A buyer-side checklist for evaluating brand strategy, identity deliverables, ownership and agency proposals before signing.
- Start with the business change, not a logo count
- Compare deliverables and decision checkpoints
- Check rights, handover and implementation
Start with the business change, not a logo count
A branding project may be prompted by a launch, expansion into a new country, a merger or weak recognition. These are different problems. Write the commercial problem, intended audience and decision needed before asking an agency for a design proposal. A logo competition and a positioning engagement should not be evaluated with the same criteria.
Prepare a short brief containing current brand assets, competitors, target markets, reasons for change and three decisions leadership must make. Ask the agency to explain how research informs creative direction. A persuasive portfolio is evidence of taste, not necessarily proof that its proposed approach fits your problem.
Compare deliverables and decision checkpoints
Request a scope matrix that distinguishes discovery interviews, competitive audit, naming, positioning, visual identity, applications and brand guidelines. For each line, identify who supplies inputs, who approves decisions and how many concept directions or revisions are included. Clarify what happens when the project expands from logo design to packaging or a multilingual website.
Ask for a proposed review calendar. A useful brand strategy stage should produce something that can be discussed and approved before the team creates final assets. Without this checkpoint, disagreements about the brand idea surface late as expensive aesthetic revisions.
Check rights, handover and implementation
Before appointing an agency, confirm ownership and licensed use of photography, fonts, illustrations and trademarks. Request an explicit list of editable source files, final export formats and guidance for future vendors. If the identity must work on packaging, signage, social media and export documents, ask for a realistic application test instead of only polished presentation mockups.
Choose by the clarity of the working relationship: a named lead, defined review process, communication cadence and a quotation explaining assumptions. A strong brand identity should improve recognition across touchpoints and help commercial teams explain what the company stands for.
Send a better initial brief
A practical first RFQ can ask for a brand audit, positioning statement, identity concept, two priority applications and a concise usage guide. Specify deadlines and markets. Invite the agency to challenge the scope if research suggests a different order of work.
Compare shortlisted proposals on strategic logic, deliverables, exclusions, rights and handover rather than a single total price. This gives procurement a fairer basis for decision and gives the creative partner a better chance of doing valuable work.
A comparison scorecard procurement can actually use
A simple scorecard can divide decisions into strategic fit, execution capability, project governance and commercial clarity. Under strategic fit, compare how each agency defines the customer problem and connects evidence to positioning. Under execution, review comparable projects and the actual team's expertise. Governance covers milestone reviews and documented decisions; commercial clarity covers exclusions, rights and change control.
Ask two agencies to respond to the same short brief and score the responses against those categories. Do not add unsupported claims about their work or compare proposal fees without matching deliverables. If your internal team is unsure about brand positioning, separate a paid discovery phase from the larger identity rollout.
At final selection, record why the chosen approach fits the business stage and appoint one brand owner for decisions. A practical decision record will be more useful six months later than a presentation of subjective preferences.
