A brand consultant helps a business define what it stands for, who it serves and how it should present itself, usually through research and strategy before any design work begins.
When you decide your brand needs external help, the first step often looks familiar: you search for a brand consultant in Singapore, land on a listicle, compare a few names, and shortlist three. That gives you a useful sense of who is out there. But knowing who exists is different from knowing who is right for your business.
For purpose-driven founders, the next stage matters even more. Will the consultant just follow your brief, or will they be brave enough to challenge your assumptions if the strategy requires a reassessment? There is only one way to answer this question. You have to ask. This article helps you understand the actual criteria to consider when talking to a consultant.
The Three Things to Think About Before the First Enquiry
These are the main themes that you can think about (not necessarily have the full answers to) and bring to the conversation during the first enquiry.
What needs clarifying: Your positioning, your audience, your identity, or all three.
The working relationship you want: A partner who challenges your thinking, or a team that executes a clear brief.
How much strategic input you need beyond the final deliverables.
The Deliverable is the Logo. The Value is Knowing Why it’s that Logo.
A logo can be an output of the branding process, but it is not the only output. A better approach is to ask whether the consultancy process gives you enough information to make informed decisions about your positioning, target group, identity, and communication.
This is where brand research comes into play. Brand research is a process through which the consultant investigates the business itself, the target audience and other aspects to find insights needed to develop a brand strategy before any decisions regarding design have been made.
It is important to have more than just a bunch of deliverables from the consultancy process. A good brand agency in Singapore will explain why the brand looks and behaves the way it does.
Five Questions to Ask in the First Call
1. Can you show me a project where you said no to a brief because the values didn’t match?
How a consultant feels about passing on opportunities is an indication of their commitment to fit. If every opportunity is seen as a chance to market a service, then the values can become secondary to revenue. You want a real example of this from the consultant.
What a strong answer sounds like: They can explain the situation, why the fit wasn’t right, and what happened after they decided not to proceed. You are looking for a genuine decision, not a polished claim about having strong values.
2. What outcomes should we expect from this, and why those?
Branding exercises can produce different outcomes, and a useful answer explains the chain from the brand problem to the outcome. If the problem is that customers can’t tell you apart from a competitor, the outcome might be conversion rate on the same traffic, or how often people name you unprompted. If the problem is that you’re invisible in a new market, reach and awareness are the right measures. If the problem is that your team describes the business five different ways, the outcome is internal consistency.
A
What a strong answer sounds like: The consultant asks what the brand problem actually is before naming any measure, then explains which outcomes follow from it and roughly when you’d expect to see them. They should be willing to name a commercial outcome where one applies.
3. What would you need to talk me out of before we started?
This question tests whether you’re hiring someone to implement your thinking or someone who will collaborate and develop ideas. The right consultant should be ready to question assumptions before anything gets started.
What a strong answer sounds like: They shouldn’t give you an answer you expect to hear right away; instead, they should ask several questions about your company, target audience, positioning, etc., and tell you what they would like to research before suggesting a strategy.
4. What do I own at the end, and can my team use it without you?
The consulting relationship doesn’t necessarily need to result in an ongoing dependence on the brand consultant. You must know what your team will get, own, and use after the project has ended.
What a strong answer sounds like: They should articulate clearly what you will get, what your team can do without them and what help you can receive in case you need it.
5. Who actually does the work, and will I be speaking to them?
The person who wins your trust on the first call isn’t always the person who does the work. Knowing who will do the job helps you understand what kind of relationship you are buying, especially when teamwork is required.
What a strong answer sounds like: The consultant should be able to introduce the people doing the work, explain their roles, and outline how communication will work beyond the first meeting.
Studio, Agency or Consultancy — How to Tell Where the Work Starts?
The labels can overlap, so the more useful question is what happens once you start working together. If the first deliverable is a report on the research findings, then the consultancy-led approach is at work. If the first deliverable is a moodboard or design route, then it’s a studio-led approach.
|
Approach |
Where the work may start |
Best fit when you need |
|
Consultancy |
Research findings, discovery or strategic analysis |
Clarity on your brand, audience, positioning or direction |
|
Studio |
Moodboards, concepts or design routes |
Creative development and visual execution |
|
Agency |
Depends on the agency’s model and services |
A combination of strategy, creative and execution |
When comparing a branding consultant in Singapore, consider how they work before paying attention to what they call themselves. A consultancy-led engagement may begin with problem definition, audience definition, and strategising, while studio-driven consulting might start with creative development. What matters is that the starting point fits your problem.
Run This Prompt Before You Shortlist Anyone
Before meeting with any brand consultant, run your business circumstances through AI to develop a more specific set of criteria. The purpose isn’t to ask AI which agencies to hire. The purpose is to determine what you are looking for.
“I run [type of business] in Singapore. We’ve been operating for [how long], have [team size], and serve [who your customers are]. Our mission is [what you’re trying to achieve beyond profit].
I’m considering hiring a brand consultant because [what prompted this, such as a launch, rebrand, growth stage, or unclear messaging]. We’ve previously [what you’ve tried, such as a DIY logo, a freelancer, or an agency that didn’t work out].
Before answering, ask me up to three questions if anything important is missing. Then give me:
- What I should be able to explain clearly before my first meeting with a consultant
- Which assumptions in my brief a good consultant might challenge, and why
- Three questions I should ask consultants, specific to my situation
- Signs that a consultant would be a poor fit for me
Don’t recommend specific agencies or consultants.”
Treat these answers as a starting point, not the final decision. See whether the questions raised are relevant to your business, and exclude anything irrelevant. Then, use this information to prepare for the first talk. Ultimately, your own goals and the consultant’s responses will determine the final decision.
When It Makes Sense to Talk to Us
If you need a partner to help clarify your brand strategy before moving into design, talking to Humankind Design can be the first step. This type of strategy suits companies that want to understand their audience, define their path, and create a brand based on their purpose, rather than ordering design solutions.
Humankind Design is led by Founder and Creative Lead Jemima Song, whose 12 years in branding and packaging design include work for P&G, Pokka, Yakult, iXBiopharma and CP Group.
You can start with a free 30-minute brand consultation to discuss your situation and what you need from a brand partner.
