LoveGunn

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Publisher Services of Newsstand

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Online Ecommerce of printed magazines, as well as fulfilment for independent magazine publishers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire LoveGunn to accomplish?

• Full Rebrand
• Website Relaunch

SOLUTION

How did you find LoveGunn?

Referral

Why did you select LoveGunn over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from LoveGunn were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We partnered with LoveGunn to refresh and relaunch our brand and website. Areas included logo redesign, tone of voice, archetype, social media aesthetic and re-design of our current website. Customer feedback was sought as well as competitor and industry insight. Assets were designed, approved and provided to us, as well as a first draft design of the website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Full rebrand of assets designed, approved and provided. Newsstands brand awareness and trust across the industry and with both our customers and clients improved. We used these assets across a lengthy soft launch, and are yet to implement the major website changes.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Fantastic! At a time that Newsstand were rolling out multiple large scale projects, LoveGunn were great at delivering whilst giving Newsstand space to focus on multiple projects simultaneously.

What was your primary form of communication with LoveGunn?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The passion and creativity of all of the team at LoveGunn. The team inspired key stakeholders within Newsstand whilst understanding our goals and desires, as well as our restrictions in terms of budget or technical debt.

Are there any areas for improvement or something LoveGunn could have done differently?

Not that I can think of immediately! The team was responsive to change and feedback almost instantly!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Marketing of Sanelo

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Consumer relocation management services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire LoveGunn to accomplish?

• Rebrand

SOLUTION

How did you find LoveGunn?

Referral

Why did you select LoveGunn over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from LoveGunn were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We tasked LoveGunn with rebranding the entire business from top to bottom. Prior to this project, Sanelo didn't have an established brand story, tone of voice or associated look and feel. We tasked LoveGunn to deliver a Brand Strategy that translated into a Brand Guidelines document that included all the necessary components to understand Sanelo and what we stand for. LoveGunn created a new logo, strap line, tone of voice, headline and sub copy, primary and secondary fonts and colour palettes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

A new brand that the entire business was aligned with and liked.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They were incredibly responsive, tended to every need in a timely manner with excellent, clear communication.

What was your primary form of communication with LoveGunn?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their in depth process to discover the new Sanelo brand and how we sit within a competitive yet stagnant market. In depth market research, customer insight, employee insight and translating these findings to establish a strategy and brand which spoke to all the information collected. Furthermore, presenting three completely different brand concepts for us to pick apart helped us understand even further what we wanted from our new brand.

Are there any areas for improvement or something LoveGunn could have done differently?

Honestly speaking, no - they ticked all the boxes in my opinion.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of (a/an) Social Networking

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The community app that puts everything in one place

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire LoveGunn to accomplish?

• Rebrand
• App UX & Design
• Tone of Voice

SOLUTION

How did you find LoveGunn?

Referral

Why did you select LoveGunn over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

What was the size of LoveGunn’s team?

More than 10

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Brand Strategy & Design for new community app launching in 2024. Included Discovery workshops and Market Research around our target audience in key target markets (UK, Europe & US) before developing core brand strategy to establish the brand positioning. Brand Identity and Guidelines were then created alongside the UX and UI for V1 of the app and design for various marketing & sales collateral. Work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Launching new brand
• Successfully launching V1 of the app
• Creating materials to gain further investment

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

LoveGunn are a great team to work with - super flexible, professional but also good fun. What I liked about them over other agencies I spoke to was that they put the customer at the centre of what they do which is so important for a community based brand like ours. They made us feel involved in the creative process and created a brand we are so proud of!

What was your primary form of communication with LoveGunn?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Great process. Initially workshops and market research created the key insights and then the strategy stage built out a clear story that we all got behind before even considering creative. They then came up with great ideas and options which meant we were able to experiment and come up with a really unique brand identity and assets for us to launch with

Are there any areas for improvement or something LoveGunn could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of Oriri House, a company providing luxury and sustainable short stays and vacations in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LoveGunn, and what were your goals?

