The Brand Consultancy

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing at Curi. We’re a full-service advisory firm offering insurance, financial, and business solutions. We specialize in supporting physicians and healthcare professionals to achieve success in medicine, business, and life.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Brand Consultancy to accomplish for Curi?

We’ve hired The Brand Consultancy for large-scale brand evolutions, including brand essence, positioning, pillars, visual expression, brand voice, and creative interpretation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Brand Consultancy has done five years’ worth of brand projects and campaigns. Across the many brand evolution projects and campaigns, the scope of work has always been multifaceted. The brand work has included brand health market research, frequent updates to our brand standards, and strategy for internal and external rollouts. The campaigns have included various assets deployed across email, our website, landing pages, paid media, social media, giveaways, and more.

The Brand Consultancy typically kicks off with meetings that result in 2–3 concepts. The concepts are always so good and complete that if there weren’t any needed changes, they could literally be implemented the very next day. They do a great job with memorable messaging, fresh, eye-catching art direction, and equally excellent project management. The deliverables include brand guidelines, messaging options, campaign assets, images, and a plethora of other ideas that could additionally be implemented if needed.

What is the team composition?

We work with 2–5 people.

How did you come to work with The Brand Consultancy?

We found them through an online search. We chose them because they were close to our geographic location, their pricing fit our budget, they had a great culture fit, and they offered good value for the cost.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen a 45% increase in brand awareness and engagement, which we’ve measured through GA4, HubSpot, and brand health research. We’ve also seen a 60%–70% increase in web traffic.

How did The Brand Consultancy perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management skills are excellent. They hold weekly meetings, ask a lot of questions, use reflective listening skills, and provide timelines with due dates. They always deliver comprehensive work products on time that exceed expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They do a tremendous job of understanding our business and providing work that is so thorough and polished. They’re also accessible, flexible with changes, and easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the SVP Marketing at an insurance company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a commercial property-casualty insurance carrier.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Brand Consultancy to accomplish?

• Develop a vision for brand strategy (currently a house of brands; future TBD)
• Root brand strategy recommendations in market and customer research and data
• Articulate brand strategy goals that would support business strategy

SOLUTION

How did you find The Brand Consultancy?

Online Search

Why did you select The Brand Consultancy over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• Strong references (past clients)

How many teammates from The Brand Consultancy were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• The company wanted to consider a rebrand to represent a unified, relevant identity that clearly and effectively resonated amongst all stakeholders. This would include services to be performed or facilitated to accomplish the desired deliverable(s) related to the following brand development phases:
• Current Brand Research and Analysis. 
  • Articulate branding goals and objectives
  • Perform assessments, interview key stakeholders, conduct focus groups​ 
  • Review current brand strategy​
  • Audit, inventory of current brand assets​
  • Review competitor data, including branding and marketing 
• Brand Strategy 
  • Rationalize and define new brand architecture
  • Develop new brand strategy fundamentals (mission, vision, positioning, attributes, proof points) 
• Brand Expression 
  • Verbal expression (naming, key message platform)
  • Visual expression (logos, inspiration [colors, iconography, infographics])
  • Corporate identity system (letterhead, business cards, printed/digital templates, Web, and mobile properties)
• Brand Validation for Proposed Options 
  • Qualitative testing with employees (e.g. focus groups)
  • Quantitative and/or qualitative testing with customers (e.g. survey or focus groups)
  • Legal, compliance review (including outside brand counsel) 
• Brand Management Deliverables 
  • Brand standards
  • Usage guidelines  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Deliverables were the key output, which were utilized to get buy in from our executive steering committee as well as board and parent company stakeholders. We secured buy in and approvals at key stages of the work.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

TBC has a rigorous, hands-on project management structure. Deliverables were provided on time and they flexed their own processes to accommodate our own internal review and feedback windows. They were accessible round the clock and worked side-by-side (in the virtual sense) with our project team to ensure alignment and high quality work products.

What was your primary form of communication with The Brand Consultancy?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The team that presented to us during the RFP process was the team that worked on our account. That includes the CEO and principal. TBC has high quality talent across their respective domains; every member of the team has incredible work ethic; we were able to bring them into our executive steering committee meetings seamlessly.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Brand Consultancy could have done differently?

Nothing.