Creative Agency, Marketing Agency, Brand Studio, Creative Collective—what's the difference? With so many marketing service options, it's a bit intimidating to understand where your money is going and what to expect when building your brand. We've broken down the difference between a marketing, brand, or creative agency and a creative collective, so you can understand which option is best for you. 

What is a Creative Collective?

A creative collective is a group of creators and marketers who own and manage their independent businesses and client roster but come together to work on larger projects. Often, creative collectives have members spanning various industry experiences and skills.

At Strange Salt, our collective includes brand, content, and marketing strategists, designers, writers, and digital marketers. We have various life and work experiences —some are serial entrepreneurs, while others have worked in corporate America for years.

Our teams scale based on a client's needs and industry. We work directly with the client to determine these needs and assemble the best team. The collective doesn’t have a boss in the traditional sense, though we have a founder who corrals the details and handles logistics like project management, accounting, and contracts.

How is a Creative Collective Different from a Creative Agency? (Or Marketing Agency or Brand Agency?)

The idea of a creative collective sounds familiar—like a creative agency or brand studio. However, creative collectives like Strange Salt are more flexible to work with. This is especially true for start-ups and businesses whose budgets have been burned by the agency grind.

Here are a few ways a creative collective differs from a traditional marketing, creative, or brand agency.

1. Cost Efficiency

Unlike traditional marketing agencies, a creative collective doesn't have much overhead. Since individual collective members operate independent businesses, they control their costs and can scale scopes of work up or down based on a client’s needs and budget. They have years of experience knowing how much time, skill, and effort brand-building takes and have carefully crafted their rates to reflect these elements. 

At Strange Salt, we don't work from rate cards or bill hourly. Our hand-selected, nimble teams keep costs down and boost creative collaboration. There’s no hourly billing for sitting in on a meeting that could have been an email. Our invoices are sent from one collective source so you only pay one fee and we handle the rest.

2. Custom Services and Teams

While creative agencies often have a set team of full- or part-time employees, creative collectives build custom teams based on a project's scope of work and the client’s needs. Creative collectives aren’t limited by their obligations to existing employees and tap top talent for one-time project engagements.

Strange Salt's collective members are contract employees who run their businesses. They use different skills to provide services based on a client's needs. We understand that each client’s needs differ based on their goals. Because of this, we work with people outside of our core collective to provide specialized services.

3. Direct Communication

At a creative agency, you'll have one point of contact that filters your project information to teams of designers, copywriters, and strategists. With a creative collective, you'll communicate directly with a project manager but know who is doing the work behind the scenes. You may communicate directly with web developers and designers to share feedback and brainstorm, but a project manager will be your primary point of contact. At Strange Salt, we believe this communicative and collaborative method fosters transparency and trust. It also helps you tap into a network of future collaborators who can help you bring your brand to life.

Is a Creative Collective Right For You?

Traditional creative agencies often serve as outsourced marketing departments for large businesses. If you run a small business or start-up, you may be a small fish in a big pond and won’t receive the attention you expect.

If you’re struggling to feel a personal connection with agencies, are questioning where your six-figure budget is really going, or are looking for a more collaborative and inclusive approach to your marketing—one where you feel seen and heard—a creative collective may be right for you.

A creative collective is an ideal solution for new businesses with big plans to grow, growing businesses looking to expand their reach or pivot their methodology, and stuck businesses seeking fresh perspectives. Because creative collectives offer direct communication, you'll receive personalized creative services giving you the best, most seamless experience for developing your brand.

Work with Strange Salt!

So, is a creative collective right for you? Find out for yourself. Strange Salt is now working with new clients!

To get started, tell us more about what you’re working on. We’ll schedule an introductory call and if our values align, we’ll begin building your brand by scheduling a brand intensive. We can’t wait to connect with you!