CCG / Marketing Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a technology consulting firm. I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CCG?

We were looking for a partner who could help us with some design and user experience challenges.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CCG has designed an e-commerce platform for one of our clients. We wanted to build something that would be attractive to end-users, so CCG presented us with several design options which were presented to our group. We needed a strong partner for this project, and CCG delivered.

How did you come to work with CCG?

CCG initially found us, hiring our group for a technical implementation. We have worked with other agencies in the past, but CCG was our first choice in this case. We knew them from other projects and knew that we could complement each other.

How much have you invested with CCG?

The cost of a typical project with CCG would be between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with CCG around 7 years ago. We continue to pursue opportunities together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The website designed by CCG has had massive success, taking the client's business from thousands of dollars to millions of dollars. It was a good example of our collaboration success. 

How did CCG perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the benefits of CCG is that they work out of Los Angeles so that they can remain close to their customers. They also stay in close touch with the technical team, so it was easy for us to do business together.

What did you find most impressive about CCG?

It's difficult to find a quality service agency, and many of them only handle high-profile work. We were looking for a company that could help with our clients, deliver good quality, and have an understanding of the challenges in digital marketing, SEO [search engine optimization] and SEM [search engine marketing]. We have found all of this within CCG, without having to break the bank.

Are there any areas CCG could improve?

We should work closer together in determining technical requirements. We are technical experts, while CCG focuses on design, so it's important not to assume any details. Other than this, CCG has been fantastic

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The Abundant Company is part of a cluster of brands started by our principal. Abundant Health is our primary supplements line, while Purity Labs is in development, and is another supplements line.

I am the Brand Director. I am in charge of product development and research, sourcing packaging and formulas, as well as writing all the content for our labels and Amazon listings. I manage our website, sales forecasting, and so on.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CCG?

Abundant Health was an existing brand at the time, but it wasn't very pretty. We wanted to make it more appealing to the customer. The Amazon marketplace is unique in the sense that it's very visual, and products will always be placed alongside thousands of others. Having an eye-catching aesthetic is important. We wanted to have a credible and professional brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CCG created branding for Abundant Health and Mint, creating labels and brand collateral.

Mint was a completely new brand, so we gave CCG a color palette and based on that they came up with a logo as well as the entire design concept from scratch.

How did you come to work with CCG?

We found CCG through a referral. We appreciated their accessibility. The owners of CCG actually talked to us throughout the process, acting as project managers. The same people who were involved in the pitch process were by our side throughout the project. On other teams I've used, there were certain people who were part of the introduction, and I never talked to them again after hiring them. The other big reason for hiring CCG was that their team was nimble and versatile, willing to work with us until we were happy with the result.

How much have you invested with CCG?

The total cost of our Abundant Health project was between $10,000 and $50,000, while Mint had a cost below $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The concept and design process for Abundant Health took between 6-8 weeks, mainly because we took too long to make decisions. After that, CCG remained in charge of designing labels for all new products until we took the task in-house. We need to change labels very often because of FDA regulations, and it didn't make sense to have an agency in charge of changing the text. The Mint project involved design conception, and only took 3-4 weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Our Abundant Health supplement line was viewed by a number of suppliers, vendors, and fulfillment centers. Three or four of them told me that it was the most beautiful and aesthetically-pleasing supplement line they'd ever seen.

Our website produces many cold inquiries about wholesale accounts. People have come to us simply because of how the products look. Customers have also loved the branding, but it's a bigger testament to me to hear feedback from someone who isn't benefited by giving praise.

I have a friend who handles offer signing for a large company. I showed him the skin care designs made by CCG for our Mint line, and he expressed that it would be something he'd like for their new luxury skin care initiative.

We own another brand called Shaveology. I'm not involved with it, but CCG also made its designs. The company was contacted by a number of big chain stores wanting to resell it, just because of the branding.

What did you find most impressive about CCG?

I have a big agency background and have seen turnover as well as people simply falling into this type of job. CCG's team really wants to do what they're doing, providing strategy and business growth and not just designs. CCG strives to be a partner, not just a vendor. They think about issues critically instead of just providing a service.

Are there any areas CCG could improve?

CCG charges fairly compared to what we receive, but we're a smaller company, and I wish that we could better afford them. CCG has come to a point of having to take on bigger jobs which reflect their talent better. We're not a startup, but we function like one, and I wouldn't recommend CCG for smaller shops.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with CCG?

This feedback is directed more towards myself, as a brand owner: setting expectations on the clients and also asking CCG to set expectations will help in communicating effectively from the beginning, and being honest with what the goals are. As a brand owner, the client may not really know what they want.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

SugarBash is a subscription service aimed at helping women discover new products. There are social networking aspects to the service as well. I am the founder and chief executive officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CCG?

Our first challenge was branding. Our brand wasn't resonating, and we had an opportunity to change it after coming out of beta and make it more dynamic. We needed it to resonate with our audience, and one of the key ways of doing that was designing the logo and packaging for our subscription box.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CCG handled our entire rebranding strategy and direction, as well as creating the logo itself, voice, guidelines, and everything else involved.

How did you come to work with CCG?

I found CCG's principal while researching an ad agency for a previous company. That company was eventually purchased by IBM. They did great work for me while I worked there so when I went off on my own, CCG was the first company I called.

How much have you invested with CCG?

The cost of CCG's services has been between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I first started working with CCG 2 years ago, but the SugarBash project has only been going on for one year. The project will be ongoing while we're getting closer to releasing the app, in January 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Since we've just come out of beta and the app hasn't been launched, it's hard to measure sales or results. Because we do have a loyal following, when we were going through the rebrand, we sent out emails to customers, and the app was very well-received, especially on social media, but also through the emails we received directly.

CCG's principal is a partner in our company. When we started making posts on their site, the response was huge. The first thing that people comment on is the look and branding of the app.

What did you find most impressive about CCG?

CCG cares about my company and its success. With other vendors, we just set up retainer fees and oftentimes didn't get what we wanted. CCG took the time to understand my business and our customers; they worked with me in order to create the final project, instead of staying in a vacuum.

Are there any areas CCG could improve?

CCG is growing, and as this happens, keeping up with resources will be harder to do.