The competition trap for creative agencies

The creative field is a crowded one. There are behemoths that handle everything in house and specialists that focus on tiny nooks and crannies. On this spectrum, A Hundred Monkeys occupies one of the smaller nooks. We focus on naming and occasionally write in slightly longer format. Over the years, we’ve won and lost projects to other small outfits and publicly traded companies. These experiences have shaped how we approach new business and “landing” projects. The prevailing logic here is that people who do similar work to you, or are in the same industry, are competition. This creates an adversarial atmosphere which only benefits people who are primarily driven by the need to make sure the trend line always points up and to the right. The word “competition” is adversarial in and of itself. It presupposes there’s a race worth winning and shifts the focus away from the real question: what work is really worth doing?

I hope this is obvious but in case it’s not: you definitely don’t want every project that comes your way.

There are myriad reasons: not enough time, client is an asshole, not enough money, client wants to tell you how to do your job, project runs counter to your values, ambiguous scope, and we’re just barely scratching the surface. It is absolutely crucial to develop and evolve criteria for the projects worth taking. Write it down and reference it after awkward Zoom calls with potential new clients. When you take projects you shouldn’t, figure out the red flags you missed and add them to the list. Not only are bad projects dreadful while you’re doing them, the referrals and repeat work you get from them are most likely to be bad projects too.

Look past the capitalist wet dream of besting your competition and winning all the projects.

Even if you somehow did, where would it put you? I’ll tell you. Managing a massive enterprise that needs to keep expanding in order to pay for itself while you get further and further from any semblance of the creative work you once enjoyed. Do you really want to put everyone else out of business? Would that feel good? No, it’s a massive headache. Instead, focus on the work you really want, the projects you’d be interested in no matter what, the projects you’re still interested in after you win them. This way you get deeper expertise and involvement in the work you’re really passionate about. Your work winds up being more fulfilling and you leave space for others to find their niche.

Try not to define what you want in terms of what others have.

You never know what’s going on beneath the surface at other studios. Spending too much time looking at what the competition is doing creates a sort of target fixation whereby your work starts to look like everyone else’s. Original work requires original thoughts and ideas.

Relationships, even work ones, are two way streets.

You want to work with people who want to work with you because they respect you and they’re fun to talk to. Because of this simple truth, you likely want to avoid Requests for Proposal (RFPs) and any other “opportunity” to sing for your dinner. If you’re hard up for work no one will fault you for responding to an RFP. You likely have some time on your hands in this scenario. Essentially, RFPs are invitations for direct competition and comparison that reduce you in the client’s eyes to a vendor who they can squeeze the most work out of for the least money. Hell, you might not even be competing against anyone but yourself. The client holds all the cards. Instead of taking the bait try responding by saying something along the lines of “We don’t have time to respond to RFPs but if you’re interested in talking about a potential project, we would be happy to speak with you.” Take back some control.

Don’t expand your offerings just because you can.

You’re part of an ecosystem and you want to be sure you understand how that works before you start to take it over like some algae super bloom. Here’s a personal example. At A Hundred Monkeys we’re very well positioned to help clients with logos and visual identity. A client works with us on a naming project and what to they need next? A visual identity! This would be an easy sales opportunity for us except for it’s actually a big trap. Why? Because we’re part of an ecosystem. We would rather build mutually beneficial relationships with designers than stray outside our expertise or try to hire to compete somewhere we don’t belong. This way everyone focuses on what they’re good at and together we have the competitive advantage of expertise when a client is comparing us to a big agency that tries to do everything.

Don’t forget competition inside your studio.

As a studio leader, you don’t need to run every project. Instead, you can build up the skills of others on your team and leave room for them to grow. This is mutually beneficial. If you know what you want to get out of work to feel productive and financially secure, you can leave more room for others to do the same. This helps with employee retention and frees you up to focus on what you’re really passionate about.

So let’s reframe “the competition.” These are people who are interested in the same stuff as you, who are trying to make a living doing something similar. You can learn from people who are likely dealing with many of the same challenges you are. Hell, you might even enjoy speaking or collaborating with them. Rarely are you actually competing if you are clear about the work you really want to be doing. So think about yourself and your studio first. Worry about the rest later or never.