Hiring a Branding and Creative Agency

Maybe you’re a newly minted small business owner.

Or perhaps your company has been around a while but recently realized that its brand is a bit “all over the place.”

The numbers prove it: a strong brand garners customer loyalty, increases memorability, improves brand awareness and creates the sense of trust that gives consumers confidence in making a purchase.

And that’s exactly what you want.

What some people don’t realize, however, is that creating a strong brand begins well before the creative team begins designing your brand identity. It begins with brand strategy.

Whether you’re just getting started, or need to revisit and revise your existing brand, we recommend finding an agency partner to help you get there. Not only can that partner bring creativity, objectivity and expertise to your project, but they’ve also got the tools and skill set to help you reach your goals.

But not every brand agency is created equal.

In your search for the best branding and creative agency, you’ll want to vet each one. Make sure that beyond their “good ideas,” the agency possesses the following key characteristics.

Process

Branding is not a one-time event. It’s a process. From exploring the competitive environment and defining the primary target audience to articulating the brand personality and crafting a complementary look and feel…each component of this process is both cumulative and interdependent. That interconnectivity means each part is vital to the differentiated brand you need in this competitive marketplace.

Choose a branding agency that has a clear process-driven approach to brand development. It will pay off by way of a seamless process—one that addresses all necessary steps to reach your desired end—and shortened duration for the brand development cycle.

A well-oiled process will also improve the quality of the final product, allowing ample time for review, testing and modification.

Data-driven Storytelling

A conscientious branding agency should be able to build a brand story compelling enough to induce people to gather ’round and listen.

It’s only after you’ve created your brand narrative that the other work so commonly associated with branding—such as web design and marketing collateral development—should take place. Attempting to put the proverbial cart before the horse will only leave you moving backward.

To ensure that the brand story resonates with the intended audience, branding agencies should gather and analyze real data…not just use their gut instincts. Only by engaging in market research and unearthing what the target audience really wants can an agency effectively create a brand story (visual and otherwise) that will resonate with that audience and propel your company brand forward.

Reputation

As exceptional brand agencies build rapport with their clients, they develop something that you simply can’t buy—a reputation.

At the same time, don’t allow yourself to just be dazzled by a large branding and creative agency with a familiar name. To determine whether the company you’re considering has the right chops, request and review analytics, case studies (that detail branding successes with clearly demonstrated results) and client referrals.

Obviously, there’s no guarantee that a branding agency that lacks a reputation will be sub-par. But ultimately, you need to ask yourself,  “Do I really want to risk it?”

Partner in Success

With competition fiercer than ever before and the fight for market share aggressive, modern brands can’t afford to go it alone. They need an exceptionally skilled marketing agency.

So, where do you find one?

Before going on a Google or social media hunt for the right fit, let us help you.

While we at TAG aren’t brand strategists or graphic designers ourselves, we keep company with the best—and we’d be happy to help you make their acquaintance.

That’s what we do.

Get in touch with us so that we can discuss your unique needs and goals, then help you find your perfect match.