Choosing the right agency is crucial. You don’t want to stagger from one to another, frustrated, disappointed and with a depleted budget.

We hear far too often comments like, “we invested in a brand a year ago, and we need to do it again, but we’ve spent our budget“. When I say we’ve heard that a lot – it was a modest claim – we hear it every month, and have done for years.

The comfort is, ‘you didn’t know better’, nor should you have done. You met a superb sales guy that over promised and under delivered, that’s all. Wisdom and some experienced advice will help you ‘notice and avoid’ from this point on.

Don’t see building a brand as a cost, but an investment – think about what you have sacrificed to get here – and doing it right this time will hold you in good stead for the years to come.

To get the most out your a branding agency – whether it’s for a brand refresh or new creation – research them, do your due diligence. Don’t just look at a portfolio and be wowed by the design, understand who you are going to entrust with your investment.

Here is our advice on choosing the right agency for you:

1. Build rapport

Take off the business hat for a moment and think of yourself as a customer (which you are). As a customer you buy from people you like, so build rapport, respect their time and ensure they do yours. Once you grow to like them through knowledge and above all else, wisdom in branding – then make your decision with confidence.

To help this flow, one thing a lot of customers request are designs, ideas, suggestions at no charge. In order to win the customer’s business, agencies are asked to give a lot without charging. This should be considered: “If an agency is prepared to give you a lot before you commit, they probably aren’t the right agency for you. They will probably make up for this time in the final invoice, which will cost you more.

Our advice: Get to know who will be working with you on your account. Is it a junior account manager or the owner of the business, this will demonstrate how important your business is to them.

2. Experience and passion

Consider this; you can choose a large agency, with large overheads who will produce great work, yet the financials may be out of budget. You could choose a small design studio who will do anything you ask as they are hungry for work, it’ll fit on budget but not on quality or expectations. Consider freelancers; those great designers, are known for taking on more work than they can cope with and therefore often miss deadlines and affect your businesses progression.

Lastly, choose a smaller agency who have the big agency experience and client portfolio, who have successes in business themselves, absolute passion for what they do, so they can support you in your business.

3. What else they can offer

When selecting an agency, consider:

1. Do you just want the design?
2. Do you need additional support?
3. Do they have a network who can help?
4. Do they offer other services?

Answering these questions will help you appoint the right agency.

If you are ready to discuss your business and the small print of life over a coffee, contact us and you’ll have the chance to see if AdBrand are the right agency for you.

Thank you for reading and if you have time click through to see our work

Adam Ridgway
Chief Creative Director
AdBrand

hello@adbrand.tv

+971 4 26 49 947