You want your next video game to be a sensation. After pouring your heart and soul into it for years, you want it to have the best chance at reaching gamers across the globe. For that, you’ll need a dynamic marketing campaign that captures the hearts of gamers, reaches them where they’re at, and gets them excited for the release. And to accomplish that, you’ll need a video game creative agency.

A video game creative agency is your one-stop shop for all things creative when it comes to marketing and advertising. More than simply an ad or marketing agency, a creative firm can help you with everything. That includes branding, design, web design, integrated ad campaigns across multiple platforms and more.

Game studios of every size are turning to creative agencies to market their game, from the teaser trailer through awards campaigning. If you want your game to succeed, they can help. But finding the right video game creative agency for your project can be a challenge. Here are a few things to keep in mind when searching for the right creative firm for your game.

1. Define Your Needs

Before you start hunting for a video game creative agency, you will need to know what you want. Look at your internal needs and precisely why you want outside help. If it’s for a specific service or services, list them so you keep them in mind during your search. If you aren’t sure of what you need besides help advertising, then you’re in luck. Creative agencies are both jacks-of-all-trades and specialized, providing multiple services with the expertise of dedicated firms.

If you fail to define your needs before you start looking, there is a good chance that you won’t know what to look for. That can lead to problems around expectations and deliverables, which will only make your game suffer.

2. Look for Experience

We don’t need to tell you that the gaming industry is often a niche space with its own rules and norms. You only have to spend a minute on Twitch to realize that gamers talk to each other and talk differently. If you are looking to market to this demographic, you need a video game creative agency that speaks their language.

When looking at potential firms, see what games they’ve worked on in the past. This will give you some insight into what they offer and they kind of work they can do.

3. Look at Testimonials and Results

When you’ve made a shortlist of potential firms based on your needs and agencies with experience in your area, then it’s time to look at the testimonials and results. Many creative agencies do a great job of showing off their past work directly on their sites. Take a few moments to peruse their successes and think about what that means for you. Did they work on games that you thought did a good job marketing (regardless of the game itself)? Do you like the look, feel and approach? These are all important questions.

More important, however, are the results and the opinions of the people they worked for. Did the clients gush about the working relationship? Did the agency hit their KPIs? If not, did they demonstrate flexibility and ingenuity to drive up their success? All these questions are integral to finding the right video game creative agency.

4. Be Curious in Your First Meeting

So, you have an even shorter list now of experienced creative agencies that can meet your needs and have great work and reviews. It’s probably time to pick up the phone and start setting meetings.

Meetings with creative agencies are two-way streets. You both want to know if you’ll work well together. Talk to them and pay attention to how you interact. Are they interested? Are they asking good questions? Be curious yourself. Ask about their approach. Talk to them about potential strategies they would suggest out of the gate, and the tactics they’d use to execute these strategies.

The Best Video Game Creative Agency in Los Angeles

Now that you’ve had that initial meeting, you have likely found the best video game creative agency in Los Angeles, if that’s your area. A creative agency is the right choice for any video game maker or studio, able to help you at every stage of your marketing.