Blue Flame Thinking

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of enterprise marketing services for a water solutions company. We do a variety of different applications from residential to commercial, industrial water treatment, pool equipment, and oil and gas separations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Flame Thinking?

Most of my involvement with Blue Flame was in my prior role when I was the head of marketing for our pool equipment division. The challenge that we were facing was we needed to find a way to engage customers and homeowners. Most of the business that we did was B2B, so we were looking to explore further into B2C marketing.

We knew B2C wasn’t going to be a big component of what we had, but we needed to at least start that engagement and build upon it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The range of services Blue Flame provides for us includes website development, maintenance, content creation, photography, video production, tradeshow support, media partners interaction, ad-buying, and social media support.

We asked them to build two sites for us — one is on one CRM that’s more “custom”, the other is migrated to a new CRM that they helped us build from scratch. In addition, they also helped us create a couple of different apps for our sales team and our channel partners. The website and app they developed ended up winning creative awards.

For the app, we were looking for a way that our sales team and channel partners could easily articulate the value proposition of some of our products. Blue Flame helped us develop a visually striking app that highlights its features and benefits in a very interactive way.

For the website, we were looking for a way to change the way we talk about our pool equipment. Most other manufacturers were very focused on B2B experience, so transformed that and put the language in layman’s terms — something more consumer-friendly. Blue Flame helped us craft a completely new experience that talks about the key components of a pool to focus more on the experience of enjoying it, rather than the equipment itself.

Each year we would do an agency review to make sure we’re still comfortable with utilizing the agency. We determined that we’ve spent so much time with this team that even with a little bit of management turnover, the majority of the team would still be very familiar with our business. They know our industry, customers, they speak the same language, so it’s very easy for us to continue to stick with them. 

What is the team composition?

At the time, we were a significant portion of Blue Flame’s revenue, and that’s how we grew together. I would say that most of their resources were assigned to our account. I’m not sure about the exact numbers, but if I had to guess, I’d say there are probably around 10–15 people working on our account at once.

How did you come to work with Blue Flame Thinking?

The company was already in a relationship with Blue Flame when I first joined the company. They had a different name when I was engaged with them. The company formed Blue Flame and it was ultimately sold to a new owner.

How much have you invested with them?

During my time, we were probably spending anywhere from $1 million–$3 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Personally, my partnership with them started in November 2011, and they're still working with the company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The one that sticks out the most with me is the campaign they helped us with to engage with customers. We invested about $8 million into this campaign that ran for a 4–5 year period, and it resulted in over $100 million in incremental revenue. Our ROI was north of 300% at retail, and about 4000% over e-commerce.

The app helped our sales team and our channel partners and retailers sell significantly more variable speed pumps because the value proposition would be right in front of them. The team would just show the calculations on how much the customers could save annually by switching to one of our products in person, and more often than not, people will buy it then and there.

They’re very instrumental in helping our business performance. They became less of a vendor and more of a partner — they’re an extension of our brand. We got a great lift in brand awareness, as well as a lift in revenue from their support.

How did Blue Flame Thinking perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management is done well. I can’t remember the tool anymore, but we have a platform where my content leaders and specialists would log in to review Blue Flame's creative works. We also go back and forth over email and the revisions while the feedback would take place in that system.

However, what they’re really phenomenal at is budget management. I would give them our annual budget, break down our initiatives, goals, and objectives and our big projects and product launches — we put that out every quarter and have a content calendar in place that works better.

It was all done through a spreadsheet, but they also used a specific software and system they helped create where I’m never off-budget. In my ten years of working with them, we stayed on budget, and I’m extremely proud of that track record.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with a lot of providers, and I would say that the key differentiating points for Blue Flame are their leadership, talent, and the way they connect with our business and team. it‘s not just about the creative works or them getting revenue, they were truly invested in the success of our company.

When you find a partner like that, it’s hard to move away from them. I’ve never found these qualities from other vendors, and my back and forth with Blue Flame is genuine — the leaders and I actually turned into really good friends.

Even though I don’t have to work with them anymore in my new role, I still reach out to them to stay in contact. It became more than a partnership through business. We’ve even taken that relationship, and applied it within our business to our customers — we treat our customers the same way Blue Flame has treated us. That kind of relationship builds loyalty, strength, and growth.

In addition, our revenue has definitely exceeded the majority of our benchmarks over a period of time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Like any other business, there are always opportunities for improvement. We had moments where I used to ask them to push the boundaries on their creative efforts. However, it wasn’t because they weren’t being creative, it was because we had brand guidelines that would put them in a box. I would still challenge them to get us to see beyond those guardrails despite the standards that we’ve put in place.

