Daya

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior project engineer at TUFF Group, a company in the oil and gas sector that has expanded into civil infrastructure development projects. We’re also moving into the renewable energy space. I serve a myriad of roles in the organization, including sales and marketing, business development, and project execution. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Daya?

TUFF Group has been in the industry for 10 years, so we wanted to rebrand our corporate image. Our goal was to portray ourselves in a bigger conglomerate after having been listed publicly in Germany. We hired Daya to help us with website redevelopment and rebranding. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve engaged Daya to utilize the full spectrum of their solutions, including content marketing. They’ve done all of our corporate rebranding materials, including our logo. Complying with all of our branding guidelines, they’ve also redone our website twice. 

At present, they attend workshops before they onboard any project with us. If I want to work with them on a project, we’ll have a kickoff meeting to help them understand our goals. Then, they come back with a quotation and spend 2–3 days brainstorming to meet our requirements. They also receive insights from my management team.

After all of that, they propose their first draft, which is spot-on at least 80% of the time. The remaining time in such an engagement is spent fine-tuning the draft to what we require in terms of graphics and content. They’ve also installed Google Analytics on our website to show us our targets and performance. It compares the users we’ve had from a year ago to after they’ve implemented changes to the website. 

What is the team composition?

I started working with a creative director. Now, I’m working directly with 3–4 people from their team. I also work with five other people, but I don’t actually correspond with them. 

How did you come to work with Daya?

I knew them from many years back, and they’d been in the business for a long time. They started off as an interior design company in Singapore, and we connected with them because we had an interior design project. 

When we approached them for this project, they gave us an overview of their new corporate strategy. They were moving into branding and marketing, and their clientele proved that they were doing great — they weren’t disappointed with Daya’s work.

They were at the top of their game. They weren’t a big unit, but they were a good bang for our buck in terms of what they offered and what we needed. As a result, we decided to work with them on this project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Daya has improved our site viewership. For instance, we’ve known that Chinese people have been looking at our website to see what we do as a company while we’re moving into the Chinese market. I attribute that to the work that Daya has done for us. We benchmark their solutions using analytics, which has shown drastic improvements in the number of our viewers and connections. It's concrete evidence of their performance, and our management is happy with what they’re seeing. 

Moreover, Daya provides value in their services. They often check to see if there’s anything else they can improve on the website or bring ideas on how we can change up our content. The relationship isn’t just about dollars and cents, and that’s outstanding. Their creative director takes care of maintaining good relationships, and that’s why they have a lot of returning customers. We’ve also been working with them for three years now, and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon.

How did Daya perform from a project management standpoint?

Daya has assigned a main point of contact to communicate with me, which is smart because I don’t have to interact with multiple people. It keeps the project streamlined. On top of that, their response times are pretty good. We’re based in Singapore, and the time difference between us works to my company’s advantage. When I get to work in the morning, I receive an email from them. I reply, and then any task is done when I wake up the next day.

Overall, even though they have a small team, they’re very efficient in how they run their processes. On top of that, they bring a lot of knowledge to us from other sectors they service. This opens up our minds to new thoughts and ideas. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re dynamic. When we make changes, they’re quick to react. However, they also push back if they see something that doesn’t benefit our company. Even on tight deadlines, they spend much time and effort going into the nitty-gritty of the projects. In other words, they aren’t just a “yes” partner. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they can expand into different countries, that’d be beneficial for both parties. My company is in an expansion phase, and when we expand, we’ll tap into different resources. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anyone who wants to work with Daya should be calm and relaxed; avoid being aggressive. They may be dealing with a lot of aggressive clients, but if you treat them right, they’ll treat you 10 times better. In the end, you should treat them with respect. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Aurora Hotels International. A Singapore-based hotel management company formed back in December 2018.
 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Daya?

When we started, we needed a company to develop our branding, website, and everything else. It was like an A-to-Z business proposal and at the end of the day, we selected Daya for this particular job.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we first engaged Daya, I didn’t have a whole team with me due to budget constraints. When I approached them in 2018, I was the only one orchestrating the entire thing, giving them instructions, and sharing our core values and brand philosophy. I didn't put what I had in mind on paper, instead, I painted the image and explained to them the direction I wanted to adopt.

Our hotel brands are trademarked in Singapore and they fall under the Aurora Hotels International brand. Daya developed the identities of Aurora Hotels, Aurora One, Aurora Suites, as well as The Infinite by Aurora.

They are basically the creators of the entire concept, as there are no copy/paste or best practices adopted to this project. If you look at our branding, it isn’t similar to any hotel. It is completely created by them from A-to-Z with a full understanding of what's in the market. Their work involves the creation of the logo, font, and design elements needed in the brand's philosophy and core values.

Additionally, they created our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts for us. They've done some terrific stuff with our social media, but when the pandemic kicked in, we put them on hold.

I also asked them to come up with a simple video explaining our services that we can easily share with clients. This is so we can bypass difficulties and technical issues such as Wi-Fi connectivity issues and background interruptions, whenever we have appointments on Zoom or Google Meet. Currently, we're still working together as there are still some changes that needed to be done to the website.

What is the team composition?

There are three people sending me documents, but the main person I'm always in contact with is a gentleman called Eugene (Creative Director).

How did you come to work with Daya?

I used to live in Qatar where Daya was very well known in terms of branding, brand development, brand communication, and brand philosophy. They were introduced to me by my director of marketing and communications.

How much have you invested in them?

I believe we've spent about $50,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

It started in December 2018, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before the pandemic, we had offers every single month. Owners of hotels used to approach us because they liked the dynamic of our brand, and they used it to tell us there are no other brands like ours. Other brands have a logo and philosophy, but they don’t have a story. We were doing very well before the pandemic, but I believe things will look better once things settle down.

To adapt to the pandemic, Daya suggested that we diversify the business a little bit in terms of food and beverage, and perhaps moving to a virtual kitchen or lowering the management fees. They went out of their way to share their knowledge and ideas, and I didn't even have to pay them — it was a free consultation which I highly appreciate, especially during this current situation.

How did Daya perform from a project management standpoint?

Daya took us on a journey that was very inspiring. They also adhere to all the timelines that they put together, and we've been surprised with the delivery of their work so far.

We communicate through calls, emails, and sometimes on WhatsApp and Zoom. I'm not a tech-savvy person. I'm very straightforward and get right to the point, so I don't really have a need for any project management tools. However, their team uses Trello and have shared screenshots with me in the past. Our main contact knows his stuff very well and proposes a lot of things. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are genuine, authentic, and creative. You can go to many companies that will pick the best practices for you, and tell you what to do best before jumping into the actual picture.

I didn't see that working with Daya. I saw them come up with genuine and authentic ideas, through research and development. I was mesmerized by their team member who was doing all that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could expand internationally rather than just in Qatar. I haven’t seen the type of service they provide here in Singapore or Malaysia. If there is one recommendation, I would say they should expand their portfolio.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When you look at their strategy, they're very modest with their approach to pricing and proposal. There are many companies in the industry today, that do what Daya does, but they're hard to get a hold of. With Daya, you don't have to chase them.

They are very systematic, and they have the knowledge and latest technologies to advertise for restaurants, food and beverage, and hotels. If I was going to give someone advice, it would be to not think twice about Daya. They are the best company out there in Qatar.