When faced with the challenge of creating a new visual identity for your brand, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
To develop a coherent strategy and then execute it through high quality graphic design, original and fresh assets that speak to your audience and, most importantly, which convert, requires skill, experience and the right people.
So if you are looking to refresh your brand’s look, make projects that get people’s attention or reach more people online, often the best option is to team up with a creative agency. They can often be your secret weapon.
Challenges of doing marketing campaigns in-house
You only get one chance to make a first impression. Brand design is so important to organisations in the modern day marketplace, so it’s not something to take risks with. Given that creativity itself is a skill that some people have and many – this writer included – don’t have, attempting to take on such an important project without necessarily having the optimum skill-set is unwise.
In addition, in-house teams are sometimes too close to the brand or product that having an objective view on what does and doesn’t work is very difficult. It can be hard for them to break free of ‘what we’ve always done’, rather than be able to see wider possibilities and opportunities in the way that a specialist creative agency might.
Without a creative partner to oversee the work, businesses can encounter issues of messaging inconsistency, whether this is in the graphic design, visual elements or the messaging behind it. The result of this will inevitably be campaigns that feel disjointed and fail to make an emotional connection with their target audience.
Benefits of a creative agency partnership
Collaborating with the right creative strategic partner is vital to get ahead in an ever-competitive marketplace. Working closely with your team, a creative agency brings new ideas, knowledge, and cutting-edge strategies that move your brand forward.
Working with creative agencies is more cost effective than attempting to deliver marketing campaigns in house. Their experience means that overall strategic visions are leaner, more sharply focussed and targeted and, therefore much more likely to succeed. Not only will the more effective campaign result in increased revenue it’ll also negate the need for re-work as it will have been effectively planned from the beginning.
Having the opinion and insight of an agency who are less emotionally connected with your brand and its assets is also hugely valuable. They can bring a wider perspective, not only with experience across this sector but also ideas and inspiration from other industries. This fresh wind of change can re-energise and revitalise in a way that in-house teams might not always be able to manage. To collaborate in this way fuels creativity and leads to better engagement, more impactful designs, a stronger connection with customers and greater brand awareness.
Creative agencies can be full strategic partners, not just limited to graphic design or working on the visual identity of a project. WIth a huge suite of skilled experts at their disposal, they can manage every aspect of a project including the conceptualisation, creation, delivery, dissemination and analysis. By entrusting your next project to a creative agency, you can be confident that you are maximising the chances of achieving your goals.
How do you choose a creative agency?
It’s tempting to think that no-one could love and understand your brand as much as you do, therefore how could you give that over to someone else? However, by picking the right creative agency partner, you can be sure that they will share your passion to achieve your vision.
So how do you pick the right agency for you?
Don’t be fooled by fads and shiny trinkets. Look for an agency that is led by strategy rather than simply creative. Strong strategic thinkers and planners will always deliver better, stronger and superior campaign work that delivers more impressive ROI.
Arguably the most important criteria for choosing the right agency is picking the one that you feel you can best work with. Long-term agency partnerships require extremely effective communication, through the good times and bad. Whilst it’s not a prerequisite to be friends in order for working relationships to be successful, considering the amount of time that both agency and brand will be working together in agreement and disagreement, it’s worth finding out how connected both parties can be. Poor client/agency relationships can make large branding relationships unnecessarily challenging.
It’s also important to consider the type of work the agency has completed before. The size and sectors of previous clients will give a good first clue as to which might be a good fit for your brand. Looking at case studies and their previous work is always a strong starting point.
Made: the creative agency for you
With full suite creative and marketing experts, Made are experienced in working on a range of projects, from complete brand design refresh, event graphic design and marketing activities. You can see more about the clients we work with and our work here.
Speak to a member of the team today and see how Made are the right creative agency for your brand.
