Do you trust an agency without experience?

Imagine starting a new brand. Or you are already successful at the top, but it’s time for a major rebranding. Who do you trust with the branding job? A difficult question, because who tells you what the right choice is? How do you know if you will be happy with the result? Or much worse: what if it turns out to be a huge flop? How on earth do you make a right choice for an agency?

Want to try your luck? Just try Google and doing a random pick doesn’t feel like the right thing to do. A creative nephew might be a bit too inexperienced. And the most fancy design agency may not quite fit the budget.

Fortunately there are more things to look at. For example, it’s not unusual to ask for references. Simply hear out others who had similar experiences. That will be very good for making up your mind. You sometimes see it on LinkedIn: people asking their network for recommendations. This could be a good first step if you’re totally blank at the start.

Your gut feeling is also a good advisor. As soon as you check the portfolio of an agency, it automatically speaks to you. In a good way or you think: next! Yes, personal taste does count in this situation.

Now you have some potential options left. Time to get in touch and start a conversation. Find out who these people are. How do they approach their projects? Do they have time for you? Do they seem to understand or sense your question and potential project?

Your first impression is that you might have found a potential agency. Nice people, with a solid work method, and they seem to have time to go ahead with your project. Looks promising, doesn’t it? But then it turns out they haven’t got the specific experience with your product yet. What now? Look further?

This brings us to the heart of the story. To our plea. Yes of course it’s convenient when an agency already experienced it all. Sure is an easy start and could work out great, so you know exactly what to expect. On the other hand…

The big advantage of a so called ‘inexperienced agency’ is a surprising fresh perspective on things. And a good agency asks the right questions, the same as your audience would ask. So when that creative penny drops, you’ll be surprised by the visual translation to your brand and therefore to your target audience. New insights made from experience with other projects. Something new emerges and not necessarily an obvious proposal.

Your choice for the right agency is not an easy one to make, but don’t let it depend on ‘specific experience’ alone. If it overall ticks the boxes, matches your ambition, and you like the agency’s signature, you’ll probably be happily surprised by the creative concepts. That’s what you should rely on, they know what to do. To paraphrase Pippi Longstocking: “I’ve never done it before, so I think I can!”