Firstly, do you need a (new) agency?
As a marketing leader, you juggle countless responsibilities. From building your brand values to delivering leads cost effectively, all while managing a potentially overstretched team. Ask yourself: Can we handle all this in-house, or would an external partner provide the expertise and bandwidth we need? (Read our blog on outsourcing your marketing efforts for more on why choosing an agency can be a game changer).
If the answer is ‘we need external help’ and you’ve got the green light from your internal procurement and stakeholder teams to bring on a creative agency partner, that’s great… but where do you start?
Or, maybe you’re already working with an agency, but the spark’s gone. The fancy presentations and big ideas have faded, and reality’s set in. Slow responses, missed deadlines, or just too much money for too little impact on commercial objectives? If you’re nodding, it might be time for a change.
It can feel daunting to navigate the agency selection process and find the right fit, so we’ve put together some tips on ways to select an agency, to help you feel confident and in control as you embark on this journey.
Different ways to select a creative agency
1. The creative pitch
A creative pitch selection process is a common way for clients to choose the right marketing partner to work with, especially if it’s for a long-term relationship or one with a significant budget.
Within the traditional pitch you’ll normally start with a long list of agencies. This may come from agencies you or your colleagues have worked with before, have been recommended, who have won awards in your sector or you have simply found on google.
You’ll then need to reduce the longlist to a shortlist. This is usually done through reaching out to the agencies to share their credentials or answer a brief RFP. We’d recommend no more than 3 agencies be selected to respond to a full pitch brief based on the quality and fit of their credentials/RFP response. (You can download the Moreish Agency Pitch Brief template here!)
You’d then invite these chosen agencies to present their strategic approach and creative ideas to achieve your goals – with often the best ideas ‘winning’. It can be an exciting process but it’s important to remember you’re choosing a long-term partner you can work closely with to achieve your long term goals and not to base your decision solely on one or two ideas you like.
This sort of pitch is the most labour intensive for all. And you as a client will have to invest in giving the agencies the time and insight needed to respond effectively and give them a fair crack at responding effectively, especially if they have not worked with you before.
2. A Request for Proposal (RFP) and chemistry meeting
An RFP can be great to access relevant experience and credentials that tick all your boxes but on their own it can be very hard to assess how it will actually feel to work together. So with this process we’d always recommend ‘chemistry and credentials’ meetings in person to physically meet the team you’ll be working with, get a feel for how they work with clients, their processes, their relevant experience and insight into your challenges. And assess if capabilities and chemistry align.
This process should give most clients more than enough to identify the right agency for them – without opting for a full creative pitch which is often at odds with a more in-depth stakeholder and audience discovery process needed to inform the right approach.
3. The Test-Drive
This is where you test your agency out by briefing them on a small live project – as the proof is often in the pudding.
Select a real and current problem and provide it as a brief. The agency can either work on this themselves, or the marketing team can work with each agency on a full or half-day workshop to really get a true sense for how you work together.
You’ll witness their problem-solving skills, creativity, and teamwork firsthand. It’s like seeing how they handle a real workday, not just how they shine in a pitch. It also means, unlike a pitch, you meet the real team, not just the pitch pros. This is a test drive that is as close to the real thing as you can get.
By starting with a small, low-budget project, you’re minimising risk and maximising insight. It’s perfect for budgets in the £5k – £20k range.
The downside is that you may get less insight into their wider strategic thinking but you will get a feel for the insight and knowledge they will add to your business.
Final thoughts …
Hopefully now you feel supported and more confident about taking a leap of faith in how to choose new partnerships. Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Your perfect method depends on your needs, budget, and what you value most in an agency partner.
Moreish have a lot of pitch experience, and are more than happy to talk through what method may be best for you. You can explore more about pitches in our blog “Is it time to abandon the traditional agency pitch process?” Have a question? Get in touch!