Citizen Group

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a well-being manager at a large municipality.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Citizen Group?

When I stepped into this role, we didn't have a brand or a cohesive look. We provide a lot of different services to various audiences, so it's important for us to have a look that connects everything. Citizen created a series of campaigns which have helped define well-being and how we support our members.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Citizen Group was able to take our requests and quickly start working on our campaigns, managing several campaigns over the course of the year (they did five campaigns with me directly). We shared our ideas with them and they helped us come up with the look and feel of the campaign, developing key messages. They designed very attractive webpages within our strict and hardcoded HTML environment. In addition, they provided print collateral (usually, over 10 pieces for each campaign), making it engaging for our audience.

One of the later projects they worked on was creating some videos: they found a location, guided our novice presenters, provided the script, and staged everything. As far as marketing goes, they gave us the content and the creative, and then we pushed it out.

What is the team composition?

We worked through a project manager, who was our primary point of contact. We also had 2–3 other people who came to the meetings, including a designer and a creative strategist. In total, there were about 10 people working on our project.

How did you come to work with them?

They seemed to be a good fit for what we needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2016 and they're about to deliver the final product for our last campaign.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The look they created gets us endless praise. They designed interactive webpages and engaging materials, doing an excellent job translating our clients' needs into designs while staying within our brand guidelines. Their work also changed how our own employees are looking at our organization. We constantly receive favorable feedback from other organizations in our industry, who are impressed with our website.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager assigned was critical to our success and organization. They use Basecamp, keeping everything organized. They're responsive and flexible, letting us adjust timelines if necessary.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by how much they care about the product. They only take on projects they believe in, so they're very invested in those projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, all of their work has been fantastic.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a marketing consultant for small business organizations looking to either build a team for the first time or infuse new programs and expand marketing functions. I act as somewhat of an insurance executive with many organizations in Silicon Valley and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Citizen Group?

I've approached Citizen Group three times for branding and identity work or for rebuilding and updating websites for my clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For one of my clients, Citizen assisted on brand identity, providing their team with a creative brief after talking with their upper management before executing the redesign.

They've also been involved in both web design and development work for two other clients.

What is the team composition?

I usually work with 2–3 people at a time, including an account manager.

How did you come to work with Citizen Group?

I reached out to them several years ago on another project that ended up falling through. I reapproached them when the time was right. 

The breadth and depth of their work stood out. They were also great about listening and speaking to client needs when I interviewed them.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested upwards of $50,000–$200,000 for all three projects. It ranged anywhere from $30,000 for brand identity work to around $75,000 for a website redesign.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first project started around August 2015, with our most recent project finishing up in November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Citizen Group's success can be measured through client satisfaction across the board.

They're not just creative; they're a very deep thinking company. Unlike other vendors, they take the time to understand each client, getting to the root of the challenge a client may be facing.

How did Citizen Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, they performed well. I'd like to see a little more emphasis placed on future planning for clients, laying out a clearer timeframe and plan of action.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm most impressed by their thoughtfulness; they take every challenge seriously and really think it through as opposed to just throwing out a solution for the sake of moving things along.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'd only suggest they be a bit more explicit about what should be expected through each stage of a project. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Planet 10B, a sustainability and technology consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Citizen Group?

We needed to design a daily news campaign to engage infrequent voters leading up to the election.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided creative direction, strategy, graphic design, and web UI design.

I’ve worked with them on other projects for which they provided marketing, creative development, and event organizing services.

What is the team composition?

Robin Raj (Founder and Executive Creative Director, Citizen Group) is my main contact, but we also work with others, depending on the project.

How did you come to work with Citizen Group?

I first started working with Robin on a World Wildlife Fund project. We’ve worked together on a variety of assignments over the last 15 years.

I continue to work with them because they have a highly sophisticated understanding of the Marcom [Marketing Communications] world, as well as a deep commitment to sustainability and social change. Vendors typically have one or the other, but Citizen Group has both.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March of 2005 and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their creative development has helped our clients decide which direction to take their campaigns. They bring insight and engaging new ideas to every project they tackle.

How did Citizen Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They have excellent project management skills. They’re easy to work with, accomplish tasks on time, and respect budgets. They personally invest themselves in the challenges of their clients.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re dedicated to solving any challenge.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Robin is a very experienced senior strategist and creative director. Don’t hand him a small issue; give him the entire challenge. He can add value on more than just simple, tactical engagements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a medical research foundation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Citizen Group?

