What is an agency?

The word “agency” comes from the Latin “agere” (to do, to act) and describes an association of people who act in the interests of their clients or members. For instance, an advertising agency advertises on behalf of its clients and a casting agency finds jobs for its models or members. Agencies can be financed by the private sector or by the state.

What types of agencies are there?

There are many different types of agencies – too many to list them all. Below is an alphabetical list with examples of 27 different types of agencies that are frequently encountered.

Agency vs. company: What is the difference?

A distinction often drawn is between agencies and companies. However, this distinction is somewhat misleading because agencies are usually companies themselves.

A better question would be to ask: What is the difference between agencies and companies that are not agencies (“non-agency companies”)?

For a company to be an agency, it must engage in some form of mediation. A company that wants to outsource its marketing, for example, does not necessarily have to work with a marketing agency. If criteria such as compliance with quality and industry standards, reliability and scalability are not crucial, a freelance marketing partner may be sufficient.

Only when a certain degree of expertise is required and several marketers from different disciplines need to come together does a marketing agency act as an intermediary, so to speak, between the company and the individual marketing professionals (i.e. its employees or freelancers).

The placement function is also a key feature that distinguishes other agencies from non-agency companies. For example, a legal agency brokers legal services between clients and law firms.

For employees, it can make a big difference whether they work for an agency or a non-agency company. If you are wondering about where you should consider working, we recommend our guidance article on this topic: Agency vs. company: Who is the best employer for me? (English version coming soon)

The distinction between agencies and non-agency companies is not always 100% clear. There are companies that act like agencies but are not agencies or do not describe themselves as such. Public authorities are also a rather atypical form of agency.

Agency vs. public authority: What is the difference between them?

You’ve probably heard of the Federal Employment Agency. It mediates employment and supports jobseekers.

The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) has existed since 1952, but it had another name until 2004: The Federal Labor Office (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit). It is a public authority, i.e. a public body that performs public administrative tasks.

Authorities and agencies are different things, but some authorities have been renamed since the 2000s because “agency” has a more modern ring to it. In English, both agencies and authorities are called agencies – a fact that inspired the renaming.

The Federal Employment Agency acts in the interests of its customers or members (in this case jobseekers) and therefore fulfills the criteria for being an agency by definition. The mediation function is also achieved. In the case of other authorities that have been renamed as agencies, it is debatable whether they are really an agency from a formal point of view.

Another example is the Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway (in short: The Federal Network Agency; Bundesnetzagentur in German), which used to be called the “Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications and Post” (Regulierungsbehörde für Telekommunikation und Post).

Why are there so many agencies in the marketing and advertising sector?

For most companies, it is not cost-effective to take care of their marketing entirely in-house: On the one hand, marketing is a very broad field. On the other hand, in-depth expert knowledge is also required in order to prevail against other companies in a competitive environment with limited visibility.

A single company must coordinate a large number of marketing activities in order to reach its target groups effectively.

This often begins with the creation and maintenance of a professional website, which serves as a central source of information. Print media such as brochures, flyers and advertisements in magazines are important to ensure an offline presence. Trade fairs and events offer the opportunity for direct customer contact and product presentations. In addition, social media, email marketing and search engine marketing (SEO and SEA) play a crucial role in increasing brand awareness and generating targeted traffic.

For each of these areas of marketing, there are experts who have spent years or decades specializing in them full-time.

The task of an SEO manager, for instance, is to improve the online visibility of a website without relying on paid advertisements. For their part, SEO managers must be able to oversee many different areas, such as on-site SEO, backlinks, keyword research and validation, content marketing, local SEO and EEAT (experience, expertise, authority, trustworthiness).

It is essential that an SEO manager be very familiar with all of this, as only the best content on the entire Internet – tailored to the relevant region and language – will achieve a high ranking in the search results. All the rest remains practically invisible.

Companies often only have a single marketing manager or a small marketing department. These employees cannot reasonably be expected to become experts in all areas. Therefore, many companies have no choice but to commission a specialized agency – or several agencies with different focus areas.

These agencies then manage the marketing within their own specialized area. Corporate marketing managers and agencies form a kind of symbiotic relationship: The marketing manager can focus on strategic decisions and make a name for himself internally by achieving marketing goals. With its expertise, the agency provides the underlying basis for decision-making, oversees the marketing and gets a fee for its services.

The market has developed accordingly to meet the need for specialized services and to help companies achieve their marketing goals effectively and efficiently.

svaerm: The online marketing agency

svaerm is an online marketing agency based in Frankfurt am Main. We provide services to local, national and international customers, mainly from the B2B sector. Our primary areas of expertise are:

• Launch and relaunch of websites using the WordPress platform
• Mobile-responsive web design
• SEO and in particular SEO texts
• Content marketing, including photo, podcast and video

We see ourselves as a T-shaped agency.

The crossbar of the letter “T” stands for the breadth of our range of services, which has a virtually full-service character and also includes offline marketing services.

The vertical line stands for our in-depth expertise when it comes to generating online visibility through content marketing – particularly for companies and organizations with products, services or messages that require explanation.

Information for job seekers

Click here for our job advertisements: Marketing jobs in Frankfurt.

Contact for business

If you are interested in an initial meeting, please send us an introductory letter with key information about your requirements. We will gladly advise you personally on the phone, by video conference or on site.