Are the days of the traditional design retainer over?

by Matt Eamer - CEO of me&you

As an agency owner, I have an honest admission to make: with the increase in AI capabilities, the era of the traditional design services retainer seems to be drawing to a close. But as one door closes, a much more exciting one is opening. And at me&you, we’re actively helping our clients walk through it.

For years, the standard retainer model was built on a book of hours or a retained monthly fee for the agency to act largely as a production line. We built your social posts, formatted your reports, and tweaked your infographics. It was a reliable source of work for us, and it gave you a steady stream of assets.

But recently, when we finish building a brand for a client and they ask, "What next? How can you help us roll this out?" Our answer is constantly evolving.

We now hand over comprehensive toolkits, brand cookbooks, and pre-built templates in platforms like Canva or Adobe Express. We actively empower your internal teams to deliver on-brand assets with relative ease. We’re purposefully designing ourselves out of the day-to-day production job, acknowledging that if we just stick to routine tasks, AI will eventually step in anyway.

And now comes the big question: If you no longer need an agency to produce asset after asset, why keep us on a retainer at all?

The rise of the strategic creative retainer

As the need for outsourced production shrinks, we’re seeing it be replaced by more of a strategic creative retainer. When we strip away the busywork, we’re left with the two fundamental reasons ‘for good’ organisations actually choose to engage us on a retainer basis.

1. The "unsexy" power of reliability

During a recent check-in, a client described our agency as "reliable." Initially, I said to my team, "Reliable? That sounds so unsexy." But I was wrong. If you’re an overwhelmed, stressed-out communications director, reliability is exactly what you need right now. You simply don’t have the time to be chasing your designer or waiting for project updates that never come.

We have the project management systems and processes in place to ensure you get what your team needs, when you need it, or even predicting what you need before you realise it.

2. Commissioning creative brains, not just hands

With AI tools making design more accessible to everyone, you no longer need to commission hands. You need to commission brains.

Rather than simply distributing a high volume of assets across multiple platforms, the strategic retainer marks a return to ideas. Having an agency on-side who knows and understands your organisation on a deeper level. People from outside of your organisation who can see things with a fresh pair of eyes.

A team of people who can help identify challenges your organisation is facing and find creative solutions to solve them. 

A good strategic retainer partner should:

• Ask the right questions to get to the root of your challenge
• Conduct rigorous research and validate ideas with your audience
• Facilitate co-creation to ensure your team and your community genuinely own the outcome

The shift in the agency-client partnership

Here’s what the evolution of the design retainer looks like in practice:

When you’re trying to change the world, your internal team brings the heart and the muscle. We bring the strategic brain to ensure that energy is pointed in the exact right direction. 

The tools of our trade may be changing, but the need for deeply considered, validated, and strategic problem-solving has never been greater.

Interested in forging a strategic partnership with us?

We believe that we make the most impact with our clients when we work with them in the longer term. The more deeply we get to know your organisation and your audience, the more value we can add. 

Click here to read about our strategic partnership with MicroLoan Foundation and how we've supported them over the last few years.

Please get in touch with [email protected] if you’d like to find out more.