Matchstic

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is a managed IT service provider, so we basically support small–mid-sized companies for all of their IT needs. I’m the CEO and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

We wanted to refresh our brand. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought Matchstic on for a brand identity project. They had done our identity about ten years ago, and we wanted to modernize that. I reached out to Craig (Founder & President) and put together an engagement. The project included logo design and anything supporting our brand identity, like typeface and color. Some things remained mostly the same; we weren’t trying to change too much.

Matchstic went through and let us know what different collateral could look like, like business cards, letterhead, and our website. They didn’t produce all of that stuff; they handed the brand guidelines over to us, which we can use internally or take to another agency that does ongoing marketing.

What is the team composition?

There were four people assigned to our project. Our main contact was Cody (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

We had worked with them previously. I originally met Craig through an entrepreneur’s organization. The reason we ended up working with them is that they just do spectacular brand identities. I know lots of other marketing agencies, but it was evident that Matchstic was going to be the right fit based on the work they'd done.

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent about $27,000–$28,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project was from around January–April 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With a brand identity, a lot of it’s anecdotal; do people like it, does it look cool, and do we feel like it reflects our company’s identity? I would say that’s a definite on all three of those. Matchstic took a brand identity that was great ten years ago and dusted it off for the modern world. We wanted it to be clean and simple and reflect those same qualities in our business. We also wanted it to be differentiated, so that if you were looking at a different IT company next to us, it would be very evident that we were different.

How did Matchstic perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team communicated really well. We were brought in throughout the entire project. I think a common approach to brand identities is that the vendor goes off and then there is a big reveal, which I’m not a fan of. Rather, we got to iterate with Matchstic. They would go through 2–3-week rounds, and then I’d be able to go in and be a part of that so we could move on to the next round. I think that’s a better way of working; they’re just transparent.

They did use project management tools, but I wasn’t involved in those, as I didn’t want to be in it that deep. A lot of our day-to-day happened through a shared Slack channel, which I think both of our teams preferred. We had weekly check-in calls, and then every milestone had a call or presentation. We were physically pretty close to each other, so I would usually go to their office and they’d spend an hour explaining their thoughts, assumptions, and the direction they were going in, while also laying out options. They were very organized. To me, it was really well put together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to get to the essence of the brand is their gift. From seeing their other work, I believe that to be true in general, not just for us. They only do brand identity, and that’s their secret sauce; I think they’re super great at it because they only do that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really; of all of the service providers we work with, they’re the ones I never really have to think about. Any time we engage them for something, it just happens the way it should.

Any advice for potential customers?

It’s very important to be serious about your brand identity and someone being able to figure it out. This is not the place to go if you want a small project or you want someone to do what you tell them to do. For instance, if you go to them with a design spec, they might do that, but I don’t think that’s where their gift is, and it’s probably not the best use of your money. 

If you want someone who can really explore your brand, what it means, and who its constituents are, and then speak to those constituents through something as small as a logo and a typeface, they’re masters of their craft in that way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an independent consultant that works with the private sector, nonprofit, and government organizations that focus on environmental challenges. They hire me to build a bridge between their organizations and find shared values and a common path forward.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

I recognized the need for some professional branding and language around one of my clients, so I sought out their services and brought them to their organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our client’s goal was to protect forests and address environmental and social challenges associated with that mission. This partnership has been working on a strategy to align the client’s 40 different partners. At this point, we’re moving toward being a public-facing association rather than continuing to plan the project. As we move toward action, we realized that we needed to cultivate a single brand identity that people could align with. They were challenged with creating their own central identity while allowing each of the 40 partners to see themselves in the brand as well. They were tasked with taking complex messages and creating a common, repeatable language encompassing it. 

They delivered the visual identity, which included a logo, a brandmark, consistent colors, and other components that would be associated with the organization. We needed verbal messages to accompany those. They drafted us concise language that could describe the partnership as a whole. 

What is the team composition?

We interface with about 5–6 people. I’m sure there were designers and other resources operating behind the scenes as well. 

