Building a brand is a crucial task that requires both time and money, and it should be a top priority for any company from its inception. If done correctly, branding can be a determining factor in your success. However, the success of your branding efforts largely depends on your strategies, assets, and the people you entrust to take care of them.
Some companies, especially startups, choose to handle their branding strategies themselves, while others like DMT prefer to work with branding agencies to delegate their branding efforts. Working with a creative agency allows them to focus more on other essential operations like product development, sales, and administration.
If you are uncertain about whether you should invest in a branding agency or not, we have created this guide to help you understand everything you need to know about why you should hire a branding agency and how to choose the right branding agency for you. Let's get started!
What is a Branding Agency?
A branding agency is a highly specialized firm, like a marketing agency, that focuses on developing, implementing, and managing branding and marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes and industries. These agencies have experts who are well-versed in the nuances of various types of branding, such as corporate branding, product branding, and personal branding, among others.
To cater to the varying needs of different businesses, some branding agencies specialize in a specific type of branding or a specific type of company. For instance, while branding agencies like Evolv can serve a wide array of industries like medical device industries, camping provisions, and personal brands, some other agencies may focus solely on healthcare or technology companies.
Branding agencies work closely with their clients to develop a cohesive and compelling brand that resonates with their target audience. They take into account their values, goals, and unique selling proposition to create a brand that truly represents who they are and what they stand for.
What Services Do Branding Agencies Do?
Branding agencies provide a wide range of services with the goal of creating, developing, and boosting a company's brand identity. Here are some of the key services offered by branding agencies:
1. Brand Strategy Development
This service involves creating a strategic roadmap for the brand that aligns with the company's brand goals, core values, and target audience. The brandy strategy also includes creating the brand's positioning, messaging, and market differentiation.
2. Visual Identity Design
This service involves designing the visual elements that represent the brand's personality and values, such as logos, color palettes, typography, and imagery.
3. Content Creation
This service is about developing compelling and consistent content across various platforms that align with the brand's messaging and positioning statement. This includes creating an online website, social media content, online blogs, marketing materials, and more.
4. Marketing and Advertising
These branding services involves planning and executing marketing campaigns to promote the brand. It may include digital marketing, print advertising, social media campaigns, and other promotional activities to increase brand visibility.
5. Market Research
This service involves conducting in-depth brand research to understand the market landscape, consumer behavior, industry trends, and competitors. This data informs the branding strategy and ensures it resonates with the target audience.
6. Brand Management
This service involves overseeing the consistent application of the brand across all touchpoints. They ensure the brand's integrity and consistency in communication, values, and design.
7. Brand Monitoring and Analysis
This service involves tracking the effectiveness of branding efforts through data and analytics. It helps in measuring the impact of strategies and making adjustments for continuous improvement.
Why is a Branding Agency Important?
Hiring a branding agency can be a smart investment in the long run as it reduces the need to hire and train an in-house branding and marketing team, resulting in more cost-effective operations. Additionally, in-house branding teams often require expensive tools and resources, which can be avoided by working with a branding agency that already has the necessary resources and experts to utilize them efficiently.
Delegating branding efforts to a creative branding agency can also make operations more efficient. Brand management requires consistent management to ensure that it aligns with the company's core values. When a company partners with a branding agency, they can focus on other important tasks, such as product development and administration.
Branding agencies also conduct their own analysis and record tracking, which provides executives with expert analysis and insights for future planning.
5 Signs Your Brand Needs a Branding Agency
Still unsure if you need a branding agency? Here are some common reasons why your company perhaps needs a new perspective on branding:
1. Inconsistent Brand Image
A company's in-house branding team may not have enough training, knowledge, and experience to align the brand identity with the core values of the brand, especially if they are unsure about what the brand should represent.
On the other hand, branding agencies' experience with multiple brands in different industries can help a company see their brand from a new perspective, collaborate on successful ideas, and learn from competitors and other brands. Additionally, branding agencies work semi-independently, which ensures a consistent brand identity and reliable brand management.
2. Ineffective Marketing Campaigns
Many startups and small businesses often confuse branding and marketing, which can be why their marketing campaigns fail. Although branding and marketing may seem quite similar, they have different goals. Branding is focused on creating a holistic identity of the company as a whole, while marketing is the process of ensuring that the target audience is aware of this identity.
Furthermore, startups and SMBs, due to their limited workforce, often assign employees who already have other responsibilities, such as administration, to the branding team. This results in ineffective campaigns due to the lack of focus and branding expertise.
Branding agencies can create effective marketing campaigns by first building the company's brand to ensure that their campaigns align with the brand's core values and are well-received by the target audience.
3. Limited or Confused Target Audience
A company's in-house branding team may be stretched thin with other responsibilities within the company and could struggle with researching the brand's target audience. On the other hand, branding agencies have experience with different target audiences from an existing brand, which can be an advantage for companies. It gives them a new perspective on what aspects of branding can be developed to align with the target audience's interests.
For instance, a branding agency with experience working with personal brands can use that experience to collaborate with a client's employer branding. By conducting research on the target audience that those brands usually target, they can offer valuable insights. Expertise and experience are valuable assets that a branding agency can bring to the table to reinvigorate the target audience's interest.
4. Budget concerns
Branding agencies play a crucial role in helping businesses reduce costs and optimize resources by leveraging their specialized expertise, refined processes, and focused efforts. By outsourcing branding tasks to these agencies, companies can save significantly on internal expenses by eliminating the need for in-house brand development and marketing departments.
This approach allows businesses to redirect their focus toward core operations while branding agencies operate with established workflows, strategic marketing plan, and efficient processes to ensure streamlined and cost-effective brand development. Additionally, the agencies' experience minimizes trial and error, thereby reducing unnecessary expenses in experimenting with different branding strategies.
Furthermore, branding agencies offer flexible solutions that align with varying budgets, scaling their services to meet the unique needs of each business. Ultimately, by leveraging the expertise of branding agencies, businesses not only save on operational costs but also benefit from strategic and effective branding initiatives, maximizing returns on investment while freeing up internal resources for other critical business functions.
5. There is a Need to Rebrand
When it comes to rebranding, branding agencies have a clear advantage over in-house teams. They offer a fresh external perspective, specialized expertise, and experience in executing rebranding strategies. Unlike in-house teams, which can be deeply entrenched in the company's existing culture, branding agencies can approach rebranding with new insights and an unbiased perspective.
Branding agencies have a team of experts with specialized skills in design, marketing, and strategy. This allows them to take a comprehensive and cohesive approach to rebranding, ensuring that all aspects of the brand are considered. Furthermore, branding agencies have vast experience working across diverse industries and handling various rebranding projects, providing them with insights and strategies that have been tested and refined through real-world applications. With this extensive experience, they can anticipate challenges and implement successful rebranding strategies efficiently.
Lastly, branding agencies offer a focused, dedicated effort to rebranding, saving time and resources for the company. They can swiftly execute the transition while maintaining a consistent brand image and messaging across all touchpoints.
Why Hire a Branding Agency?
Building a strong brand is an undeniable necessity for any company, regardless of its size. Your brand's image and values must be developed, managed and maintained consistently. If you want a successful branding strategy that is highly effective and cost-efficient, you need to hire a branding agency like Evolv.
Our team of branding experts has worked with various industries, such as ATG Industrial Automation and BIC, and we can provide your brand with a fresh perspective to drive growth.
Let us know how we can help maximize your brand's potential. Stay up-to-date with the latest branding trends by checking out our blog page.
