{"id":1125,"date":"2011-10-31T21:52:56","date_gmt":"2011-10-31T21:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/?p=1125"},"modified":"2020-07-24T22:19:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T22:19:38","slug":"getting-the-most-from-your-agency-how-to-minimize-spend-and-maximize-output","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/getting-the-most-from-your-agency-how-to-minimize-spend-and-maximize-output\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting The Most From Your Agency:  How to Minimize Spend and Maximize Output."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1126\" src=\"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211.jpg\" alt=\"magazines-interior211\" width=\"600\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211.jpg 600w, https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve had countless clients over the years come to us with horror stories of huge price tags and tremendous inefficiency from other agencies.\u00a0 While some agencies might be a mismatch for your particular need, others can be plain unethical.\u00a0 Here is a short list of ways to get the most out of your agency and make sure they are spending your money wisely.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Do your homework and make sure they are a good fit. <\/strong>Read reviews and testimonials of your agency.\u00a0 Ask to speak with a few references and make sure you love your account manager, because you will be dealing with them day in and day out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Come prepared with a creative brief.<\/strong>\u00a0 A good creative brief has the following elements:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What needs to be included in the design of this project (what components)\u00a0 ie if it\u2019s a press kit you\u2019ll need to design a folder, the press release, the CD etc<\/p>\n<p>Brand description<\/p>\n<p>Project description<\/p>\n<p>Product description, if there is product (pricing, positioning, category, distribution, competitors)<\/p>\n<p>What is the brands problem they are trying to solve by hiring the agency?<\/p>\n<p>If this is a redesign, what wasn\u2019t working before<\/p>\n<p>Are their any consumer insights to share?\u00a0 Demographics?\u00a0 Psychographics?<\/p>\n<p>Information hierarchy<\/p>\n<p>Design and material constraints<\/p>\n<p>Timing\/Schedule<\/p>\n<p>Design you like and why<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bring along designs you like and designs you don\u2019t.<\/strong>\u00a0 Be ready to articulate exactly what you do and don\u2019t like.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Give thorough and timely feedback.<\/strong>\u00a0 Design is subject to taste levels, so if you can articulate exactly what isn\u2019t working rather than expressing what you like and don\u2019t like, designers can proceed more successfully on to an additional round without wasting time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Be upfront about expectations, especially timing<\/strong>.\u00a0 Letting your account manager know the exact dates you need to launch is crucial.\u00a0 Moving the timeline ahead when a schedule has already been agreed to is a big no-no.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t back seat design<\/strong>. Designers are trained to take your information and display it in the most aesthetically pleasing and easiest to digest format possible.\u00a0 Altering one small element can throw off the entire design.\u00a0 Instead of making your own design suggestions, clearly articulate to the designers what you think isn\u2019t working and ask them to come up with an alternate solution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stick to their core competencies.\u00a0<\/strong> Agencies will of course want to up sell you on a whole host of other services.\u00a0 Don\u2019t pay an agency to do what your in-house creative department can do.\u00a0 Agencies are paid to think as well as execute.\u00a0 If its a simple, no brainer design change, leave it to your in house guys.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is totally unnecessary for a client to pay for extra rounds of revisions if you\u2019ve clearly communicated your goals in your creative brief.\u00a0 Project scopes can of course change as the project progresses, but when this happens the creative brief needs to be amended, and the client should be advised is the change in the scope of work effects their budget.\u00a0 Being organized is the best way to keep your project on track and on budget.\u00a0 Getting a great work product is equally in the brands hands and the agencies hands, so clear communication of goals, timing, and descriptive feedback are key to a successful product.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve had countless clients over the years come to us with horror stories of huge price tags and tremendous inefficiency from other agencies.\u00a0 While some agencies might be a mismatch&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous","category-spatial-design"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211.jpg",600,428,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211-300x214.jpg",300,214,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211.jpg",600,428,false],"large":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211.jpg",600,428,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211.jpg",600,428,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/magazines-interior211.jpg",600,428,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":372,"uagb_excerpt":"We\u2019ve had countless clients over the years come to us with horror stories of huge price tags and tremendous inefficiency from other agencies.\u00a0 While some agencies might be a mismatch...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1125"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1127,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125\/revisions\/1127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}