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

I first encountered them in a monthly gathering for creatives in Atlanta. From what I’d seen, they’ve done excellent work. I liked that they were located near us, so we hired them.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $110,000 on their work.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October –December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re at the beginning stages of launching the deliverables to the public, so we haven’t been able to track any metrics yet. However, the complexity and interdependence of the work we do in the environmental space can pose challenges for communication. We tend to speak at high-levels with a lot of jargon. They were able to distill four years of complex work into a simple, compelling message. That’s helped us communicate with people and those our organization was hoping to influence as well.  

How did Matchstic perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fantastic at keeping a decentralized organization on track and engaged. Their team was helpful and flexible in their project management efforts. We asked for a quick turnaround, and they were able to provide that as well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were also impressed with their interest in our work. They did an immersion day during which they went into the field with us. Their questions and care were evident. That came out in their work and interactions with us. We could tell they were committed to making us successful so that we could make a difference in the world. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think they could’ve improved in any area. We ran into additional costs later into the project, but that wasn’t their fault. It was nice to have their voice in the mix during that time as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand the complexity of their work. They’re working to get to the heart of your processes, which can be a huge challenge. I’d encourage partners to think about the relationship in this way, instead of harping too much of logistics.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive VP of marketing and communications for a chamber of commerce. We’re a business advocacy organization where businesses in our community can grow their company and invest in our economic development initiatives for the community. The goal behind that is to create more jobs and opportunities within the county. I lead all of our marketing, PR, and general communication efforts for our programs and events. My role involves promoting our membership to the chamber as a whole. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

We hired them to lead our rebranding project, hoping that they would look at our logo and do a whole reassessment of our brand. Our team felt that our identity didn’t communicate what we were anymore.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

As part of our rebrand, they led us through a process that made us consider our positioning at the time and where we wanted to be in the future. From there, they delivered a visual and verbal identity by conducting interviews and research to understand our organization. They also hosted presentations with our board of directors and project teams. 

What is the team composition?

We had a core team of about five people. However, I’m sure there were others working in the background. Melissa (Account Manager, Matchstic) managed the project, and we also had someone for strategic direction, a writer, a messaging lead, and a designer. 

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

We were familiar with their work from years ago. My creative designer got her hands on a printed piece from a large conference they handled and found out that they designed it. We were impressed with the creative quality of that piece. When we did an RFP within our members, they weren’t a member organization. So, we reached out to them despite that along with some other firms. After going through a selection process, they were awarded the project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $70,000, and we offered them a place in our chairman’s circle that was worth an additional $15,000 in value. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We weren’t tracking anything specifically. I was impressed with their intelligent approach and the thoroughness of their research that allowed them to understand our identity as a brand.  

How did Matchstic perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job. From our very first meeting, they mapped out the process for us. After telling us what to expect, they communicated from month to month regularly. Our project manager was always available and helpful. There weren’t any surprises on the way, even when we covered difficult topics. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a true branding house, so their specialized expertise sets them apart. I was always impressed with their communication style and ability to facilitate the conversation with our large team. They had us talking thoroughly about our challenges. Sometimes ideas are in conflict with other ideas, but they were able to understand the sentiment behind each comment while directing the conversation in a productive manner. That got us on the right path for our rebrand. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a direct conversation with their team, keeping an open line of communication throughout. Understand what you want from the beginning to make sure you end up with what you want.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a school fundraising company that serves more than 3,000 elementary schools across the country with a character-infused fun run program and school spirit wear. We've helped schools profit more than 300 million for important educational purchases since 2002. I am the VP of Marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Matchstic?

We hired Matchstic to help us evolve our branding. We wanted to work on new brand architecture and an approach - we had a lot of different logos and wanted to move to a single brand look under Booster vs. many different brands.

What were your goals for this project?

Simplify our message. Make our brand look more current. The end result was a complete overhaul of all equipment used by our teams across the country, in addition to uniforms, sales materials, websites, social channels, etc. This was a very large brand flip for us.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We've worked on smaller projects with Matchstic before and enjoyed them and liked their work. Culture is important to us and they understood us and fit right in with our team. This alignment made the process a pleasure.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The project was to redefine who we are. We hadn't used the Booster name very much, we were known as Boosterthon which is our fun run program - it's a service, not the name of the company. We asked Matchstic to walk our team through a process to evolve our brand look and feel.

