Choosing the right agency to represent your location

If you type "location agency" into the internet search engines you'll see a long list of results, so how do you choose an agency which is right for you? In our view there are 4 factors to consider when making your choice:

1. Size. Location agencies come in in all shapes and sizes - some have only a handful of locations on their books while others like Lavish Locations have thousands. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. The smaller agencies tend to specialize in stylish properties for the photographic industry. If your house is very stylish and fits their look then you could do well in a smaller agency. However, if you also want to get film work then these are not the agencies for you as film industry professionals need a much larger and more diverse range of locations to meet their needs. The advantage of a locations agency like Lavish Locations is that our clients span the film and photographic industries and your location can be considered for both.

2. Clients. You need to make sure that the agency you choose has lots of clients so that there is the potential for lots of work. Most agencies publish their credits on their website - take a look and see whether it is a long list. If it isn't, you might have to question whether they are going to give your location the exposure you are after. 

3. Specialism. As well as specialising in film or photographic, there are lots of other ways that locations agencies differ. Some will specialise regionally- although Lavish Locations has locations all over the UK on our books, our real specialism is in the South East of England. If your location is in the West Country or Scotland, you may do better with a location agency that specialises in that area. They can also specialise by property type - Lavish Locations is particularly known for our residential locations, whereas others may be better known for offices or industrial buildings. Try to match your location agency to the type of location you are registering.

4. Website. Take a close look at the locations agencies' websites before making your choice as this is going to be the shop window for your location. How good is their search function? How easy is it to find a location in the right area with the right features? Remember, if you find this difficult their clients will likely find it difficult too. Lavish Locations completely redesigned our website last year after consulting with our clients so that we could build it around their needs. Our website is widely considered to have the best search function in the business.

Once you've done your research try to get some recommendations from others you know who are already using their property as a location. At Lavish Locations we find that most of the locations which register with us have done so on the recommendation of a film professional or location owner. To us, every referral or recommendation is the best compliment we could receive!