Fieldtrip

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of Oregon Child Abuse Solutions. We support all the nonprofits in Oregon that help to medically diagnose child abuse. We also advocate for state and corporate funding to go towards preventing child abuse.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip?

We have a very important mission, but it’s difficult to talk about. When we start talking about what we do, people shut down because they don’t connect with it and they don’t want to be traumatized by hearing stories about children who have experienced abuse.

They also feel like they don’t know how to help, so they turn away from our issue and are hesitant to engage. Our name used to be Oregon Network of Child Abuse, which was long. We were also a small nonprofit without a good digital footprint.

Our biggest challenge was talking about our mission in a way that would engage and activate people who come to our website and witness our branding. We also wanted to create a brand and story that connects people and drives meaningful action.

Our second big problem was that no one really knew what we did. We didn’t have a food name or brand to do outreach, and people didn’t know what a child abuse intervention center was and didn’t understand our role. 

We sounded like a membership organization, which isn’t what we are. We have activities outside our membership. So, we had to find a way to clarify what we do and to be clear about what we work on, which is finding solutions for child abuse.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fieldtrip engaged stakeholders. They realized that our organization cares about the people in the field and representing them in the best way to an external audience. So, they began by doing interviews with our lobbyists, district attorneys, funders, children advocacy centers, survivors of child abuse, and other state advocacy agencies. 

The team also looked at other organizations with a similar mission and their branding. They showed us where we felt short and paved a way for us to be more impactful. Additionally, they developed a WordPress website and a logo.

Fieldtrip also helped us solidify a name for our nonprofit by giving us some choices and helped with the design concept. They conducted a whole analysis of where we fit in the field and found an effective way to communicate that.

We also enlisted them to do a little bit of extra work on revamping all of our handouts. So we had a map on all of our centers and wanted that to be on our new branding. They then created a brochure, a flyer, a social media template, a letterhead, and envelopes.

I knew that I wouldn’t understand how to maintain the content of the website, so the team also provided full videos of how to update the website. They gave me concrete ways to update the website and provided a video clip for each page.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 5–7 teammates in total. I had a main point of contact, and I also had a project manager, a design specialist, a website specialist, and a social media teammate.

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

I went onto a website that listed the top 20 nonprofits. I noticed that Fieldtrip had designed a website for another nonprofit. I was moved by the website because it wasn’t an easy topic to talk about, but the team built the website such that I wanted to stay on the website and learn more.

We were trying to do the same thing. From there, I emailed their office and told them that I liked their website. Their owner happened to be visiting Portland, where our organization is located, a week or two after I reached out.

She showed me the process they used to create the website. As soon as our board saw the presentation, they said it was a go. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000 on the initial project. They put in a lot of work for that amount. I know that other firms would’ve charged us more because of the amount of output. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from May 2019–March 2020. We’re interested in doing new projects with them as time goes on. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

More people are viewing our website now, and we’re proud to share it and the content on it. We’re most proud of the places on the website where Fieldtrip included a lot of information while keeping it accessible, such as the FAQ on child abuse.

We’ve heard from people that it’s a beautiful website and that they would go to it again. We’ve also heard that people have learned a lot about what they can do to prevent child abuse in their homes and how to report abuse. A lot of people are impressed.

Our centers feel like we represent how important their work is on the website, and they like that there is a map that can locate any of their centers through the website, which brings their story to light, too.

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was excellent. They sent us a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet of when we could expect things with an entire timeline. Fieldtrip also took notes for every single meeting we had and sent them to me. 

They scheduled meetings with me every week. When I had to get things back to them, they would very politely nudge me to do that so that we stayed on track. The team was great about providing brand assets that would allow us to create ongoing content. 

They provided everything we needed to make sure that we were on track timewise, and they were excellent at getting things done in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Fieldtrip really cared about our mission, and they were bought in very early. Their entire team felt a connection with what we were trying to do and, because of that, they went above and beyond for us in the spirit of ending child abuse. 

