Traditional creative agencies are not one-size-fits-all. Companies have big and small projects which require different time, commitment, budget and creativity. Therefore, creative agency alternatives are crucial.
Different businesses and brands will require equally different marketing models, strategies, and campaigns. While traditional creative marketing agencies are great partners to develop communication actions, they are not one-size-fits-all. If you are a business looking for alternatives, this article is for you!
Working with a traditional creative agency might not be feasible for a small company or startup due to constraining factors such as time, budget, and flexibility. Alternatively, if you are part of a bigger corporation and have teams in-house that develop your communication, a traditional creative agency might offer services that overlap and create friction.
But what is a traditional creative agency?
Traditional creative agencies are responsible for creating the overall content and visual elements of a brand. Simply put, they are organizations that sell creative services, which include market research, content creation, regular advertising, and more. They are usually a full-service choice.
Traditional creative agencies can encapsulate standard and/or digital technologies and utilize different tools and media such as graphic design or TV ads. The common denominator is their organizational and operational core involving set contracts and large teams, acting as a one-stop shop.
What are the issues commonly linked to a traditional creative agency?
Time
A traditional agency model has an embedded delay coming from its (sometimes) obsolete legacy structure which includes: preparation, briefing process, several reviews by different teams and the client, communication, artist outsourcing, etc. In consequence, the speed that many creative ideas need to become reality is simply outrageous and mostly, ineffective.
Cost
Greatly influenced by their multi-layered structure of time and people, costs for a project under a traditional creative agency can be incredibly high. The full-service contracts offered by most traditional creative agencies are not budget-friendly for all businesses. Moreover, the costs will also reflect the outsourced specialized talent that most traditional agencies resource for multidisciplinary projects.
Flexibility
With traditional creative agencies, there is less agility to adapt actions, campaigns, and apply changes. Re-routing can take time and require several approvals. This hinders such agencies from providing solutions for projects and brands of all sizes.
Why are alternatives needed?
Today’s marketers and brands need creative agency alternatives that solve the issues of time, cost, and flexibility — but also that are not limited to the convention.
Certainly, other options might rely on specialized micro-agencies or models that simply get unnecessary steps out of the way and put the appropriate creatives in charge of projects, beginning to end. These alternatives are already in the market for brands of all sizes. Let’s see some examples.
Examples of traditional creative agency alternatives
Yrs Truly, in the UK, is an independent award-winning agency specialized in gaming and tech brands. They cover digital PR & influencer marketing, content production particularly through Tiktok campaigns, and creative development and strategy.
WeThinkSocial is a marketing agency dedicated to social media communication focused on building social media presence specifically in Nordic countries. They provide an extensive list of specialization fields such as Amazon ads, LinkedIn advertising, Google Analytics, etc.
With Cherrydeck clients can create custom visual content at scale for their marketing needs. By simply submitting a brief and shipping their products, brands can receive a library with hundreds of branded content in weeks. Exhibiting plenty of success stories, Cherrydeck has proven a cost and time-effective alternative for brands in a variety of industries.
Tribe is a micro-agency specialized in Instagram influencer marketing. The platform consists of an influencer network that creates on-brand content that businesses can use for social media ads, digital ads, and e-commerce sites. It allows brands to source quality branded content from influencers quickly and cost-effectively.
Push is a global creative studio specialized in branded content, music videos, and event activations with a focus on youth trends and street culture across music, fashion, gaming, and skateboarding.
In Kenya, Alternative “strips back the unnecessary to deliver simple experiences.” They provide brand programs and platforms that are designed and engineered for today’s most innovative companies.
Interested in creating content and visual elements for your brand? Get an overview of our services here. Or get in touch and let us guide you through the process.
