There's practically nothing agencies enjoy more than telling you they're different. Some are, some are not. But does it matter? Below is our take, but if you just want the TLDR, it’s this: don’t listen to things agencies say on their website. Instead, look to understand who they are, and why. Until then, take everything with a grain of salt.

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Agencies love to say it...

“We’re not like an ordinary firm. We’re Special!”

🤮

• Seriously? Who cares? 
• And why is different for different’s sake suddenly a good thing?

The problem is that few actually explain how they’re different.

Somewhere along the line, agencies forgot that being different doesn’t automatically make them better, faster, or smarter. Here’s the truth: every agency is different. It’s not special. We push boundaries, debate the rules, and make up stories out of thin air. We are creatives. It’s our f****** job to be different! 

You shouldn’t hire an agency because they are different. If you're an agency boss and want to get noticed, being different is baseline. It’s baseline standard, not a value proposition. Bragging about being different is like advertising the car because it has four wheels. 

Most agencies deliver a decent product. Most of the time, it’s not that different. It’s how they approach challenges and collaborate on the day to day – who they are and their processes– that makes some of them valuable partners, and some of them soul-sucking time piranhas... not the fact they’re "different."

Your marketing team doesn't want piranhas on their schedule.

• They want results.
• They want hands off.
• They want a partner to deliver the next big thing.

Here’s our point: every partner is different. Every next big thing is different. But being different doesn’t automatically mean you can deliver the next big thing, or that you’re the right partner for the job. 

• Don’t mistake ‘different’ for ‘effective’.
• And above all, don’t listen to the things agencies say on their website.
• If you want a valuable marketing partner, look to understand who they are.

Until you do, take everything you see with a grain of salt.