It was fun to work with them because we would talk every week and catch up. I had a lot of bad ideas that they weren’t mean about. They were really patient with me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of marketing at Whayne Supply & Walker Machiner, a heavy equipment service provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip?

Our company was over 100 years old and had built extensive relationships with larger accounts. About 80% of the sales volume came from 5% of our customer base. Meanwhile, thousands of accounts never got touched. We wanted to better understand how to engage that customer base and maintain a relationship without having people touch them every day.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We went through a website redesign before engaging Fieldtrip. They came in and helped put some strategy into how we were relaunching our online presence. It laid out how to combine SEO and social media efforts to meet our target audience. That gave some focus behind what we were trying to accomplish.

Fieldtrip provided both the strategy and the management for our social media accounts and paid search campaigns, which included Google Ads. We had measured KPIs that their team reported each month. 

What is the team composition?

We had an account manager who was our main point of contact. On a weekly basis, we worked and met with a strategic team of 5–6. That expanded to the full agency when necessary.

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

It began with an RFP process. We didn’t want to get swallowed by a larger agency that had the right skill set but lacked the personal connection. We’re a relationship business, and we were able to turn our connection with Jane (Founder & President) into a similar relationship that we look to establish with our key customers. We really viewed it as a partnership rather than a client-vendor relationship. 

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we spent about $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership ran from January 2016 to July 2019. I left the organization in 2018, but Fieldtrip’s contract ran until 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our goals were to engage our key targeted market segment and to create new business within that market space. We were expanding our capability and product offerings, so we were going after a new type of customer we hadn’t tried to target before.

As I was building out our core marketing team, Fieldtrip was there to fill the void of managing our advertising and promotions. It let me focus on our business development and understanding the reporting from our analysis of this new market segment, which we hadn’t had in the past.

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

They never had an issue getting quality work out by a deadline. We paid quite a bit to hit deadlines, but that’s okay. They used a cloud-based management tool to manage the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their willingness to join my team as if they were part of our organization. other marketing companies, I spent a lot of time going to them to pass on information and feedback before they disappear. Fieldtrip took a different approach and embedded themselves in our company to try to better understand what we do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a growing company, there are always opportunities to improve. Had I not left the organization, we could have taken a more focused approach and tactically focused on smaller, specific areas for quick wins. That’s on my direction rather than Fieldtrip’s execution, however. 

Any advice for potential customers?

If you’re looking to partner with Fieldtrip, ask yourself what you’re looking for in a provider. Many agencies say they’re committed to their client and to quality results, but Fieldtrip lives and breathes it. They don’t do cookie-cutter results; they’re very focused on pushing that edge and understanding the client’s brand strategy. They’ll come in and shape who you are today and who you want to become.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization is a new web app called Bridge Bee, which is associated with another company that sells supplies for the card game bridge. I am one of the owners of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip?

In an effort to monetize our content, we decided to build a bridge app that lets you play the hands in our bridge books.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of the main things that we wanted to accomplish with our app was for it to stand out from the existing market because the current bridge apps are very functional but are quite lacking in terms of UI and brand identity. Our first major goal was to make sure our brand identity was really well researched and thought out and that our UI was completely intuitive.

We had a developer and a UI designer already in-house, so what we went to Fieldtrip for was the logo design and the brand identity work, including colors, font, and layout of the home page and our ads. They did the digital backs of our cards, as well as an ‘album cover’ for each of the available hands.

What is the team composition?

Jane (Owner) was our main point of contact and worked with us to set everything up and decide on the deliverables. We also had a person in charge of our timetable and scheduling as well as a designer who created the look and logos and everything.

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

I really wanted to work with someone local that I could meet with in person. I met with several different options in Louisville and ended up deciding to go with Fieldtrip because they were the most reasonably priced but also seemed like they had the best handle on what they were doing. They really seemed to ‘get’ our project and what we were trying to create, so we decided to move forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a total of $16,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from June–September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app actually goes live this week, so we don’t have a ton of user data, but we’ve had beta testers who’ve said that the app itself is the best way to play bridge they’ve ever seen. It looks really good and is extremely user-friendly, so we are very pleased with all of those results. We’re very confident about the eventual reception that it will receive.

