4 Costs Companies Avoid When They Hire a Video or Creative Agency on Retainer
Spin Creative • June 19, 2020
Brands in need of ongoing video, design and creative content may shy away from hiring an agency on retainer because they believe the cost is too high. In reality, working with a creative agency on retainer might save your company more than you think.
Quite a few costs are rolled into the pricing package or completely avoided when working with a professional agency on retainer. These four costs, in particular, are commonly avoided or explained up front to help brands budget better for their creative initiatives.
1: Employee salaries and benefits
Some of the most notable costs a company can avoid when hiring an agency on retainer are the salaries and benefits of additional in-house staff. Although creative agency’s rates are not always cheap, they are often far below the long-term costs of hiring and providing benefits to full-time employees.
2: Editing and revisions
One alternative to creative agencies on retainer is hiring a freelancer to complete a single project or set of deliverables. However, in this model, freelancers are not usually able to work on a project after it’s been completed—that is, without an extra cost. If your company needs edits or revisions done on the content a freelancer provides you, there may be a fee associated with the revision. Worse, you might only find out about it after the fact.
In the case of marketing agencies on retainer, the costs for revisions are usually wrapped up into the overall retainer fee. While every company has its own policy regarding revisions, most agencies on retainer will complete edits as necessary as part of your agreement.
3: Nickel-and-dime freelancer rates
In addition to editing and revision fees, working with a freelancer on a single-project basis may incur other “nickel-and-dime” fees you weren’t aware of when the project began. If you need the freelancer to conduct an extra service, such as publishing for you or monitoring KPIs, those things might cost extra.
When working with a creative agency on retainer, you’ll discuss these things ahead of time and get a firm understanding of what tools and services
the agency is able to offer. This helps delineate costs up-front and keep things transparent, so you aren’t left with a surprising bill for added services or fees later. You’ll always have a fixed-rate cost to budget for.
4: Sunk costs
The consumer landscape is always changing, and your brand might need to change its campaign or messaging in the middle of the content creation process. If you’re working with a freelancer, you can expect your costs to skyrocket if you need to alter the course of a project. It’s possible that they’ll need to scrap the project and start over, or you’d need to hire a new freelancer entirely. This results in unrecoverable sunk costs for your company.
On the other hand, creative agencies you work with for the long term understand your project goals and can more easily pivot to new campaigns or project focuses. In this case, your monthly fee will still apply, and you won’t realize a lack of content or sunk costs as a result of the change.
Clear, up-front costs and services
Hiring a marketing agency on retainer can not only save your company money—it can also open up a world of possibilities for your creative marketing strategy. When considering cost, always ask your prospective agency
about their monthly fees and what is included, so you are certain of your mutual obligations.
Interested in hiring an agency on retainer to bolster your brand? Spin Creative can help! Say hello
today.
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Spin Creative is a video production company and creative agency helping marketers create winning video and creative strategies that engage, inspire and activate targeted audiences. Spin is headquartered in Seattle with offices in San Francisco and London, serving brands around the globe.
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