Benefits of retaining a like-minded agency

When brand and agency agree on the big stuff, good things happen.

Your agency speaks for you in the battle between a potential customer’s head, heart and wallet — and today’s customers want you speaking from the heart. 

A like-minded agency has a better chance of speaking from your heart. This is one benefit choosing your agency based on like-mindedness.

What is a like-minded agency?

We’d define a like-minded agency as one that shares your approach to solving business problems. That’s a fairly broad answer, so let’s break it down across a few categories.

Approach to Creativity. When a brand and their agency are like-minded, they have the same respect for the value of generating ideas. This makes presentations go smoother.

Some agencies don’t put a premium on ideas, and that’s okay because some brands would rather hammer on price than creatively communicate benefits or value props. A brand manager who wants to see big shiny numbers won’t appreciate an agency that presents out-of-the-box ideas.

At the same time, the brand manager who wants to see concepts and take chances will bore of an agency that won’t present either.

Approach to Collaboration. When a brand and their agency are like-minded, they’re both working in a way that best suits them. This makes achieving goals easier.

Some brand managers want to be involved with their agency partners every step of the way. Others want to see the work when it’s done. Both are fine but misalignment will lead to problems.

Approach to Social Responsibility. When a brand and their agency are like-minded, they hold a similar outlook on their responsibility to the greater good. Alignment here can make decisions easier to make because both parties will feel the same way about factors other than profit

It’s okay if social responsibility isn’t a priority for you or your brand,  but if it matters to your agency (because maybe they’re a B Corp agency like us) they may push you to prioritize more diversity, sustainability or accountability — and they may drop you if your values don’t align.

Approach to Fees. When a brand and their agency are like-minded, they agree on either paying for the hours of work or the years of experience.

If you and your agency are misaligned here, you can almost guarantee some sort of uncomfortable conversation in the future.

You can probably come up with other examples — approaches to spending money, conflict resolution, revision cycles, etc. And you should be looking into all of it as you vet possible agency partners, much like you’d look into their references or case studies.

4 more benefits of working with a like-minded agency

Better ideas 

When a like-minded agency comes to you with an idea, you know it’s coming from the right place because it was created by people with the same values. Your success is their success. And even their missteps can become positive outcomes because the learning and betterment is genuine. It’s challenging but never feels hard.

Happier collaboration

When you and your agency are like minded, the work flows freer and easier. Ideas have room to flourish. Feedback isn’t taken personally. Everybody’s opinion matters and has value. Everyone knows that everyone else is there to make the work great and everybody shares in the success.

More agility in crisis

When things don’t go as planned, working through it with a like-minded agency will always be easier because you see where the other is coming from with more clarity. You understand the other’s ideas more completely. And you’re able to work it out (whatever it is) faster.

A partner in change

When you and your agency agree on how the world should work, the collective brain power between the two of you often winds up doing something special.

Of course, like-mindedness is a two-way street. That’s why we only take on clients that share our values. If your values align with ours, let’s talk.