I sat in the meeting, looking at the sheer number of tenderers in the Teams call.
There were a grand total of 25 people on that call. Taking out those from SINDA, the client, there were still 22. The sheer amount of competition was crazy.
And that was simply from me, the agency, who was looking at a single client.
But I know. You’re here because you’re the client.
You’ve put out the tender. You’re staring and looking through the list of vendors.
You’re overwhelmed.
And you’re now thinking:
how do I choose? How do I know whether one is better or the other, when all of them look the same?
At the start, all of them are great
We’ve seen clients change agencies over the years, and often the first thing that they tell us is that their agencies often dropped the ball. Some common complaints:
- They wouldn’t reply as quickly.
- The design wasn’t as great as what was initially promised.
So how do you tell, given that what you know at the start, isn’t necessarily what might result at the end?
It’s the classic problem of marriage. Who you married isn’t the one you live with.
It’s the same with agencies.
So how do you tell, given that it’s a high-stakes piece of work that affects your market cap, or how you communicate with your donors?
Here’s what we think might work best.
Always, always ask for a mockup, in 2 weeks
Some agencies aren’t going to do this, but you should still ask.
They can give you their past works (which might even just be the agency’s salesman using the past works from the designers’ previous agency).
But it’s not representative of them. To get an accurate representation, you should always try to get the new one.
Sure, you’ll have to make more effort to scope out what exactly it is you want. But do take time to think, because you’ll clarify what it is you want.
Think about what you want
There’s the classic joke.
Clients don’t know what they want.
That’s why agencies can still exist, because we mind-read the minds of our clients.
I will show you one of the best examples I’ve seen of an agency brief.
If you follow Singapore Cancer Society, you’ll probably do much better.
Interview them, ideally in person
During one early pitch with Dover Park Hospice, after the initial mockup was submitted, I recall going all the way down, just to meet them. It was no joke.
They really wanted to make sure I was legit.
Then they arranged another call a week later, when I was at the airport, preparing to fly for a holiday.
They wanted to make sure.
And they probably did do well in doing so much due diligence.
There’s a lot you can’t tell just from a mockup. We will tell you some of the industry’s secrets. Sometimes, mockups are outsourced to freelancers, because the internal teams are too backed up to do any more.
And what’s done by a freelancer might end up not being representative of what the agency can do.
Do a real reference check
In all public sector tenders, we’ve to put in the contact details of our past clients. Don’t just take them at their word. Call them and ask how it was working with them.
I know a nightmarish experience with another agency before. They designed a website, and for 2 weeks, they failed to reply our multiple emails. I had to get the number and then Whatsapp message the founder, so that he would reply me.
Such experiences happen more commonly than you’d expect. So call the past clients, and ask:
- How was it like working with the agency?
- What are the worst points of this agency?
Who we recommend
Well, we’ve seen the persistently top-ranked agencies, and here’s what we think.
They are all great. What matters is what you want.
Long form content experts: Media Lede
Well, it’s us.
We’re unashamedly recommending ourselves first.
Why? Because after years of doing this work, and seeing other agencies’ work, we’ve come to realise that we’re not that bad.
Here’s why you might want to consider us.
We first learn from the best in the sector. Over the months, we’ve been learning at the feet of Tong Yee, one of the best teachers in organizational development in Singapore.
Since April 2024, I’ve been going to his home every few months for the courses he does. I’ve cried at his home, and witnessed others cry too.
You might wonder how this crying has anything to do with design work. Well, it’s really because without any emotional connection with the client’s cause, you’d find the work strangely empty.
He was the first one to point out to us David Sibbett’s work, during a course about how we could lead better.
From that, I realised that was what we were doing whenever we trying to visualize the client’s work.
Draw a picture that makes people go, “Yes! That’s what is in my mind!”
And then help their stakeholders to galvanize around that picture.
For example, one of our clients this year has been The Helping Hand, a halfway house in Singapore. We’ve ended up needing to create a shared narrative that people can galvanize around.
Which led to this – the illustrations for their 4-Fold Therapy Model.
As you think more about your own work, and how best to pick your agency, take time to think.
Do you know what your work stands for?
The great agency can pick out what’s in your mind, and then fully express it, without you even saying it.
Tons of industry experience: Brand Fellows
We also know our great peers in the market, Brand Fellows, who have been there since 2011. Jingle Chen, has been an industry pioneer, and we deeply respect her for her views towards the market, and how she’s seen it grow over the years.
We’d recommend her for the years of industry experience, and how we’ve seen that grow over the years.
Choose the one that will understand you
After 5 years in business, we’ve come to learn one thing.
Most clients don’t know what they want.
But agencies are supposed to find out, reliably.
So find the agency that will understand you.