DeSantis Breindel

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former chief marketing officer for an executive search and leadership development firm that is global in scope and scale. We placed executives in top-tier roles and helped leaders position themselves to make a bigger impact in their roles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

The firm was launching a new business unit that was more of a leadership development consulting, as well as corporate culture consulting and shaping. The challenge with launching the new business was positioning it properly to get the right value proposition to stand out in a competitive business landscape but still fit our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired them to help us understand what the unique value of the consulting business would be and to come up with the positioning—mostly the words and structure—to effectively describe this business in the marketplace. They interviewed 15–20 clients of the consulting business and 5–10 stakeholders to comprehend how they perceived value within consulting services. They used those interviews to identify what could make our service unique.

After the interviews, they presented the team and stakeholders with the key themes they found and introduced five exploratory positioning statements and architectures. We worked in a collaborative process to decide on the one that was the best fit and they worked with our management team to launch that positioning through all our marketing channels. They came up with the right positioning and the right words to express our leadership consulting and human capital management in unique and impactful ways.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the CEO, who is also one of the founders, and with a creative account leader.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

I had seen some of their work in the executive search and consulting firm space, which was exactly the combination I was looking for. I wanted a firm that understood the dynamics of professional services as opposed to consumer packaged goods, which they showed through something as simple using the word “client” as opposed to “customer”.

A former colleague had worked with them and was satisfied with their work. They also popped up quite a bit in my online searches. They knew the business, the language, how to deal with the intangibles of professional services firms, and the value proposition of talking with clients

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I met with them in Summer 2017. The project began in August 2017 and ended in January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The deliverables and positioning came to life in March or April, which was around the time I was leaving the firm. However, I can say that the difference in the share price from last fall through this spring has increased, which is due—in part—to DeSantis Breindel’s positioning work and messaging to clients and shareholders. I can’t give exact revenue numbers, but the share prices have increased 10%–20%.

Several people in the firm remarked on the effectiveness of their processes. They were good at interviewing our clients and getting the right quality of work. It could be nerve-wracking to ask our clients, who are all CEOs, to take 30–45 minutes out of their days to talk to a firm that was just hired. However, DeSantis Breindel didn’t waste anyone’s time. They were able to ask the right questions and get exceptional interview results.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

They had the right resources at the right level, and that made for exceptional project management. The account manager kept everybody on track and made sure that all the deadlines were met. They were communicative, personable, and professional. Project management is one of their biggest strengths.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They knew and understood the professional services sector. Their team related very well to our partners. They can speak our language, which makes the whole project easier, and gave us more confidence that we were getting the right answer.

Their creative solutions were also deeper than I imagined. They came up with a positioning that was unique among a challenging, competitive landscape.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were no deficiencies, so not really. They’re attracting more clients and doing great work, so keeping up with their own success rate might be the biggest challenge for them in the future.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I just retired from a major financial services company after a long tenure as SVP of marketing and advertising. This past year, it was highly ranked on both the Fortune 1000 and Forbes Global 2000 lists. We have a significant B2B business as well as a retail bank based on the West Coast. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

DeSantis Breindel was our primary partner agency for all ten years I worked at the company. We resolved many challenges together throughout those years. Most significantly, the financial crisis in 2008-09 drove the company into prepackaged bankruptcy from which we emerged in 38 days. We had to not only maintain but also expand our brand strength and presence. It isn't easy for a financial institution coming out of bankruptcy to regain and build trust from their customers and the public. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DeSantis Breindel handles virtually all our advertising, brand strategy, and creative work. While they didn't conduct the actual media planning or buying, they provided direction and insight. Using a detailed methodology, they planned impactful strategies for growth.

The team held in-depth discussions with myself and other members of our marketing team, sales staff, senior executives, customers, etc. Having cultivated a thorough understanding of our business, they translated those findings into excellent brand strategy, creative development, design, thought leadership, and sales support. 

What is the team composition? 

The team always included a perfect mix of teammates who looked at the big picture, specialists within respective disciplines, and resources who could adhere to the schedule and budget. Throughout the years, the agency principals were always actively involved in our account for both the creative side and business strategy. The layer below them included highly qualified senior level staff, a brand strategist, and a dedicated account supervisor and account support. They'd pull in more resources as needed depending on the project or challenge at hand. 

