If you are trying to weigh the pros and cons of a boutique marketing agency over a larger traditional agency, you need to read this.
Mashable posted information about the advantages and disadvantages of a smaller agency as a part of its series on digital marketing. It is important to consider all options in order to know what is right for your business.
Boutique agencies specialize in specific forms of marketing and advertising that often revolve around new media. The latter favors broader marketing approaches that often include established marketing channels, like broadcast and print, according to the tech site.
The first thing your business needs to establish is the kind of attention it needs. What works for Disney may not work for a small business, whose needs will change over time.
What many do not know is that many traditional marketing agencies outsource to smaller ones to do specialized work.
“We can do it all, but I don’t believe in this day and age you need it all. More is not always better,” founder of boutique media agency, R.Rock Enterprises, Roger Gastman, told Mashable.
It is also a misconception that boutique agencies only handle “mom-and-pop” businesses. Some agencies handle international business as well.
Traditional companies may be a better fit to your budget and will be able to provide broad services to cover most of your marketing reach but keep in mind, a broad marketing strategy might include certain tactics. This can often mean broadcasting which, although established and measurable, can get pricey.
It’s the businesses that look for less obvious marketing channels that often find niche success, Neil Kleiner, head of social at AIS, a boutique media agency within global media network Havas, told Mashable. These “challenger brands,” as Kleiner calls them, “usually have to make their budgets work harder and smarter and so, therefore, choose agencies that take them down the path less travelled.”
Traditional agencies often do not specialize in areas like social media. Instead, they work on advertisements and incorporate them into social media platforms.
Michael Litman, head of engagement at 9010 Group compares traditional marketing agencies to oil tankers, which are “safe” and boutique agencies as “nimble.”
Ideally, marketing agencies could have a creative and analytical approach that combines principles of both traditional and boutique agencies, Kleiner said.
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