Choosing the right creative agency for your project

Planning a new creative project is an exciting time. You’ve got ideas coming out of your ears, and you’re looking forward to watching them come to life – whether in the form of a new website, a creative marketing campaign, a big advertising opportunity, or something else.

The question is, who’s going to help you bring your vision to life? Choosing the right creative agency for your project can be a really difficult task. You want to make sure your team really understands what you’re trying to do, have the right people available to do a great job, and trust that they generally just “get” you.

Here are some of the key questions to ask yourself, to make choosing the right creative agency for your project a breeze.

Do you understand your project?

What a stupid question, of course you understand your own project! But do you, really?

When choosing an agency to tackle your big project, you need to make sure you, your in-house team, your senior leaders, and anyone else involved is completely on board. If there are people in the team who don’t fully understand what you’re trying to do, it will be difficult to agree on an agency to outsource to.

Make sure everyone has an excellent understanding of your vision and ideas, so there are no unnecessary obstacles on your way to finding your dream creative agency.

Do you know your needs?

You may know the bones of your project inside out, but do you understand your needs as a client?

Do you prefer face-to-face meetings or remote Zoom calls? Do you prefer working with smaller, more focused teams and individuals, or larger companies with more minds for collaboration? Are you a “jump on a call” or a “send me your ideas” kind of person?

Knowing all these things about yourself and the rest of your team will help to shortlist the agencies that don’t align perfectly with your needs and requirements.

Have you reviewed portfolios and case studies?

A great way to get an idea of what creative agencies are capable of, where they excel, and who else they’ve worked for, is to take a look at their portfolio.

Most creative agencies worth their salt will shout loud and proud about their previous work, so it should be easy to find some case studies that showcase their skills and areas of expertise.

By reviewing different agencies and their portfolios, you’ll be able to find out if they’ve worked on similar projects to yours, and decide whether you like their style or not.

Have you tested out the chemistry?

Now that you’ve shortlisted a few agencies that seem to tick all the boxes, it’s time for the all-important chemistry test.

Pick up the phone, arrange a virtual call, or meet your agencies face-to-face. This is a great opportunity to find out what they’re like to chat to, discuss ideas with, and ultimately if they are a good fit for your team and your company’s culture.

First impressions are everything, so trust your gut to know if the chemistry feels right. After all, you could be working with these people for days, weeks, months or even years!

While it’s not exactly an interview set-up, it is a good idea to prepare some questions or topics you might want to discuss. This will help you make the most out of the meeting.

Will you set clear expectations?

You can choose the best, most experienced and skilled agency in the country, with great chemistry, excellent communication and a perfect understanding of your vision. But it won’t work unless you set clear expectations from the beginning.

Not all agencies will be a good match, and you don’t want to waste anyone’s time. By being crystal clear about your goals and deliverables from the beginning, you can make sure your chosen agency knows what is expected of them, so they can work towards achieving it.

They might realise from the start that your expectations don’t align with what they can deliver, in which case you’ll be able to find someone else who suits your project a little better.

Are you willing to work collaboratively?

Collaboration is key to getting your dream project off the ground and into the world. You may find some agencies will do exactly as you ask, step-by-step, and others will want to play a bigger role in the creative direction.

It’s up to you how much creative control you’d like to maintain, or share with your agency. Ultimately, some companies will be more willing to budge than others and you need to know where you all stand before diving into the work.

Whatever you decide, it’s important to choose a partner who wants to build something great together. If they’re only interested in their own thoughts, ideas and opinions, then it might be the red flag you need to find someone a little more collaborative to work with.

Go for it!

Answering all the above questions will hopefully give you a better idea of the sort of creative agency you’re more suited to working with.

You may speak with multiple agencies before you find the right one, but remember that whoever you decide to hire could be working on a project that forms the basis of a long-lasting relationship, so don’t rush into anything.

Don’t feel compelled to hire someone because they say all the right things, or they respond the fastest, or offer the cheapest price. Choosing the right creative agency for your project will always involve a more personal level of understanding.

So choose whoever you feel most comfortable working with, and who you really trust to go above and beyond to deliver your project just as you dreamed.