Marchio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of Client Services at an IT services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Marchio?

We needed help with a rebranding project. We wanted a fresh look to be more up-to-speed with the latest industry market and benchmarking. We wanted to define our personality with an updated brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Marchio provided new branding and logo designs for our company. After Marchio gave us a proposal, we chose them and had a kick-off call. Every time the team had a deliverable, we had a call to review the work and provide feedback. Marchio did up to three rounds of revisions and fine-tuning until we got to the final brand book and guidelines. The team used Adobe products throughout the project, including Illustrator and InDesign.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with two teammates. Lara was a managing director and typically took care of the project details via email. Dominick was the primary designer.

How did you come to work with Marchio?

We found Marchio through a Clutch search. The team had a good proposal in the beginning, and their portfolio aligned with what we were looking for.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $10,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Marchio from July–October 2024.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Marchio was great to work with and knowledgeable about design. The team gave us a lot of tips and was able to take our feedback and make it visual. Marchio formed the identity of our company and put it together nicely. Overall, Marchio's work quality met our expectations.

How did Marchio perform from a project management standpoint?

Marchio was organized and delivered work on time. The team had a schedule they went by. Marchio had calls to review present deliverables and review details. We then gave feedback, and sometimes, the team would have another call with me to address the feedback and ask me any questions. We primarily used email for communication, and Marchio was highly responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Marchio was really efficient and good at communication and delivery. Marchio's workflow and organization were smooth. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything Marchio could improve. The team was the perfect selection for what we needed. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open with Marchio about feedback because they're very accepting. If you don’t like something or have questions, jump on a call with the team. Marchio is very understanding.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the VP Marketing of a communications technology company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Communications Technology

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Brand Identity Refresh
• Brand Narrative

SOLUTION

How did you find Marchio?

Referral

Why did you select Marchio over others?

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

How many teammates from Marchio were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Over the course of a couple years, we have worked with Marchio on multiple different projects surrounding our corporate brand.  We worked with them to refresh our brand identity, including logo, color, typography, phtoography, and general look and feel, and we have also worked with them to reimagine our corporate narrative, both overall and at an LOB level.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Given the more qualitative nature of the project and our business, we didn't have quantitative metrics around the success of the initiative.  The goal was to get to a place of alignment across the C-Suite (no easy task) and to help us better define and articulate our value and path forward.  This was definitely achieved and Marchio developed great relationships across our company and worked to take feedback and land at a place where our executives all felt extremely pleased.

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

Marchio has a great dedicated project manager, Lara, who is very seasoned and responsive.  She always communicates status and deliverables and is available whenever you need her for any questions, changes, feedback, etc.

What was your primary form of communication with Marchio?

Virtual Meeting

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

I love working with Lara, Dom, and Chad.  They are so smart.  So talented at their respective disciplines.  And just a general joy to work with and be around.  It is a priveledge to work wtih such talented, kind, funny, creative individuals.

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

We've hired Marchio multiple times over and continue to be very happy with them!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director Sales & Marketing of Fluxergy

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Fluxergy is an innovative and certified medical device manufacturer that has developed a multimodal, point-of-use laboratory testing platform that increases to access and decreases time to valuable health information.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Rebranding
• Visual Identity
• Website Design

SOLUTION

How did you find Marchio?

Referral

Why did you select Marchio over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Marchio were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Marchio was tasked with bringing a refresh to our brand and logo. This was a total rebrand and also included a transfer of this brand to a new website and corporate presentation. Their team was further tasked with optimizing and simplifying our brand messaging and identity. As a growth stage company and technology-base startup, it was critical to consolidate and organize messaging from a hierarchical standpoint.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Delivery logo, brand, website design, corporate presentation, and company templates were all critical milestones that were closely monitored for execution.

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

They were always responsive and timely and were able to adjust to ever-changing startup needs. We worked directly with all team members who were always accessible.

What was your primary form of communication with Marchio?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I think its the blend of experiences. They are able to direct what needs to happen and they have the prior work experience from large agencies and education to back that up. It was easy to have the difficult conversations as an executive team and get to a point of agreement that let us move the project forward. There was never a question of hitting the milestones.

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

I think as a smaller company we can always scope out projects a bit better and I would expect Marchio to play a bit more of a role there in the future. Its difficult for agencies to predict the dynamic nature of smaller startup companies. Despite some twists and turns, we were able to accomplish what we needed to.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of Brand Marketing for Constant Contact, an email and digital marketing software provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Marchio?

We hired them to help us build a new brand strategy platform and reenvision our visual design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Marchio provided us with branding services. We gave them a creative brief, research, and old customer information. From there, they had a discovery phase, and we gave them access to our employees to do interviews and research. For the branding platform, we worked with them to develop a company core narrative, a promise statement, voice attributes, and values. 

