Is it good to be a “Niche” Creative Agency?

To be a financial design agency or not to be – That is the question!

I found myself in a bit of a predicament this week; we were put in touch with a potential new client who were looking for new marketing collateral for their company. Unfortunately we found that they would not use us, or give us a chance to show them what we could do. They felt the work that we produced was too ‘financial’ based. But are we a financial design agency?

We don’t want to be seen as the jack of all trades and master of none as it were. But there again our skills are varied, so do we express this to a wider audience? We have worked long and hard to build up an enviable reputation within the financial sector, so why dilute it? Today’s creative market place is awash with design companies who try to cover every base. However, do clients prefer to deal with experts within their own sector, or is it good to get a different perspective from a company that approaches things in a new/naive way?

So, this got me thinking; are we too niche? Do we give the impression we cannot adapt to other sectors?

Admittedly, at first glance our portfolio does have the look of a company that designs specifically for the financial and corporate sector. For the financial clients we attract, we do feel this is key when they approach us. Financial marketing is a complex industry which requires a specific approach to messaging, products, understanding of regulations. The clients want to know you understand what they are looking for.

However, what it doesn’t show is that we cut our teeth designing in other sectors far removed from the corporate world we currently work in.

Is variety is the spice of life?

Our background of expertise was initially within youth marketing, working for companies such as Kiss FM, The Princes Trust, Warner Bros and Channel 4. To this day we design for varying sectors such as the video game industry and craft beer manufacturers. We have even designed our own brand of children’s clothing and accessories. Which without blowing our own trumpet too much have sold in excess of 6 figures throughout Tesco, Asda and Wilko stores nationwide and throughout Europe. As the Hoff would say ” We are very big in Europe”.

It’s a Wildlife Brand – It’s not just about the finance here at Form!

Testronic Labs Games Testing Advertising Campaigns

You could argue that we should promote some of the older work on our portfolio. Presumably, in turn it may have given the client that turned us down an opportunity to see our flexibility to our design approach. However we believe that work shown should always be current, or at least designed by the current team that are working in the studio.

Brew Factory – Italian Craft Beer Campaign:

Whichever sector you are designing for, basic marketing principles should apply.

It’s about understanding the client’s requirements, their brand, their goals and their audience. Once you have all these factors on-board you can begin the project with confidence knowing that you have all the necessary information to design the work and deliver what they are looking for.

Our typical type of work for Saxo Bank

So what have I learnt?

Firstly, we do succeed in positioning ourselves as a niche financial design agency.
Secondly, we need to find a solution to how we can show we work in other sectors with success.
A solution could be restructuring our website to display other sectors without doing harm to our financial position. We could also look into case studies for projects outside of our standard type of work. In fact we would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Let us know your thoughts

We welcome any feedback that clients or observers may have. However if you would like to see just how flexible we are, then get in touch! We would love to chat with you and arrange to show off our ‘non” financial portfolio.