At the time this article was written, a search for “Los Angeles branding agency” turned up about 169 million results. And that’s a real problem.
Branding is a serious project, whether you’re crafting your brand for the first time or undergoing a rebrand. You’re putting the future of your business in the hands of someone else.
Your brand influences how your customers see you. How your employees see you. Ultimately, an excellent brand should reflect how you see yourself.
Choosing a branding agency means you’re choosing a partner, a guide, and an expert. It shouldn’t be an easy choice. But it should be clear.
Which of those 169 million results can you discount immediately? Who should you schedule a call with? Who’s worthy of helping you shape or reshape your brand, and how do you know?
Flux has helped companies all over the world to craft their brand. Today, we’ll be helping you understand what made our Los Angeles branding agency the right fit for these companies – and whether we can help you, too.
How to choose a branding agency that’s a perfect fit
Company rebranding is a complex task. When you hire a branding agency, you’re starting a relationship with a partner who can help you handle that task down to the most minute details.
So, like any partnership, choosing your Los Angeles branding agency will require excellent communication.
You’ll need to communicate well internally, efficiently scope out potential agencies, and know how to choose someone once you’ve short-listed companies.
These three pillars of communication are the difference between a project that runs smoothly and one you’ll need to shell out the cash to do over within a year, so let’s go through them in a little more depth.
Review the project internally
Whether you’re looking for a Los Angeles branding agency or considering options from anywhere, you’re going to encounter variety.
Branding agency services can cover everything from customer and market research to creative work and brand launches. Depending on your unique position, not all of these will be a fit for your brand.
Reviewing your needs internally – before you even schedule a call with an agency – will help you determine which services you’re looking for.
You’ll also need to review your budget. Branding is an investment in the health and future of your business, and that’s how you should review your budget line for a branding project. You’re investing in something, and a wise investment will pay off.
It’s important to have a sense of your budget and also to be realistic with your agency. If you need a light refresh or a full rebrand will change the amount of work required, and an exact quote will depend on your needs.
Prepare for interviews
If you’re looking at an experienced Los Angeles branding agency, getting that quote will be an involved process. Great branding agencies don’t pull numbers out of thin air. They take time to go over your wants and needs, where your brand is, and where it’s going to give you a unique quote.
Hiring a branding agency takes time and communication. Block off time in your calendar, make space in your research for meeting with agencies, and have questions ready to go.
The quote is just one of a series of questions you’ll want to ask a branding agency. You’ll also want to ask questions like:
- Do you think we can or should accomplish all this in one project?
- What’s your area of expertise? Does that mesh with the goals of this project?
- How can we contact you with questions or concerns if we decide to move forward?
And chances are that the agency will use this time to interview you, too. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t be setting yourselves up for success. They’ll probably ask about your current brand, the overall health of your company, and whether you’ve worked with agencies before.
Be honest with the agency you’re speaking with at the moment. Effective brands are built on effective communication, and that can’t happen without honesty and trust on both sides.
The better you can get to the heart of what you need from your Los Angeles branding agency, the better you’ll be able to determine whether it is the right fit.
Ask about their methods and successes
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Once you’ve established the trust that would land a Los Angeles branding agency on your shortlist, it’s time to dig a little deeper.
What gives that agency the unique ability to deliver a brand that’s just right for you?
First and foremost, you’ll need to understand their method. If an agency you’re looking at working with doesn’t have a method, proceed with extreme caution. Methods and frameworks allow agencies to deliver consistently great results.
Flux uses our unique, proven IDEA Method to craft brands from start to finish. “IDEA” stands for Ignite, Distill, Energize, and Activate – and each phase hones in on something specific that all great brands need.
The IDEA Method allows us to build the components of a brand step by step, creating authentic brands that stand out in the marketplace.
Once you know the Los Angeles branding agency you’re speaking with has a method, ask to see it in action. Great agencies will have plenty of successful rebranding examples to review.
This could also be a time to ask the agency what happens when things don’t go according to plan. This will give you insights into what a day in the life of working with them is like.
20 qualities your Los Angeles branding agency should bring to the table
Armed with a way to narrow things down, it’s time to find your perfect fit. Make sure your branding agency excels in all these areas before choosing to partner with them:
1. Strategy
Branding isn’t just beautiful typography and carefully designed logos. For a brand to be successful, you need to uncover the reason behind every choice and map a clear path to the future.
The Los Angeles branding agency you use needs a strong sense of strategy in everything they do.