This is a brand new business venture and we were looking for a branding design agency that could help us make a splash in the Homestays market. We believe we bring a new ethos to the industry combining luxury and sustainability and we wanted a brand that reflected that. We were looking for an overall look and feel for our company and website including design elements like logo, colours, and photography, but also tone of voice.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We knew LoveGunn had experience working with industry disrupters and so felt they would help give us the presence we wanted in the market.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

LoveGunn worked with us to find the tone of voice and brand assets for the company. In our first sessions we set the scope of the work and LoveGunn were fantastic in drilling down to the essence of our brand and product. They identified the need to combine tradition and heritage with a standout design. After these scoping sessions, we were sent a range of options through which we refined the aesthetic, tone and brand assets. LoveGunn are excellent at taking on feedback and were always thoughtful in the refinements made. The final deliverables were exactly what we were after and included brand identity, tone of voice, colour palette, art direction, and several assets such as our much loved logo and illustrations. They also provided our company name which we are forever grateful for!

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3 team members. Managing Director, Creative Director and Senior Designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

LoveGunn helped set the tone for how the business engages with the outside world. We have yet to fully launch the brand as the business is still in early stages. Our partial launch has been a great success and we have beat our early targets. This is no doubt thanks to the aesthetic and tone of voice that LoveGunn created. We can’t wait to fully launch to whole brand in 2023!

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Friendly, efficient, thoughtful and genius!

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

LoveGunn is creatively one of the top agencies in London. On top of that, they were really up-to-date on our industry and customer-base. These attributes proved invaluable as you can’t build a good brand without them. We also had a great time working with the team and hope to do so again in the future

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We really couldn’t have asked for a better experience and can’t wait to get the brand out into the world

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Zaya, a tech startup building a mobile app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with LoveGunn?

We were ready to launch our mobile app last January, and we started pitching our app to advisors and potential investors. One of the biggest feedback we received was that our app at the time carried interesting and good features but had no branding, and our messaging was inconsistent. This made it hard for people to understand what our app really was. Our app is not an online dating app, but a social networking app that caters to single people.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start off the project, we had a three-hour discovery session to define the goals we were trying to achieve and the problems we had. LoveGunn also used this time to better understand our brand, so we gave them a bunch of materials about our product and company. After that, they gathered all those information, conducted more research on their own, and eventually came back with different options for our brand book. We chose the one we liked the most and gave our feedback. From there, we went through a series of iterations until we were happy with the final version. 

The brand book they made included our logo, messaging, mission and vision statement, color schemes, and other branding elements.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from their side: Christian (Managing Directory & Co-Founder), Tom (Creative Director & Co-Founder), Rachel (Design Director), and a copywriter.

How did you come to work with LoveGunn?

We found them through Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on this project from March–May 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything LoveGunn did stood out to us. They walked us through the whole process in a very organized way that helped us see and understand the different pieces they used in coming up with our brand. As a result, we were able to launch our brand three weeks ago, and our app now has about 30,000 users. A lot of our users have told us that they love the look and feel of our brand.

How did LoveGunn perform from a project management standpoint?

They did an excellent job in this regard. They communicated well and always followed up with us. Moreover, they usually scheduled video calls to walk us through what they had done and their thought process while making sure they gave us enough time for questions and feedback. We also used Zoom and email as our main communication tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with the fact that LoveGunn went above and beyond for us. They didn’t treat us like just another client; they really wanted to understand what we were trying to solve, so they did rigorous research on our company and industry, including our founders.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

I honestly can’t think of anything. They were really good at what they do, and we were satisfied with their services.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a self-releasing musician, song writer and producer, under the name Joe James Lewis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LoveGunn, and what were your goals?

