IF YOU’RE HIRING A BRAND ACTIVATION AGENCY, ask these questions

In a sea of Google ads, it’s fair to wonder what makes clients click on one activation agency over another, and how they decide who they want to work with. Because it’s more than just an idea that wins new business.

So we put together our cheatsheet of questions we would ask an activation agency if we were looking for one. Which we’re not, because we are one. Which technically makes us experts of what to look for. Very meta of us, we know.

1 – In-house production

Do they have producers in-house who make things happen, or are they white-labelling another agency to do the heavy lifting? You’d be surprised how many are.

2 – Renders vs reality

Ask to see pitch renders next to what was actually delivered. Case studies always polish up well, but did they deliver what they promised?

3 – Measurement credentials

How do they measure brand activation success, and what level of reporting can you expect throughout the project? What tools or tech are they using to capture results?

4 – Detailed budgets, not ballpark figures

Ballparks are for sport events. If they aren’t giving you a line-by-line breakdown, how do you know they’ve scoped it properly and your budget won’t blow out?

5 – Results vs awards

Awards are great, but do they have results to back them up? Ask about ROI, lead generation, and what changed because the activation existed.

6 – Client references

A page of logos always looks impressive but ask if you can speak to three clients and find out what it’s actually like working together. We do it with staff, why not agencies?

7 – Staffing

The brand ambassador team on-site is the brand, in real life. Many activation agencies outsource staffing. If they do, how are staff trained, briefed, mystery shopped and managed?

8 – Impossible feats

Ask about the most challenging project they’ve delivered and how they turned it around. You learn what an agency is made of in those stories.

9 – Safety and compliance

How do they manage risk assessments, permits, insurance, accessibility, and public liability? (This is the real separator between an award chasing agency and a real delivery partner.)

10 – Experience design

How do they design the customer journey. From approach, wait time, staff scripting, accessibility, and take away moment? The best activations can fail on flow.

So next time you’re speaking with a new activation agency, look beyond the process charts and team bios. Ask the bigger questions. Honestly, we’d love to be asked these.

There are some exceptional brand activation agencies crafting amazing activation work out there, but not all are created equal. Choose wisely.

Experience matters.