An agency sells you a team. A consultant sells you one senior person. Which one you need depends on whether your problem is volume or judgment.
I have been on both sides of the table: interactive developer at Olson, senior creative technologist at Carmichael Lynch, partner and director of UX at Catalyst Studios, executive creative director at Thread. Now I work as an independent, often alongside agencies.
What does an agency give me that a consultant does not?
Hands, and a bench. An agency has writers, designers, developers, media buyers, and a project manager under one roof. When you need forty pieces of creative in a month, or a launch across several channels on one date, that is the right shape.
You also get account management: someone whose job is keeping you happy, running the schedule, and answering the email. That is real value. It is also overhead you pay for in every hour billed.
What does a consultant give me that an agency does not?
The senior person, doing the work. At most agencies the people in the pitch are the most senior people in the building, and the work goes to whoever is free. With an independent consultant the person you met is the person who does it.
A consultant also fits smaller scopes. A second opinion, a one-day workshop, a brand for one business, a plan for the next two quarters. Agencies have minimums because their overhead needs feeding.
Which one costs more?
Agencies usually cost more per month, because you are paying for the team, the account staff, and the office whether your job uses all of them or not. For the same senior thinking, a consultant is usually cheaper. For production volume, an agency is usually cheaper than a consultant subcontracting everything.
My prices, so you have something concrete to compare against:
- One-hour second opinion: $150.
- Workshops: $1,500 for a half day, $3,500 for a day, $6,500 for two days.
- Branding: identity from $2,500, naming and full brand from $6,000, websites from $6,000.
- Fractional CMO, CTO, or Chief AI Officer: $3,500, $6,500, or $11,000 a month.
All of it is on the services page.
Can I use both?
Yes, and for a lot of mid-size companies it is the best setup. The consultant sits on your side: writes the plan, sets the targets, reviews the agency's work, and reads the reports with a skeptical eye. The agency produces. Good agencies like this arrangement, because they get a clear direction and a client who knows what they asked for.
Fractional CMO, agency, or a full-time hire covers how that works for marketing specifically, with the revenue ranges.
How do I decide for my job?
Count two things:
- How many pieces have to be made at the same time? If it is more than one or two people can carry, you need a team.
- How much of the job is deciding what to make? If most of it is figuring out the right answer, you need a senior person, and you need to know who that person is.
High volume and low judgment: agency. Low volume and high judgment: consultant. High on both: a consultant directing an agency.
Do you work with agencies too?
Yes. Agencies bring me in for pitches, for service design and UX research they do not staff, and for training their teams on AI. I can work under the agency's name. The agencies page covers that side.
Tell me about the job on the start form and I will say whether it needs me, an agency, or both.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.