We were set to release my first music: a couple of singles and an EP. We were seeking a consistent aesthetic and voice to suit the music and ethos of the artist.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

After initial conversations with LoveGunn we decided that the company was perfectly suited to meet our design needs. They were friendly, very switched on, invested and pitched great ideas.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

LoveGunn created a full brand identity for Joe James Lewis, including typography, palette, art direction and album artwork. They responded well to feedback and presented distinct alternative routes to choose from.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked mostly with the Managing Director, as well as junior and senior designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The work of LoveGunn provided a consistent aesthetic and voice to the Joe James Lewis brand across album artwork, website, social media, photography and a music video. Their work helped achieve over 30,000 streams with plays on Radio 6 Music and positive reviews across multiple online publications.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

LoveGunn are fantastic to work with. Their team is engaged, perceptive and clear in their communication. They were an engine house of great ideas! And open to client feedback too.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They have such diversity in their portfolio without dropping standards. They can take on any project and deliver outstanding, unique design. This helped us speak to our audience and build a community.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I honestly think with LoveGunn you get the best of both worlds. They provide the personal touch, while delivering first class design and brand expertise. Chris and Tom are real wizards and great fun to work with!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of IFG, an Islamic fintech.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LoveGunn?

Our website had become outdated and we were keen to make sure that was overhauled alongside our overall brand. We also have sub-brands and wanted to make sure they received a treatment that cohered with the overall brand but remained distinct.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We looked for references from brands we had admired in recent months. The key thing for us was the brand agency had a credible, high quality output, but were also really creative in coming up with their own view and slants on things.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After an initial meeting, and then a more detailed discovery meeting, LG started designing. We then had a meeting to talk through what had been designed (3 different directions). After we had chosen the route to go down (a composite of two of the directions) LG. then turned substantively the final version. Then there were some minor points of tweaking.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

4 - project manager, designers, design lead

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our website looks far slicker today and is much easier to read and navigate. Early traffic signs are also promising.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. Very responsive over emails and calls.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I loved their creativity, sense of comedy, and ability to go deep with our industry

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Cheaper is always better but sometimes you have to pay for quality.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a global digital fundraising platform for sports organisations and charities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LoveGunn?

A full rebranding that would make our brand future proof and compatible with the branding of our partners (currently mainly football clubs)

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

They came highly recommended by one of the football clubs we work with and I've worked together with Chris on a expert panel before.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Our brand hasn't changed since the very day it was launched (5 years ago) - whilst our business continues to grow we needed a fresh new brand that is also compatible with the partners we work with across the globe. After a very thorough onboarding workshop with all stakeholders in the company, they carefully guided us through various stages where they took the lead but made us feel like we were in the driver seat which was an excellent way of working together.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The two founders (Tom & Chris) and a full team of designers and storytellers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The result that has been delivered is spot on - it is loved and appreciated across the board of our stakeholders and fits the instructions perfectly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Can't say that I ever worked with an external party where the comms were easier. Whilst they kept overview on emails and update documents I could basically reach them anywhere at any time which was really nice for the chaotic environment my business operates in.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

How they have managed to grab the essence of our business in such a short timespan. By asking the right questions and pressing the right buttons they have managed to change the way we look at our brand and the future and we can only be grateful to them for these invaluable insights.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a professional directory. We’re focused on music industry professionals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with LoveGunn?

LoveGunn acts as our primary business integration partner. We’d worked with a previous vendor that wasn’t making the mark, so, we needed a rebranding effort that included a logo and brand guidelines. Additionally, we needed a product strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re in the development stage right now, focusing on product strategy. Afterward, LoveGunn is going to build the solution and then stay on retainer. They also help with growing our marketing strategy as we hear back from customers on their needs using a paid survey. Initially, the survey wasn’t paid, and we only received 20 back when we needed around 50-75. We were going to contract a domestic firm to do this, but LoveGunn assured us that they would take care of it.

What is the team composition?

We work with about five people, including both founders and some of their marketing and technical folks.

How did you come to work with LoveGunn?

We searched on Clutch for integration partners that were also capable of developing brand guidelines. In addition to domestic partners, we highlighted international partners, as we wanted a very vibrant approach.

LoveGunn’s price point was right where we wanted, and they responded to us immediately. They were the only one of five people we reached out to who got back to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $75,000, and when the contract is finished, we’ll have spent $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While there aren’t any external reviews yet, LoveGunn’s work is beautiful and stunning. Whenever we show it to people, they all want to know how created it. We’re very excited for the product launch this summer, as are our business partners; they leave rave reviews.