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m not sure what systems they use on the backend, but they always made it very clear where their expected goals for delivery were for both of our teams. We had our own timelines for things that we needed to provide to them, and they made those clear to us as well. Occasionally, we got things to them a little late, but they never delivered after a date that they had promised us. Everything was on time, if not even earlier.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They just felt completely approachable throughout our work with them. It barely even felt like we were business partners because of how smooth our collaboration process always was. Their team clearly shared our goal of creating the best look and feel for the app that we possibly could.

I also really appreciated the close involvement of the owner of their company in our process. That and the level of intensive investigation they did before committing to any of the brand identity and logo work were things I had never experienced before and really impressed upon us how seriously they were taking our project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I really think they did a perfect job. I couldn’t be happier with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just listen and trust the process. This team is made up of experts on what they do and can deliver a great experience and final product to you if you keep an open mind and let them do their magic.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a company called Mira, and I’m the director of client experience. We are a brand resource management company, typically in the form of producing and distributing promotional items and apparel that contain a company’s logo.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip?

As a company, we have a really great backstory, but we’ve never known how to communicate what we do, who we are, and why we’re better than anyone else.

We had developed a lot of different offerings over the years but were coming across as a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ sort of company. We needed help polishing up our image and the story behind why our customers buy from us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started out with a really deep dive into who we were as a company, looking at not only what we do and who are clients are, but also what those clients care about and how that differs from what our prospective clients care about.

The first conclusion they arrived at was the need for a name change because our old name just didn’t have any brand equity. People didn’t know what it meant and didn’t really care either, which hurt a little bit to hear but was a really important insight in the end.

From there, they helped us to just consolidate the identity of our company and the messaging around it, including everything from the words we used to explain what we do to the branding and advertising work we put out to attract and secure new clients.

What is the team composition?

We had two account reps, one senior and one junior, as well as a creative director who functioned as our main point of contact and managed a few other creatives on his team.

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

I think they came to us through word of mouth recommendation. Once we found out about them, I dug into the specifics with them and a few other agencies. Most of the other options immediately got into what they could offer us, but Fieldtrip was the only one who really asked us what we actually wanted and why. That approach really met us where we were at a lot more than any of the other companies did, so we decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total project cost was about $50,000, with about $30,000 going towards the research and planning phase and $20,000 going into the launch and execution.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together with them from July 2019–March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Internally, we’ve started having branding workshops to help people explain what they’re company does, and our employees are reporting feeling much more confident in their ability to explain what they do to their friends. In that regard, the feedback has been really positive.

Externally, things have been even more positive, not only helping to impress our clients, but also putting us back in touch with the decision-makers at our biggest companies and helping us redefine our position with them as well. Because it was clear we had made a pretty significant change, we were able to step out of the box we were in and explain that we’re not just a printer, we’re a partner, and we can expand those relationships to a lot more services than we had before.

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

Their ability to meet deadlines was great. We were working on a really tight timeline for the entirety of the project, and they did an excellent job of managing our work so that we felt like their only clients, which we definitely weren’t.

As far as project management tools, we kept things pretty basic, using spreadsheets to track the timeline and budget of specific deliverables, and otherwise communicating primarily over email and phone conversations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Going back to the very beginning, I don’t think anybody does a better job of digging into the why of a project and understanding what really needs to be done. They interviewed our clients and prospects, which was incredibly helpful because they were able to get much more straightforward answers than we do.

Those insights ended up being the most valuable aspect of the project by far because understanding that disconnect was the key to making truly substantive changes in our brand image. You can change the color of your logo all you want, but if nobody knows what you do, it doesn’t matter, and they really got at what we actually needed instead of just hitting empty deliverables.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Teams shifted during the project, which presented some unique challenges that I think could have been handled a little bit better, and they were excellent at communicating timelines but not quite as good at communicating about the budget. I think providing a little more detail about what to do about budget constraints and what to cut out in certain situations could have been helpful as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I really don’t have any recommendations, because Fieldtrip did such an outstanding job of holding our hand and guiding us through the beginning of the process that I’m confident that anyone would be able to have as successful an engagement with them as we did.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sole owner of a furniture retailer with six locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip?