A few times, we had to poke and prod to encourage them to challenge us in our way of thinking. Once we got past that, it became the norm.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You will get the most of them when you partner with them to create very specific and creative briefs. Additionally, leave open lines of communication, and challenge them to challenge the way that you think. Aside from being a creative partner, they can also be a strategic partner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing coordinator for Hapman. We make conveyors and systems for materials that come in bulk like food, chemicals, and mined minerals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Flame Thinking?

We had been working with a previous agency but we felt like we weren’t getting any of the results that we were after. Our success is based on requests for quotes (RFQs) that come in, and we weren’t getting to the specific number we wanted. We really needed help from an agency to hit all the touchpoints for success, like PPC, so we reached out to Blue Flame Thinking.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Flame Thinking began with a deep dive into our website performance and statistics. They managed some keywords but didn’t work on SEO for too long. The team does, however, handle our PPC through Google Ads. Recently, they’ve also redone the templates for the product pages of our WordPress site.

They’ve helped us not only on the digital side but also with the creative aspects of the project to really get our branding together. They’ve put together a series of print ads with a cohesive theme and allowed us to tweak some parts of the design if we wished to. Prior to bringing them in, we had been out of the print space for a little while because was a decision made by our previous director of marketing. Now, we’re trying to get back into that space with revamped material, which they’ve been very involved in.

What is the team composition?

We used to work with Amanda (Account Manager), but she’s no longer with Blue Flame Thinking. Now, we’re working closely with Josh (CEO & President).

How did you come to work with Blue Flame Thinking?

We’ve actually worked with the company that ended up turning into Blue Flame Thinking. It was called Alexander Marketing and my company was engaged with them even before I was hired.

When we decided to part with our previous agency, we thought to contact Alexander Marketing since they were an easy, 45-minute commute away. We discovered that they had become a new agency altogether, but we reached out and had them come in anyway.

Blue Flame Thinking seemed really knowledgeable. We liked the personalities of their members and were really into what they sketched for us on the fly, so we didn’t really branch out to look at other competitors. We just stuck with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent something within the $50,000–$200,000 range. This encompasses their agency fees and creative service. The ad spend is a separate deal.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began this project in January 2019 and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Their analysis of our website’s performance really helped us move forward. It served as a good starting point and provided insight into what was happening behind the scenes. 

We’ve looked into our internal RFQs, but it’s really hard to tell where Blue Flame Thinking made a direct impact because the results of their teams and the previous agency’s work have all mixed together. However, it seems to be, at least in my opinion, a killer year so far, so I have no complaints.

How did Blue Flame Thinking perform from a project management standpoint?

For the most part, we communicate through email. Blue Flame Thinking uses Basecamp to keep things organized. As far as project management, they’re awesome to deal with because they know their stuff and know how to work with people from our industry, which is hard to find.

They have good technical writers and the account manager that we dealt with was on point when it came to communication and getting us what we needed in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Dealing with them, in general, has been really pleasant and insightful. They’ve done a really good job so far.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an idea of what you’re trying to achieve in terms of the look and feel of your materials, but if you want to let them come up with something from scratch, Blue Flame Thinking is great at that, too.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Bridgeway Capital is an investment management firm based in Houston, Texas with about $5 billion dollars in assets under management. We’re a professional asset management firm for institutions and pension plans, and we offer a family of no-load mutual funds to the public.

We have approximately 40 partners scattered around the country, and we invest heavily in them through training, servant leadership, and giving back opportunities. Moreover, our firm is a unique and wonderful place to work, and we donate 50% of our profits to charitable causes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Flame Thinking?

We needed to raise awareness because we’ve been told that Bridgeway was an unknown entity even in our own backyard in Houston. We wanted to get our name out in the marketplace and position ourselves as experts in the field.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve been working with Blue Flame Thinking for the past 12 years and the original scope of our engagement was for a brand and messaging refresh. They redesigned our logo, they did interviews with our clients for their feedback, and they put together a report of how our company was perceived — it was a deep dive into our position in the marketplace, and they looked for opportunities to grow our firm.

From the brand refresh, they provided us with advertising, product placements, and they redesigned our collateral brochures and presentation decks.

For our latest project, Blue Flame rebuilt and created two websites, each to address a specific channel in the marketplace. They refreshed the look and used WordPress as the foundation for their coding — they created development sites where we could test them without going public. Moreover, they worked with a large data provider to help organize and create connections between Bridgeway and the population of the data on our website.

