You’ve most likely arrived here curious as to the behind the scenes of a branding agency.
Whether you’re a founder, work in the marketing department, a designer, or just curious for the heck of it; this blog is for you.
In this blog, we’ll delve into the world of branding and design services, shedding light on the role of “the branding agency”, and the profound impact they have turning businesses into brands.
Below, we will cover:
An overview of what a branding agency is
Brand Design Services
Beginning to End: The process our branding agency follows
Branding Agency: An Overview
A branding agency can come in many forms. Whether it’s your strategist, creative, or design team, a branding agency is typically a person or group of specialists that work within the branding field.
They work closely with you to understand your business goals, values, target audience, and positioning through a strategic and creative branding process. This process typically involves the following steps:
- brand strategy & direction
- visual identity design
- output of communications
More than likely, a branding agency will work collaboratively within a team of strategists, designers and you (the client) with the goal to strategically build a brand that is positioned to attract and connect with your target market.
Brand Design Services
One of the core offerings of a branding agency is their expertise in brand design services. These services comprise a number of aspects and deliverables. Think >> your logo design, colour exploration, typography and other creative elements.
Through a strategic approach, branding agencies will take a business through a journey from brand discovery to brand implementation. It involves in-depth research, competitor analysis, brand positioning, messaging, and the development of brand guidelines to ensure consistency across all touch points. By following a well-defined branding process, a brand designer, or agency should help a business build a strong brand foundation and establish a cohesive brand identity.
Your Branding Project: Beginning to End
Every branding agency will have their own systems and processes. Butttt there is a general process most will follow.
For the sake of this article we’ll run you through the exact process our branding agency uses.
———— 1. Inquiry
The good ol’ inquiry process. Generally one or two steps and may come in the form of an email, online form or phone call.
We love a good phone call or face to face (Google Meet), so you’ll typically be receiving a call in the process with NP Creative Group.
Nonetheless, the inquiry is the stage where the potential client has accepted that they need help (their branding) but probably still have a handful of questions. During the inquiry, the branding agency will have some foundational questions that need answering. These may sound like the following:
– Who are you / What does your business do
– Figuring out if we’re an ideal fit
– Your project objectives
– What your budget is (very helpful to know, might we add)
– Any deadlines or launch dates
Once both parties have their questions answered, we move onto the proposal.
Psssst! At this point you should be fairly confident with your decision in choosing an agency to work with > the proposal being the cherry on top!
———— 2. The Proposal
Moving swiftly, we head onto the proposal. This is where the design agency get’s to showcase *or humbly brag* about some epic work they’ve produced. It’s also the piece of the puzzle to get down to the nitty gritty of pricing, the process of working together, what is expected from the client, and depending on the agency, the contract may be included here.
The proposal is the WOW factor from an agency, where you (the client) should be able to get a clearer vision as to what working with this branding agency will look like and more importantly, paint a picture of what that outcome could look like for you.
———— 3. Onboarding
Assuming you’ve been successfully WOW’d and are ready to jump on board (congrats!), this part we’ll refer to as the onboarding phase. This will look like >> signing a contract, paying a deposit, agreeing on a timeline & start date, and any other nitty gritty details.
———— 4. The Project
This is where the real fun begins. The project itself can vary considerably depending on the scope of work and deliverables.
The proposal and onboarding phase should have given you a very concrete idea around the process here.
We’ve also written a bit on our branding process over here.
———— 5. Off-boarding
At the end of a branding project, your branding agency will have supplied you with all of the necessary collateral to launch your new branding. Included will be your brand guidelines to easily keep your branding cohesive.
This stage is a mixed bag of emotions. Teary eyed farewells and excitement for the future of your brand.
Some branding agencies may offer services to assist in your launch, or give you the opportunity to partner with them on an ongoing basis. Personally, we love a long-term partnership with our clients. We think of it as having the benefits of a branding specialist in your team without the overheads of a full-time employee.
If you’re handing over your branding to your own team, or to utilise yourself without an ongoing partnership (no hard feelings). You’ll say your good-byes and we’ll watch you skyrocket from afar.