We needed to rebrand the organization to better reflect our expanded mission statement. Additionality, our name was too similar to that of higher profile organizations that dealt with more well-known diseases. We needed a distinct identity to resolve that issue.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, Citizen Group worked with us to specially define our mission going forward. Then, they were able to examine a new brand for the organization that encompassed all the ideals of that particular mission statement. That meant creating wireframes and redesigning a website that hadn't been developed for many years. They stylizing it with new colors and a new name. To accompany that change and create a cohesive brand, they were involved in creating guidelines for our all marketing materials like business cards, letterheads, and mastheads for social media.

Before we could apply those changes to the organization, we had to convince the board of directors that rebranding was in their best interest. To accomplish this, Citizen Group flew in and presented why it was necessary to make these changes. The board unanimously approved everything and we officially had a new name.

What is the team composition?

We mostly interfaced with at least four key team members. However, the whole technical team worked on the website design.

How did you come to work with Citizen Group?

Another organization started a new project with a beautifully done marketing campaign. I found out Citizen Group designed everything, so I contacted them.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project took place February 2013­–May 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work successfully helped us reach more people. Before this engagement, we had 200–400 Facebook followers and around 4,000–5,000 people in our database. Now we have close to 20,000 Facebook followers and 15,000 people in our database.

How did Citizen Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They couldn’t have been more diligent in working with us. As a non-profit organization, funding is always an issue. They recognized that and created a very streamlined budget for us. However, that didn’t stop them from getting the job done, even though it took well-beyond their original timeline expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They became very invested in our cause. Early on it became clear that they weren't just dealing with another client and another product assessment. They realized that what we do is very tied-in to a great deal of suffering in this world. As a result, they became equally committed partners in addressing that issue. This commitment is evident in the quality of work they produced.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I couldn’t possibly ask more from them. Given what we paid, they far exceeded my expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a manager in the climate change team for an environmental nonprofit. I manage our private sector engagement on climate change and the corporate partnerships we have, with the aim of helping companies reduce their carbon footprint.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Citizen Group?

We have worked with Citizen Group several times, dating back to 2002.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We implemented multichannel campaigns with Citizen Group. Our team developed a lot of the conceptual frameworks for each campaign, and Citizen Group contributed to how we can promote that from a strategic standpoint.

In one campaign, Citizen Group produced different collateral. This included video and print ads from each of the companies involved, with a quote from each CEO. The ads ran in major newspapers and print publications.

Our most recent campaign with Citizen Group was in 2013. The campaign showed how we could exceed what the science is calling for in the inter-governmental panel on climate change—by companies reducing their carbon footprint. Citizen Group developed the logo and brand identity for this campaign. They also did graphics for the report and the video. Citizen Group took the core of the report and turned it into a promotional entity that had its own brand identity.

The deliverables for this campaign included a brand, video, print ads, and a PowerPoint presentation. There was a three-minute spot for the first campaign, which ran on National Geographic television. We also condensed the video for the second campaign into three minutes.

How did you come to work with Citizen Group?

We were introduced to them by an environmental author and thought-leader. He was our connection point, and that brought a lot of credibility to Citizen Group. He had worked with them on campaigns for big companies, and that was what drew us to them. They had experience in big sustainability campaigns with business before.

How much have you invested with Citizen Group?

For the two projects, we spent between $50,000 and $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in the fall of 2008. The most recent project was completed in June of 2013. We’re not actively engaged at the moment, but we have maintained some regular conversations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to really amplify our voice. Citizen Group's collateral was used for banners and promotional material during major events. The print ads were used to raise the business voice on climate change and show that business could de-couple growth from emissions reductions. It’s hard to say how many people that reached. The print ads, in addition to the banners around the climate change talks, were also in major print publications. There were tens of thousands of people filtering through that week, not to mention the people we touched in the months before and after that. There were a lot of impressions.

For the project in 2013, we focused more on the domestic business community. The work we did with Citizen Group inspired an initiative at the international level. That meant that the idea of setting a target consistent with the proposed solution was now viral at a global level. There are now over 200 companies that have committed to setting science-based targets. There are 35 or so who have gotten their targets approved so far. Most of those are US companies that participated in workshops we hosted in 2013–2015, and Citizen Group was a part of those workshops.

