Commissioning anything unknown is a daunting business, fraught with questions…
Getting a bespoke suit made for the first time is like trying to work with a design company — how do you know it’ll work? After all, you only see a tiny square of cloth before you decide to make the suit.
Ultimately, it all comes down to one thing: How does the person who needs something “creative” know — really know — that they are hiring the right company for the job?
Creativity is a slippery thing. If it could be guaranteed, you can bet Hollywood would have it corked and bottled. But no, creativity is really “not knowing” — one can never be 100% sure that the new idea is going to work. However, you can surround a new idea with enough rigor and experience to ensure it has the very best chance of success — thereby injecting a spark of creativity into a strong, proven, reliable, and effectively managed framework.
But the fact remains, it’s tough for the people commissioning this exciting stuff since it’s their neck on the line. So, how do you decide on who to hire to create your new branding/packaging/brochure/creative task?
OK… Deep breath…
Check: Do you have a shared agenda with your potential agency?
If you need (or are likely to need) a rapid turnaround? Is your agency able to react quickly? More importantly, does your agency have a similar outlook to you? A shared agenda is one hell of a business advantage.
Ask: What is it you actually do?
Is the team you meet on the day the one that’s going to do the work? I’ve lost count the amount of times clients have asked us this. We build processes and teams around clients’ needs and when three senior people turn up to the pitch, there’s often the feeling of “Well, thanks for the effort, but clearly this is all for show. We’re obviously never going to see you again!” To the point where we have actually signed contracts guaranteeing our involvement in the project! It’s right to be suspicious here though. The classic trick of sending the dazzling creatives to the pitch, then using the intern to work on it day-to-day is alive and well in the bigger agencies. Sorry, but in the creative industries, size doesn’t matter. If it was our money, we’d want to be paying for the talent behind the ideas, not their flashy marble foyer.
“As long as you have half a dozen experienced people on it, you can pretty much handle anything in 100 days.”
Technology really has changed the game. You simply don’t need as many people to create a global brand identity anymore. That said, when it comes to throwing resources at projects in trouble, the larger companies will always claim to have the edge. After all, with over 100 people under the same roof, it’s not going to be tough to call in some last minute help (even if it is the receptionist!) However, if a project is run well you should never need this shotgun approach. You simply need a core team of about 6 people — and that’s on a multi-million pound brand, or a small website. As long as you have half a dozen experienced people on it, you can pretty much handle anything in 100 days.
Asking for creative work is a terrible idea for pitches
If you like the people, like the processes they suggest, don’t mind the fee, and think their back catalogue of work qualifies them as paid professionals, then give them a chance to prove themselves — by actually working with you.
A pitch generally takes around four weeks. That’s a month with perhaps 2–3 meetings. In that time, an agency can’t really get under the skin of the brief sufficiently to blow your socks off (or even to have a genuinely educated point of view) — it’s only by actually working together on the project that you will discover if they are right for you.
“Any decent creative shop should be turning out professional pitches daily and find demonstrating their process a doddle. Any kind of fee for this is a joke.”
Free pitches are fine. Danny Boyle says that when he set out to make “Slumdog Millionaire” he found getting funding really tough. Really? With his back catalogue? Yup, “every time you start from scratch,” he said, “past performance counts for nothing.” Same with any creative endeavor, however, Danny went on to say that while the creative output changed each time, it was the processes and strategies that helped him pull off his past films that remained constant, it was these principles that got him the commitment of cash.
The agency’s process and strategic thinking should be enough for you to make a decision on who to hire. Any decent creative shop should be turning out professional pitches daily and find demonstrating their process a doddle. Any kind of fee for this is a joke.
We know it’s a nightmare choosing an agency. Everyone says they are different, yet you’ve just seen almost the exact same diagram 3 times that morning from the other groups.
Ultimately it really is like buying a bespoke suit (with all the fear that goes with parting with significant funds for something everyone says you can just buy off the shelf these days)
- Make sure you talk to the tailor, not their accountant.
If there’s not a designer in the meeting — worry.
- Check if it really is cashmere you are paying for.
They are talking a good game — but what have they actually done?
- It’s all about the suit, not the street the shop is on.
A flashy office is no substitute for average work.
- Want a trendy cut? Need a classic three piece? Check whether attitude fits.
A shared agenda makes things more agile and gets a better result.
- Don’t be pressured into paying to see his past work.
A credentials-based pitch should be free — and easy.