How to choose the right creative agency for a digital lifestyle brand

Choosing a creative agency is a big step. You need an agency that understands your business, your goals, and your culture. No matter how big or small the project, you need to find an agency that can meet your needs and work with you for the betterment of your company.

Finding a creative agency to work with can be tricky. There’s a lot of competition in the marketplace and your choices can get overwhelming fast. That’s where this article comes in. What follows are some pointers to help you choose the right creative agency for your digital lifestyle brand.

Lock down your objectives

You have to lock down what kind of services you’re looking for before you begin talking to agencies. Are you looking for digital marketing services? A website? An EDM campaign? The answers to these questions will dictate what sort of agency you opt for.

It’s a good idea to come up with a list of objectives before you start searching for an agency to partner with. Ask yourself what you want and what results you want to see from your efforts. From there, you’ll be able to choose an agency with a track record of delivering those results.

Locking down your objectives also helps any agency you approach to evaluate what they can do for you. It saves time and effort in the negotiation stages and allows both parties to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement more quickly.

Go digital

Your digital lifestyle brand requires a digital solution. When searching for a creative agency to partner with, make sure you’re looking for one that’s digitally focused.

Digital designers have a built-in understanding of digital interaction, motion, and web development – an understanding that traditional creatives often lack. Digital creatives also use different tools and processes – you’ll want an agency that has a complete understanding of these if it’s to service your company effectively.

Concentrate on your brand niche

Every creative agency has its niche – some may concentrate on real estate while for example. It’s a good idea to find an agency that has a focus on lifestyle in order to fully service your needs as a lifestyle brand.

At the very least, the creative agency you opt for should have a track record of working for digital lifestyle brands. This ensures they know the industry and the niche you work in and will be able to market your business effectively.

Set up for the long haul

A lot of creative agencies are once-and-done affairs that will dump a website on you and fade into the sunset. You don’t want this. In order to market your digital lifestyle brand effectively, you want to partner with a creative agency long-term.

Digital design isn’t just web design, it’s a digital ecosystem consisting of everything from landing pages to social media to websites. Each element maps to different stages of the consumer journey which needs to be tackled as a whole.

When shopping for a creative agency, make sure they’re set up to service your needs in a permanent capacity. They should have a track record of partnering with brands and helping them fulfill their digital goals.

Go beyond Google

While Google is a great starting point for finding a creative agency, it’s not the be-all-end-all. It often pays to ask your network of personal and business contacts to see if anyone has recommendations.

A lot of smaller agencies grow through these types of referrals rather than through Google searches – employing this technique, then, can give you access to some stellar up-and-coming agencies.

Finding a creative agency through referral is also a great way to vet their services before you jump into bed with them. Because you’re going off the unbiased word of a friend or peer, you’ll be in a better position to judge their offerings.

Read company reviews

A creative agency can present itself very well on paper but not have the reputation to back it up. This is why reading agency reviews and customer testimonials is an essential step to choosing the right creative agency.

Look to Google reviews for some unbiased opinions on the agencies you’ve short-listed. Reading their featured testimonials is a great starting point but to get a better sense of how a company has performed then third-party review platforms are a must.

Reading reviews also gives you a sense of how an agency works with those it partners with. A creative agency’s portfolio might be the best in the world but if they can’t work well with your team then it’s going to be a headache.

Properly evaluate the proposal

An agency might have the best portfolio you’ve seen but it’ll mean very little if its bespoke proposal doesn’t meet your needs.

When evaluating a creative agency’s proposal, ensure they have a thorough understanding of your company and its goals. They should be able to map your goals directly to services they can offer and ensure your project is results-driven.

If a proposal is too broad or seems like a cut-and-paste job, then that’s a sign that the company you’re evaluating doesn’t understand your business’ needs. In this case, you’re better off working with an agency that will be a better fit.

Find the right creative agency

Hiring the right creative agency for your digital lifestyle brand can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. With these tips and tricks, you’ll be able to better evaluate any potential agencies for fit and service.

Now you have a better idea of how to choose the right creative agency for your digital lifestyle brand, why not evaluate us? Akorn Studios is an all-in-one creative agency with extensive experience helping to build lifestyle brands. Get in touch today to see what we can do for you.