ABSTRACT

This chapter provides a detailed examination of the formation of the modern full-service advertising agency—which developed in tandem with mass media and played a critical role in the bonding of media and advertising in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first service performed by advertisers was the selling of space within the media, but over time, creative, research, and accounting departments were added. Examining the advertising strategies deployed by twentieth-century agencies, the authors identify and illustrate four stages: the product-oriented approach (1890–1925), product symbols (1925–1945), personalization (1945–1965), and market segmentation (1965–1990).