MIO Creative

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have two companies, and one is called Asheville Botanicals, a hemp extract company that makes CBD products, hand sanitizers, and some PTT products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MIO Creative?

I hired MIO Creative for their graphic design, marketing, packaging, and lateral website design services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MIO Creative’s services go from branding work, logo design and brand development. They developed two of my logos, and they currently do print design, stationery, editorials, and publications. 

For digital designs, they do website layouts, banners, and ads. They also do packaging, which is a big part of their business. Their team designs all the packaging for Asheville Botanicals. 

They also design all of our point-of-purchase marketing materials, such as the signages we put in stores. 

They provide product development services, such as trend boards, consumer reports, mood boards, and some ancillary services. Thanks to their graphic design expertise, MIO Creative can also do hand design, illustrations, and photo editing. 

What is the team composition?

I work with the two principals, and they’re a husband-and-wife team. Corina (Graphic Designer) does all the creative work. Her husband is a technical expert that does website development, IT work and support, and programming. 

How did you come to work with MIO Creative?

I worked with Corina about 8–10 years ago when I ran another company. She was running the graphic design team for that company and doing all the packaging for national retailers. Over the years, I’ve periodically used her for projects. 

As I develop other businesses, I pull them in on a retainer basis. Rather than hiring people internally, I use them as my team. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around $50,000–$60,000 with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I brought them in officially around October 2018, and we’re still working together. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Looking at Google Analytics, I see that website traffic increased. The conversion rate also went up when we redid the website. 

I’ve done a couple of trade shows before the COVID-19 pandemic. We receive a significant number of comments from people telling us our packaging is extremely professional and superior to almost everybody else in the market. We constantly get that feedback. We get a lot of positive feedback on our website as well. 

MIO Creative also does sales collateral for my salespeople, and they love that. The anecdotal feedback has been phenomenal. 

How did MIO Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a great job in terms of project management. MIO Creative actually has their own project management tool. They send me a link, and I just follow along. They’re very detailed in what they do, setting up tasks or anything that has to be completed and who’s responsible for them. 

The team takes my direction, and then they’ll go out and do additional research to either provide affirmation for what I’m thinking or provide additional input. 

They don’t just design based on what I say; they look into the market and tell me what I should consider, such as the audience we’re trying to reach. 

They go a little deeper than just designing something. For example, when I did my web page, I designed the page graphically and how I wanted it to be. Then, they had the technical expertise to say how things are going to work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

At heart, I was and am still impressed with Corina’s creativity and graphic design skills. At the end of the day, I’m trying to put something out there that has a visual impact, and she has consistently delivered amazing work. That’s the most impressive thing. 

The second one is the personalization of the relationship. Because they’re not a huge company, the relationship is more personalized. You’re working with two people, and they bring in others to do contract work or project managers if it’s a real big project. 

I like the intimacy of the relationship because I get the attention that I need from them. The response time is very fast and thorough. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

As they grow on a scale, they should keep that intimacy and the transparency of the projects. They use a couple of programs for me to see what they’re doing, but they can maybe work on that platform so the project’s easier to access. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with MIO Creative with a clear idea of what you’re trying to accomplish, not the details on how to do it but the conceptual message. Give them as much information as you can behind that message, such as where it came from and where you’re trying to go. 

Then, let them be the creative minds. My advice is to not try to be creative; just try to tell them what you’re trying to do. Let them come back to you because their creativity is their strength.