ROCKHAMPTON AGENCY COMPARISON
MICHAEL EVANS MEDIA vs STRUD CREATIVE.
Performance marketing or creative-led brand work? Two valid answers, two different agencies, two different ideal clients. Here's an honest breakdown of which one fits which job — including the cases where STRUD is the better pick.
Up front
We don't have inside information on STRUD Creative's pricing, contracts or team. The comparison below is based strictly on what's publicly observable from their website and ours. If anything here is inaccurate, let us know and we'll fix it.
SIDE BY SIDE
THE OBSERVABLE DIFFERENCES.
| Dimension | Michael Evans Media | STRUD Creative |
|---|---|---|
| Published pricing | $299 / $599 / $1,299 per month — public | Custom quote per project |
| Primary positioning | Performance marketing — ads, leads, conversions | Creative-led — branding, design, content |
| Engagement model | Monthly retainer, month-to-month | Project-based + retainer options |
| Location | Rockhampton | Rockhampton / Central Queensland |
| Team size | Solo operator (Michael, direct) | Multi-person creative team |
| Direct senior access | Always — Michael runs every account | Account manager / project lead model |
| Brand & visual identity work | Functional, not specialist | Strong — core capability |
| Meta & Google ads management | Core capability — flat fee, no spend % | Available, less central to offer |
| Real performance metrics in case studies | Public — DM counts, ad spend, leads | Brand & creative case studies |
| Free playbook / calculators / audits | Yes, all public | Not advertised |
| Time in market | Newer brand (2024) | Longer-established |
WHEN STRUD IS THE BETTER PICK
GO WITH STRUD IF...
- →You're building or rebuilding a brand from the ground up — visual identity, brand voice, design system, the full strategic creative piece — and you want a team set up for that work.
- →You're working on a one-off project — a campaign launch, an event, a major website redesign with bespoke creative — rather than ongoing month-to-month marketing.
- →Visual craft and design polish are your top priority. STRUD has a creative team and a design-led approach we don't try to compete with.
- →You're comfortable with custom-quoted work and prefer a scoped project commitment over a flexible monthly retainer.
WHEN WE'RE THE BETTER PICK
GO WITH MICHAEL EVANS MEDIA IF...
- →You already have a brand and you need it to start producing enquiries. Performance marketing — Meta and Google ads, conversion content, lead funnels — is what we do.
- →You want public pricing. $299, $599 or $1,299 per month — pick the tier that matches the stage of your business. No call required to find out the price.
- →You want measurable results — leads, bookings, ad spend efficiency — over visual deliverables for their own sake. Our case studies show real numbers, not just brand reels.
- →You want to deal with the senior person doing the work, not hand off to an account manager mid-project.
- →You're a small business — 1 to 20 staff — that needs marketing operating now, not after a multi-week creative discovery phase.
THE OBVIOUS ANSWER
YOU CAN USE BOTH.
Plenty of businesses do. STRUD builds the brand and the visual system. We run the ads, manage the content cadence, and drive the leads. Two specialists doing what each does best is often cheaper and better than one generalist trying to do both. If that's the path you're considering, we're happy to work alongside any agency-supplied brand system.
QUESTIONS WE GET
FAQs.
Why publish a comparison against STRUD Creative? Is this aggressive?
It's not aggressive — it's honest. Business owners genuinely compare us to STRUD because we're both Central Queensland operators serving small business. Telling them up front where each of us wins is more useful than pretending the other one doesn't exist. We give STRUD credit where it's due.
When is STRUD Creative the better choice?
STRUD plays a different game. If you need a strategic brand build — a real visual identity system, a coordinated brand story, professional design across multiple touchpoints, and you've got the budget and timeline for proper creative work — STRUD's set up for that and we're not. We can run ads on top of any brand, but we don't compete on brand-building craft.
When is Michael Evans Media the better choice?
Three scenarios. First, you already have your brand sorted and you need someone to drive performance — turn awareness into actual leads and bookings. Second, you're a small business that needs marketing right now and can't wait through a 6-week creative discovery phase. Third, you want public pricing, no lock-in, and to deal directly with the senior person doing the work.
What does STRUD Creative actually charge?
We don't know — their pricing isn't public. What's verifiable is that ours is. Visit either site and look for a price tag. If finding out what something costs without sitting through a sales call matters to you, that's a real factor in the decision.
Could I use both? STRUD for branding and you for ads?
Absolutely — and we'd happily work alongside their output. It's a common setup: a creative agency builds the brand, a performance agency runs the ads. We work with client-supplied brand systems all the time. If STRUD has already done your brand and you need someone to push leads through it, that's a clean handoff.
Are you trying to undercut creative agencies on price?
No. We're a different service. Performance marketing — ads, lead gen, ongoing content — is operationally different from brand and creative work, and the pricing reflects that. Our $599/mo isn't a discount on a $5,000 brand build; it's a different deliverable. Anyone telling you otherwise is muddying two distinct services.
READY FOR A REAL CONVERSATION?
Free 30-minute call. We'll figure out whether you need brand work, performance marketing, or both — and tell you honestly which fits this stage of your business.