Insights / Business
When it comes to creative projects and marketing campaigns...Most businesses are torn between hiring a full-service agency that provides a complete package or one that specializes in a particular service (a.k.a ‘boutique agency’) within a niche area of expertise. But after jumping around multiple options, they’ll eventually discover that the best option was in fact, a full-service agency in the first place. Why is that the case?
Why Do Businesses Prefer Using Them?
1. Cost-Effective Solutions
For some companies, it is more cost-effective than hiring in-house staff when it comes to providing a full range of creative, strategic or technical solutions for their projects. This is largely due to the recruitment and training costs involved. With an agency, companies can skip past that process & easily afford professional services immediately, resulting in large expense reductions in the long run.
2. They Help Businesses Save Time
To expand on the previous point, time management is important when running a business. This is especially true when it comes to training one’s in-house staff. Unfortunately, not all businesses have the luxury which leaves them with very little time to manage the training, let alone execute their on-hand projects effectively. With an agency, however, businesses can avoid that situation as they can easily check in with them on the progress & results of their projects.
3. Having Multiple Services Under One Roof Makes It Hassle-Free For Businesses
When it comes to a full-service creative agency, they don’t just provide a diverse range of creative and strategic services... they can also specialize in some of them as well! But the benefits aren’t just limited to ‘quantity’ alone, as they prioritize ‘quality’ as well - knowing how to combine and complement each of them. In essence, this gives businesses a complete department in various functions such as marketing, advertising, web design (IT) and more.
For instance, a case study on how an ice cream brand created an omni-channel presence to capture walk-ins & online customers:
From providing creative printed & digital collaterals to integrating various offline & online marketing activities, the business is able to effectively promote its brand on various physical and digital mediums to create a seamless shopping experience for customers everywhere. With a full-service agency, businesses can save themselves that frustration as they only have to deal with one party while getting everything they need under one roof, making the entire process hassle-free.
4. Their Wide Industry Knowledge & Experience Makes Them A Valuable Asset
Another advantage to having a full-service creative agency handle one’s projects is their diverse knowledge and experience across a wide range of industries.
For instance, a case study on running a marketing campaigns for the FMCG sector:
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Because of the sector’s diversity, agencies with experience in this field will be able to advise businesses through their knowledge and expertise gathered from various categories on the best ways to differentiate themselves from market leaders & upcoming competitors. With a full-service agency, their team can consult on what metrics to pay close attention to alongside the recommendations that are best suited for one's business to further optimize and improve upon to get the results they’re aiming for.
In short, their wide industry experience combined with their knowledge and expertise provides companies with a unique competitive advantage in their human capital, making them a valuable asset for businesses in all their projects for both the short and long term horizon.
5. Customizable Solutions That Can Flexibly Scale According To The Needs of A Business
Aside from having a wide range of solutions to choose from, companies are also able to customize them according to their needs. In essence, they can easily adjust what (and how much of the) service they require.
For instance, here is a case study on running a social media marketing campaign in two countries:
In this scenario, a full-service agency will come in handy as they can integrate itself as an existing business function to not only complement the internal team in executing the project, but as additional ‘add-ons’ for their creative and strategic expertise as well.
6. Fresh & Creative Perspectives That Will Impress Their Stakeholders
After working in the same industry for a period of time, it’s normal for any individual to run out of ideas on how to further grow their business. This is where a full-service agency can help, as they will view things from a different perspective to provide new and fresh ideas that can help offset challenges such as groupthink and the Abilene paradox.
Moreover, because of their wide-ranging skill sets, a full-service agency is able to come up with even more creative and innovative solutions as they have the physical capacity to combine their various functions to deliver on such promises.
7. Reduces Internal Work Overflow & Ensures Consistency Across All Projects & Campaigns
At times, a company might experience periods of increased workloads due to sudden changes in the operations such as staff reduction. Because of that, most marketing projects would be put on hold as the company would have to redirect a majority of their resources to resolve those urgent matters quickly. With a full-service agency, however, they can step in at a moment’s notice to take over those projects and help lighten the workload during times of peak demand and ‘work overflow’.
For instance, a case study on an internal communications campaign for the company’s 20th anniversary:
A full-service agency is able to step in and handle the work in each and every channel while ensuring brand consistency is followed to the dot to ensure the company’s campaigns are effective, well-designed and most of all - successful.
In summary, a full-service creative agency is able to save time and cost as they provide companies with a complete package of all kinds of professional services that deals with creatives, marketing strategy, and technical expertise in digital deliverables (i.e. websites).
