Has anyone (non-franchise broker/owners) hired consultants to polish their brand? Create marketing materials? Compose an advertising strategy? I am not sure what title(s) these consultant use. From what I undersand they create and refine our agency's image and how/where you project it? Any experiences to share?

Hobbs & Herder does this for both agents and agencies!

And some people utilize a virtual assistant to help them create marketing materials and marketing plans and create logos and such. This way, the business owner retains a lot of control over the finished product, while delegating responsibilities to a person who specializes in doing the task. A good resource is http://www.revanetwork.com/ or http://www.vanetworking.com or just google "virtual assistant real estate"

Good luck!