Meanwhile, for the visual identity, they helped us refine our logo and came up with a new color scheme, font, and design elements to introduce to our website. They also created other customer-facing and internal materials for us. Marchio created a design system that included a look and feel and a design identity for us to implement. 

What is the team composition?

I mainly worked with Chad (Principal & Narrative) and Dominick (Principal & Design). Lara (Managing Director) came on board toward the tail end of the engagement. 

How did you come to work with Marchio?

I had worked with them in the past. Originally, I met them when I worked at a previous company and then worked with them again at another company. This is the third company for which I enlist Marchio’s work. I chose them because they had solid brand strategy experience, a good background, and built a foundation based on their expertise. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2021–September 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone on our team loved our new visual design and identity, and the brand platform and values have been well embraced internally. Since the project was around culture, internal engagement, and aesthetic look and feel, we don’t have quantitative KPIs because those elements are hard to measure. 

How did Marchio perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered everything on time; the team gave very realistic ETAs and timelines, so they didn’t have any delays. Moreover, they were well within the budget. We primarily communicated through video conferences. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Marchio’s industry knowledge and brand strategy expertise distinguished them from the competition. Most importantly, their high level of collaboration was outstanding. They partnered with us and were willing to get to where we wanted without being precious about anything. They were capable and smart, had a very thorough approach, and delivered great work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was nothing they needed to improve; we were satisfied. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with Marchio! They’re easy to work with and a great partner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief experience officer at TruConnect, responsible for product marketing and customer experience. Our company is a telecommunications provider of Lifeline and connectivity programs for underserved and unconnected communities throughout the country. More than 48 million are eligible for our services, and we’re fighting the good fight to bridge the digital divide in the US. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Marchio?

We were experiencing plenty of growth and were ready to evolve our visual identity and branding. As a result, we needed Marchio to help update several assets, including our logo, website, and print and digital media.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TruConnect updated the visual design of our existing website. They gave us an overview of what the website would look like from a design perspective today and how our branding would be applied to our website. 

The team provided notional examples of how we could apply our brand to different print materials. However, for the most part, they did our branding. Their main focuses were our brand identity and voice. From there, we could develop our digital and print assets. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from their team: an account manager, a graphic designer, and a copywriter. 

How did you come to work with Marchio?

I was working with another head of marketing at a company in Los Angeles. I saw Marchio’s work when they rebranded the other company’s website. For context, I’d seen what the company had done previously in terms of branding and witnessed what happened after Marchio worked with them. I was floored — it was so great. As a result, I acquired their reference from another contact, who found Marchio through Clutch. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from January–April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We did brand live studies and saw around a 15% improvement in brand recall.

How did Marchio perform from a project management standpoint?

Marchio met all the deadlines and stayed on budget; they were highly collaborative. We typically communicated over Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were absolutely brilliant. Their lead designer was one of the best graphic designers I’d ever met. He was smart about every problem we needed to solve and incredibly thoughtful about abstract concepts we could convey through design. 

Another thing we loved about them was their work on our brand voice. The other designer was responsible for that, and he took everything that our talented team built around our brand story and elevated it to a great magnitude. There was no way I could bring that kind of talent in-house; I’d only be able to find them through an agency like Marchio. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish we'd spent more time in iterations; I would’ve gone back a couple more times on iterations. We ended up doing this, but it was outside of our expectations. When they thought we were done, I would come back with something else — that’s just me being a novice at that point. At the end of the day, I was extremely happy with their work. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have clear goals and objectives in mind. Have an idea of what your endpoint looks like. The more you know about your brand or what you want your brand to be, the more clarity Marchio will have to deliver your expectations. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of design, marketing, and communications of Chargie. We’re based in Los Angeles, California, and we have about 40 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Marchio?

We needed to do top-to-bottom rebranding, which included our brand voice, visual identity, and tactics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I presented to them our challenge and our intended scope, and we aligned on that. They then gave us guidance on how we could achieve what we wanted.

Marchio helped us developed all of our branding materials except our name. Their work involved spearheading our logo redesign, creating our new brand colors, developing our new typography, and building our new brand voice. On top of that, they redesigned our entire website and provided working files for that. Since the first scope of work had gone so well, we hired them again to help us with the marketing materials that we needed for the new brand launch. 

What is the team composition?

Two people from Marchio worked on our project.

How did you come to work with Marchio?

I went to Google and found Marchio. I think also found them through an article on Medium. During our introductory call, I saw their portfolio which showed their incredible professionalism and expertise. We decided that they’d be the best fit because they offered a very hands-on approach to us. They also showed that they could give us the dedicated attention that we needed.