They started with a session to understand our current state and where the brand was, what we felt were sacred cows in the process, etc. They clearly mapped out the process they would take from day one and the first meeting and they did exactly what they said they would do. The end result was a new Booster logo, new sub service Booster logos, brand visual assets and brand style guide.

After finishing the project we've continued to work with them to ensure that we had their consulting as we began to refine sales materials, websites and more. They were extremely collaborative with us in this process.

What was the team composition?

We had 4 team members that we met with pretty regularly. From senior partner, project manager, strategist and a lead designer. They were an incredible blend of talent. And, what I loved most is since they understood us and our business, they were able to adequately challenge our thinking periodically and push us appropriately when we needed to be pushed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback we've received from the enhanced brand launch has been incredible. It's taken our brand look to a new level. What's also been remarkable is the sense of pride our team members across the nation have taken in the new look. The end result, while intended to be marketing-focused and setting us up for growth in the future, also infused excitement into our culture which was such an added-value!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Incredible. Not much more I can say here. The Matchstic team was fantastic.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It's hard to nail one thing so I'm going to share a few: Collaboration, Culture, Strategy and Care. I've worked with many agency partners and they are certainly up there at the top of my recommendations list.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing I can think of. It was such a delight to work with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of marketing at Big Nerd Ranch, a digital product development agency. We partner with startups and mid-size organizations to help build a compelling mobile app for their businesses and train their engineers to build as well. I oversee all marketing and branding initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

We had expressed an interest in repositioning from a B2C training organization to a consulting organization in an attempt to attract a B2B market. Our team was looking for third party facilitators to assess our situation, help guide us through the process, and rebrand our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Matchstic rebranded our company to match the transition we were making. The first phase of our engagement began with a project brand strategy project. Their team consulted ours on how best to change our brand to match the market we were trying to capture and finding ways to stand out. They identified our value proposition, target audience, and strengths, while also pointing out our main competitors.

The second phase was a visual identity system refreshment. After a strategy session, Matchstic redesigned our logo, selected new colors, and updated our imagery system. They also changed our font and website photography. 

What is the team composition?

At any given time, we were working with four members of the Matchstic team, but overall close to five.  We worked with Craig (Founder & President, Matchstic), a project owner, a senior consultant, and a designer. 

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

I had worked with them in a prior role and was familiar with the quality of their work. Someone else at our organization also had ties to their owner.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Matchstic ran from March 2018–March 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While the website has not yet launched, we have received positive market feedback from events we have participated in. The brand brief grew our target audience, and everyone had told us how unique and warm the visual identity system is. That’s exactly what we were going for.

We also received decisive internal feedback. Sharing the branding with our board went off without a hitch. Our employees, who are primarily engineers, also supported the new branding. 

How did Matchstic perform from a project management standpoint?

Matchstic did a good job. The project owner would set up meetings and would make sure all deliverables were met, while the senior consultant would lead the conversation and make sure we stayed on track. Craig also participated on a regular basis and provided us with insight. 

The Matchstic team understood the dynamics of working with companies who have many different priorities and can’t give their full attention to the rebranding. They successfully leveraged resources, such as email, Slack, and LaunchPad, to send us reminders, schedule appointments far in advance, and allow us to share feedback and files. Their transparency was very helpful in allowing us to see how we were progressing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their location was really convenient for us, but Matchstic went above and beyond by always coming into our office. In the world of technology, it's easy to set meetings up as web conferences or calls, but they never did. 