Not only did they design and code the website, but they also created a data structure with a third party, so we remain accurate, efficient, and the manual processes become minimized. 

Currently, they’re helping us design our social media presence, as well as write thought leadership pieces related to our business.

What is the team composition?

On a regular basis, I work with about 3–5 people from Blue Flame. My main point of contact is Susan (Director of Strategy), and she’s been a part of our relationship for many years now. I also work with Steve (Developer), Tim (Vice President & User Experience), and Josh (CEO & President). 

Josh is regularly in contact with us, checking on our progress, and stepping in where he feels he could contribute to the overall relationship of the project.

How did you come to work with Blue Flame Thinking?

We met Blue Flame Thinking at an industry conference for investment in Chicago, and we were just impressed with their straightforward, Midwest attitude— we like the kind of partnership where both parties benefit from the relationship. They were just really cooperative and understood the financial and investment industry well. Additionally, their leadership is involved with just about all the stages of the relationship, and they’re always checking in.

They’ve been around for a lot of years and they have a good reputation in the business.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested over a million dollars with Blue Flame Thinking.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in February 2009.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

For our most significant projects such as websites and social media engagements, what we’ve done is use Google Analytics to measure the metrics in terms of site activity and engagement from users. On the other hand, for the softer projects like the collaterals, branding, messaging, design, and content, the measurement for that happens at two levels. One is through a survey across peers, colleagues, and partners at Bridgeway, where I get their feedback. The other level is anecdotal feedback from the marketplace — I get comments at industry conferences or even some of our competitors. 

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and Blue Flame always show up as professionals and complete the job. They always keep things moving, and keeping a project that involves a lot of people and different moving parts is an underrated achievement. They have an exceptional tenaciousness to move projects to the next step and bring them to a conclusion. Ultimately, that saves us time, money, and efforts to do other projects.

How did Blue Flame Thinking perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of project management, they’ve been excellent. Blue Flame is one of the most organized outside partners that we’ve worked with. They use different software like Basecamp and so forth to manage their projects. We can see the machine in action in terms of trying to get us to where we need to go to be successful. I would characterize their approach as professional, efficient, and ultimately collaborative in looking for a place for mutual success.

Susan is an amazing marketing strategist and provides great client service. The whole team has a great process in terms of servicing their clients and making sure we’re satisfied.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their integrity for professionalism, transparency, and efficiency.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to maintain a collaborative relationship with Blue Flame, ask lots of questions frequently, and give them the creative space to work on the project. Additionally, always ask for the progress of the project as it develops, to ensure that you’re going in the right direction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the creative director at a beer manufacturer. I oversaw all of the internal and external creative development as well as our digital elements. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Flame Thinking?

We initially needed help redesigning our web store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with Blue Flame Thinking on a base approach to rolling out a completely new webstore on our site. They were strategic partners and brought in their experience on the website and e-commerce. They led us through how the new platform would work on our site. The team helped us strategically classify our items as well in with new navigation. Additionally, they built numerous microsites for us as well.

We also did an overhaul of our site framework and migrated us to Magento. We wanted to increase our development times and speed up different portions of the site. Blue Flame Thinking developed the architecture. The design, content, and photography came from my team.

Blue Flame also worked on our loyalty program and built a nice interface for us that allowed the fanbase to sign up for a hidden portion of our site.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 2–4 people depending on the project. There would typically be an account individual, a head developer, and a creative developer.

How did you come to work with Blue Flame Thinking?

I joined after the relationship with Blue Flame Thinking was already established. I continued to work with them knowing how comfortable they were with the brand. They went above and beyond and worked around the clock to get the job done. They were a very reliable, flexible partner that worked with us on our budget, too. The team was very collaborative and provided solutions that were within our budget.

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget was about $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started together in February 2014, and we wrapped up in January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

They were very collaborative throughout the process. It increased our overall merchandise sales and revenue YoY. They also helped to increase some user functions as far as item findability. In terms of our loyalty program, we saw 3,000 subscribers in the first we months. It gave us another tool to communicate with our consumers.  

How did Blue Flame Thinking perform from a project management standpoint?