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

Just before I joined, our company went through an agency review and brought on several agencies with focused areas of expertise. It was clear to me that DeSantis Breindel was more than capable of handling all our branding/creative needs, so we narrowed our partnerships down to just their team.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with DeSantis Breindel in May of 2007. They had already been working for my company for 1-2 years at that point and continued after I left. The partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The financial crisis was a difficult time to work in the financial services industry. DeSantis Breindel was a critical source of support to build and stabilize and build our brand. We conducted an annual brand survey through a significant third-party research firm to measure brand perceptions and evaluate our senior management and the quality of our sales force among many other company attributes. The survey asked customers if they were willing to recommend us and whether they understood our company, product offerings, and the vertical markets we compete in. I can't release specific numbers, but I can confirm that all these metrics improved each year from the financial crisis until I left the company in 2016.

To their credit, we had three senior management changes over the years, and each new senior management team retained them. When a new senior team comes in, they usually want to change everything and replace all the existing agencies. DeSantis Breindel proved themselves to each new team that came in along the way. 

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is one of their greatest strengths. Their agency always succeeds when given a difficult deadline or budget constraint. Regardless of the challenge, they always seem to come through. As a fast-paced business, we regularly experienced changes that required quick response. Our internal marketing staff isn't too large, so we truly relied on DeSantis Breindel as a close partner and a member of our internal team. Our dedicated point of contact handled everything seamlessly and excelled at connecting us to the right people throughout the agency. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated that they kept the team we worked with consistent, since so many agencies have a high staff turnover rate. While some new talent came and went at times, the core teammates stayed onboard which was very helpful to us. Our company is very active in lending, leasing, and other financial services offerings. We work with midmarket companies across 30 different industries, from healthcare and equipment to retail and entertainment. 

DeSantis Breindel keenly understands the specific needs of each of these vertical industries. They seamlessly integrate these takeaways to support our enterprise as a whole, which is a rare skill among B2B agencies. Many comparable agencies can support specific vertical markets but struggle to take on a greater perspective from an enterprise perspective.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. The fact that we worked with DeSantis Breindel for more than a decade really says something about the value they bring to our company. Had anything significant needed improvement, we probably would have changed agencies along the way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior director of brand and product marketing for a management consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

We were looking to rebrand a consulting firm to better reflect its capabilities and offerings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We split the project into three phases: discovery, exploration, and execution.

The discovery phase was largely internal and external research. Employee and client surveys allowed us to determine specific expectations associated with our brand and the best way to articulate them. Then, we held workshops to review our findings and formulate a few options for our new brand and its positioning methods.

We narrowed the discussion to a single strategy, then began working to narrow down our identity. DeSantis advised us on developing the brand identity including logo, brand language and style guide.

Finally, we moved into the execution phase. DeSantis used work from the previous stages to inform a completely updated visual identity, digital and print messaging templates, social media content, RFP templates, PowerPoint templates, and various case studies and white papers. In addition, they provided guidance on how to effectively activate and manage the new brand through an employee portal.

What is the team composition?

I worked with around six representatives from DeSantis.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

I was looking for a small to medium-sized agency, either local or national, to help with the rebrand and found DeSantis through my personal network. I ultimately decided to partner with them for three key reasons. First, they were intellectually curious about our company and our goals. Second, they had experience in professional services and understood some of the challenges we were trying to overcome. Third, they were prepared to act as an extension of our team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2015—September 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our employees and clients connect with the new brand. In 2017, we received recognition as a fast-moving firm from our regional trade publications for our brand effort.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager was outstanding. The DeSantis team actively provided feedback and communicated transparently and consistently. They kept my team on pace and provided updates as we moved through each phase.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by their dedication to learning about our business. They encouraged us to push our limits and, at the same time, understand our relationship with the legacy brand. DeSantis provided informed, relevant and pragmatic ideas to help our company move forward strategically with the new brand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the global head of institutional marketing at an asset management firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

Our firm mainly managed assets for insurance companies, and we wanted to establish ourselves in the institutional retail asset management marketplace. We needed to clearly differentiate ourselves from others, so we began looking for a partner to create our unique identity and messaging.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DeSantis Breindel did a significant amount of both internal and external research. They wanted to understand how our firm viewed itself and the message we wanted to put into the marketplace. They also analyzed how clients, consultants, and advisors view us to clearly identify what made us stand out from other agencies that offer similar services.

They took all that data and created a design and messaging guide, enabling our firm to establish itself in a unique way relative to the rest of the market. The guide contains all of our graphics and other collateral material we use in both online and print media.

What is the team composition?

