Deciding on which advertising agency to hire can be tricky. There are thousands of options available, each offering something different. They all have their own tools, methods, and options, and it’s not easy seeing which will benefit your business the most.
You may be tempted by the name and prestige of a larger agency. Big name agencies usually have thousands of employees and a wide client base of well-known brands. It might seem like using a big agency is the best way to guarantee a successful advertising campaign.
However, you may find that using a smaller agency has some unexpected benefits.
One of the biggest advantages of using a small agency is increased flexibility. They don’t need to filter new ideas through a strict corporate system; instead they can adapt their operations to suit your business. As there are fewer employees, job roles are less rigid and their responsibilities can change day to day. This means that employees are less focused on the needs of a specific role, and more on meeting the needs of the client.
A small pool of staff members usually means smoother communication. You’ll be able to message a member of your agency and receive a quick reply because they won’t need to consult their colleagues; they’ll be handling many of the tasks themselves, so they’re far more likely to know the answer already. Being more intimately involved with the process of running your campaign means that they’ll be able to understand you clearly, and not having to communicate with a huge team of people reduces the risk of misunderstanding.
Big agencies handle hundreds of clients at once. Inevitably, this means that some campaigns will be prioritised over others, and the ones not prioritised may take a long time to be designed, built, and deployed. This is especially a problem if you have a small business with a more limited budget. A big agency is likely to commit more time and effort to their highest paying clients - if one client has a budget of £10,000 while another has a budget of £10 million, it’s unsurprising they’ll focus more on the latter.
On the contrary, small agencies only handle a handful of clients at once. This means that they can dedicate more of their time to working on your business’s campaign, regardless of budget. Only having a few employees also means that communication within the organisation is easier and quicker, further increasing the speed at which your campaign is made.
Big agencies have name recognition and good PR, and their high prices reflect this. A big agency will likely charge more for their services than a small agency will, but there’s no guarantee their output will be massively different or more profitable. A small agency is often the more economical option, resulting in a better ROI for your business.
Finally, small agencies have the benefit of not being constrained by set rules and templates. Big agencies sometimes lean towards playing it safe, following roadmaps they know have worked in the past, both for themselves and for their competitors. Small agencies can be adventurous and think more outside the box, and tend to worry less about sticking to the same style. This means they can create fresh and exciting campaigns that stand out from the crowd.
Small agencies have a number of advantages: adaptability, efficiency, better communication, and bolder approaches. Using one gives you more control over the way your business is advertised, and lets you have frequent communication with agency members, ensuring the campaign is exactly how you want it.
Eventually, the result is a powerful, distinct, and carefully tailored campaign that will bring in masses of new customers - without breaking the bank!