We used BaseCamp for project management. We also had status check-ins as a team and did yearly planning. The team gave us a monthly tracker on our budget spending.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very flexible with us as a client. They knew our brand well and it was great that they were in the Grand Rapid area. The team had empathy for our business and knew the business challenges beyond the work they were brought in.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Early on in our work together, we tested them out for some paid media work. It was okay but we just weren’t getting a lot of clarity in the reporting from them. The person on our account wasn’t following up as well. We decided to move our media buying away from them to another agency. I’m sure they’ve improved since then.

On the web side, they’ve been pretty sharp across the board. There may have been where we had another developer working that didn’t fix some issues until it was in the live environment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to bring Blue Flame Thinking along on a bigger journey. Don’t look at them as a transactional agency. Try to bring them along on the bigger journey and involved in larger projects. They definitely come to the table with ideas and suggestions to connect things to a larger marketing strategy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager for Founders Brewing Company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We started in 1997, and we got our experience making big, bold beers.

In more than 20 years, we captured the craft beer market and got into the “everyday-beer-drinkers” market involving lagers, IPAs, and session ales. We are known for selling our high-quality and affordable beer in 15-packs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Flame Thinking?

We needed a website redesign – from the architecture and how we capture content to hosting and aesthetics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did a full rebuild. After that, we’ve had them support with any maintenance and enhancements we need. We also have an in-house design team, and Blue Flame helps to make sure everything is laid out in the best way possible for consumer experience with properly-sized photos and quick response time.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager who will sit in on any discovery calls or on any big projects we have. We also work with Josh (CEO) and a team of developers.

How did you come to work with Blue Flame Thinking?

After working with them in 2014, we decided to reach out to them again.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $70,000 a year. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them again in June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve received compliments from our consumers. and internally, we like how the site is laid out and how it functions. Internally and externally, everyone’s saying the functionality is great.

How did Blue Flame Thinking perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re phenomenal communicators. Anytime we have a question, we use Basecamp, and they respond usually within a couple of hours. I haven’t seen a request go unanswered for more than a day. 

They’re also very responsive to the deadlines we establish together, even with projects that come up and we need to get done quickly, they’ll accommodate that.

There are about three people doing all the work for us, and they’re always on calls and accessible through Basecamp. Any planning usually consists of Blue Flame’s robust team. They’re remarkable partners.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with their customer service and their unbiased approach to offer solutions. They offer us a range of solutions that vary without trying to make a sale. If we want something done, they give us ideas among all price ranges, and they’d explain to us why they provided those solutions. We don’t know if every agency does that, but that’s what we like about them.

They listen to us and provide feedback, which helps us accomplish our tasks. They think critically about everything.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d say maybe just be more understanding to some requests. Sometimes when we ask for something, they’d come back with a solution that is a little bit off from what we thought it was going to be, so maybe a bit more communication.

Any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. They’re capable of doing many things, and they’ve been able to accommodate us on multiple requests. They’re willing to think outside the box to provide solutions to your request.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of sales and marketing at a manufacturer that makes die components for the metal stamping industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Flame Thinking?

We wanted a website redesign, and depending on the relationship with them, we were hoping to move into a full marketing and advertising support services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They redesigned our new website by bringing our engineering and technical capabilities from manufacturing to our customers via our site. They now do marketing for us using Google Ads, SEO, and organic traffic with grassroots mass email campaigns and other marketing materials.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with around 4–8 people, including web developers, designers, and project managers.

How did you come to work with Blue Flame Thinking?

It was a referral from my older brother, who’s worked with them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in September 2019, and the website was finished within a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We won a Davey Award for the best manufacturing website, so that was a nice measure to recognize the success of Blue Flame’s work and collaboration on the design. But based on quantitative ROI feedback, we can see the impact on the traffic to our site and the open click-through rates for Google Ads. Qualitatively, our customers' feedback regarding ease of use and simplicity of finding something on our website also demonstrates the results. 

The relationship has grown into a trustworthy engagement. Their effectiveness at knowing our audience, our products, and our company moved into having more marketing initiatives ongoing with Blue Flame. We wish we had more time to give them more work. As fast as we can think of a project for Blue Flame, we’re sending it off to them.

How did Blue Flame Thinking perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very attentive and responsive, and the process is great. They use a lot of new technology for us to collaborate, like Basecamp and InVision, so there’s dynamic collaboration, and we can move forward with confidence, speed, and efficiency simultaneously.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to take in information relative to our business, products, strategy, and audience is impressive. They’d process that to implement tangible deliverables like products and goals and then come to us with ideas about what we can do even before thinking about them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate to reach out immediately because it is a phenomenal experience, and they’ll be happy with the relationship and the products they deliver.