Know-How Exchange : Branding

It's really hard to tell, because it's not easy to determine exactly what will be required. To do that would mean an investment of time/effort to learn more about the company, the target audience, etc. An Agency that's been working with you for a while should have a better grasp of the project requirements than we do. The range is probably $100-300k, so your agency's proposal is certainly in the range.

If you are still unsure, you can hire an independent expert to review the proposal, make suggestions, and offer an objective view of the cost components. This might actually be a good thing to do regardless, so you have another experienced perspective on the planned path forward.

Price is one thing, cost is another, and experiential value? That's another thing altogether.

What results have you seen from your agency of choice and are you as happy-as-clam, over-the-moon, and thrilled-to-bits with these results?

If not, why?

Are you seeing significant increases in your sales and client listing as a direct and measurable result of doing business with this agency?

Yes or no?

How closely connected—relationship-wise—are you, as a company, to your agency? Do you love them? Are they fantastic to work with? Do they always leave you wanting more? Or are they somehow, lacking in any way, shape, or form?

How invested are they—success-wise—in your future and do you feel it in your bones?

Do they promise (or have they ever promised) one, higher-level result, and do they deliver, or have they ever delivered another lower-level result and into the bargain, do they, or have they ever blame or blamed you—in any way at all—for the overall strategy not working?

Do you REALLY like them?

Do you REALLY trust them?

Do you really KNOW them and do they really KNOW you?

Do you get the genuine feeling that they have your best interests at heart? Do you think, even if it's for just one second, that they in any way see your company as a meal ticket and little more?

Do you tell your agency what you want and need, and do they truly LISTEN?

Do they take all the things you tell them and do they come back with something that meets your needs or that exceeds your wildest expectations and that then over delivers in terms of solid, in the bank results?

Or do you feel, even just a tad, that they're only kinda, sorta listening and that they're happy to ignore—or worse—disregard your ideas, and that your company gets and pays for, what it's given REGARDLESS of your ideals?

No matter how long you've been paying this shop, if you hear even the faintest voice of doubt in the back of your mind as a result of the work they've done for you not having had its promised impact, I have just two words of advice: walk away.

OTHER QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

What key deliverables other than those you've listed will you received for your $200K?

What essential payments would be included up front, and what other payments would come later, over a nine to 18 month period, to spread out the overall costs incurred?

Ideally, you need an item-by-itme listing of each branding element, with its cost, and with its own time line, all scoped out so you can see at a glance what's required and what's created and agreed on over the next 3 to 6 months, and what will be rolled out when if this is all done and coordinated as one main brand roll out (which is ideally what ought to happen).

What results have they created for other, similar clients and have you spoken with these clients on your own?

Have you been given a presentation with several, wildly-sweeping statements, and have you, when you've asked for follow-up or for illustrative examples, been fobbed off in any way, or do you FEEL you've been fobbed off? Or have you been given solid details?

What exactly do they mean by "brand research"?

You need solid examples and case studies of work executed for other, similar companies with similar budgets?

What, SPECIFICALLY, do they mean when they say they'll create an "engagement study"?

Whenever I hear anything along the lines of "it's all about engagement" my bullshit radar starts pinging off the scale. It's my contention that, while engagement is an important piece of the puzzle, it is by no means the be-all and end-all of any aspect of branding, nor ought it to be.

Then there's the naming architecture, logo refreshment, and your brand guidelines. Again, you need to know exactly what they mean by these things and ideally, you need to see case studies of real clients for whom your agency has created real results. Ditto for anything to do with your brand story, which ideally, is something you need to be telling them, not them telling you.

While $200K seems to be kinda, sorta in the right ballpark, you need to be sure where the park is, who's playing in it, and who's playing for whom.

I've had personal experience with branding agencies, some good, some, not so good—hence my line of questioning.

You need an EXACT scope of work. You also need someone overseeing all this, someone managing your project, someone chasing the agency, and someone prodding you to hit your marks but someone who's overall role is to look out for your best interests, not the agency's. This person—your project manager—must be someone independent.

There must be a contingency element within your budget, there must be built in accountability and deliverability expectations, and there must be completion bonds and endurances built in to prevent scope creep and cost over runs.

You need to tie down the numbers of versions you'll see and the numbers of revisions you'll have. You need to know how all of this will tie in with your longer term, wider reaching marketing, and how it will all tie in to and fold back into your social media efforts, content, and strategies.

When I asked an agency to provide examples of websites they'd built for a client in a specific niche, I was told they'd created sites that were, quote: "too numerous to mention", yet I was given just one example. This same agency guaranteed an increase in business in excess of 60 percent in the first year. Two years later, this promise has as yet, to the best of my knowledge, not been fulfilled.

An undertaking such as this ought to be a 9 to 18 month project. Done in less time it may appear rushed and your future could suffer as a result. I know of companies that have completely rebranded themselves inside 12 months and that have still had issues. Every moving part needs to be well oiled to ensure its progression and its eventual success: this is why project management is vital.

So, consider my questions, think about your options, move forward as you see fit. Take your time. Ask LOTS of questions. Don't be afraid to ask awkward questions, and don't back down if you feel you're being fobbed off, sidelined, or ignored.

This is a major investment you're talking about, and, much like buying a house, a certain amount of due diligence and thorough inspection can do much to help you avoid things turning into a money pit, and do much to help you CYA, and to prevent you being taken for a ride.

Good luck.

No more to say