Matchstic showed us how much we meant to them as a client. Having Craig there to oversee the project made me feel like his team was always going to perform at their best. That level of specialized attention was great. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

While we had a link we could access to view the project during the process, we didn’t have any downloadable. Once I mentioned this to them, they integrated LaunchPad into their project management and gave us access for free. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have the bandwidth to have an aggressive schedule of deadlines and deliverables. Even though you’re paying a vendor to come in, you should have realistic expectations that your team will have to support the project. If you put in the effort to help usher them throughout your organization’s ecosystem, then you really get the best of what they have to offer. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a broadcast news station that owns several other stations and properties. I'm the director of marketing for the station, responsible for branding, promotion, and marketing strategy needs for our local branch.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

We hired them to help us bring our brand to the next level. We wanted a new brand identity, visuals, and messaging, both internally and externally.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they provided new visual identities. They designed a new logo and a strategy for that logo on-air and online. They also helped refine our mission statement and position in the community.

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

We explored a few agencies, but we found out about them at an event. This was the first time we approached the brand in this way, so we wanted to work with a company who already had good executions behind them. We were impressed by another client of theirs and decided to pursue them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000 or less over the course of our engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January or February 2018 and completed the work in March 2019. We plan to use them again to evaluate the state of our brand near the end of 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our corporate headquarters works with another company that evaluates our brand. We've seen internal growth, but the last evaluation was completed before we launched the logo externally. There's no formal survey of the external impact, but our viewership responds very positively to the changes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When we visited their website, we saw instantly that they understood brands. After a conversation with them, we knew immediately that their engagement and passion were just as high as ours. They felt like a part of our team, and they walked us through every step. They educated us along the way and built up our confidence in the brand. This was a true partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't name a single thing they could improve. I've already recommended them to our other stations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent about the current state of your business. Ultimately, that will help the end goal. If you don't understand something, don't be shy. Know the strengths and weaknesses of your business, and they will assess where you need to go. The more information you can provide up front, the better they will be able to help you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of Advancement at a child welfare organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

We hired Matchstic for brand strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Matchstic performed an initial assessment and audit that was followed by a debriefing that comes from stakeholder perceptions and our brand’s history. We received a read-out of our current status perception. After that, we talked through a visualization process about who we are, what we do, what our services are, and how we go about finding an ideal state. This process led to a name change and a visual & verbal identity system.

What is the team composition?

We worked with between five to eight members of their team that played a variety of roles. We had a lead strategist, lead designer, and a head of communications. There were supporting roles under each.

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

I’ve worked with them numerous times over the past decade.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Matchstic in March 2018, and the engagement ended in January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

During the initial audit, we had impressions about who we are and what we do. We’re currently in the middle of the brand strategy roll out. At the end of the year, we’ll be doing another assessment audit that will focus on similar topics as the original.

How Matchstic perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well from a project management standpoint. Matchstic was always on time, keeping the ball rolling.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with the level of detail their team takes in delivering a personalized strategy and service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One thing that wasn’t clear happened during the sales process. There was one component of the deliverables that weren’t part of the preliminary scope of work. We ended up having to add it on later at a cost. I’ve already discussed this, and it was easily resolved and work proceeded as planned.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more you can dedicate your time and resources to the projects; the better service Matchstic will provide in return. I would recommend them to anyone with a complex brand strategy that needs solving. People who hire them need to make sure they take the time and dedication to get what they need out of the engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager of WinShape Camp. We’re a summer camp experience for kids of all ages, offering both day and overnight camps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

We hired Matchstic to provide branding support. Our goal was to improve our recruiting efforts for college students who typically work for us over the summer season. We expanded the scope to include more material creation to match the branding efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Matchstic created two essential items for our business: a verbal identity system and a visual identity system. These products include information that allows us to communicate about our company. They included messaging frameworks, headlines, opening paragraphs, and product descriptions. From there, they created a visual identity to match our recently created logo.

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

Being in Atlanta, I’d heard of Matchstic. When we were in the process of evaluating our previous branding partner, I suggested reaching out to Matchstic as a potential vendor. We liked their reputation as a creative organization, and our engagement grew from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $60,000 on Matchstic’s services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Though it’s challenging to measure the direct impact of their work fully, the number of applicants we received significantly improved. We now have very clear, useful language to use in our recruitment efforts. Additionally, we also developed our new website based on the branding materials they created for us.

