{"id":193,"date":"2024-07-23T16:13:36","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T15:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/?p=193"},"modified":"2024-08-19T16:07:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T15:07:45","slug":"how-to-make-your-creative-agency-profitable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/how-to-make-your-creative-agency-profitable\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make your creative agency profitable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to Goldman Sachs* the Creative Industry is today worth $250B in comparison with the $1.7B value of 2016.* Social media platforms have created a unique phenomenon: everyone wants to be an Influencer.\u00a0This desire for a new career path is notably high among gen alpha, gen Z and millennials, who use platforms like TikTok and Instagram as their primary sources of communication and information.<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Age of Creatives<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This generational phenomenon is paired with the realisation that AI is cutting jobs in the “knowledge industry\u201d, paving the way for \u201cThe Age of Creatives\u201d. Creative\u2019s area of genius is obviously the creation of content; however, to stay competitive in the industry they need support, advice, connections and structure when dealing with brands. That’s where great agencies and agents come into the picture by supporting, developing and nurturing Creatives.
For agencies, the quest for profitability involves understanding the pillars and foundations of the industry and the best ways to make and invest money. There are clear steps you can take to make your Creative agency not just survive but thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Find Your Niche Expertise<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Building an agency for everyone will get you nowhere. Specialising, however, will take you to your profitability and notoriety faster. One of the most valuable assets an agency has is it\u2019s branding and both brands and Creatives need to understand your positioning and what you clearly offer.
For example, If you’re passionate about gaming or makeup, collaborate only with brands and Creatives in those spaces. By doing so you’ll become an expert both on and off the field.
You’ll gain an understanding of the yearly budgets of historic spenders in that space, their budget cycles, their decision-making frameworks, the different relationships between parties, and where you fit in.
Guess what will happen next?\u00a0Emerging brands in these spaces will come to you for exposure and will either book your Creatives or seek your advice. Likewise, when Creatives seek representation, you’ll appear as the most experienced in the field. Proceeding this way will attract the clients you wish to collaborate with, instead of you having to chase them. This will give you an edge and increase your negotiation power. Building your niche expertise might take time, but it\u2019s the first step toward building a profitable agency, and power in your niche.
In summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Cultivate an interest in a specific industry with a devoted online community, like fashion, beauty, gaming, food, the outdoors, family, cars, tech and others.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Find industry events and hang out there to build your network.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Connect Creatives and brands and facilitate a meaningful collaboration between them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Focus on building meaningful and enduring relationships with your Creatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    2. Scale Your Agency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now that you have an amazing reputation and clients in your books, the next step is to expand your influence and brand positioning. In other words, you need to gain market share.
    Take an agency in the make-up space as an example. Your growth questions are: how do you ensure that in a set market, make-up brands mainly come to you to organise their creator campaigns or exclusively book creators from your agency? Often, this will require you to hire more agents to expand your network or to simply manage a greater number of Creatives. This scaling strategy is often adopted by agencies and is borrowed from the modelling industry. Modelling agencies have historically established networks based on geographical locations. For instance, the largest modelling agency group in the world comprises of 21 sub-agencies across 10 countries with recorded losses of $20.5M and $10.4M respectively, despite generating over $200M in average revenue. At the same time, the average profit margin of 756 agencies in the UK was -2%. This growth strategy and organisational system have become too costly, and other agencies face similar challenges.
    The good news is that growth and scalability are possible through one main step: digitalisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Use CREATIVESAPP to unify your booking, payments, project management, contact lists and communication systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • CA can ensure reputational excellence and transparency with Creatives, which will build trust and foster long-term partnerships.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Strategically partner with agencies in other regions to expand your offering.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      3. Nurture Relationships<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Being a successful agent\/agency is fundamentally about people. It’s about understanding the needs of all parties involved and forging a path that connects them. Rather than seeking to gain something from individuals, the goal is to serve them and assist them on their journey.
      In this relationship, you act as the guide while the Creatives are the heroes of their own stories. By being present and committed to finding solutions to their needs, you become invaluable to your clients. Offering consistent support and nurturing these relationships often leads to recommendations from satisfied clients, serving as a testament to the quality of your services.
      When navigating challenges and situations, remember that it’s never about you; it’s about finding solutions and building relationships where clients can turn to you for guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Establish avenues for regular feedback from clients to understand their evolving needs and expectations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Invest continually in the skills development of your team to keep them updated and competent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Utilise industry events and social media to maintain and develop relationships, both old and new.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Building a profitable agency involves developing expertise, nurturing relationships and having an operating system that guarantees scalability, financial control and an excellent reputation.
        Join us at CREATIVESAPP to understand how we can support your agency to become more profitable and successful while elevating your influence.
        *Goldman Sachs 2023
        *European Parliament 2022<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        According to Goldman Sachs* the Creative Industry is today worth $250B in comparison with the $1.7B value of 2016.* Social media platforms have created a unique phenomenon: everyone wants to be an Influencer.\u00a0This desire for a new career path is notably high among gen alpha, gen Z and millennials, who use platforms like TikTok and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[22,65,61,59,63,64,57,60,58,62,56,52,53,54,16,55],"acf":{"article_for":"agencies","article_primary_color":"#00a023","custom_author":"Samy Samandjeu","custom_author_role":"Founder","custom_author_image":144,"featured_post":false,"sections":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"

