Client Agency Partnerships: Preview

The Lab is a full-service creative studio, but we operate more like an equal business partner with clients than an agency.

The decision to enter a project is an investment decision, not a sales decision.

For the last 7 years, we have experimented with, luckily stumbled upon, and worked hard to protect a working model that puts our agency on a path of financial independence, creative freedom, and effective results for partners.

1. No pitching. We share risks through vibe checks, concept fees, partial refunds, and exit clauses.
2. Iterate forward. We experiment with strategy together. Then concept. Then development. Then execution. We don’t move backward unless there’s a really good reason.
3. Respect each other’s time. If it doesn’t work out by the 2nd or 3rd proposal we’ll recommend other studios to take over.
4. The partner’s business is our business. Because it often is. We try to align our interests with the client’s interests. We exchange fees for equity or invest our money into exciting projects.
5. Execution focus. We judge our effectiveness by real-world results.
6. Layer-less. Our teams prefer to work directly with decision-makers.
7. Investments. We often invite former and existing partners to invest in our creative projects.
8. Fee structure. Our fee structure is not based on our raw cost (floor) or client budget (ceiling). It’s based on how much value we add to a project (win-win).

For Client or Agency Leadership: Read On.

How we view value creation and collaboration in the creative industry. And how we live up to this ideal, with real examples: Client Agency Partnerships: Playbook (Long read.)

Other Papers from The Lab

Author

Tuan Le, Creative Director/Partner, The Lab

About The Lab

The Lab is a creative investment studio. Our portfolio includes an award-winning design agency (The Lab Creatives), a hospitality group (The Lab Concepts) with a collection of brands, and other investments.?

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