Having worked for an ad agency (and for a consulting firm) AVOID THEM UNLESS YOU ARE A LARGE ORGANIZATION WITH A BIG BUDGET.
They are not going to watch costs for you. They are not going to have their "best people on it" (unless, maybe, you are their biggest client). And everyone working on the project is looking to get their billable hours in. The entire motivation of the organization is to bill as many hours as they think the customer can pay for.
I met a lot of great people in those companies, but I do not miss my time working in them.
If you look at the earlier mockups, they were just as good if not better. I also think they chose the wrong logo from the earlier mocks.
If you are smaller team/org/business, I'd highly recommend just move as quickly as possible with the agency. Less opportunity for scope creep from them and let the creatives rock and roll. They will, without a doubt, want the project done as fast as possible. They will also produce the same work in 1 vs vs 2 vs vs 3 months.
If you are bigger team/org/business, usually you are buying the "process" or "experience". So it's all mute and a team thing.
If you are looking for both, you'll fail like they did here.
They are not going to watch costs for you. They are not going to have their "best people on it" (unless, maybe, you are their biggest client). And everyone working on the project is looking to get their billable hours in. The entire motivation of the organization is to bill as many hours as they think the customer can pay for.
I met a lot of great people in those companies, but I do not miss my time working in them.