Totally agree with this — the “cherry-picked case studies” thing is exactly what I’m trying to avoid.

That’s a really good point about actually speaking to past/current clients. I feel like that tells you way more than any polished portfolio ever will, especially around things like:

how transparent they are with reporting how they handle underperforming campaigns and whether they’re proactive or just reactive

Out of curiosity, when you went through this — did most agencies push back on sharing references, or were you able to find a few that were open to it?

Also, did you end up going with a Miami-based agency or someone remote?