Brahmaki
Monica Nera
Angel Ruche
Marame
Hissa Line
UK sustainable swimwear label
Necessie
Proche Studio
Sally Skoufis
Short answer. When choosing a fashion marketing agency, ask who will actually run the account day to day, whether they will work on the Shopify store and the email as well as the ads, whether their case studies are fashion brands with real Shopify and Meta figures, who owns the ad account and data, what the retainer includes, how many clients they take on, and what happens in the first thirty days. A fashion only agency with founder led delivery, published fashion cases, client owned accounts and a capped client list is what most fashion brands between €50k and €2M a month are looking for.
Who will actually run my account?
The most important question and the one most often skipped. At most agencies the person on the sales call hands the account to an account manager who hands it to a media buyer with fifteen other accounts. Ask to meet the person who will be in Ads Manager every day. Ask how many accounts they run.
Our answer. Elias and Frederik. The person who audits your account on the first call is the person who runs it. There are no account managers or juniors, which is why the number of brands we take on is capped.
Will you work on the store and the email, or only the ads?
An agency that only runs ads can only fix half the problem. The conversion rate sets the ceiling on the ad account and the email sets the value of each customer. An agency that is not allowed into Shopify and Klaviyo will blame the store when the ads plateau, and they will be right.
Our answer. All three. Meta, Klaviyo and the Shopify conversion work are one job, and we will not run the ads for a brand that will not let us touch the store. The reasoning is in why the product page decides your ROAS.
Are your case studies fashion brands, with real figures?
A supplement brand's case study tells you nothing about how the agency will handle a drop calendar, size and fit, seasonal stock or a €300 price point. Ask for fashion cases with before and after figures from Shopify and Meta, and ask to speak to a founder.
Our answer. Every case we have is fashion, because we have never taken a client outside it. The case studies carry the Shopify and Meta figures, the ledger carries twenty six screenshots, and two founders are available as references.
Who owns the ad account, the pixel, the audiences and the email?
Some agencies run your ads from their own Business Manager. If you leave, the history, the pixel data and the audiences leave with them. This is the single most damaging thing an agency can do to a brand and it is still common.
Our answer. You do, always. We work inside your Business Manager and your Klaviyo. If we stop working together you keep every campaign, audience, flow and pixel with no export needed.
What does the retainer include, and what does it cost?
Ask what is in scope: creative direction, copy, landing pages, email flows, reporting, calls. Ask whether there is a setup fee, whether there is a percentage of ad spend on top, and what the minimum term is. A percentage of spend rewards the agency for spending, which is not the same as rewarding them for growth.
Our answer. A low monthly base fee plus a performance fee tied to the results the account delivers, no percentage of spend, and the audit and written strategy before it are free. We give you both figures in writing after the call once we know what the work involves. There is no long lock in contract: our clients stay with us for the performance, not because a contract makes them. The full model is on our pricing page.
How many clients do you take on?
An agency that will sign anyone is an agency where your account is one of forty. Ask for the number and ask what happens when they are full.
Our answer. A capped number, around twenty five active clients between two people. We work with specific brands rather than everyone who asks, so that every account gets the attention it deserves and needs. If we are full we will tell you rather than stretch.
What happens in the first thirty days?
A good answer is a full audit, a written strategy, and a clear order of work. A bad answer is "we'll get the campaigns live in week one", because launching campaigns into a store that does not convert is spending your money to learn what an audit would have told you.
Our answer. Week one is the audit and a written strategy, before you have paid anything. Campaigns go live in week two or three, once the store work has started. The full process is on the home page.
If you are comparing us to a generalist
The specific differences are in fashion agency versus generalist agency. The short version is that a generalist has to learn your category on your budget.
Questions on this
What should I ask a marketing agency before hiring them for my fashion brand?
Who will run the account day to day, whether they work on the store and email as well as the ads, whether their cases are fashion brands with real figures, who owns the ad account and data, what the retainer includes and costs, how many clients they take on, and what happens in the first thirty days.
Should a fashion brand use a specialist or a generalist agency?
A specialist, if the brand is doing enough revenue for the specialist to take it on. A generalist has to learn the category on your budget: drop calendars, fit and returns, seasonal stock and price architecture all behave differently in fashion.
What does a fashion marketing agency cost?
Usually a monthly retainer, sometimes with a percentage of ad spend on top and a minimum term. At Fundal Media it is a low monthly base fee plus a performance fee tied to results, with no percentage of spend and no long lock in contract, and the audit and strategy before it are free.