We worked with DeSantis Breindel’s co-founder and a team of strategists.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

I’d worked with them before. They have a strong understanding of financial services, particularly the asset management space. They’re small and easy to work with, so we hired them again.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March 2013–November 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received positive feedback on the work. They didn’t make large changes, but the design and style of the messaging were greatly improved.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

We had regularly meetings, and they provided periodic written updates. They were responsive and maintained close contact during the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re smart and reliable people who understand the different vertical markets they operate in, which isn’t always the case with other firms. They have great ideas and come up with constructive, out-of-the-box solutions. Because they’re not a large firm, we were able to work with the principals who really understood our business. They’re a great agency to work with because they know how to professionally execute a branding strategy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of business development for an investment management firm that specializes in investing in timberland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

We needed to do a brand refresh. Our organization has been around for nearly 40 years, and, during that time, there's been a lot of competition within our space. Since our competitors have very similar advantages to us, we wanted to focus on distilling our brand and defining what differentiates our company from others.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, DeSantis spent some time getting to know our team and organization, performing a competitor audit and conducting interviews with our staff in the process. They spoke to employees at every level within the organization, including new hires and the CEO, surveying over 200 people to see what they thought the company's competitive advantages were.

From there, they conducted two half-day brand workshops: one with 10–15 participants from all levels of the company and one with the executive staff. They also did external interviews with current, former, and prospective clients.

DeSantis then developed a brand strategy and messaging map, which is used in a variety of different ways, from hiring employees to communicating with prospective clients. They redesigned our boilerplate and came up with different elevator pitches and speaking points for different audiences.

Now that the majority of the brand refresh is completed, we plan to continue working with them to update our website and create some marketing collateral.

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with Seth (Strategist, DeSantis Breindel) and Hannah (Strategist, DeSantis Breindel). They were both enthusiastic and a lot of fun to work with. I appreciate that they came into our offices in the beginning to tour the property and get a better sense of what we do in the field every day.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

We spoke with a number of different firms both locally and internationally, but DeSantis stood out to us by being exceptionally personable. They also had a lot of great experience, and some of the branding they'd done for other companies was similar to what we wanted to do. It seemed like a good blend of personalities.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around August 2017 and completed the initial scope of the project in March 2018. We plan to continue working with DeSantis to implement the branding work they've done.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback we've received on the new messaging has been incredibly positive. We've been so happy with it that we've decided to continue working with their team on projects to help implement the branding.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

The entire branding process was a lot of fun—we had a great time working with their team. Seth and Hannah asked a lot of great questions from the start and generated a lot of excitement by talking with our staff. They're very organized and met deadlines for every milestone. In addition to weekly phone calls, they shared a Google Document with us so we could track where they were.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm impressed by how intimately involved Seth and Hannah were on our project, and the amount of personal attention they dedicated to it throughout the process. They're genuinely invested in the success of our project; they don't just hand off tasks to junior staff after speaking with us.

Through the interviews and surveys they conducted, they were able to generate some very interesting and valuable insights that helped us create a brand and define our competitive advantages in a creative and unique way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing for a global B2B technology provider that specializes in security and electronic signatures.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

We’ve made a number of acquisitions over the years and recognized that we needed a unified brand, a clear brand message, and a product architecture that would work across all the different brands we offer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They held a number of stakeholder workshops in order to pull information about our key strengths, differentiators, and challenges. Feedback came from employees at all levels of our organization, as well as from customers, partners, and industries. They spoke with different groups during different phases of the process and also issued a survey to all of our employees.

Via this feedback, they uncovered the commonalities between our various products, as well as common strengths of the disparate brands we’d acquired over the years. All of this data helped us dig into the process of creating our overarching brand essence. They worked with us to establish clear pillars and values, write a new tagline, and crystallize the things that differentiate us from our competition.

Halfway through our rebranding process, we realized that we also needed to change the company name. They adapted easily and helped us make that transition, particularly during the activation stage when we began rolling out all of our changes both internally and within our broader industry. One of the most critical parts of that process involved bringing a new website live while transitioning away from previous ones. DeSantis Breindel helped us select the right visual elements for all of our digital properties and ensured that we honed in on key messages when rewriting the text.

What is the team composition?

