Villain Branding

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Phaselaw, a startup in the legal technology space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Villain Branding?

We needed help with our company's branding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Villain Branding helped us with our company's branding when we were first launching our company and product. The team helped us with our strategic positioning, including logo design, figuring out how we would talk about ourselves in the abstract, taglines, web design, and copywriting. Villain Branding designed the first version of our website, and our team built it.

We had a discovery call, and then Villain Branding came back to us with a detailed scope of work, laying out what they would do. We worked on refining the scope of work with them and then followed through with the detailed plan. The team interviewed us as part of this process.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with two teammates from Villain Branding, including their founder and CEO, and a member of their design team.

How did you come to work with Villain Branding?

I had worked with Villain Branding's founder at my last company; we were also a customer. I knew the team through previously working with them and was excited to start working with them a second time.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Villain Branding from September–November 2023. We completed the scope of work, but they're the first people I would call for additional work. I'm in touch with the team, and if we have a need for their expertise, we call them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Villain Branding easily saved us 100–150 hours of our time and was 10x faster than we would have been if we did the work ourselves. The team did a better job, and we signed up our first customers after working with them. The positioning that Villain Branding helped us with was integral to getting our company off the ground. Overall, the quality of their work met our expectations.

How did Villain Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

Villain Branding delivered the work on time and on budget. The team was best in class at managing things well. We had an iterative feedback cycle where Villain Branding would do a chunk of work and hand it off to us for feedback. We communicated via email, Slack, and a few meetings throughout the project. We used Notion and Linear as project trackers and Google Drive for documents.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Villain Branding's work on brand strategy was the differentiator. They were a team of sophisticated thinkers about positioning and helpful strategists in working through things. Villain Branding didn't just look for us to come up with the answers; they were high-level strategic thinkers who collaborated with us to come up with the right answers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything for Villain Branding to improve. We're super happy with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Villain Branding is a talented team worthy of trust. Give them the latitude to run with ideas and come back. Treat them as partners, not as vendors.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP marketing at Piedmont Global, a strategic globalization organization integrating cultural fluency, strategic insight, and custom technology to help clients scale with speed, navigate complexity, and operate seamlessly across cultures, markets, and systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Villain Branding?

I hired Villain Branding to do brand strategy and identity work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Villain Branding worked closely with me and my agency that handled the creative execution to ensure our brand had a spine, pushed our thinking, and would last a lifetime. The team provided design feedback and guardrails to our other agency. Villain Branding’s work included brand foundation and point of view, category definition and market positioning, brand architecture strategy, and brand narrative and messaging suport.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two teammates from Villain Branding.

How did you come to work with Villain Branding?

Someone referred Villain Branding to me. I chose them over other options because they had high ratings, were a great culture fit, had good value for the cost, and had company values that aligned with ours.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–September 2025.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched the rebrand in September 2025, so it’s early for long-term metrics. Following our launch, Villain Branding’s work has already driven meaningful progress. The strategy clarified our category and positioning, aligned leadership around a shared narrative, and reduced internal friction around messaging and decision-making. Early indicators include faster go-to-market execution, more consistent messaging across teams, and positive initial feedback on the clarity of our story. These foundations are enabling the outcomes we’ll measure over the coming quarters. Success at this stage looks like strategic clarity, leadership alignment, and faster execution — all of which Villain Branding delivered. Early indicators are strong, and the foundation is in place to measure market impact over time.For example, post-launch, we’ve seen reduced revision cycles on core messaging assets and quicker alignment on how new offerings and initiatives fit within the brand. Teams no longer need to escalate basic positioning or naming questions, which has shortened timelines and improved consistency across touchpoints. While it’s too early for long-term market metrics, these operational improvements are meaningful indicators of faster execution and stronger message alignment. We’ve seen a 50% revision reduction and a 30% increase in project completion timeline acceleration.

How did Villain Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

Villain Branding’s project management was great. They delivered on time 100%. The team was very hands-on and got the job done. I continued working with them for CMO advising post-brand launch. We communicated via email and messaging apps.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Unlike many agencies we’ve worked with, Villain Branding pushed beyond aesthetics and into category definition and business clarity. They asked the hard questions, challenged assumptions, and helped us articulate a point of view that feels both differentiated and durable. That depth of thinking is what made the work valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing Villain Branding could have done better.