One challenge was that a lot of our branding was already trademarked in the US, so we couldn’t stray to far from that or we’d lose our patent privileges. LoveGunn did a great refresh while meeting those conditions, introducing a lot of dynamic aspects to our logo.

How did LoveGunn perform from a project management standpoint?

Because we work directly with the two founders, it’s a very intimate relationship. We get emails from them every week, so I’m fully aware of what’s going on.

When we kicked off the project, we were given a fully vetted plan and a Gantt chart with tasks and deliverables associated. Week to week and month to month, I know what’s going on.

They’re enormously responsive; I sent them a question yesterday and one of the founders called me from London five minutes later. Five minutes after we spoke, they sent me an email recapping the issue and a potential solution.

What did you find most impressive about them?

LoveGunn is incredibly invested in our success, which is a much rarer characteristic in the business world than it should be. They’re excited about our product and about working with us. When you find someone as good as them, you don’t cut them loose.

Recently, we had a snag with another integration advisor we had under contract. This vendor’s advice conflicted with LoveGunn’s, and LoveGunn pulled me aside to say that they were willing to work with anyone, but that their methodologies weren’t aligned. They asked us to trust them, and their argument was so compelling that I terminated the contract with the other advisors.

Their accessibility also stands out. If I sent them an email now, asking for a Zoom call, they would do it even though it’s late over in London. Finally, they’re great advisors who keep me out of trouble, and they’re joyous and open. I’ve never met another vendor with such transformative ideas.  

We wouldn’t be here today without LoveGunn; they rescued our product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve worked with a lot of similar companies to LoveGunn, so I have a good deal of context, and I’m 100% satisfied with LoveGunn. Their pricing is high but fair, and they do such a good job that I don’t mind paying their invoices at all. Our previous integrator wasn’t giving us anything; they fleeced us toward the end.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear on your vision and what you want LoveGunn to do. They’re a very talented group that’s great in the creative space. They’ll ask questions about whom you’re selling to and what their needs are. Initially, I struggled with this because I was so focused on our high-level vision.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Co-Founder & CEO of a start-up sustainable fashion brand. We focus on ethical practices, sustainable materials and fun, colourful designs for women in their 20s.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LoveGunn, and what were your goals?

We wanted to change the name of our brand and create a branding experience for our customers that matches the soul of our brand better.

We hired LoveGunn to develop the branding for this, practically, new company - from the font, colour scheme all the way to coming up with a new name for the company.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We reached out to 20+ branding agencies and got to the proposal stage with 5. LoveGunn were by far the leaders. They were the only ones who truly understood our brand, the problem that we're solving and where we want to take our company forward.

Their pitch was clear, straightforward and focused on what we wanted to achieve. We really liked that they spent the time to pitch to us before sending us the pitch presentation as that was a great way to understand their line of thinking.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

We started with a team session in person to ensure that LoveGunn understood our brand and where we wanted to take it.

Following that LoveGunn came up with 3 creative routes for our brand. We loved how different the routes are that the team was flexible about combining elements across them. At that point the first name proposals started coming up.

This resulted in draft brand guidelines that we worked with the team to finetune for over 8 weeks. They were relentless at getting everything right and very flexible about changes, amendments and going back to the drawing board.

Their work on our name was amazing. They found many different angles to research and at the end, I believe, we came up with a great new name for our company.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked directly with 3 people - the Managing Director, the Creative Director and the Head of Design.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

LoveGunn delivered complete Brand Book and Branding Guidelines as a result of the project.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Their project management style was very hands-on. Chris was always extremely quick to respond to us and the team always had time to meet up for a quick call within a day or two.

We really liked that there were no 'big reveals', all the content was shared in advance, so we could review internally and share our feedback ahead of the call. That made our meetings very productive.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The fact that they were 100% committed to delivering a great result and were not shy to spare effort and time to get there.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

N/A