Even though advertising agencies have been around since 1864, advertising itself has been around much longer. Advertising can date back to the Egyptians carving public notices on steel in 2000 B.C. Since then, it has progressed to the age of the internet and digital marketing agencies.
Before
The age before the internet is what we would call traditional advertising. This was when advertisements were on the radio, between TV shows, and on billboards lining the highways.
Whether it was cigarettes, body soap, or an alcoholic beverage, characters were built around brands. The idea was consumer connection. The consumer could connect the character to whatever brand or product they were trying to sell. An example of this is Tony the Tiger on Frosted Flakes. Even today, Tony the Tiger is still on every cover of Frosted Flakes cereal.
Now
Now, advertising has changed entirely. The motives of advertisements have completely changed. Instead of selling a product, advertisements now provide the solution to whatever the consumer’s problem may be.
There are still traditional advertisements on TV, but we live in an age of internet and ad blocking. Audiences are choosing to not watch commercials. Anyone who gets on the internet is bombarded by advertisements. On platforms such as Hulu, consumers can pay to not have to sit through ads. So how are digital marketing agencies supposed to reach consumers?
Now, consumers don’t trust advertisements as much. The best way to reach a consumer is to build trust with them. Consumers have become a part of advertising and not just an onlooker.
A good example of this is GoPro. GoPro releases videos of user-created content. They release a few ads saying, “buy our product”, but the rest of the content is created by the consumer. The biggest change from traditional advertising to now is that people trust people, not brands.
Resources: https://www.marketingweek.com/2010/11/09/brand-characters-can-bring-home-the-bacon/
http://mashable.com/2011/12/26/history-advertising/#SrCn6B4NU5q2
