When and why do organizations, companies, and businesses need the help of a creative marketing agency?

Whether it is a boutique firm or one of the top creative agencies in the world, sooner or later your company is going to need a professional one of them to do the heavy lifting when it comes to creative marketing.

Why?

If you’re just starting, a firm of this nature will help guide you and give you a holistic marketing plan, one that isn’t just based on one segment of your branding. An all-encompassing model. One that takes into account everything from your copywriting, and how you approach your audience, to the shirts your employees wear at work. And the reason why every single little thing matters? Simple. Your company should be more than just a hodgepodge of strategies mixed and passed together. When you interact with a client, every step of his experience should gel together. From the second you contact them or make an impression through the use of an ad, to the moment they open up the package on your product and start interacting with it. A marketing strategy takes all those steps into account, and a creative one makes it so it’s not so boring — leaving a marked impression on that person’s mind.

If, on the other hand, you’re already well established and have a track record, there are multiple reasons why you might need a creative marketing agency. These are just some of them:

• Scaling up: you’ve decided to scale up, whether it’s your services, your platform, your infrastructure, or your production line. In this case, a creative marketing agency helps to highlight these changes, not just to your consumers but also to your employees. 
• Investment round-up: you’re trying to attract new investors. New cash flow. An agency of this type will help you get your ideas across and entice investors.
• Professional not amateur: according to a study performed by the Harvard Business School, more than 65% of start-ups don’t invest in creative marketing. In most cases, the managerial staff, along with a couple of crafty employees sort of wing it. They try to do it themselves. This saves up on money, but it is a model they can’t keep up with over time.
• New life: you might already have an ad agency in your docket, but maybe they aren’t up-to-par. Most ad agencies, in particular, the ones devoted to digital mediums focus too much on Big Data. Too much on demographics and when to schedule an imprint on Facebook or Google. Who to target. The message and how they present it gets left on the side of the road. It becomes all about the numbers and the math, not about the communication itself. This is dangerous and needs to be kept an eye on.

5 surefire rules to follow when working with a creative agency

Clients should understand that creative professionals can only take their product so far on their own. That they need client input — every step of the way. There’s a bad habit among certain clients – a habit that stems from the fact that they are either too overworked or simply believe money solves all problems. The habit is simple, they contact a marketing agency, tell it their woes and then expect the team to perform a miracle. Leave them with a bootstrapped brief and hope they can make magic with that small bit of info.

You are important to the process.

Here are some things you will need, rules to interact efficiently with a creative agency and really stretch your investment and benefit from their work.

Know your brand

Have a clear understanding of who you are. Of your narrative, of what you’re selling, of who your ideal consumers are, of your services, of your tone. Understand what your brand is, not just what your product is. Google doesn’t sell a search engine, Google sells innovation. Nike doesn’t sell clothes, it sells performance. Budweiser doesn’t sell beer, it sells feeling relaxed. Understand what you are selling.

And, if you don’t, if you’re still not sure about all the intricacies of your brand, that’s perfectly fine, a creative marketing agency can help you out.

Share your strategy

If you have a strategy, one already in place and one that you’re comfortable with, share it with your new creative team. If you don’t, then sit down with your creative marketing agency and tell them your goals, your aspirations, your plans, where you see yourself and your brand within 6 to 12 months. Tell them who your ideal client is.

Let your creative professionals team up with your company members and sectors, not compete with them

Your creative team has to work in unison with all your verticals, not just your top-brass. They have to work with everyone. Many companies like to segregate members and sectors, you can’t do this with a creative agency. They need to be dynamic with all your team and feel like they can get into their space and interact. Understand how your company operates and work in tandem with it.

Negotiate a budget

It’s important to negotiate a budget — not just accept the first estimate a creative agency gives you. It’s critical to understand that there are add ons you can paste into your budget, as well as services you might not need. Go over your budget with a fine comb and make it customizable to your needs.

Search for an agency with a young creative pool

Your creative agency must be up on the norms and trends of today. It doesn’t matter what your target audience might be, you want talented young creatives – with their finger on the pulse – to form part of your creative team. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t aim for an agency with experience and years on its belt. No. You need an agency that embraces the future while learning from the past and is not afraid to communicate with today’s youth.

How to get more value out of your creative marketing agency

The top tip, and the one we doggedly have to reinforce in this article, is that you need to be part of the process — your whole company for that matter. Your creative agency will need feedback, will need orientation, will need to know what your goals and ambitions are.