How to find the best marketing agencies in Philadelphia | Splat, Inc.

How to Find the Best Marketing Agencies in Philadelphia… and Beyond (Revised for 2025)

November 29, 2024

posted by:
David Hitt
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First, an unapologetic plug

If you’re reading this, you probably found us through organic search. We must have done something right, which is one reason why I’d like to introduce you to our agency, Splat, Inc. Frankly, if you’re looking for the best marketing agencies in Philadelphia, we should be on your list.

Splat is a full-service digital marketing agency with core competencies in marketing strategy, (with historic strength, specifically, in digital strategy), website design and development, organic content strategy and search engine optimization, and a variety of digital advertising offerings.

We’ve worked within a variety of industry verticals, with particular experience in law firm and professional services marketing, real estate, non-profit and pharma.

Choosing a new marketing agency is not an easy task. However, your journey can begin as easily as scheduling some time to chat with us. Like the information below, our first consultation with you will be candid and impartial. You can begin your journey here.

Woman Thinking

What Should I Look for in a Marketing Agency?

Start Your Search by Being Honest: Assess Your Needs

What am I trying to accomplish? What does success look like, qualitatively and quantitatively?

Self-reflection and navel-gazing might seem exercises best left to teenagers preparing for their first Prom, but it’s actually pretty damn useful to think long and hard about what you’re seeking in a marketing partner. Determining marketing objectives is critical for any type of project or retainer service you’re seeking. If you’re online presence is being ruined due to an outdated, ugly, poorly written website, then clearly a list of objectives includes addressing these shortcomings. However, a website should also introduce and define your brand on the web and, quite possibly, bring in new prospects and leads.

Sometimes business goals are not aligned at all with empirical performance criteria. Most agencies have had the experience of a professional service firm choosing television advertising because a partner loves seeing himself on TV. We’ve often been asked to replicate the look and feel of a competitor’s website, simply out of a sense of professional envy. Ultimately, the desires of the business owner can trump good marketing strategy.

Bags of Money

I often find, especially for small and medium-sized businesses, that clients are loath to be honest about budget. In a competitive bidding situation, they’re often relying on competing agencies to set budgets, based on the bids they’ve given. This is a mistake.

When I’m talking to a potential client who hasn’t fully thought through budget, I try and educate them with typical ranges spent on marketing, by industry vertical. I then suggest they determine what percentage of their annual budget is represented in the project they’re asking for. This will give a figure which can act as a starting point for future discussion.

Below is a range of marketing budget allocations for verticals we’ve worked within, expressed as a percentage of total company revenue for various sectors:

  1. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Brands:
    – Percentage of Revenue: 15% – 25%
    – DTC brands often prioritize aggressive marketing strategies to capture market share quickly, thus leading to higher spend.
  2. Professional Services (e.g., Legal, Accounting):
    – Percentage of Revenue: 4% – 8%
    – These service-oriented companies often rely on referrals but may invest more in localized marketing efforts.
  3. E-commerce:
    – Percentage of Revenue: 10% – 20%
    – With the digital landscape constantly evolving, e-commerce brands may lean towards higher user acquisition costs.
  4. Nonprofits:
    – Percentage of Revenue: 5% – 10%
    – Nonprofit organizations typically allocate funds towards outreach and donor engagement to maximize their impact on various causes.

Most of the time, when I’ve suggested this approach, I’m met with a blank stare. But at least it gets them thinking.

Don’t Use an RFP or Bid Process as a Tool to “Gain Information”

The RFP process begins a game of tactics between you and the agencies you invite. And the good ones won’t even play.

Internal marketers often fallback on the misguided belief that using an RFP to find an agency because it creates a level playing field, upon which all invited agencies must compete. That sounds great in theory.

In practice, though, the RFP approach often yields inferior results. One reason for this can best be understood by looking at the process through the lens of an agency. A typical RFP response from us takes 6 – 12 hours of studio time. Put in monetary terms, every time you decide to put out an RFP, you’re asking for firms to give you up a couple thousand dollars of work (presuming typical agency rates of between $150 – 225 an hour.)

That’s asking for a lot and, frankly, the best agencies might be too busy to spend so much time to enter a lottery which they only have a 10 – 25% percent chance of winning.

Additionally, most agencies often craft strategies to “win” an RFP by defining a scope of services which only nominally satisfies the criteria asked-for. Then, after they get the job, the supplemental billing starts.

In my article on this, I suggest a few ways to modify the RFP process to make it fairer to both internal marketers and agencies alike.

Get Some Pricing Information

Pricing from full-service marketing agencies or boutique studios are going to vary according to many factors. Geography and local economic conditions will likely play a role, for instance. Additionally, the models of pricing you’re likely to encounter will vary. Some agencies principally work on retainer fees, where a certain amount of money – payable each month – gets you “X” number of hours from the agency, at their hourly rate. Other projects or agencies might be willing to work on a “per project” basis. This model is especially common for projects which have beginnings and endings, such as a website redesign.

Get References, Testimonials or Case Studies

It’s wise to ask any prospective creative agency or marketing partner for proof of success. Actually talking to one of their clients is the best way to learn how well the agency communicates and, subjectively, what they are like to work with. Secondarily, written or video testimonials from former or current clients are likewise helpful. Finally, any traditional or digital marketing expert should be able to back up their claims with a case study or two, documenting the results they’ve achieved for their clients.

Accreditations

There are a number of accreditations which agencies or their staff might have, which demonstrate fundamental competencies. Some certifications to look for include:

  • Google Partner
    This is a designation given to agencies who manage a certain volume of paid advertising through Google.
  • Semrush
    This is a designation given to agencies who manage a certain volume of paid advertising through Google.
  • Hubspot
    Hubspot, one of the big players in SaaS inbound marketing, has a number of certifications, in various areas.