On top of that, I saw them as a partner I could lean on and a company I could consider as an extension of myself. We had clear and consistent communication, too.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $40,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–September 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Marchio successfully completed everything, and we had such a productive and excellent working experience together. Additionally, they trained us on the brand that we created together, which we found very helpful. When we relaunched our brand on September 1, 2021, we saw a record number of users on our website. Moreover, we hit a record in our rebrand announcement email for the number of opens, clicks, and general interest of people in our rebrand. We gained 400% new followers on LinkedIn, and our organic search doubled, too.

Internally, we were very proud of what we had accomplished. Overall, the quality of their work was excellent, and we were impressed by their amazing professionalism.

How did Marchio perform from a project management standpoint?

Marchio was super organized and structured; everything was clearly outlined, and they were very open to discussing any particular line items. We could reach out to them whenever we needed something, and they were always on time on all of our check-ins. In fact, they didn’t miss any meetings we schedule.

We primarily communicated through email and any document sharing was done on Google. They also made it clear to me that they’d absolutely support us with whatever we needed. Overall, we enjoyed working with them because we were never out of sync, and we built a great deal of trust together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to guide us made them different from other service providers. We saw that they gained that special skill because of their industry experience and maturity in their practice, which we saw in every single presentation they created. Branding was a very difficult job to accomplish, but they absolutely nailed it because they really listened to our needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If they could clone themselves, that’d be great. We were super happy on our side, and we had no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want leaders and experts that know how to guide your team, Marchio is the company to work with. In addition, have an open mind, especially during their branding exercises. Trust their process because they’re going to do their best to translate and understand your intent and goals. Above all, listen to their advice and guidance.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a global management and strategy consulting firm. We consult with major organizations in virtually every industry on a wide range of business challenges. As the VP of the brand studio, I lead the brand, design, and communications team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Marchio?

When we brought Marchio in, we were refreshing our business strategy and wanted to make sure that our brand and visual identity were evolving in lockstep. Frankly, it’d been a long time since we’d touched our brand, so we recognized the project as an opportunity not only to refresh the way we talked about our brand but also to reexamine our visual look and feel.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Marchio initially led our brand refresh projects about two years ago. The scope of work was to update our visual identity, including the color palette, typography, and our approach to photography — all of it to make our graphic elements felt cleaner, bolder, and more modern. Of course, they also created guidelines to inform consistent usage going forward.

On the messaging side, Chad (Principal) did a lot of work to help us tell a more differentiated story of who we were and why clients should choose us. We collaborated on developing a new narrative and voice attributes that are now being infused in a lot of our messaging and content. It was a way of talking about our company using a very distinctive tone and personality.

Since that initial foundational work, we’ve continued to engage them on an ad hoc basis for a variety of projects. These are one-off messaging projects that are typically shorter engagements with a much more focused scope. 

For example, last year we started to reach out to senior prospective hires instead of relying on our normal progression system. These weren’t 22-year-old college graduates looking for jobs to work their way up; we targeted prospects who were 40–60 years old and made a lot of money in well-established positions. Marchio faced a really nuanced messaging challenge as they worked with our recruitment team to essentially lure people from potential arch-rivals to our side.

What is the team composition? 

Their two principals worked closely with me and our creative director, functioning as extensions of our team.

How did you come to work with Marchio?

Their principals and I were former colleagues, so I knew full-well what their capabilities were. When they started Marchio, I referred other professional contacts to them and had seen the body of work that they’d put out for those companies. That gave me even more confidence to bring them on. It was a no-brainer.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, it’s probably in the range of $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They hit the ground running around May 2019. We had them on a pretty aggressive timeline so that we could launch the brand in October 2019. These types of projects tend to take almost a year, but they did it in about half the time.

Now, we’ve continued the relationship on a smaller scale. They’re actually on our shortlist of outside consultants to engage for branding and messaging work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Marchio’s branding work has had a remarkable impact. Everyone from our senior leaders down has been energized by the brand refresh. We’ve received feedback that our visual identity is simpler, cleaner, and more modern. 

Even the messaging and the new brand story that they’ve helped us create have permeated throughout the firm. It calls on our employees to be bold and to pursue great things. We seek to make a transformative impact on our clients and in the world, and that idea has really caught on as part of our culture.

Now, we’re at a point where we’re applying the brand strategy at a more tactical level. We’re taking more of the lead on getting into the hardwiring but will still tap them from time to time for advice.

How did Marchio perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication has always been quite seamless. We coordinate through email and phone, and they’re in regular contact with our creative director and project managers. Again, we really view them as an extension of our team, so they have a pretty good sense of what our process looks like. They always come prepared to share at check-ins.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The fact that we’re just working with the two principals as opposed to a big agency means that we’re really getting their undivided attention. They’ve built great friendships with people on our side, which has translated into a sense of trust and strong rapport. That’s been a huge part of why we’ve had such a great outcome. 