As we were experiencing some growth, we brought on Fieldtrip to help us stay on top of our marketing and social media initiatives.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve continued to provide marketing and advertising support for all of my six stores. They’ve also spearheaded integrated initiatives on our social media outlets. They give direction on and finalize our content—whether it be multimedia, TV, radio, or direct mail. They launch our text and email blasts using the old content that we provide them.

They localize our ads with tags for our specific stores. I estimate that around 80% of our advertising content is created by them, and 20% of it is our own input.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Michelle (Account Supervisor, Fieldtrip) who has served as our account manager for the last four years. Their owner, Jane (Founder & President, Fieldtrip) has also been very involved in our account. I suspect that they have 4–5 additional employees involved, mostly behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

I’ve known Jane for over 16 years. She used to do marketing for a licensee of one of my stores before she started her own advertising firm. When my business started growing in 2007, I contracted with her to enhance our campaigns. 

How much have you invested with them?

My estimate is somewhere between $1.2­–$1.5 million over the course of 13 years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since 2006. It’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While it’s difficult to quantify results, we’ve continued to see increases in traffic thanks to their efforts. They successfully coordinate six separate markets and deliver marketing solutions for all of them.

The biggest value-add for us is how they enable us to focus on our primary business processes by taking advertising off of our plates. Even though we spend a significant amount annually, we see a healthy ROI on a quarterly basis.

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

The longevity of our relationship is a testament to how great they are. If I’d had any issues, I wouldn’t have worked with them for so long. They get things done very quickly and are easy to work with. We use weekly conference calls to communicate, along with bi-annual in-person meetings to go over quarterly advertising plans.

What did you find most impressive about them?
The owner is always picking my mind about how they can perform even better, and we really appreciate that sort of commitment to our business. They’re on top of their game and aren’t afraid to try new ideas to stay on top of a rapidly-changing advertising world.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d encourage them to get more aggressive in terms of thinking outside of the box. I know it’s difficult when you’re working with brand requirements, but I’d appreciate if they were bolder about pushing those boundaries a little.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just trust them­­­—they’ve been in the game for a very long time and know what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Renegade Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on female founders and funders. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip?

We needed help with our branding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fieldtrip did all of our branding: a logo, print graphics for social media, collateral pieces, a pitch deck, and more. They even coded the logo to light up and flash like a neon sign.

Before making these materials, Fieldtrip really helped me figure out the brand and voice of our firm. They researched multiple names and the meaning behind them, helping me determine if Renegade is the right choice. We used mood boards and looked at the mission, vision, and values behind the organization. All that prep work, combined with four strategy sessions, turned into the brand. Fieldtrip helped me harness a rebellious vibe in a beautiful way that doesn’t exclude male investors who support our mission. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Andrew (Creative Director, Fieldtrip). I worked with four people, including Amy (Senior Art Director, Fieldtrip) and an intern whose design was in the final products. 

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

Jane (CEO, Fieldtrip) has been an avid volunteer in our startup community. She’s given her time repeatedly to better the community. I got to know her through a mentorship program that I managed. Many startups talked regularly about what an amazing mentor she was, so I wanted to get to know her better. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from April to June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have success metrics yet, but the community of startups and female leaders I’ve worked with have responded very positively to the brand. Our board of advisors repeatedly praised the quality of Fieldtrip’s work. When Fieldtrip gave us four logos to choose from, I would have been thrilled with any of the options, which made the final decision hard! Working with their team has been an excellent experience. I’d recommend Fieldtrip to any company looking to refresh or rethink their brand.  

