choice.
Message Designing
Every brand has a message it wants to broadcast about itself to the target audience. This message connects brands to their customers while also shaping the brand’s identity among the public. The brand message is a concept that the brand upholds above everything else, for example, brands into green production methods, design messages reflecting their eco-friendly ideologies. While the message concept is verbal, the representation is visual. The design agency helps spread this message and shape the identity accordingly using design elements on the logo, product, packaging, etc. They also help ensure uniformity of the brand’s message across all promotional campaigns to iterate the brand’s name. Several brands are famous for their brand message and even have a fan following for their ideologies.
Adidas and Nike are well-known brands for sports equipment, but they differ in their message. Adidas focuses on breaking records with their brand message – “Impossible is nothing”. Nike focuses on innovation in sports equipment and denotes that in all their campaigns. Adidas has an emotional connection, while Nike’s is more practical, and each brand appeals to a specific target audience. The design agency helps bring out this message using visual symbols, promotional concepts, and more.
The design agency is a primary necessity for all brands and advertisers as they provide executable visual content and templates. From packaging design for brands to advertisement designs for agencies, they cater to every part of the branding process. The points mentioned above are a summary of the roles of a design agency and their significance in promoting a brand.