Written by an agency, about agencies, including this one. Ask these of anyone you're considering, us included, and read the answers for how quickly they get uncomfortable.
Most bad agency relationships aren't caused by bad agencies. They're caused by an arrangement where the agency makes more money doing something other than the thing you actually needed, and nobody noticed at signing, because the questions that would have surfaced it were never asked.
So: nine questions. Ask them in a first meeting. Ask us. The answers matter less than the ease with which they arrive.
The most important question on the list. An agency paid a percentage of your media spend has a structural reason to recommend more spend. That doesn't make them dishonest; it makes their advice something you have to adjust for. Fee-based, project-based and commission-based are all legitimate. You just need to know which one you're in.
Our answer: a stated fee, agreed before we start. We don't take a percentage of your media spend, and if a media house offers us something on the side of your deal, you'll be told.
Ask specifically: notice period, what happens to work in progress, and what you take with you. An agency confident in the work doesn't need a twelve-month lock to keep you.
Our answer: à la carte, always. Projects are projects. Monthly work is cancellable. No twelve-month lock-ins.
The classic mismatch: senior people pitch, junior people deliver. Not automatically wrong, since juniors have to learn somewhere, but you should know it going in, and know who reviews their output. Ask who will be in the room on week six, not week one.
Our answer: the person you meet is the person who does it. That's the upside of being small, and it's also the limit on how much we can take on at once.
The single most revealing question in the list. An agency that claims to do everything either subcontracts silently or does most of it badly. You want a clear boundary and a straight answer about what sits outside it.
Our answer: we plan and negotiate media, but we don't run hands-on Google or Meta ad operations. We don't do trademark filings. We don't build logged-in software. We'll help you brief the right person for each.
Every portfolio is a highlight reel. Ask about a project that underperformed and what they learned. Nobody has an unbroken record, and an agency that claims one is either new or editing.
Get this in writing: source files, vector artwork, domain, hosting account, analytics, social handles. It is depressingly common for a business to discover its domain is registered in an agency's name and its logo exists only as a JPEG.
Our answer: you own the artwork and source files on final payment. Domains and hosting are set up in your name from day one.
Most delayed projects are delayed on the client side: photos, prices, approvals, feedback. A good agency will tell you exactly what it needs and when, in writing, at the start. If they can't, the timeline they've quoted is fiction.
Agree the measure before the work starts, and make sure it's a business measure rather than a comfortable one. Impressions and reach are inputs. Enquiries, site visits, tastings, quotes issued and deals closed are outcomes. If the only proposed measure is engagement, ask what you're supposed to do with it.
Ask it last. The answer separates a partner from a vendor faster than anything else. An agency that can't name a single thing you shouldn't buy from them is selling, not advising.
Our answer: plenty. If a media buy won't move your business, you'll hear it before you pay for it. If your website is fine and your reply is broken, we'll say so. Losing a line item costs us less than losing your trust.
Since this is a two-way arrangement: the clients who get the most out of any agency are the ones who can make a decision, give a straight answer to "why did the last customer choose you", and are willing to be told something they don't want to hear. If you can't do the third one, no agency will be able to help you much, including this one.
That's why we sell the First Beat: one campaign, two weeks, one flat fee. It's the cheapest way for both sides to find out whether we work well together, before anyone signs up for a rhythm.
Ask "what would you tell me not to spend money on?" and watch what happens. That one question tells you more than an hour of portfolio.
Seriously, put them in the first email. We'd rather answer them now than be a bad fit for six months.
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