How to Establish a Marketing Agency in South Africa
- Develop a business plan for your advertising firm.
You’ll need to build a detailed business plan to guide your growth and internal strategy before you can get started.
- Determine your price strategy.
Most advertising agencies generate revenue by brainstorming and generating creative assets for their customers, such as traditional advertising campaigns and content marketing pieces such as blogs and social media postings.
- Maintain your advertising edge.
You may stay up to date on industry events, trends, suppliers, and technology by subscribing to trade journals, blogs, and podcasts oriented toward ad agencies.
- Join trade organisations in the advertising industry.
Joining a trade association helps you to further your education, stay current on trends and technology, network with your colleagues at trade exhibitions and conventions, and compete in awards contests to add to your credentials.
- Find customers for your advertising firm.
Every advertising agency requires customers. Decide what types of firms you want to deal with before you start marketing your marketing services (industries, business size, location, services needed, etc.).
- Expand your network.
If you want to assist your clients get ad placements on television, radio shows, podcasts, blogs, and news publications, you’ll need to start cultivating a network of media contacts.
- Design an outstanding website to sell your services.
Your advertising agency, like other modern businesses, requires a dynamic, informative website that engages potential clients and clearly explains how you can assist them with their marketing initiatives. You can do it yourself and use one of the various website building tools available, or you can engage a professional web designer to develop a more tailored web presence.
- Create your own marketing strategy to promote your company.
Advertising agencies have a distinct advantage over other types of service firms in that their own marketing and advertising activities serve as a work sample, allowing potential clients to see what the agency can achieve for them right away.
Is it profitable to run an advertising agency in South Africa?
Most advertising agencies charge their clients an hourly fee or a commission. Advertising agencies can be quite profitable; however, profits are heavily impacted by the size of the agency and the various niches that it services.
How much do South African advertising agencies make?
An agency MD with more than five years of management experience can expect to earn at least R150,000 per month in Johannesburg and over R130,000 in Cape Town. An MD with two to five years of experience will earn between R100,000 and R150,000 per month in Johannesburg, and between R90,000 and R150,000 in Cape Town.
How are advertising agencies compensated?
For time spent maintaining an account, generating commercials, booking media, and purchasing services like as photography, video production, or market research, agencies charge an hourly rate. They also add a handling fee, or markup, to the cost of the services they purchase.
