Seven things to look for in a strategic communications agency

Hiring an agency to support your strategic campaigns is a worthwhile investment. The agency’s knowledge and expertise free up your team to focus on the core responsibilities that support your business priorities. An agency team’s fresh eyes and innovative thinking can identify overlooked opportunities or hidden challenges that impact your success. They will come to know your business as well as you do. Imagine adding a deep bench of thinkers and doers to your marketing toolbox to take you from an initial idea to a final campaign retrospective.

A good agency worth its salt is your soul partner.

However, finding a strategic communications agency is a bit like finding a specific tree in a dense forest. Is that young sapling going to get the job done? Or do you need that behemoth old-growth tree that has seen it all?

That’s a tough one.

The young one is fresh and vibrant, but the old one is wise and sturdy. Looks can be deceiving. You have to ask questions to figure out which one can successfully deliver what you need, when you need it, and using an approach that is aligned to your organization.

We have put together a checklist to help you find a strategic communications agency that best suits your goals.

1. Strategists and Big Picture thinkers. Your campaign does not exist in a vacuum. An agency needs to understand your campaign goals, but it also needs to align them with your organization’s business priorities. Your work needs to support the company’s bottom line. A savvy agency also looks at the Big Picture. It sees opportunities for amplification across other teams, programs, or key voices. When your CEO has over 11 million followers or your sales COO has 350,000 followers within your target audience comment or share your content, that’s a quick smart impact. Look for an agency that thinks big.

2. Integrative marketing approach. Strategic campaigns span customer touchpoints and relevant marketing channels. Your agency not only needs to have a deep understanding of why, when, and how to engage your audience. It must know all the possible levers to pull to build awareness and demand across social and media platforms. A strategy without execution plans is a waste of time and money. It is likened to creating the most beautiful story content, yet no one consumes it for lack of amplification. What’s the point? Ensure the agency can run timelines, launch plans, cadences, and content, as well as monitor and analyze campaign performance to refine strategies.

3. Industry expertise for your business and your audiences. An agency that understands both your industry and target audiences can expertly craft messages that resonate more effectively, whether you're addressing stakeholders, consumers, or your own employees. Experience in your industry is crucial. However, it is equally important that an agency understands your audience’s industry. The impact and opportunities of generative AI on health care are not the same as the challenges in manufacturing. Supply chain disruption and economic impact play out differently for the shipper than for the consumer. But the efficiency and productivity gains of generative AI work for all these industries. Find an agency that gets it.

4. Data-driven. You can’t celebrate successes if you can’t track them. Continuous data analysis tells you if you are reaching the right people and moving the needle meaningfully. Data sets you up to lean into what’s working and rethink what is not. It is the backbone of agility. An agency shouldn’t be too proud to pivot quickly on average declining results and optimize for the benefit of the client.

5. Agile and adaptable. All that data! Use it to adapt to changing circumstances. Your strategic communications tactics should not be set in stone. We have clients deep into the generative AI explosion. Business priorities created in the first quarter shift by the end of the third quarter. The campaign's goals remained constant, but—wow—the messaging and tactics sure did not.

6. Partnership mentality. An agency needs to do more than execute the campaign. It must be a trusted advisor, sounding board, and biggest fan. We are chuffed when clients tell us our meetings are the highlight of their day because we bring more than ideas—we bring connection, laughter, and those “aha” moments that make everything click.

7. Generative AI nerds. At Delightful, we love discovering innovative ideas, different perspectives, and little-known facts daily. Generative AI has become a partner in daily quests to dive deep into a topic. It uncovers data, insights, and connections that would take a human an inordinate amount of time to find. We believe in using generative AI responsibly and ethically to push creative boundaries and deliver impactful results. We use it to work smarter and faster, but our human touch adds emotion, originality, cultural context, and ethical awareness, turning the data into something engaging and relevant. Don’t be afraid to ask an agency how, when, and why they use the technology!

Do you want to know more about our strategic communications services? Contact us to learn how we can put your brand in the spotlight.

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