How to compare a video marketing agency

What to take away

A comparison table is only as useful as the questions behind it. Use the method below to turn your brief into comparable evidence; the review and comparison methods pillar offers further context, but this guide sets out the criteria and scoring method you need.

Which model fits which situation?

Use the table below as a first filter. It assumes a defined brief and a budget you can state in pounds.

For example, a retailer paying £6,000 a month for a retainer across six markets is buying coordination as much as cameras. A single launch film at £18,000 is buying craft and insurance. Those are illustrative figures, not market rates.

Should you compare on price first?

No. Price is the easiest column to fill and the least informative. Two quotes at the same headline figure can differ by thousands once you add reshoots, music licensing, talent renewals and versioning.

Ask each supplier to quote the second year separately, because rights renewals and archive storage are where a cheap first year turns into an expensive second.

Price also hides the risk question. If a supplier uses a track you cannot license beyond twelve months, the saving disappears at renewal. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 governs how music, images and footage can be used. Ask each supplier to state who warrants the rights in every asset they deliver.

What must the written comparison include?

Insist on five things: scope, deliverables, rights, data handling and exit. Anything missing becomes a dispute.

Use the same questions for every supplier, and record their answers and supporting evidence in these five lines.

Work through the comparison in sequence: set the must-haves in your brief, send the same brief and questions to each shortlisted supplier, fill in the table, then check each answer against its supporting evidence. Before proposals arrive, mark each line as essential, important or useful. Rate the evidence as missing, partly evidenced, meets the brief or exceeds the brief; a missing essential item should fail unless clarified. For example, strong creative work should not outweigh an undocumented rights term if rights are essential to your brief. Finish by recording the trade-offs behind your recommendation.

Give exit its own line in the table, covering who holds the master files, how long they are kept and what a handover would cost.

Data handling matters more than most buyers expect. If a campaign targets younger audiences, the ICO guidance on children's information sets out how children's personal data should be handled. Ask your supplier to describe their approach in one sentence.

Put every quote on a like-for-like basis: use the same brief, deliverables, revision assumptions, rights and comparison period. List second-year rights renewals and archive storage alongside reshoots, music licensing, talent renewals and versioning, and ask suppliers to separate included items from chargeable options. This lets you compare the quotes without treating illustrative figures as market rates.

Where do comparisons go wrong?

Usually in three places. First, criteria are copied from a template rather than drawn from the brief. Second, one supplier is scored by a different person using different assumptions. Third, the recommendation is left implicit.

Fix the third point by writing one paragraph: which supplier you would appoint, why, and what you are giving up. Treat agency reviews in England as prompts for questions about responsiveness, not as a substitute for checking each supplier’s evidence against your brief.

Build the shortlist from suppliers whose relevant work and operating model fit your brief, and ask each to respond to the same scope. Keep the comparison to three suppliers. Beyond that, scoring quality falls and the process stalls. Give the process a deadline too, because a comparison that drifts for six weeks usually ends with the loudest voice in the room winning.

Common questions

How many suppliers should a comparison include?

Three is usually enough: one retainer-led agency, one production-led company and one hybrid. Add a fourth only if a specialist skill, such as animation or compliance-heavy content, is genuinely required.

Should the comparison be scored numerically?

Not necessarily. Record each line’s priority and evidence rating using the method above; use numerical totals only if you can justify the weights and apply them consistently. A total must not cancel a missing essential requirement, and every rating should have a written note beside it.

Who should own the comparison?

One named person, usually the marketing lead closest to the brief. Shared ownership produces averaged scores and no clear recommendation. The owner should present the final choice, not just the table.