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How Pro-Social Purpose Agencies Define Themselves and Their Value: An Emerging Business Model in the Advertising-Agency World

Abstract Organizations across sectors are collaborating on social initiatives, taking political action, and using media platforms to speak out on a range of social issues. This study deals with the emerging phenomena of purpose-driven and social-impact communications from an agency standpoint. This study employs inductive analysis to understand how such agencies define themselves, their value, and how agency process reflects their definitions. Twelve advertising professionals holding senior leadership positions within agencies specializing in purpose-driven and social-impact communications were interviewed to gain insights. These professionals feel they are a part of an emerging “fourth sector” within the advertising/communications agency landscape. The study’s key insights hold prominent theoretical and practical implications for advertising literature, illustrating how changes external to advertising necessitate new paradigms in advertising agencies related to such things as communication goals and content, agency structure, and staffing.