| Strategic thinking: finding the right creative firm with the right capabilities These days, finding the right creative firm for the marketing communication needs of your business can be a challenging process. The differences between graphic design firms, advertising agencies and public relations firms are no longer as clear as they used to be. Design firms sometimes create ads; ad agencies produce printed collateral; and some PR firms have designers on staff. How are buyers of these kinds of services supposed to draw the important distinctions between what can be very different companies with very different specialties? While some of the differences can be found in simple terms like size and services, a crowded marketplace has made these distinctions harder to define. The most obvious differences between creative firms are found in their respective sizes and traditional capabilities. Ad agencies are larger, with PR firms in the midsize category and design firms on the smaller side. There's a good reason for this. Ad agencies usually assign entire teams to client accounts that can include market researchers, art directors, creative directors, media buyers and more. With entire teams working on specific accounts, clients tend to interact with a number of different personnel levels over the course of a campaign. And sometimes having a larger team work on an account can lead to higher costs. Design firms have relatively fewer levels, with clients interacting directly with senior-level designers, writers and account managers. An important benefit of this approach is that design firms are often more nimble, provide quicker project turnaround, and are less expensive than ad agencies. PR firms vary in size between these, mostly because their capabilities differ so widely. How client relationships are structured is another important distinction between creative firms. Ad and PR agencies tend to be exactly that—agencies that form contracted agreements with their clients. Conversely, design firms usually work on more of a project-by-project arrangement. Contracted agreements are important for larger agencies because they provide financial benefits and allow for more staff, resources and services—but the contracts can be a double-edged sword. If a big contract expires and the client decides to leave the agency, the employees who worked on the lost account will often be laid off. Design firms rarely put all of their client eggs into one basket, preferring instead to serve a wide variety of industries and designing a multitude of different projects. You may have noticed that I referred earlier to the traditional capabilities of these three different types of firms. That's because ad agencies that simply create ads and PR firms that simply distribute press releases seem to be things of the past. Today the services of ad agencies extend beyond the traditional campaigns found on television, radio, billboards, in print and on the Web. Some ad agencies now produce brochures, identities and even annual reports—projects more commonly associated with design firms. Similarly, PR firms used to be made up of research and media relations personnel, writers and event planners. But more and more the capabilities of these firms now include print collateral and Web site design. So why does it seem as though agencies are taking on projects more traditionally handled by design firms? There are two main reasons, both signs of our times: shrinking budgets and the burgeoning "branding" phenomenon. Reduced marketing budgets of the last few years have led some creative firms to seek out communication projects that fall outside of their core capabilities. A smaller budget for an advertising campaign, for example, could lead a client to want a more cost-effective brochure or direct mail vehicle for their marketing message, and agencies have readily adapted their capabilities in order to retain clients. At the same time, the ubiquitous term "branding" has come to signify a catch-all capability for creative services firms. The concept of branding in and of itself is certainly not new—but larger agencies have come to embrace the notion of brand management in order to provide services in advertising, public relations, collateral design, e-marketing and everything in between. But in the rush to become "full service," some creative firms have set aside their true specialties and strengths. As creative firms, we need to find where we best fit into the marketing strategies of our clients and provide our strongest services to implement those strategies. Design firms are best suited for clients with specific print and electronic needs—because true graphic designers are on average more experienced in typography, typefaces, the nuances of paper, photography and the overall strategic design of a page (whether printed or electronic) than their counterparts at ad agencies. Where design firms are best suited for streamlined, strategic and specific communication needs, ad agencies are strongest in the creation of mass-marketed communication throughout a host of media outlets. And PR firms bring strategy and creative thinking to the news and events that create an organization's relationship with its public. Of course, there are exceptions and crossovers, and creative firms certainly have the right to think outside the box of their traditional services. But clients also have the right to expect a dedicated, project-specific approach for each assignment. That's what they're paying for. True marketing strategy comes from the quality of creative thinking. To understand our clients' business goals and deliver creative solutions to help them achieve those goals are what should be first and foremost in the mission of creative services firms, regardless of our designations as design firms, ad agencies or PR firms. Providing service, strategic thinking and reasonable pricing should be our most common threads, but we should also remember—and even embrace—those things that differentiate us as well. |
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