Judith Jansen, Marketing Manager at Workbrands - A results-driven brand and marketing agency - proposes 10 things you should always ask your creative agency to get the best out of your brief.
We all know it’s critical to ask the right questions up front to ensure your creative agency can meet all your needs. A lot of the time though, important questions that can improve the relationship with your agency and mutual understanding aren’t asked, causing misunderstandings and cost overruns. Good agencies will provide most of this information to you without you having to ask them but if they don’t, take note of the questions below to make sure you are getting the most out of your agency. It will go a long way in generating success for your brand.
1. What is your opinion of our brand?
Having creative experts at your fingertips who specialise in all types of marketing communication gives you great flexibility when it comes to seizing opportunities and using your budget to the utmost effect. Why not ask them for their opinion on your current design? A good agency will provide constructive criticism, a rationale and suggest improvements. If you don’t agree you can voice your opinion which will increase the agency’s understanding of your requirements.
2. How will you gain an understanding of my business and target audience?
A good agency will take the time to get to know your business and marketplace inside out before starting the work. Some will rely on you to provide the relevant information, others will have processes in place to obtain this themselves. It’s worth noting that sector experience doesn’t have to be a prerequisite, whilst it’s comforting if your agency understands your market, being able to bring in ideas from other industries can be a plus if you’re looking to break away from the norm.
3. Are my objectives achievable within my budget and timescale?
Your agency should advise you on whether your objectives can be achieved within your budget and timescale. After all, they do this on a daily business and will have a much better idea of whether your objectives are realistic or not. Aside from being realistic and time-related, make sure your objectives are measurable so you’ll be able to obtain the evidence to demonstrate the project’s ROI.
4. What information do I need to include in my brief?
An effective design brief is the driving force behind any successful project, it will save you time, money and a whole lot of stress. The first time you brief a new agency, no matter how many briefs you’ve written during your career, ask them what they need from you. The more the agency can get inside your head and under the skin of your business, the better they are able to reflect your brand values and achieve the desired results, meaning you get more for your money.
5. How do you interpret my brief?
Once you’ve written your brief, ask your agency for feedback. Have they understood it? Are there any gaps? If you’re not from a creative or marketing background, ask your allocated project manager to write the brief with you. This also gives them a thorough understanding of your requirements without having to keep asking questions during the course of the project.
6. Do you have any alternative suggestions to my ideas?
Creative agencies are at their best when they are in control of the creative process and are seen as experts, so take advantage of their skills and don’t hold back on asking them what they think about your ideas. Working across many different industries, they can share observations and bring in ideas from these industries. They will use their expertise to consult you on the best way to get your message across to your audience.
7. Can you provide a full breakdown of the cost?
Ask for a full cost break down so you know exactly what you’re getting for your money. Are items such as travel time, meeting time, stock images and print costs included? Also bear in mind that some agencies will charge extra for creative amends while others will factor two rounds of amends into the cost. If your aim is to keep costs as low as possible, it’s important you voice this upfront as this will affect the entire project.
8. Can you complete the job for me from start to finish or will you outsource any work?
How will your final design be rolled out? On paper, pixels or both? Are you happy for services such as printing, mailing, web development to be outsourced or would you prefer for everything to be under one roof? And how will this affect the costs? Some agencies now offer turn-key solutions and can meet the brief from start to finish without outsourcing any of it.
9. At what stages during the project do you require my input?
Before the start of the project, discuss the agency’s process in detail and find out what is required from you at a given time to allow the agency to deliver the best possible outcome within your budget and timeframe. An initial scoping meeting can prove invaluable in understanding each other’s preferred way of working, the decision making process, team structure, preferred communication methods and billing procedures.
10. What are your procedures to avoid cost overruns?
Ask your creative agency upfront about their procedures to avoid cost overruns. A good agency will understand what triggers this and have procedures in place to account for this. They will give you regular progress updates to avoid unexpected expenses.
By Judith Jansen, Marketing Manager at Workbrands
