2018-05-01
Note: This content was written prior to BrainStory, the brand that followed Slide Lab.
Are there differences between a presentation design agency and a traditional advertising agency? You can rest assured that yes, there are several differences. These are different types of businesses because they focus on different things. It may seem like they work in similar ways, but mostly they don’t.
Let us explain how we see ourselves here at Slide Lab and what we believe in: A good presentation design agency should be an agency focused on brand storytelling (something that we will further explain in our article). Therefore, our goal is to help clients tell impactful stories, and it is often through presentations that we help companies tell their stories effectively and efficiently.
Before working with us, several clients made some presentations with traditional agencies and the result was not what they expected. The presentations didn't have a unified visual identity. The slides were very static and not dynamic enough. The visuals were interesting, yes, but little focused on the audience and on the purpose of the presentation. Usually, the storytelling aspect was not thought out for a presentation. By the end, clients would receive a PowerPoint file with interesting visuals, undoubtedly, but little more than that. Therefore, being able to make an impactful presentation that would win over audiences was a difficult thing to achieve.
If you've heard of or have experienced this story, maybe this post will help you. Allow us to illustrate:
Briefing
Traditional agency
Traditional agencies don’t have a specific briefing for a presentation, because it simply isn’t their core business and they’re not accustomed to doing so.
Presentation design agency
The briefing made by a presentation design agency has its starting point in a deep knowledge of the audience. Only by knowing the audience can the presentation design agency start asking the right questions, which will help it get to the right briefing.
Consultoria de conteúdos
Traditional agency
Usually, traditional agencies don’t have professionals focused on creating/writing speeches for a presentation. Ending up leaving that role for the client to play.
Presentation design agency
A presentation design agency wants to be involved in the process of selecting and creating contents for the presentation, ensuring a professional, dedicated content consultancy service from the outset.
Storytelling
Traditional agency
Traditional agencies are too accustomed to using the storytelling technique as they’ve been using it in advertising since forever. But it's one thing to tell a story in seconds, sometimes in a few minutes, using actors and material that is recorded in a studio. Another thing is to use this technique in a presentation that can last from half an hour to a whole day, and doing it live and using a presenter, who is not an actor.
Presentation design agency
Presentation design agencies are very focused on storytelling and use this technique in their day-to-day. Storytelling is the ability to tell a story in a relevant way, sparking the interest and captivating the attention of the audience. Generally, when relying on this technique, audiovisual tools are used to support the speaker’s message.
Identidade Visual
Traditional agency
A traditional agency usually starts to design all the slides even though it hasn’t created a visual identity yet. Which makes the creation process more complicated and lengthy at the end. Because if the client doesn’t approve the graphic “mood”, all slides will have to be redone.
Presentation design agency
A professional presentation design agency will start by creating what we at Slide Lab call a visual identity, before working on the look of all your slides. A visual identity is a visual basis that is made in two or three sample slides where the colours, the font, the animation type, and the graphic type that will serve as visual support for your presentation are explored. It’s only after the visual identity is approved that the presentation design agency begins to build all the slides of the presentation.
Design de Slides
Traditional agency
A traditional advertising agency has professional designers, but it doesn’t have professional PowerPoint specialists so, usually, your slides are very static and not dynamic.
Presentation design agency
A presentation design agency has professional designers with specific training in PowerPoint, who can efficiently and creatively explore all the features that a tool like PowerPoint can offer.
Coaching
Traditional agency
A traditional agency is usually accustomed to dealing with the organisation of events, is very good at thinking of all the details, but usually forgets the most important and central part of many events: the presentation. With these companies, usually the client is completely in charge of the presentation.
Presentation design agency
A professional presentation design agency guides their client before, during and after the presentation, through a personalised coaching service, thus ensuring the presenter's and the presentation's success.