2. Metrics for results
How do you know whether your branding project was a success? Before you start a project, your agency should be able to help you set metrics for your results. This should include the impact of the new brand on your staff, customers, and bottom line.
3. Insight into your target audience
You know and love your customers. And your target audience expands beyond your current customers. An excellent LA branding agency will be able to gather and interpret data that gives powerful insight into your target audience, whether they’ve bought from you yet or not.
4. Understanding of internal branding
When you embark on a branding project, it should always be done with an eye toward executing brand-driven strategies in the future. The Los Angeles branding agency you work with will need a strong sense of how to successfully create and implement internal branding, as well as external branding.
5. Brand identity definition
You may already have a sense of your brand identity, but chances are good that it’s still a bit blurry. A talented branding agency will be able to bring even more power and definition to your brand identity, no matter how confident you feel right now.
6. Attention to detail
Because the last thing you want is a brand lunch when you need a brand launch.
7. Creativity and innovation
Strategy, metrics, and research need to be the foundation of your brand. And building on that foundation is creativity and innovation, powering the strongest, most impactful brands.
8. Adaptability
No matter who you work with, company rebranding doesn’t always go exactly according to plan. Adaptability allows your LA branding agency to use its expertise on the fly, adjusting to any unforeseen circumstances that get in the way of your brand launch.
9. Transparency
Branding is a specialized field, and it’s easy to get lost in jargon, especially when it comes to results. The Los Angeles branding agency you work with should be completely transparent about every step of your project, happy to provide explanations when needed.
10. Strong communication skills – for you and your audience
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Your Los Angeles branding agency will need to clearly communicate your message through your brand, but that’s not all. They’ll also need to communicate well with you about expectations, changes, deadlines, and creative work.
11. Responsiveness and availability
Hand in hand with communication comes responsiveness. Your agency doesn’t need to be available 24/7, but you should know when and how you can get a hold of them. You’ll also want to make sure that their availability lines up with yours.
This is especially important if you’re looking for a Los Angeles branding agency from somewhere in a different time zone. Make sure your agency’s availability lines up with yours at least a little bit.
12. Clearly laid out contracts and billing
A professional, trustworthy branding agency will have contracts that clearly define deliverables, timelines, and other key factors of your branding projects – including prices and invoicing.
13. Frameworks and processes
Great agencies don’t fly by the seat of their pants. They use frameworks like the IDEA Method to produce excellent results every single time.
14. Experience in your industry
An LA branding agency that has experience in your industry brings an extra layer of expertise to your project. They don’t just know branding, they know branding and the unique quirks of your industry inside and out.
15. Ability to monitor and respond to trends
A Los Angeles branding agency might be situated near Hollywood, but that doesn’t mean they should jump on every sexy new trend. Talented agencies know exactly what’s trending and how today’s trends might (or might not) impact your brand’s future.
16. Positive reviews and case studies
Reviews and case studies offer a detailed look at what working with a particular agency is like. You can see what their strongest qualities are, how they tend to approach projects, and what others have enjoyed about partnering with them.
17. Strong team players
Your Los Angeles branding agency isn’t just one person, it’s many different professionals, all working together to create your brand. Besides working together with each other, your agency will also need to work with you and your team to create a brand that’s uniquely you.
18. Drive for excellence
Branding can literally make or break a company, so mediocre just won’t cut it. The best Los Angeles branding agency will always be improving and innovating to provide the best possible outcome for you.
As you’re researching, keep note of which agencies go above and beyond. Who impresses you, inspires you, and empowers you to create your brand?
19. Potential for a long-term relationship
Ideally, you want to update your brand every 3-5 years. So before you hire an agency, ask if you could see yourself working with them for not only the months it takes to finish this project but for future projects, too.
20. Passion and pride
Finally, the best Los Angeles branding agency will have immense passion and pride in their work. It should shine through every touchpoint you have with them, from their blog to their website and from your first exploration call to the launch of your brand.
Find a Los Angeles branding agency you can trust
Your brand is the lifeblood of your company, and anyone you trust with it should understand the gravity of that.
At Flux, we are honored to guide brands on their journey of transformation. Change can be scary, but it’s the only way forward. We believe so much in the power of change, we named our company after it.
While finding the right Los Angeles branding agency might feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, it’s all about finding the right fit. If you’re ready to take your brand from now to next, we’re ready to talk.
When you’d like to start a project with us, just get in touch. We’re honored to be part of your brand’s journey.