Brand chemistry begins long before the logo, brand book and presentations to the board of directors. It begins the moment a company decides what it needs branding agency — not as a contractor “for execution”, but as a co-author, accomplice and sometimes even an opponent. This is where the choice ceases to be a formal tender and turns into a process where not only numbers are important, but also the coincidence of thinking, taste and ambitions.
A brand is a dialogue, not a service
When Apple worked with TBWAChiatDay in the late 90s, we were not talking about classic technical specifications. The Think Different campaign was born out of a philosophical conversation about who Apple wants to be in the world of technology. The agency didn’t just “formulate” the idea—it helped formulate it. Such a result is impossible without trust and chemistry between the teams.
Tenders, by their nature, are designed to compare parameters: price, terms, portfolio. But a brand is not a banner or a website. This is a system of meaning that should be organic to business and honest to the audience. If an agency thinks in templates, the brand will turn out sterile. If the client is not ready to hear uncomfortable questions, the brand will turn out to be fake.
Why coincidence is more important than regalia
Well-known awards and high-profile cases do not guarantee that the agency is right for you. Coca-Cola has been working with a limited number of partners for decades, not because there are no other strong studios in the market, but because these teams feel the brand at the level of intonation. They understand where they can experiment and where they can’t touch the core.
When choosing an agency, it is important to pay attention to the following things:
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Way of thinking: how the team thinks, what questions it asks, how deeply it dives into the business.
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The language of communication: does it match yours — not in the style of speech, but in the logic of argumentation.
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Attitude to the process: the agency offers ready-made recipes or builds solutions from scratch.
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Way to respond to criticism: defense for the sake of defense or dialogue for the sake of results.
These parameters rarely make it into the tender table, but they are the ones that determine whether the project will be viable.
When a tender interferes with the result
A formal tender often forces agencies to play a guessing game. They do it “beautifully and safely” because they don’t know the context and don’t feel the client. In the end, it is not the boldest and most precise solution that wins, but the most universal one. This is how brands appear that can be confused with each other at first glance.
A good example is the fintech market. Revolut, Monzo and N26 are visually and meaningfully different from each other because their brands were created in close dialogue with creative teams, rather than through an impersonal competition. Each agency was chosen not for price, but for their understanding of the nature of the product.
Chemistry as a strategic asset
Matching with an agency is a long-term investment. When there is trust between teams, solutions appear that are difficult to sell on the first call, but which work for years. Nike was not afraid of radical visual and semantic moves precisely because it knew that its partners understood the brand deeper than any brief.
Chemistry shows up in the little things:
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in the way the agency says no;
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the ability to defend an idea without pressure;
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in a willingness to admit a mistake and rebuild the concept.
This is not about comfort, but about shared responsibility for the result.
How to choose “yours”
Instead of a classic tender, pilot projects, strategic sessions and even informal meetings work more effectively. Talking about books, movies and brands that inspire sometimes says more than an 80-slide presentation. This is how Netflix builds relationships with creative partners — through a shared vision, not through formal procedures.
Choosing an agency is choosing a co-author for your story. And if there is no chemistry between you, no contract will create it. But if it exists, the brand begins to sound honest, confident and truly unique.
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