We worked with six people in total, including our project manager, one of the co-founders, two strategists, and two designers.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

Their name came up in a research report by SiriusDecisions and we chose them after a lengthy RFP process due to their unique process. When we met them face to face, they’d already done analyses of both our own organization and our competition regarding strengths and weaknesses of our messaging and brand differentiation.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2017 and the project lasted one year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The complexity of the final deliverables was significant. We not only launched a new brand, but a new corporate website as well, and we also had to re-skin 19 other digital properties. DeSantis Breindel coordinated with our web designers and helped us accomplish all of these tasks within 90 days, which was impressive. Not only that, our site traffic has remained steady throughout the renaming and rebranding process. Generally, you see a decline in the first month after a transition, so our early statistics are encouraging.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager outlined their plan very thoroughly and helped ensure that we stayed on task with it. We decided to change the company name halfway through the process, which wasn’t planned, and they adjusted to our needs admirably. Their work was almost always delivered on time, but occasionally went a day or two later.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team they assembled was excellent. Not only did one of their cofounders engage with us, their team offered great creative direction and outstanding interview skills when they met with our stakeholders. We also appreciated that they had a clear methodology and applied it well throughout the project. They identified the right stakeholders and collaborated well with our staff to find the key components of our brand and the top messaging we needed. It felt like they were part of our team, especially since they also offered us a great deal of guidance during the process. Our senior-level executives felt like they were included every step of the way.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We assigned someone in-house to devote her attention to this project, and I think that helped us maximize our success with it. It goes a long way toward facilitating collaboration with whomever you hire because you have someone who’s emotionally invested in your organization engaging in every step of the process. We also found it valuable in terms of identifying the key messages for our organization. An outside agency can only take things so far without your help.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

During the project with DeSantis, I was leading marketing and communication for a luxury residential real estate company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

We were going through a complete rebrand, wanted higher brand value and proposition, and wanted to ensure we were properly communicating our brand value to the marketplace in a clear, concise manner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed to do a complete end-to-end review of who we were or weren’t, what our history was, and who we were aspiring to be. DeSantis reviewed all of our existing materials, a comprehensive research report, and had conversations with a cross-section of internal individuals in different roles and locations. After all of this, they came to our headquarters and had a two-hour session with 15 of our top leaders where they did exercises to really define who we were and who we wanted to be. It allowed everybody to coalesce around the same ideas and messages.

They took those unified messages into the design stage and translated them into visual interpretations of our materials, our advertising, our website, and how we talk about ourselves in client pitches. They gave us a new set of templates for all of the collateral that we develop from PowerPoints to research papers, to our marketing collateral, to new website designs.

They also helped launch the brand internally to our employees all over the world. They assisted in creating fun and interactive ways to roll it out.

What is the team composition?

Dru (Partner, DeSantis Breindel) was intimately involved throughout the entire project. We had a project manager as our main point of contact and also worked closely with a gentleman that focused on strategy. I’m sure there were a few others that I don’t remember, but it was a fantastic team of people that managed the project. They made sure it was streamlined and focused.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

I’ve known Dru since the late 90’s when she worked at a previous firm that helped me with an annual report. I’ve worked with DeSantis Breindel on a number of projects—print, web, and a variety of other types—throughout the 2000’s. Every time I’ve worked with them, I’ve been drawn to their thorough process and messaging.

They help companies that are at inflection points to identify how they’re going to enhance their brand into the next phase of their business. My company was at one of those inflection points, which was the driving factor in choosing them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $400,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2014–June 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

About a year and a half after rolling out the brand, the company was told that we would have to align our brand, look, and feel to that of our parent division. Our senior leadership felt that our brand’s message and the process we had gone through were far superior to what our parent brand had. To this day, they have not moved away from it because of how much they prefer it.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

With many creative organizations, you need to be concerned as to whether they’re more focused on being creative or managing the project, but DeSantis is unrivaled in this area. I’ve never dealt with a design firm that manages projects better than they do.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a well thought out process and approach and do a great job of explaining it to their clients in a way that feels effortless. They’re a great group of people that I enjoy working with.

Additionally, I’ve always thought that the size of the firm was accessible. Dru has done a wonderful job creating high functioning teams. The account manager is professional and adept at managing projects in an organized fashion.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that I can think of, or that I can remember my organization wanting me to pass along—aside from trying to find ways to save money.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of corporate marketing for a security software company. As a leading provider of enterprise identity governance, we help enterprises around the world understand who has access to which applications and systems, who should have that access, and what they’re doing with it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

Although we were well known in the identity governance market, it was only a niche corner of the larger security market. At the time, we were looking to expand into a broader market and take on a much bigger, global presence. So we approached DeSantis Breindel to update our entire brand in order to position ourselves as global leaders in the security space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, they conducted extensive interviews and conversations across multiple stakeholders, ranging from our executives, internal leaders, and employees to industry analysts, potential investors, and customers. They were able to compile a comprehensive analysis of our organization’s reputation, positioning, and perception.