Apart from their designs, their messaging work has made a lasting impact in our company. A lot of the ad hoc work that we’ve continued to do with them has been more on the messaging side. I’ve been in this business for a while now, and Chad is really one of the best in this field, bar none. His content and messaging work are truly exceptional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their smaller size can be seen as advantageous or a hindrance depending on the scope of work. Because it’s just the two of them, there’s a constraint around how much work they can take on at one time — they might only be able to focus on one initiative or major deliverable. This hasn’t necessarily been an issue for us since we already have an in-house creative team that can work hand in hand with Marchio, but I can imagine another firm might not have those internal resources.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Marchio works best when there’s great chemistry. You’re hiring practitioners rather than a big agency, so take advantage of that. They do well once they get to know their clients’ culture and ways of working. If they can get embedded into your team, the outcome will be great, so really try to invest in your group as much as you can.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief marketing officer of a technology company. We integrate our technology into consumer electronics and we own several consumer-facing brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Marchio?

We needed help with branding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Marchio helped us create a new name, logo, extended branding, and brand identity. First, we briefed them about our business.

Then, Marchio created some branding options for us, which we narrowed down during meetings together.

Previously, they also created a new brand identity and narrative for another one of our brands.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Dom and Chad (Principals).

How did you come to work with Marchio?

I was referred to them by another chief marketing officer. She sang their praises so I decided to give them a shot.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2019, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Marchio is very knowledgeable about the branding process. They were intelligent during the creative development and helped us be efficient in making the best decisions. Internally, we’re delighted with their work.

In our previous branding project together, they helped us simplify our marketing approach. We were able to use fewer logos and simplify our product naming, which improved efficiency. Hopefully, it’ll also improve consumer recognition and understanding, although it’s too early to say.  

How did Marchio perform from a project management standpoint?

I had a flexible timeline with both of these projects. I let them set our timeframes for reviews, as well as the milestones and the meeting cadence. Without exception, they’ve met their commitment.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re clearly experts in branding. The team brings a lot of knowledge and expertise to the table. We never have to wait, since they’re still small. There are also no overhead charges. The team is very efficient and talented.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m very happy with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to work hard on your brief; make sure that it’s clear and complete. Then, get out of the way and let them do their work. If you do, Marchio will make you look good. If you micromanage, you’ll get what you deserve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is called Rideback, a film and television production firm that focuses on collaboration and community as a way to create world-class tentpole content. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Marchio?

We wanted to communicate the special nature of Rideback and how we were differentiated from other approaches to creating content. We also wanted to convey our mission to content creators, creative partners, and anyone in the greater Rideback community, letting them know how it was based on supporting creative people. We’re a community in service of creativity, and we look to communicate that through our brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired Marchio to do our brand strategy to help us zero in on our brand promise and voice. Once we had that figured out, we translated it into a visual identity system that reflected exactly what we were all about. 

They started by helping us uncover how we wanted to talk about ourselves. It centered around this idea of a community and our mission to support creative people and the power of collaboration. That was half of the deliverable, and the other half was the visual identity. 

What is the team composition?

We had both Chad (Principal) and Dominic (Principal) involved at all times. 

How did you come to work with Marchio?

Marchio came from a recommendation of a mutual connection. We spent some time interviewing them and understanding their process, and then it was an easy decision. They’d worked at a big branding firm, so they had the chops. We were also interested in working with a company that understood our mission, so we hired them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018, and the engagement is ongoing. We’ve wrapped up this project, but we’re engaged with them on other projects related to Rideback. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When Marchio arrived at a solution, there was a lot of analysis, explanation, and rationale behind it. We appreciated that they gave us a thorough understanding of how they arrived at the solution they provided, and this was true for both the brand strategy and visual identity portions of the project. 

Not only was the solution fascinating to understand, but it was also confidence-inspiring. Nothing was done on a whim, and they didn’t simply put nice words together with a pretty design. It was much more sophisticated and thorough than that.

How did Marchio perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated a lot in person and by phone, and it felt very intimate because they were reflecting and helping us peel the onion of who we were and what our company was. They were highly engaged at all times, and that was a big part of the confidence that we had in their work. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re phenomenal and gifted. Many people mistake branding to be only about creating a logo. While that’s a critical part of branding, the strategy, the meaning behind the name, and the purpose and promise of a brand are the critical half of branding. That was what we needed — a firm that was as much focused on brand strategy as it was on delivering a beautiful visual identity, and they delivered. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. I don’t have any suggestions. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as communicative as you can possibly be, and be honest about your aspirations while also being realistic about your business. Allot proper time and resources to the project. Rebranding is a specific and important discipline, and people need to understand the investment they need to make in it. 

It’s an important process, and you need to commit yourself to go through the whole journey. Good branding isn’t about applying a label onto a company or organization; it’s about uncovering what’s already there.