Everyone works with design agencies in a different way, and there is no formula for saying which way works best. It comes down to each individual company, the personalities involved and the nature of the design job.
Some companies like to get very involved in the design process, have very clear ideas about what they need and how to get it. Others, like Manor Born, give their agency a completely free rein to do whatever they think best.
Having researched the best agency for the job, Manor Born’s co-founders Debbie and Andrew Keeble chose to trust in Elmwood’s expertise and gave the agency carte blanche to choose the right direction for the brand.
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When we first approached Elmwood we didn’t really have a brand, so didn’t feel there was much of a heritage to protect,’ explains Debbie. ‘Besides, they are the experts. And the last thing I’d ever want is someone trying to tell me how to make sausages.’
This leap of faith set responsibility for the project firmly on Elmwood’s shoulders.
‘Their decision to put themselves totally in our hands was slightly daunting,’ admits Elmwood chairman, Jonathan Sands.‘Their absolute trust in our judgement meant they did not challenge us. Usually the marketing directors we work with know more about their brand than us and like to be a close part of the process. With Manor Born, while confident that what we were suggesting was right, we were conscious that complete responsibility would lie with us should anything go wrong.’
In practice, this approach didn’t actually remove the Keebles from the decision-making process, it just meant they didn’t set restraints on the creative direction for the brand. Elmwood developed three design options and the Keebles chose the one they believed would work the best and help to take the company forward both in the immediate and longer term.
Even though the Keebles now have a successfully established brand (Debbie & Andrew’s), a range of brand extensions and a wealth of design experience under their belts, the couple still firmly believe in trusting the expertise of others. The relationship between Elmwood and Manor Born continues to this day as the two companies devise and develop the longer term strategies for growth and development that will ensure the success of Debbie & Andrew’s sausages into the future. The Keebles still don’t tell Elmwood how to do design, and, as far as we know, Elmwood haven’t yet tried telling the Keebles how to make sausages.
