Are you currently using a London-based marketing agency? If yes, have you ever asked yourself the question as to why? Accounting for less than 1% of the UK's land, London is a staple hold in peoples minds when it comes to choosing an agency be it marketing, branding or digital, but it's surrounded by stereotype. The capital is of course a huge business hub and the talent is fantastic, but does this mean you should always choose a London agency?
Are London based agencies more expensive? The vast majority, yes.
Is the UK talent pool restricted to London? Absolutely not.
If there were two loaves of bread that had all the same properties and both tasted great, would you pay double, or even triple for one of the loaves? Probably not.
There is a massive stereotype that London is the best for everything, which is even reiterated on a global level. Just because you are outside of London does not mean you can not achieve the same quality, or if not better it.
Why London-based agencies?
There are of course reasons why people choose a London-based marketing agency. We're not posting to stop people choosing London-based agencies, just to open minds that there are many agencies doing amazing work outside of it.
Convenience
Convenience is one reason companies choose London-based agencies, as many companies have offices in London - it's easier to pop down to the agency to have a catch-up and a weekly review if you're based in the same location.
Unfamiliarity
On a global scale the UK can be quite confusing with all our counties, boroughs and shires - cities such as Lincoln, Leicester and Leeds also don't make international news as often as London does (If you're outside the UK, we do have cities that don't start with the letter L).
It makes sense that foreign companies choose London-based agencies, simply because it's much harder for them to find agencies based elsewhere in the UK.
If you're choosing your agency based on the fact you think London agencies are better, then this is where you're missing out and where the mould needs to be broken.
Why choose an Agency outside of London?
In a digital era, it's easy to make choices independent of location, communication has never been more easier and accessible with video calls and digital conferencing.
In the grand scheme of things the UK is actually very small and travelling from one end of the country to the other isn't a huge feat, especially when compared to other countries across the globe.
For us, we don't see it as a hindrance. We often travel around the UK and internationally to meet clients regularly.
Value for money
London is one of the most expensive places to live in the UK, thus the average wage is much higher. This means you will be charged a much greater amount for services than if you went elsewhere - even if the service is exactly the same.
You could easily spending north of £100,000 in London, for the same service that would cost you less than half of that.
If you have low budgets, or would like to see a greater ROI, give an agency a try that isn't based in London.
Incredible talent
Although London has great talent, a lot of it didn't originate in London, much of the talent was born in towns you will have never heard of miles away from London. Many just choose to move to London because of the hustle and bustle lifestyle and for more opportunities.
To be honest, there's more hustle from agencies outside of London as we have to compete against the stereotype that 'London is better'.
We ourselves are based in the southern Lincolnshire countryside surrounded by farming fields, yet we work internationally and our clients are completely gobsmacked with the work we produce and have made them rethink London agencies.
Support
There's more of a struggle for the smaller towns and cities. By choosing an agency outside of London you're also supporting local areas and helping communities grow.
So, will you break the mould for your next agency?