The Landscape of Marketing: Who does What

The landscape of marketing is filled with unique flora. Remember that, if you don’t know precisely what skills you’ll need to succeed, you might be better off choosing an agency which can do many things competently, rather than just one thing well.

Services Offered by Leading Agencies

Marketing/Digital Marketing Strategy

Success is usually the result of thoughtful planning. The beginning of any marketing journey should begin with assessments of goals and current marketing assets. Strategies can be developed from these.

Branding

Branding is more than just an alluring brand “look and feel.” Good identity and branding design incorporates the values, strengths and unique qualities of the brand itself. Branding requires both solid strategic and creative prowess. A good branding agency is filled with skilled strategists, graphic designers, and copywriters.

Organic Strategy

Organic strategy agencies specialize in using the creation of content – blog articles, whitepapers, social posts, etc. – to propel interest in a brand. Organic strategy can target potential buyers at all points in the buyer’s journey or, as we say in marketing parlance, “the marketing funnel.”

Web Development and Design

When most marketing buyers reach out to a web agency, they’re seeking an entire or partial website design/redesign. While that’s an obvious and sensible notion, there are also advantages to hiring a firm with in-house development for other activities, too. Especially digital marketing. Many digital marketing activities require a developer for best execution. These skills play themselves out in the design of landing page environments, the integration of third-party tools used for advertising and analytics, etc.

Organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Organic SEO’s intent is to find, recommend and fix web-based content so that it is optimized to be found in search engine queries. Based on research they perform, an SEO agency can recommend content to be developed or evaluate existing content and the technical aspects of your website, to increase website visitation. SEO is an essential element of well-executed content strategy.

Local SEO

One distinct subarea with search engine optimization focuses on getting bricks and mortar businesses more visibility in search engines. There are multiple goals to a local SEO strategy but, commonly, emphasis is given to ensuring that a business shows up organically within the “local pack” of search engine results. This is the section of results which features a map with, typically, three featured businesses.

Paid Digital Advertising

Can include Pay-per-click, OTT/Programmatic, Meta and other social channels. Agencies who are truly proficient at paid advertising should have reporting that can prove the value they’ve provided to their existing and former clients. When you get that data, though, be sure you understand it. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions.

Organic Social Media Marketing

Organic social media marketing typically begins with planning and strategy. Put simply, different brands may have quite different goals for their social channels. A professional services firm might prioritize employee retention and recruitment, whereas a consumer-facing retail brand is trying to sell and increase brand awareness. Social media marketing can can pinch hit into a lot of roles for an overall marketing strategy.

Email Marketing

Sometimes overlooked and taken for granted, email marketing still offers the highest return-on-investment (ROI) of any marketing activity. That’s because email capitalizes on an asset your firms already possesses: the contact information for a pool of prospects who have already expressed interest in your product or service. Don’t underestimate the complexities involved in email marketing. Even in 2025, it still can throw a lot of curveballs at you.

Miscellaneous and Seemingly Random Means of Self-Identification you Might Find in Your Search for a Marketing Agency

Marketers love to invent new expressions, words, acronyms, and abbreviations. Wherever the collective motivation to do this comes from (and I’ve pondered this many times,) this tendency confuses more often than it informs. The confusing array of terms agencies use applies to how they brand themselves. Which can cause further confusion for the buyer.

But…

Here are some of the terms you might hear agencies use to describe themselves and here’s what they all mean. Each agency type is likely to contain many of the same specialists we’ve previously alluded to, for instance: strategists, designers, analysts, web developers, copywriters, technical digital marketers, etc.

Performance Marketing Agency
These agencies focus on achieving measurable results, such as clicks, conversions, and ROI and they often use a pay-per-performance model.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Agency
ABM agencies create highly personalized campaigns which target specific, high-value accounts or clients. Most commonly, ABM is used in business-to-business (B2B) applications.

Revenue Operations (RevOps) Agency
An agency which calls itself a RevOps agency focuses on integrating marketing, sales, and customer success operations, with the intent of optimizing the entire revenue lifecycle.

Growth Hacking Agency
Emphasizes rapid experimentation across marketing channels to identify the most effective strategies for scaling quickly.

Customer Experience (CX) Agency
A CX agency is focused on optimizing the customer journey. Their emphases blend marketing, UX, and support services.

Programmatic Advertising Agency
Specializes in automated, data-driven ad buying to deliver hyper-targeted campaigns in real-time.

Inbound Marketing Agency
An inbound marketing agency helps businesses attract, engage, and convert prospects by developing content-based strategies. An Inbound Agency will use SEO, content marketing, social media, and email campaigns.

Other Things to Look Out For: Latest Trends in Digital Marketing for 2025

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Changing Marketing Agencies Exponentially

In 2025, AI is a factor which should influence the marketing services buyer. AI is quickly becoming an indispensable tool for agencies, allowing them to offer more personalized, efficient, and cost-effective services. By automating repetitive tasks, providing actionable insights, and enabling real-time adjustments, AI tools ensure that every campaign is as effective as possible.

In 2025, agencies that integrate AI into their media buying and creative workflows are better equipped to deliver value, innovation, and measurable success to their clients.

Checkmarks

Don’t Just Take Our Word for It: Here are Several Lists of Recommended Agencies from a Bunch of Not-at-All-Self-Interested Directory Sites

Wrapping Up

I’ve hopefully given you quite a lot to chew on here and your search for the best digital marketing agencies in Philadelphia – or anywhere – should be better informed. Remember, we’re hoping you’ll throw Splat’s name into the mix as well. You can contact us here, here, or call us at 1-877-SPLATME.

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