There are a lot of really important considerations for a company looking to partner with an advertising or marketing agency, and there’s no shortage of lists available online offering guidance. Of course, much of what goes into choosing an agency depends on the specific requirements of an organization, but the basic guidelines to consider are pretty standard.

• Agency culture is important, for instance
  Great creative is one thing, but if you can’t stand the people you’re working with, will you really be able to collaborate and succeed together?
• Agency philosophy matters a lot
  No one would team with a business partner who held a conflicting vision for the company, nor does it make sense to consider an agency whose vision differs from yours when it comes to branding and marketing.
• Expertise in a given vertical market is key
  If you’re a healthcare IT company, for example, you’ll obviously want to hire an agency with a proven track record of success in that arena.

What’s interesting is that geography, once a key component on many of these types of lists, is no longer such an important consideration. It used to make sense that a firm’s relationship with an agency in close proximity would be, well, closer, but technology has made collaboration possible even from great distances. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in our relationship with Goodsill, an esteemed Hawaii law firm.

Brand success in paradise.
A while back, Hawaii’s Goodsill Andersen Quinn & Stifel decided it was time to rebrand their firm. The oldest and most respected law practice in Hawaii, Goodsill had a deep history in the islands but recognized its need to jump out ahead of competitors who had recently undertaken rebranding efforts of their own. Goodsill knew the timing was right, and that they’d need to enlist the help of an experienced branding strategy firm. Aware of our proven track record of success in legal services marketing, Goodsill overlooked geography and invited Stackpole to partner with them.

Excited at the chance to work with such an esteemed firm and the opportunity to dive deep into the Hawaiian-island culture, the Stackpole team was only too happy to oblige. Representatives from the account and creative teams headed to the islands to dive right in. The first step was to conduct intake sessions with Goodsill leadership and we worked closely with them to conduct a detailed brand perception analysis – all aimed at identifying the firm’s unique mission, culture, vision and core strengths. Once this initial phase of the brand process was complete, it was back to the mainland to begin developing the strategy.

“Once we were back in Massachusetts, our team really dug in and got to work,” said agency president Pete Stackpole. “The great thing was how the collaboration with Goodsill wasn’t at all affected by the distance. We continued to work as closely as we had during our time there and continue to collaborate closely as our relationship grows.”

“We really haven’t skipped a beat,” adds Stackpole creative director, Trev Stair. “We continue to work closely together and with Skype, Zoom and other available technologies, geography really hasn’t made a difference at all.”

The success of this “island/mainland” collaboration is evident in the results Goodsill has experienced since the new brand was launched. For instance, the responsive website we created for them was launched in July of 2017 and has seen:

• 3,883 new visitors
• 100% increase over same period last year and
• 75% higher than industry average

The teaser ad campaign executed in September of 2017 resulted in:

• Over 1.5 million impressions served
• Post-Launch Web sessions increased by 100%

In addition, our brand work for Goodsill has received a lot of industry attention. Out of 1,600 entries at this year’s Service Industry Advertising (SIA) Awards, our campaign received a Silver and Bronze in the Integrated Campaign and Website categories, respectively.

At the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Your Honor Awards, the campaign took first place in the Communications: Brand Enhancement category.

All of which supports the notion that, when it comes to choosing an agency, geography really shouldn’t be a consideration. If you’d like to learn more about our relationship with Goodsill, check out the case study here.

If you’re looking for an agency that can deliver results, please get in touch.

Stackpole & Partners is a privately-owned integrated marketing and branding agency servicing a wide variety of businesses for the past 25 years. We combine strategic discipline, creative talent, and actionable initiatives to build leading brands that drive growth for our customers. Our expertise