They then had several meetings with the CMO, CEO, president, and myself to identify how we wanted to be perceived and formulate a branding strategy to get there. Based on their previous analysis, they gave us a lot of feedback from our internal and external audience. We discussed which messages we wanted to amplify as well as the ones that we wanted to rework.

From there, they built out a full brand platform, which encompassed both the visual language (e.g., the colors, logo, tone, look and feel) as well as the branding messages. They helped us define who we wanted to be, how we would present that, and our voice. They documented this in a brand guidebook that detailed our vision for our employees and partners. This enabled us to update and execute our rebranding.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with their senior strategy director and their creative director, who provided insights into the visual aspects. Both of the agency’s partners were also personally involved throughout the entire process.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

I looked at a couple of updated brands in the B2B technology space. Of the brands I liked, I reached out to the companies to see with whom they’d worked, and one of them mentioned DeSantis Breindel. I contacted them, and from our first interactions, I knew that they would be our partner. Of course, we did a full RFP with several agencies across the country, but DeSantis Breindel was the best fit for us. They were professional, had a lot of insight, and knew the B2B space. What’s more, they brought a fresh appeal, and their approach aligned with our values.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $150,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work lasted from December 2015–October 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the first three months after our launch, we overtook the number one search rankings for our top five keywords. Our year-over-year site traffic increased by 55%, which, in turn, increased our conversion rate by 57%. As a technology company, we allow people to request demos of our services, which is a pipeline to highly qualified leads. In the first five months, our demo requests went up by 275%.

In terms of brand awareness, we had over 90 pieces of feature-level coverage and an impressive number of international coverage. In fact, we had more international coverage in those three months than all of 2015. Needless to say, we were thrilled to work with them.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

They were incredibly professional, organized, and detail-oriented. I also appreciated that they were flexible with our schedule. Sometimes things would come up, and we’d have to push back the deadline. However, they were very accommodating and worked with us to make sure that we didn’t lose too much time on the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, it was a great collaboration. Every single person that we interacted with was professional, and they understood our market. It felt like they were an extension of our internal team rather than a standalone agency.

Looking at the whole project, I was particularly impressed with their ability to extract meaningful, business-level benefits and core values from our employees/customers and turn them into messages that we could amplify. They excelled at extracting useful information and finding ways to capitalize on it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the VP and the chief marketing and communications officer for AACSB, a global association for business education. We connect business schools and businesses to develop the next generation of great leaders through quality business education. Especially today, we need leaders that will impact society in positive ways for global prosperity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

Over the last couple of years, we developed a new mission and vision for our organization. As part of our centennial celebration, we also had developed a Collective Vision that identified opportunities for the business schools of the future. It was time for us to develop a brand that supported the new strategic direction of the organization. We were looking to partner with an agency to help us bring the new mission and vision to life and articulate who we are as an organization, what we do, why we do it, and where we add value.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we went through a discovery phase, which involved DeSantis's team interviewing some of our key leadership team members and influential members within the industry. They also researched our audiences through surveys to benchmark our awareness and reputation and how we're viewed as an organization to explore where there were opportunities for us to evolve and strengthen our market position.

Then, we went into a strategy stage, which involved workshops with our team members, leadership, and board members to define our brand essence and purpose. DeSantis presented some different high-level positioning themes to explore the best fit for our organization which then informed the brand personality of the organization. Once we had the strategic direction, we then built a brand tree that included a master brand and sub-brands representing our various products and services. The master brand included logo design, icons, color treatment, messaging, language, and all elements needed to create and consistent and powerful brand voice. The final stage was launching the new brand to members at our international conference and implementing the brand across more than 150 of AACSB brand assets globally ranging from the website to brochures to video and building signage across our global locations.

What is the team composition?

The team was led by Howard Breindel (Partner, DeSantis Breindel) and Seth Margolis (Strategist, DeSantis Breindel) at the highest level, along with a team of account managers, designers and writers who were well informed at every stage of the project and met all deliverables within the scope of the project, on-time and on-budget.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

When we were looking to hire an agency, DeSantis's methodology stood out to us the most. They're able to bridge and apply their research to the actual development of a brand. We had researched and interviewed over 10 agencies as this was a big project for AACSB as a non-profit organization.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2016 and launched the new brand in April 2017. We continue to work with DeSantis on infusing more emotion into our brand including the development of video targeting each key audience to reinforce our brand message and create a stronger bond and emotional connection to AACSB that inspires our audiences to become part of the movement to improve business education globally.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're seeing significant growth in business engagement with our site as well as membership overall. One of the sites DeSantis rebranded has been visited by over 1 million students, a 37% increase over the past year. For another site, we've seen a 24% increase in the number of visitors, including educators and businesses.

