Working at a branding agency is exciting. Every day, client, task, meeting, or conversation is different every day. So what do we do? And what does a great branding agency do?
Branding agencies vary in their services, approach, and technique, however, a good branding agency or partner understands that a brand is not simply a shiny logo or cool website. A brand is something that extends across every platform and to every sensory experience a client, customer, employee, or guest that has an interaction with your brand. We take this approach when we partner with clients, focusing on branding from a holistic and comprehensive perspective, where every touch-point matters, and should be consistent.
1 | A comprehensive process
When is comes to working with clients – whether it’s a new brand or an existing brand going through a rebranding process – it’s important for us to think about holistic and comprehensive branding. We have a well-documented, consistent process we take all clients through. It’s intentional, calculated, and a vital part of the “how to build a successful brand” conversation. Taking the up-front time to first understand the “why” behind the brand and business goals helps us to design and develop the best final product.
2 | Support your business’ full life-cycle
It’s hard to know when the “right time” is to partner with a branding agency. Typically, we partner with existing businesses who are going through a period of transition and/or growth/expansion, or with new businesses who want to develop a strong brand from day one. How your company or organization’s brand is perceived and interacted with should be the first item you address when considering a rebrand. Coming in with this valuable knowledge ensures a partnership with a creative agency is backed by internal perspective(s) and data from key stakeholders.
3 | Provide valuable perspective
This is the million dollar question without a simple answer – we believe that partnering with a creative firm gives valuable insight and “outsider” perspective. We pair our expertise with the brand’s we partner with – working collaboratively to, together, develop brands to the best possible place they can be. Walking through a branding process with an agency that is truly a partner with your organization is imperative – the up-front work and due-diligence is imperative developing strong branding that looks great, and most importantly, works well and aligns with business goals.
4 | Collaboration is key
Be open to letting brand experts be your guide. While our process is collaborative, we also lead our client’s every step of the way – when you’re paying a branding agency, let them take the lead and trust the process, but get your team involved. We preach regularly the value of “collective buy in” when it comes to the branding process. Welcoming your internal team into key conversations builds excitement and pride in the brand being developed. Trust your branding agency to do what they do best, and commit yourself to being active and involved in the creative process.
When you’re vetting branding agencies – ask questions and do your research. Don’t focus entirely on a portfolio of work, instead, focus your energy on how each agency has solved similar problems and issues as what your brand is faced with.
And lastly, understand that you get what you pay for. You can pay anywhere from next to nothing to six figures for branding and creative services – but as with most things, you’ll often get what you pay for. We know we aren’t the least expensive or most expensive option, and are confident in our pricing and the value of our work. Negotiation is always a part of the proposal stage of work, but nipping, tucking, and tweaking deliverables and pricing is a sure-fire way to end up with a lackluster final product.
If you’re searching for a branding agency to partner with, we’d love to chat. Get in touch and let’s start a conversation.