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re by far the best creative team I’ve worked with. They were professional and fun, giving out-of-the-box ideas along with safe ones to meet our full needs. The work itself was up to modern brand standards: fresh, innovative, and perfect for a startup. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, they’re small enough to care about each customer individually and to give back to the community. Second, they’re uniquely fresh and innovative, which lets them excel in branding. The quality of work that we’ve gotten out of the creative team at Fieldtrip is unparalleled compared to other agencies I’ve worked with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any right now. My experience was very, very positive. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their process. They’re going to push on parts of your brand that feel like sacred cows because they believe in what is best for your company and what will yield high-quality results. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and founder of a nonprofit that educates parents of teens and pre-teens on teenage culture.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip?

We started a new website with another vendor, but that team ran into organizational issues at the end of the process. We also were in the midst of doing a rebrand. We needed a team to come in and take over where our vendor left off.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fieldtrip redesigned the website, which was built on WordPress with WooCommerce functionality and numerous plug-ins. They reorganized the structure in terms of the pages and user journey. They placed each call to action carefully so that users would know where to go next, based on where we wanted them to go. Most recently, Fieldtrip overhauled our menu on the desktop and mobile versions on the site. We didn’t expect it to be quite as extensive as it was, but once they explained the scope of work, it made sense for what they needed to do. We now use Fieldtrip for one-off projects when it comes to web development.

We originally had done a rebrand with a local web development company before moving to Fieldtrip. Fieldtrip carried over what that third-party agency already did. They now market our brand and services through social media and paid ads. We contracted a third-party organic social media poster through their facilitation as well. We use several platforms, but the only one Fieldtrip manages is our paid ads and page likes ads on Facebook.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people on the web development side. For the marketing side of things, we have 2–3 points of contact.

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

I used to attend church with one of their employees. I then came across his Facebook profile, where he’d post about the work he was doing through their organization. I then reached out to Fieldtrip and scheduled a meeting.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018, and the partnership is ongoing. We continue to work on a month-to-month basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We follow KPIs like bounce rate, session duration, and the number of page views for our website. Fieldtrip helped us align our goals with what we’re measuring. We’re starting to track to those, so I don’t have numbers yet. For our marketing, we track the number of likes from videos along with views, shares, and other social media metrics. Fieldtrip meets our objectives consistently. The quality of work was good, especially when it comes to their deliverables.

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

There are a lot of moving parts, but they make themselves very available for the projects we set. They come on-site and meet with us monthly to go over our paid advertising. We communicate over the phone and email for web-based projects.

Fieldtrip spends a significant amount of time before each project making a statement of work. As a customer, it can be a bit daunting when you’re trying to get something done quick. But it always turns out to very well thought-out and followed step-by-step. We know what to expect and when to expect it. It’s a really methodical and effective process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Jane (Founder & President, Fieldtrip) just goes above and beyond. She makes us feel valued and important. She offers great feedback and met with us numerous times outside of our scope of work. She’s just so in tune with the world she works in, especially when it comes to Facebook and doing what she needs to do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. It is expensive, but we have a nonprofit fee that we pay monthly for budgeting purposes, and we get what we pay for. We went cheaper before, but we got what we paid for there, too.

Any advice for potential customers?

If you get the opportunity, talk to Jane face-to-face. You’ll learn what she’s about and how knowledgeable she is, and you’ll be sold instantly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the marketing director of Pegasus, a transportation company in Louisville, Kentucky. We handle everything from urban tours, to corporate transportation, to out of town motor trips.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip ?

We needed a partner to redesign and rebrand our organization. When the owner first purchased the company, it had about five vehicles in its fleet. In 2014, we acquired several other companies, and ended up with three separate companies with separate images. We had an internal branding problem, and had employees who didn't know who they worked for. They were also confused as to what their job duties were. We wanted to clarify those confusions and rebrand our organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fieldtrip interviewed our stakeholders, our staff, our management, and came back to us with a solution to create a branded house, rather than a house of brands. That's where the name Pegasus came from. They helped develop the identity for who we were and gave us an image of our company that we could move forward with that better represented who we are and who will be in the future.

What is the team composition?

We predominantly worked with three members of their team.