        According to Goldman Sachs* the Creative Industry is today worth $250B in comparison with the $1.7B value of 2016.* Social media platforms have created a unique phenomenon: everyone wants to be an Influencer.\u00a0This desire for a new career path is notably high among gen alpha, gen Z and millennials, who use platforms like TikTok and Instagram as their primary sources of communication and information.\u00a0<\/i><\/h2>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"

        The Age of Creatives<\/strong><\/h4>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"This generational phenomenon is paired with the realisation that AI is cutting jobs in the \"knowledge industry\u201d, paving the way for \u201cThe Age of Creatives\u201d. Creative\u2019s area of genius is obviously the creation of content; however, to stay competitive in the industry they need support, advice, connections and structure when dealing with brands. That's where great agencies and agents come into the picture by supporting, developing and nurturing Creatives.\r\n\r\nFor agencies, the quest for profitability involves understanding the pillars and foundations of the industry and the best ways to make and invest money. There are clear steps you can take to make your Creative agency not just survive but thrive."},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"

        1. Find Your Niche Expertise<\/strong><\/h4>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"Building an agency for everyone will get you nowhere. Specialising, however, will take you to your profitability and notoriety faster. One of the most valuable assets an agency has is it\u2019s branding and both brands and Creatives need to understand your positioning and what you clearly offer."},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"For example, If you're passionate about gaming or makeup, collaborate only with brands and Creatives in those spaces. By doing so you'll become an expert both on and off the field.\r\n\r\nYou'll gain an understanding of the yearly budgets of historic spenders in that space, their budget cycles, their decision-making frameworks, the different relationships between parties, and where you fit in.\r\n\r\nGuess what will happen next?\u00a0Emerging brands in these spaces will come to you for exposure and will either book your Creatives or seek your advice. Likewise, when Creatives seek representation, you'll appear as the most experienced in the field. Proceeding this way will attract the clients you wish to collaborate with, instead of you having to chase them. This will give you an edge and increase your negotiation power. Building your niche expertise might take time, but it\u2019s the first step toward building a profitable agency, and power in your niche.\r\n\r\nIn summary:\r\n
          \r\n \t
        • Cultivate an interest in a specific industry with a devoted online community, like fashion, beauty, gaming, food, the outdoors, family, cars, tech and others.<\/li>\r\n \t
        • Find industry events and hang out there to build your network.<\/li>\r\n \t
        • Connect Creatives and brands and facilitate a meaningful collaboration between them.<\/li>\r\n \t
        • Focus on building meaningful and enduring relationships with your Creatives.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"

          2. Scale Your Agency<\/strong><\/h4>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"Now that you have an amazing reputation and clients in your books, the next step is to expand your influence and brand positioning. In other words, you need to gain market share.\r\n\r\nTake an agency in the make-up space as an example. Your growth questions are: how do you ensure that in a set market, make-up brands mainly come to you to organise their creator campaigns or exclusively book creators from your agency? Often, this will require you to hire more agents to expand your network or to simply manage a greater number of Creatives. This scaling strategy is often adopted by agencies and is borrowed from the modelling industry. Modelling agencies have historically established networks based on geographical locations. For instance, the largest modelling agency group in the world comprises of 21 sub-agencies across 10 countries with recorded losses of $20.5M and $10.4M respectively, despite generating over $200M in average revenue. At the same time, the average profit margin of 756 agencies in the UK was -2%. This growth strategy and organisational system have become too costly, and other agencies face similar challenges.\r\n\r\nThe good news is that growth and scalability are possible through one main step: digitalisation."},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"
            \r\n \t
          • Use CREATIVESAPP to unify your booking, payments, project management, contact lists and communication systems.<\/li>\r\n \t
          • CA can ensure reputational excellence and transparency with Creatives, which will build trust and foster long-term partnerships.<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Strategically partner with agencies in other regions to expand your offering.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"

            3. Nurture Relationships<\/strong><\/h4>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"Being a successful agent\/agency is fundamentally about people. It's about understanding the needs of all parties involved and forging a path that connects them. Rather than seeking to gain something from individuals, the goal is to serve them and assist them on their journey.\r\n\r\nIn this relationship, you act as the guide while the Creatives are the heroes of their own stories. By being present and committed to finding solutions to their needs, you become invaluable to your clients. Offering consistent support and nurturing these relationships often leads to recommendations from satisfied clients, serving as a testament to the quality of your services.\r\n\r\nWhen navigating challenges and situations, remember that it's never about you; it's about finding solutions and building relationships where clients can turn to you for guidance.\r\n
              \r\n \t
            • Establish avenues for regular feedback from clients to understand their evolving needs and expectations.<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Invest continually in the skills development of your team to keep them updated and competent.<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Utilise industry events and social media to maintain and develop relationships, both old and new.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"Building a profitable agency involves developing expertise, nurturing relationships and having an operating system that guarantees scalability, financial control and an excellent reputation.\r\n\r\nJoin us at CREATIVESAPP to understand how we can support your agency to become more profitable and successful while elevating your influence."},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","textual_content":"
              *Goldman Sachs 2023\r\n*European Parliament 2022<\/h6>"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3676,"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions\/3676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creativesapp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}