Big agency or boutique studio?

I get asked versions of this question all the time, and I don't think there’s a universal answer. In business and management, context usually matters more than the rulebook. The right choice depends on what the project actually needs, who needs to be involved, how the company operates, and what kind of relationship you want with the people doing the work.

There’s a simple way I think about it: the 95/5.

The first 95% of the decision is usually pretty easy to evaluate. Budget, timeline, capabilities, experience, portfolio, quality standards, taste. You can put most of that into a proposal, a spreadsheet, or a few meetings and make a reasonably informed comparison.

The other 5% is harder to quantify, and it can completely change the decision.

How do they think? How do they make decisions when something isn't working? Do they have the taste to know when a piece is almost there but not quite? Will they challenge an idea when it needs challenging? Do you trust the people you're putting your brand in the hands of? And then there’s the part no spreadsheet can really account for: intuition. Sometimes you just get a feeling about the people across the table, and after enough time in business, I think it’s worth paying attention to that feeling.

And then there’s is this question of whether you share any common ground beyond the project itself.

People. Planet. Profit. The win-win-win situation.

For some businesses, that’s a genuine philosophy that shapes how they operate. For others, it may simply carry some weight in the business formula. Sometimes, it may not factor into the decision at all. And that’s okay too.

Either way, if those values matter, they’ll eventually show up in the partners they choose, the vendors they work with, and the kinds of relationships they build around the business.

That doesn't automatically point toward a boutique studio. Sometimes a large agency is exactly the right partner. A global campaign with multiple markets, a huge production footprint, or a complicated ecosystem of stakeholders may need that infrastructure.

Other times, the project doesn't need all of that. A smaller studio may offer a closer creative relationship, fewer layers, faster decisions, and a team whose way of working happens to align more closely with yours.

Neither is inherently better.

The useful question is whether the partner fits the job, the company, and the people behind it.

The 95% gets you through the evaluation.

The other 5% might be the reason you choose one over another.

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