Their efforts have also opened up the types of members that engage with our organization. We now have over 54,000 followers on social media, a 10% increase over the past year, and we've seen a 25% increase in Google search rankings for targeted keywords related directly to the AACSB brand including "best business schools," for example.

Our new branding and messaging has helped the organization achieve a lot of positive media coverage around the globe. Representing over 800 accredited schools among and members in over 100 countries, most are now actively displaying their AACSB accreditation seal and the branding work DeSantis helped us create.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

Our account executive worked closely with us to keep everything on track. It allowed me to focus on the overall strategic direction of the project. I felt I could fully trust their team to deliver on the project which involves a strong relationship between agency and client.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed by the level of expertise they were able to bring into our project for each stage. Everyone involved was up-to-speed on the brand and what we were trying to accomplish and there was a sense of guidance that they've gone through this before but also an acknowledgement that every client is unique.

I've worked with a lot of agencies in the past, but DeSantis stands out as being more collaborative in nature. They thoroughly digest our feedback and provide additional input where they feel it would improve outcomes. They also take an iterative approach, coming back to us often to ask questions throughout the process to ensure they're delivering what we want; they're true partners in that way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Judging by the more conservative work in their portfolio alone, it was hard to tell how much their agency would be able to push the envelope when it comes to creative branding at first. I would only suggest they add more to their portfolio to show the full range of their talents. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You have to be a good client to be able to work with an agency in the way we have with DeSantis. To allow for trust on both sides, listen to each other's opinions and be open to DeSantis's input—they're the experts but you're the expert on your market, customers and industry. It's this sharing that will lead to exciting outcomes.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of a global investment banking advisory firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DeSantis Breindel?

After 20 years of growth, we wanted to make a clearer articulation of what sets the company apart. Consequently, we needed an enhanced marketing approach to leverage our unique aspects to external and internal audiences.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Overall, the project is focused on bringing a data-driven brand strategy to life across a variety of platforms. They started with a research phase and used quantitative and qualitative client/prospect and internal data to inform our brand positioning and strategy. Currently, we’re in the creative phase and exploring how a brand like ours looks and feels. That component includes a separate, but related, full web redesign project–site architecture, search functionalities, and UX/UI.

What is the team composition?

We work with about six people. The team includes a brand strategist, a creative director, a project manager, web developers, and a brand strategist that interacts with our executives. The project manager oversees both branding and the site redesign. Currently, the creative director is focusing on the visual expression of our brand. It's obvious that while he wasn't on calls or in meetings during the research and strategy phase, he was very much part of the fabric of the team, remaining current on our status. For the website, the team splits development resources between backend and UX/UI specialists.

How did you come to work with DeSantis Breindel?

I partnered with them while working at another company and had a good experience that proved their capabilities. When I joined this firm six months ago, I recognized opportunities for a research-driven approach to branding. In a competitive process, I compared DeSantis Breindel against a larger, global firm with a household name. Our executive team met each agency because the approach and methodology were new for the firm and our internal stakeholders needed in-person interaction to appreciate the proposed methodology. DeSantis Breindel had a great culture fit with our team and met all of the required elements for partnership (relevant experience, plan, cost structure, deliverables, etc.)

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018 and the partnership is ongoing. The brand project and web redesign should finish in July and August 2018, respectively.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have metrics yet, although the recent SEO report helpfully identified weak spots in our existing site. They’ll use that data to implement a new approach to the new site. Overall, we’re extremely satisfied with their performance and support. Insightful and thorough, DeSantis Breindel has connected important topics that support our firm’s future. They established timelines and have stuck to them in anticipation of our hard launch dates.

How did DeSantis Breindel perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a datasheet and communicate via weekly calls and email. Both sides use InVision for editing, wireframing, and real-time changes in a collaborative environment. That tool has been very helpful for the website project.

Our project manager always has deadlines in scope and pushes our team as often as she pushes the DB team - which is appreciated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Seth (Strategy, DeSantis Breindel) is extremely creative and can always capture the spirit of a business. He’s able to balance both strategy and creative when other vendors need two separate teams for that. Howard (Partner, DeSantis Breindel) has been very gracious, especially in helping us identify other partner agencies for PR and strategic communications. As part of the leadership, he’s available on a daily basis. Likewise, the whole team extends themselves for their clients.