How did Matchstic perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the things I enjoyed most about working with Matchstic was their transparent process and set timelines. We knew what each meeting was about and when it was taking place. There was never a time where we had to wait on their team to produce something for us. They expertly handled all of the project management aspects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had an excellent grasp on their process and provided unique insights along the way. Their team knew how to anticipate issues regarding stakeholders, which was very valuable to us. We were able to successfully navigate conversations with important individuals involved in our rebranding process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’d be helpful for them to explain the details of each meeting beforehand, so clients can know which sessions are important for stakeholders to attend. There were a few instances where we thought there would be more information during a specific meeting, and it’d be beneficial if they could have set our expectations better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their process. Matchstic is skilled at what they do and truly know what they’re talking about. Give them a chance to help you better understand your organization.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

As a member of the operator communications team within the corporate communications department of Chick-fil-A, Inc., I work on initiatives to strategically tailor our internal messaging to both operators and team members across all departments—marketing, IT, supply chain, and operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

Although the industry generally views IT departments as a utility, Chick-fil-A promotes a sharp focus on technology to transform our restaurants, driving innovations, efficiencies, and differentiation across the quick-service industry. We’d recently had some reputation issues with our IT department, as they were only thought of when systems were down and it affected operations in the restaurant.

We brought Matchstic in to help us with reputation building among our restaurant operators. We wanted them to see the IT department as a reliable partner who could keep their restaurants stable. Once we improved on that, we’d have more leverage to highlight areas where we’re innovating to build confidence in how we’re future-proofing the business. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Matchstic listened to our pain points and ideas for improvement. They conducted extensive interviews with all our audiences, in addition to operators, IT staff, leadership, and other business partners. With these interviews, they were able to compare a variety of perspectives and identify both internal and external gaps in how the IT department was viewed. Then, we created a strategic plan to address and change those perceptions.

Based on the interview, the first step was establishing credibility for the IT department and their innovations, which needed to start within. Matchstic helped us come up with three “get-rights” to improve the IT department—transparent communication, urgent responses to system problems, and proactive collaborations. The company’s leadership started measuring success and recognizing high-performers based on these criteria.

They also helped us establish a framework for key messaging strategies. In addition to the “get-rights”, they worked with us to establish a rally cry that promoted a sense of community within the IT department. It became the power and promise of the brand. Matchstic designed signage that featured both the rally cry and “get rights” to hang in the IT department and other conference rooms to guide conversation about company-wide initiatives. They also designed t-shirts with the same messaging.  

Matchstic also created content pillars that acted as a guiding principle for our communications. Together, we create a unique look and feel for the department that still fell within the broader Chick-fil-A standards and implemented it across documents and training materials.

Finally, Matchstic helped us understand that leadership had to take charge and support the new brand if we wanted to get complete buy-in from the IT department. So, we planned a huge party to announce the initiative—with food, videos, games, prizes, and guest speakers. Our internal leadership was heavily involved in the event, which set the foundation for the rest of the relaunch.

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

We ran an RFP process with three branding firms. Matchstic had previously worked with Chick-fil-A and was highly regarded. We resonated most with their proposal, and we felt they understood what we were looking for at a deeper level. They had a good grasp on our pain points were and how we could improve.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Matchstic in October 2016 and ended in the fall of 2017. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

About 15 months after the initial survey with operators, we ran a second round to gauge year-over-year progress, and the results showed movement in multiple areas. Analytics showed a 15% improvement in the viewership of our communications, with an even bigger jump in viewership of our IT website.

In October 2017, 41% of operators believed that IT was not providing the necessary technology to successfully run the business. By 2019, that number had dropped to 17%. The “get-rights”, the rally cry, and the general energy of this project impacted these results. 

In the earlier survey, we also asked operators for the top four areas they’d like to see improvement. Matchstic uses these answers to guide some of our communications strategies, and we tracked progress quarterly. In the 2019 survey, we asked operators if they felt we’d made meaningful progress in each area, and 70–80% responses positively across the board. Matchstic effectively helped us address some of our biggest pain points in 2017.

