What being a boutique agency means (and why we’re one)

As an advertising agency, our job is to help clients reach their goals with creative problem solving. That can mean helping Canadians be prepared for inclement weather, rebranding a healthcare organization, and helping sell an industry-leading supply chain solution. But while ad agencies are charged with solving clients’ communication problems, they aren’t always the best at communicating who they are.

Visit three different creative agency pages and you’ll see three different ways of describing themselves. From brand strategy consulting to strategic communications agency to integrated marketing agency to whatever the latest trendy thing is, agencies have a lot of ways of saying the same thing.

So, in this confusing world of marketing speak what does Banfield identify as?

We call ourselves a boutique agency.

Now, this doesn’t mean we have more limited capabilities.  We are a full-service creative agency with content, design, brand strategy, media planning, video production, digital marketing strategy, and UI and UX design services under one roof. What it does mean is that the roof that we all share is relatively small.

Banfield maintains a headcount of between 35 and 45 employees and we don’t have plans on growing any bigger. Firstly, the 19th century heritage building we occupy won’t allow it (unless we relegate employees to the stone basement). But more importantly, it allows us to more flexible, responsive, and frankly, creative.

At this size, our clients get access to senior leaders on the team, our team is tight knit which is reflected in the quality of the work, and we’re nimble to change with changing requirements (which are common in the marketing world).

Some clients might prefer a big network agency to do their advertising and marketing work. But what our clients appreciate about working with us is that they get a passionate partner that has the capabilities and creative chops to deliver high quality work and is flexible and responsive enough to help them tackle their latest challenges in real time.

And we throw a good party.