How to stand out when every agency says that they’re strategic

By M&A Advisory
01 Oct 2025

💡 Here’s a challenge: Go to 10 agency websites and count how many use the word “strategic.”
I’ll save you the time. It’s all of them.

The problem?
If everyone is “strategic”, the word stops meaning anything.

In the marketing communications sector, real differentiation doesn’t come from the label but from the proof.

Here are three ways to make your claim to “strategic” actually mean something:

1️⃣ Show the receipts

Case studies that link creative work directly to measurable business outcomes.
Clearly articulate why your thinking made the difference, not just what you delivered.
2️⃣ Make your process visible

Share the frameworks, tools, or methodologies you use to get from brief to breakthrough.
Transparency builds credibility.
3️⃣ Own a territory

Be the go-to expert in a niche where you have deep knowledge.
Broad “strategic” positioning is vague; specialist strategic positioning is magnetic.
Clients aren’t buying the word strategy; they’re buying confidence that you can think, plan, and execute better than anyone else in their market.

So if you say you’re strategic, show us why.

AdvertisingBrandingClient servicesContentCreativeDesignGrowthIndustryLeadershipMarketingSustainabilityTech

Latest news