How did Citizen Group perform from a project management standpoint?

We did have some challenges with missed deadlines. I think that’s reflective of the fact that they manage a lot of client work and have a relatively small shop, so we understood. Their communication was reasonably good.

What did you find most impressive about Citizen Group?

They bring a fresh, Northern California perspective. Sometimes, it’s nice to work with an agency that’s not in Washington, DC, and can think outside the box. They do a nice job with that. It also helps that they’ve done big campaigns for other large nonprofit organizations.

Are there any areas Citizen Group could improve?

They could improve in terms of meeting deadlines and taking our feedback into account more consistently. We had some trouble with the video. There were also some surprise costs not in the original proposal that got added on. That sort of thing isn’t helpful when we have processes in place in our institution, and we can’t go back and get extra money.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I served for 27 years as a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is a national, environmental, research, and advocacy group. In 2015, I became president of an organization called Green Sports Alliance, which I co-founded.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Citizen Group?

I have a long-standing and wide-ranging relationship with Citizen Group. They helped me conceptualize the idea for Green Sports Alliance. In my prior work with the Natural Resources Defense Council, we had a challenge of reaching non-traditional allies, or people who don’t normally think about the environment. We wanted to diversify our outreach beyond the East and West Coasts, which tend to be more informed and sympathetic about environmental issues. The Green Sports Alliance emerged to address that challenge, and we worked with Citizen Group in creating that organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They conceptualized the whole idea of how to leverage the platform of sports with regards to the issue of sustainability. They delivered strategic plans and produced videos, PowerPoint decks, and written materials. They made presentations at meetings with commissioners and senior officials of sports organizations. We worked together to create initiatives related to species preservation, climate change, and recycling. We focused on individual leagues, teams, and sports venues. So, they did creative work and strategy in both traditional and digital media.

Citizen Group also produced videos for major league baseball teams. They were a full partner in my work, and they remain that way.

How did you come to work with Citizen Group?

I met the founder of Citizen Group when I was working on another project in 1989. We reconnected a few years later when we were working on a mutual project. I worked with them on various projects throughout the years, so they were the natural choice for this work.

How much have you invested with Citizen Group?

We’ve spent at least $1 million so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project began around June of 2004, and the work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We literally transformed the sports industry by introducing the whole concept of sustainability into it. When we created the Green Sports Alliance, it started with six teams. It’s now an organization with about 375 teams from 20 leagues. That doesn’t include the international work, which has been an outgrowth of this project.

We reduced millions of pounds of carbon emissions. We’ve instigated the recycling of hundreds of thousands of pounds of waste and helped promote food donations. We also created the sports greening programs now used by major league baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, and tennis organizations. The work really initiated a cultural shift in thinking within the sports industry.

Citizen Group’s work is highly professional. They are among the best people in the world with whom to work. They are phenomenal presenters, great strategists, reassuring colleagues, great listeners, and wonderful at following through. It’s just an excellent organization.

How did Citizen Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re extremely responsible and very timely. You can always count on them to follow through in a reliable way. They imbue every project with stature, confidence, and intelligence. They’re a top-shelf organization.

What did you find most impressive about Citizen Group?

I think their creative director is a genius.

Are there any areas Citizen Group could improve?

I can’t think of any.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the public works director for the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Part of the program that I manage is related to fleet, facilities, and solid waste services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Citizen Group?

In 2012, we had set a goal in Phoenix to divert 40% of our waste from the landfill by 2020. We reached out to Citizen Group to help us find a way to message and brand a solid waste program that would relate to our residents here in Phoenix.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zero waste was a lofty goal set before us. We didn’t have a brand or idea of what this program would look like. Citizen Group met with us and put together a program that our mayor, council, and staff approved, which would help brand our program and move forward. We’re still using that same tagline, graphics, color schemes, and brand since 2012 as part of our program moving forward. They also helped us understand what our program was going to be about and how we can better communicate and tell our story, so our residents understand why it’s important to do what they do, which also lessens the impact on what we do for them.