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

We interviewed a total of 16 graphic design agencies, and we narrowed down that pool to three companies. We chose Fieldtrip out of that pool because they were able to make decisions based on metrics and ROI, rather than just designs and aesthetics.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February 2018 – August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of Google Analytics, our rankings have significantly gone up since we rebranded. It went down, obviously, for a period of time since we moved everything over to a new website, but with very little else being done just having one central location for multiple brands allowed us to have a lot more of a stake in our google listing, since it's in one place rather than spread out amongst different places.

Our staff's perspective and ability to articulate what our company does now has changed since the rebrand as well. Before, a huge issue was them not being able to articulate what they do for a living, and now they can. It's resulted in quite a bit of referral business just from the sheer fact that our drivers and in-office employees can go out and spread the word about our company.

In Louisville, because of the huge boom in bourbon, turnover has increased tenfold. We've had ten hotels pop up recently, so it's much easier to tell this frontline staff, even with the turnover, who we are under one name and describe ourselves in just a sentence. We also saw a lot of companies who lost our contract with coming back to us because the staff was able to remember who we were, which was worth over half a million dollars in revenue that we saw just in August.

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

They were exceptional. Our main points of contact were extremely communicative and gave me updates every week with where the project was at any questions we had or any questions they had answered for themselves. They really embodied, embraced, and understood who we were. For the most part, I felt they could work autonomously. It didn't require a whole lot of hand-holding. They were very good at communicating every step of the process and they told us what our roadmap would look like when we'd see deliverables, and our whole branding process was very smooth because of them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had a very specific design process and did an exceptional job at explaining the process by which they were going to do the research. They came to us and said they wouldn’t be designing a brand for us, but were going to design the brand that people think we are, which we found a lot of value in. A lot of the other designers came in and said they would design a solution for us that would solve all of our problems.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I really don' think they could be improved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to understand and value where designers’ minds come from. If you give a designer an understanding of who you are, and you give them leeway, you get amazing things back. We worked really hard to give them as much creative license as possible and that really paid off. It wasn't an easy thing to do, just because ownership and management were not used to giving license to someone who doesn't work at the company. That strategy paid off tremendously because the brand we received from them was one that we love, that's creative, beautiful, and elegant.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior communications professional for a contractor that manages care support in a military health program.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Fieldtrip?

We hired a Fieldtrip to manage the production and design of our operation health report. For us, this is an influencing tool. Every contract cycle, we have to build relationships with beneficiaries and bid on new contracts. We wanted to use this tool to develop those relationships.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We already had an idea of how we wanted the report to flow, but Fieldtrip helped us with the storytelling component. They introduced a few concepts for us to review and managed the design piece. We provided content like copywriting, and they created a design vision. Originally, we planned to print the report, but we decided to release it digitally.

What is the team composition?

Our project manager and design lead were key to the success of our partnership.

How did you come to work with Fieldtrip?

My leader had seen some of their previous work and was impressed. We were looking for a grassroots company that had a unique and innovative style. We really wanted a fresh perspective and innovative thinkers. We were excited to work with Fieldtrip because we appreciated their design aesthetic and the approach that they took to other companies they’ve worked for.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a little more than $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They created a really productive and compelling story through the report. We are really happy with the product. The deliverables were slightly different than we envisioned, but that was the best part of working with Fieldtrip. They were flexible and able to adapt to our stakeholders’ changing expectations.

How did Fieldtrip perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fantastic. The project manager was always timely with their communication. I was always happy to hear from them because they were welcoming and positive. They were really good at following up with us when we pushed back deadlines. They were also really thoughtful and collaborative in meetings. They provided all the resources we needed, and we felt like we were in really good hands.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What stood out to us that set them apart was their ability to tell a story through their design. And we really appreciated that collaboration from them. It was definitely different. The design we ended up agreeing upon and was produced definitely stepped outside of the boundaries of what we normally work within. They quickly learned about our government customers, our beneficiaries, and providers that we were trying to connect with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hold back on what you want. We appreciated that Fieldtrip was really open to feedback, communication, and shifting. We tried to be as transparent about what we wanted, and really dove into the collaboration.

We went into the relationship with a specific framework in mind. In retrospect, I wish we could have experienced Fieldtrip’s brainstorming frameworks for the project.