Medium to large marketing agencies can employ hundreds of people globally, working in small cellular teams often assigned to one or two clients a piece. Partners and managers can be spread across clients, projects, and teams all over the world. This is why each of those teams follows strict processes regardless of what account they are working on – they do this to say organized which is totally understandable, as the creative world can be hectic, to say the least.

A boutique agency (like ours) on the other hand employs only a handful of highly talented individuals, who usually all work collaboratively, toward the same goal, usually goals set forth by the client.

Boutique agencies like Toronto Creatives often employ multidisciplinary talent that can take on a number of different projects for a select variety of clients. We believe in multidisciplinary talent, not only because it significantly expands our in-house capabilities; it also provides our creative minds with valuable new insights, when solving a variety of problems across multiple mediums, rather than the same tasks (even creative ones) day-to-day.

THE COMMUNICATION STYLE

Communication between client and agency is vital to strategic marketing success. You, the client, need to feel confident that you can express your goals, desires, and opinions to the agency. It is important that the agency takes the time to discuss ideas with you and clarify any questions the creative team may have before their “pencil hits the paper.”

At larger agencies, you’re assigned an “account executive” or “account manager” that is the liaison between you and the team working on your project. You generally don’t get the chance to meet the actual team that’s working on your project or account.
When you work with a boutique agency, you not only deal with your account executive, often an owner or partner – you also generally interact with all the members of the team, this is especially true with an agency that has a work-flow as highly collaborative as the one at Toronto Creatives.

There is more opportunity with a boutique agency to express your likes and dislikes with the team members. Additionally, when you meet and interact with everyone on the creative team from the project lead to the designers and editors, everyone gets a more solid understanding of the page you’re on and what you’re looking to accomplish. The agency, in turn, forms a close working relationship with you, the client. Unlike large marketing firms, boutique agencies focus primarily on developing materials with highly personalized service. More often than not, several, or all members of our team will be involved with every account in one way or another.

Rather than having an account manager play a telephone between the team and the client, a boutique agency model allows for direct communication, which improves project efficiency and overall client satisfaction.

SIZE DOESN’T ALWAYS MATTER 😉

When it comes to your marketing agency, bigger isn’t always better. Sometimes a smaller, more flexible and agile agency may be better if you’re a small business in Toronto or a large corporation.

The staff in a boutique agency may be smaller, but they are still more than able to provide dynamic full-service marketing solutions, often more efficiently and more cost-effectively than large agencies.

These firms are the perfect choice for conceptualizing and developing branding and marketing materials. The people who comprise the team at a boutique firm are qualified, seasoned creatives who, more than often wear multiple hats.

Because of its smaller size, a boutique marketing firm has the time to get to know clients as people, not just companies. The communication lines are also more direct providing a more efficient creative process – and often this can mean your marketing can be made more affordable, and you can stretch your project goals a little farther. Depending on the circumstances boutique agencies like Toronto Creatives can be more flexible in budget accommodations.

DECIDING ON A MARKETING FIRM

When it comes to choosing the right marketing firm for your business, consider your business’s goals, vision, and values.

Also, take into account how you would like to communicate and if a corporate structure like in a large accounting firm speaks to your creative project.

Take time to evaluate your marketing priorities and find the agency style that will provide the most benefit to your company.

Want to learn more about how Toronto Creatives (a boutique marketing firm, by the way) can help you? Contact us for a free, personalized consultation!

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