Branding is often a missing piece of the marketing mix.

And branding is a specialized field that can be hard to navigate.

So here are 5 things to consider when evaluating prospective agencies…

DO THEY (OR CAN THEY)

UNDERSTAND YOUR BUSINESS?

1

This may be the most important thing to discover about your shiny new agency candidate.

Most branding agencies will roll out beautiful examples of prior work.

And they will showcase the logos of their largest clients.

But you should look beyond the exterior and really probe their business acumen. Its easy to create beautiful designs. But beautiful is often not the solution to your business problem.

Do they have the ability to understand your consumer, your industry and your position in the market?

Will they lead their creative process with those things, or will they focus first on creating beautiful and cutting edge design solutions?

(you probably don’t want that)

Not that there is anything wrong with beautiful and cutting edge, but those should be a few weapons in the agency’s arsenal.

Not that there is anything wrong with beautiful and cutting edge, but those should be a few weapons in the agency’s arsenal. Not the same weapon they use every time.

HOW CREATIVE ARE THEY,

REALLY?

2

There are no (good) cookie cutter solutions when it

comes to branding.

Choosing a branding agency that comes up with fresh ideas and creative solutions will help you differentiate, stay current, and optimize your business positioning.

Obviously you want to look closely at their portfolio, and evaluate how beautiful, unique and on-trend their design work is. You want their creative to stand out from other agencies that you are interviewing.

While the most creative work is not always the solution, you want an agency that can always deliver the most creative work.

WHAT ARE THEIR

PAST RESULTS LIKE?

3

Ask for metrics and client success stories, and take a look at their measurable results. ROI has become an overused buzzword, but it is definitely relevant in this context.

Ask for case studies where they detail the ROI that a client experienced in connection with their work.

+45%!!! YAAAASSSS!!!

Can they point you to the success of a past client after a rebrand project?

Can they point you to a product that sold very well after a new branding project?

Can they give you numbers?

WHAT IS THEIR PROCESS LIKE?

4

Most agencies follow certain processes for their projects. Many have trademarked or otherwise named their processes.

While these are often cheesy catchphrases, they at least give you a look into your prospective agency’s creative process. If they don’t offer up details about their process, ask about it.

THE B.A.M. PROCESS THE ZOOM PROCESS

THE CREATOLOGY PROCESS

THE TRENDIFY PROCESS

THE INNOVEAT PROCESS

THE SWEEP PROCESS

THE SYNOPTIC PROCESS

THE WHIZ PROCESS

And most branding processes start with some form of creative brief – ask to see a sample creative brief that they wrote.

ARE THEY A

VERSATILE BUNCH?

5

Few agencies can solve all creative problems with their own in-house staff. Most rely on freelancers to complete certain aspects of their projects (web developers, photographers, copywriters, etc).

And… that’s all we’ve got for now. Give us a shout if you ever want to talk branding, design, or anything else for that matter. Bye bye.

W O R K S D E S I G N G R O U P . C O M