The communications arena is busier than ever and branding has become a pressing need for companies of all kinds. Finding a partner for branding activities, however, is not easy. As a boutique branding agency, we often face perplexities related to the size of the agency. Here we think.
Sometimes the world of branding can seem complicated for a company. While it is easy for communication and marketing to identify deliverables (such as an ad or site), branding is more elusive: what should you expect to receive when starting a branding or rebranding process? How important is it and how much energy will it require?
These are no small questions, because they directly affect the partner a company will choose for branding : it could be a large studio, a “full service” communication agency or a boutique branding agency Boutique Digital Agency in Melbourne .
To start, what is a boutique agency?
A boutique agency is not simply a small agency: while this may be willing to become large, a boutique voluntarily remains small to safeguard the quality and attention to individual works. Not an easy choice, given that today businesses are measured on the basis of their ability to “scale”.
Of course, even if boutique branding agencies are often recognized for their quality, doubts may arise about their size : what projects can they really manage? What size of customers can they accept?
A boutique agency is a small and highly specialized agency that works for a limited number of clients.
What is the purpose of branding?
To understand what a boutique branding agency can do, we will need to start by asking ourselves what branding requires . Most people associate it with visual identity : the logo, colors, graphics and a long list of templates. This, while vital, is only part of the job. Branding is a process that aims at differentiation and memorability. It starts from a point of view and a narrative, and then develops it in many ways, among which the visual part is often the most recognizable.
That said, much of the branding work is conceptual. The size of the agency in this case doesn’t make much difference.
Understanding the process: a lot of volume in a short time vs. consistency over time
Communication requires large production volumes in a short time : when it comes to producing all the variations of an ad, shooting expensive commercials or planning very complex targeted campaigns, the size of an agency makes the difference. It takes a good amount of man-hours to get everything ready on time. This requires companies to choose a partner for communication that reflects their size (which is what they usually do).
But branding is a different matter. When we position a brand and create its narrative, it is not volume that we need. What we need is focus and consistency over time. Not exploits, but a continuous stream. This is where a boutique agency will give its best: its small size and limited client list allow it to focus in the right way on the current project.
