• The Wall Street Journal, Friday, February 9, 2007 11:05 AM

Online ad agencies have traditionally been relegated to doing what their clients' larger offline agency counterparts order. Usually, that's to stick with online work only. But things are changing, as companies like Ikea, the low-cost home furnishing giant, are starting to hire online shops as their lead (or in some cases they're only) agency for their national campaigns.

Ikea recently hired Agency.com as its lead agency. Not only will the shop handle online responsibilities, it will create print and outdoor ads, too. An Ikea spokeswoman says it may even develop TV spots in the near future. It's a first for Agency.com: the company has never created print or outdoor ads before. But Ikea said the interactive shop came up with the best campaign idea, involving print, outdoor, online and in-store TV commercials. Agency.com now aims to become Ikea's main agency in the UK.

Other online agencies whose offline ideas have been successful include AKQA for online yellow pages company Yell.com, and Aegis Group's Glue, which is in the running for work for the European train service Eurostar.

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