The collateral they delivered involved logo work and the color scheme of that logo. For the tagline, they came up with “Reimagine Phoenix: Transforming Trash into Resources.” That started our movement and path down to how we were going to communicate. They also helped us with videos and graphics on ways to tell our story. They gave ideas on what our social media program would look like moving forward and ways to better engage our residents in what we’re doing.

Citizen Group also helped us implement our marketing strategy through the social media platform that we have. They helped us measure how we can do media buys, billboards, and radio as part of our program. There was print done for us as well. Based on our logo, they created templates for PowerPoint, for material that we send to our residents, and for our website. They created a lot of stuff for our brand to make sure it’s consistent in how we message everything that we’re doing now and in the future.

How did you come to work with Citizen Group?

We had a request for proposal process, and they partnered with Earth911. We worked with both Earth911 and Citizen Group in moving this platform forward.

How much have you invested with Citizen Group?

It was greater than $350,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It started in February or March 2013. The work finished in July or August 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

First of all, we increased the city's waste diversion, going from a 16% diversion rate when we first started to 20%, and we’re slowly inching up.

The initiative has increased our followers in Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I think everyone was happy with the brand. It’s been received very well, both internally and externally, to the point that we’re still using all the graphics in everything we do; we still have it on our garbage trucks. It has helped us identify, in a roundabout way, programs on what we’re going to be doing in the future. For example, we got a program that we’re moving forward now and will still be implementing new programs for probably the next two or three years.

How did Citizen Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They did excellent in project management. They were always on time. We communicated daily either through email, telephone, or personal meetings onsite. It was a constant communication with their staff. They came in and talked to us about what is it we were looking for and what was our goal, which was nice. They tried to understand our program and what we were trying to achieve. They took that and came back with a plan, a messaging scheme that was different than what we were looking for, but better from our perspective.

What did you find most impressive about Citizen Group?

We’ve worked with several companies throughout our program here in Phoenix, and Citizen Group was very professional, provided great support and services, and provided the materials needed for our program to move forward. The material, from my point of view, doesn’t get old. It can be used, refreshed, and animated to continue the message of what we want to do here in Phoenix. They’re a great group. I would recommend them to anyone, and they helped our program in getting to where we are today.

Robin and David were the two key people that worked with us. They were always looking for ways to help us achieve our goal beyond just what they were providing. They provided key contacts for us within their industry to help us with what we were trying to achieve. That’s what I liked about this company: they went beyond what we of asked them as part of their program.

Are there any areas Citizen Group could improve?

To be honest, they were just a great company to work with and easy to understand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m CEO and co-founder of Yerdle. We support brands in their re-use efforts by handling all the logistics and technology. We were originally a peer-to-peer network for re-use.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Citizen Group?

We needed help with web and mobile in terms of communicating the seasonal campaigns for our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Citizen Group worked on the look of our site and designed banner ads to communicate our brand. Their mobile work included a banner on top of native apps and in-app messages.

The team understood Yerdle deeply and the context from our members’ point of view. They helped us with our messaging, taking the need we had and coming back with a series of options. Citizen Group put different messages in front of us to get feedback, and they arrived at a good outcome.

Their work was focused on our holiday campaigns and reaching customers in contexts. In addition to positioning, marketing, and strategy, they also helped us with visual design and layout. They worked with us to ensure the dimensions of the assets were fit for use.

How did you come to work with Citizen Group?

I had worked with Citizen Group during my time at a previous employer. I didn’t consider other companies at the time.

How much have you invested with Citizen Group?

This information is confidential. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2013. The project wrapped up in 2014, but I would engage Citizen Group again.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the outcome. I don’t have exact metrics, but I know that the outputs Citizen Group produced were well-received. We got very good response for our seasonal events. From a delivery standpoint, they did everything to a T. They hit every milestone and delivered everything on time. From a creative standpoint, it was better than we imagined—I was blown away by the output they produced. Citizen Group did a fantastic job.

How did Citizen Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. They had a project manager who followed up after every discussion. Citizen Group said what they were going to do, and they did it. We didn’t use any tools on our end, we just agreed to the milestones and they kept to them. We communicated every two or three days.

What did you find most impressive about Citizen Group?

I like working with them because they really go deep into the audience and the feel of the mission of the company. They are customizing based on that need, as opposed to doing a generic take on some creative idea.

Are there any areas Citizen Group could improve?

No. I would work with them again in a heartbeat.