How did Matchstic perform from a project management standpoint?

The team was aggressive, keeping the schedule in front of us so we knew if we were in danger of missing key milestones. From a project management standpoint, they were planful and professional.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Matchstic told us they were all about brand and department reputation, and our results are proof. They helped us improve our reputation and, beyond that, they leveraged their expertise to get us the results we were looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, when we asked them to write promotional material or articles for our operators, the voice didn’t feel like Chick-fil-A. We struggled with the output a bit, and we had to do some extensive editing. There just wasn’t alignment on that piece.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Organizations should be as transparent as possible with Matchstic. Give the team access to all communication channels. We were a bit overwhelmed early on, but they wanted to understand our company and embed themselves. We could’ve probably moved a little faster if we’d been more comfortable with that approach at first. Anyone looking to hire them should know that Matchstic is a highly trustworthy company. Give them as much detail as possible, and, they will take it and run with it.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a principal at an architectural engineering and design firm. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Matchstic?

We hired Matchstic to take us through an overall rebranding process. Our main rationale for engaging a third party was to have an unbiased perspective from outside of our organization. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Matchstic led us through the discovery phase so we could better understand our organization, goals, and an effective verbal and visual identity way to express them. We considered how to integrate these aspects into our culture throughout the various layers of our organization. 

The team conducted extensive research both within our organization and externally on our competitive landscape to create a real understanding of our current perception in the marketplace. They conducted interviews with our staff, clients, and aspirational clients to understand what they thought of us at the time. They investigated what our competitors are focused on and identified potential future ones as our business continues to grow. 

Matchstic crafted a comprehensive set of brand guidelines and identity standards. During the first stage of establishing our brand, the key deliverables were a new logo and tagline. We also went through a renaming. It wasn't drastic, but we simplified our company's name for better clarity. 

In the next stage, we translated this insight into specific visual and verbal aspects of a brand "personality." Once we established how that should look, they supported the implementation process as a collaborative effort. 

The team designed business cards, templates for brochures and presentations, and our new website. They produced a brand essence video to convey our new brand succinctly. They also helped us launch a presentation for our staff and facilitated educational sessions with key stakeholder groups. 

What is the team composition? 

A core group of about 5–6 people were client facing to us. I'm sure behind the scenes they had multiple people that were daily contributors to our project. We mainly interacted with a brand strategist, verbal identity and messaging lead, lead designer, and the overall account manager. 

How did you come to work with Matchstic?

As we researched the top branding firms in the industry, we found Matchstic as an option. We went through the typical interview and RFP process. They stood out as sharp, skilled, and a good cultural fit. They both had experience with our type of professional services clients successfully through a rebrand and felt like a team we'd enjoy working with.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around March 2017, and our partnership is still ongoing. They now serve in an advisory capacity as a creative director. We'll provide them with some of the work our staff is doing in-house, and they'll offer critiques and a third party review of it. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the most essential things Matchstic generated for us was internal alignment and excitement about what's going on at our company. This is a hard benefit to capture in hard statistics or metrics that we can directly attribute. 

Indirectly, we saw the enthusiasm during the launch of our website carried through for over a year now. We have been tracking analytics and can see an increase in traffic, engagement, and time spent on the site. We've gotten general feedback from our clients that we look more like a design firm than a law firm.  

How did Matchstic perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well from a project management standpoint. The team was timely and responsible. Our account manager handled day-to-day scheduling and timing to make sure we were all staying on track. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was most impressed by the team's personality and company culture. Even though our organization has a thousand employees, each person felt they had one-on-one attention. We never felt like just another one of their clients. 

Matchstic always made us feel like their most important priority. Throughout each of the phases of interviewing different vendors, they stood out from the competition from this perspective. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

While Matchstic takes all kinds of clients through massive rebranding efforts, it's not something our organization had been doing every day. As we approached the end of establishing our visual and verbal identity, they could have been stronger advisors about when to start preparing for the implementation. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take part in and trust their process and guidance. Everyone had a strong feeling that what we created during the project ended up in a place we all felt very good about.