WANT

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO and marketing manager of PDI software, a global provider of a variety of technology solutions for the convenience retail ecosystem.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WANT?

We had grown very quickly, both organically and through acquisition, so our corporate brand’s visual identity was outdated. Thus, we wanted to refresh it and update our look and feel to be more representative of our customers and the solutions we offer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, WANT was tasked with reviewing the name of our company and proposing a new one. Then, they redid our logo and updated our visual identity, including the color palette, font, PowerPoint templates, and data sheet templates. They also provided us with sample visual assets for us to scale that visual identity across the rest of our company.

Throughout this project, WANT did a lot of research and visited one of our industry’s biggest trade shows. They also reviewed a lot of research that other firms had done. Additionally, they held a series of focus groups, small group interviews, and one-on-one interviews with our executives, product stakeholders, engineering stakeholders, and sales team.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Jonathan (Founder & CEO), Bob (Partner), and John (Director), who were our three main contact points. Still, there were a number of other people who joined the project at different parts of the process.

How did you come to work with WANT?

They were referred to me by a former colleague of Jonathan’s. Still, I interviewed around 15 different other agencies and ultimately chose WANT.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent close to $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2021–April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have any hard metrics. WANT has already delivered our new identity, but we haven’t launched it yet. Still, our internal teams are very impressed with their work. Our goal was getting the new teams that joined our company after the acquisition on board with our new brand, and thanks to WANT’s work, we achieved that goal.

How did WANT perform from a project management standpoint?

WANT offered excellent project management. We’re a fairly large and sophisticated organization. Still, they did an absolutely superb job of navigating that internally, showing up very professionally and prepared for every meeting, reminding the different people involved what they needed from them, and driving the whole team to the desired results. We communicated via email, Zoom, and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

WANT’s executive experience differentiated them from other providers. Since the vetting process, their executives were directly involved in my project, and they continued to work with me in every meeting. Additionally, they seemed to be selective in the number of clients they take on at any given time so that they could provide that experience.

Thanks to their approach, we were able to make good, informed decisions quickly. WANT had the right area of expertise we needed. Whereas a lot of other firms try to cover many areas of expertise, which makes them offer a medium-level service in each area, WANT has a deep level of expertise in branding.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They were very collaborative and easy to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

WANT is very good at leading the project and diving deep into the core of the problem. If you are a type of client who needs multiple options to choose from and multiple iterations, they’re probably not the right fit for you. A strong decision-making sense is better for working with WANT to avoid dragging the project out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief marketing and innovation officer for Invited, which was previously named ClubCorp. We’re the largest owner and operator of private membership clubs in the world. We have north of a billion dollars in annual revenue.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WANT Branding?

We decided to do a complete and total corporate rebranding effort. The company had been in business for 65 years as ClubCorp, and we felt that name no longer reflected the ethos of the company, our mission around hospitality, and our values around being welcoming and inclusive.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After our initial discovery to learn the industry, competitive landscape, customer base, and opportunities ahead, we did a thorough naming exploration. We settled on a few finalists and went through a complete identity discovery process to arrive at a look, feel, tone, positioning, name, expression, and tagline to support the company going forward internally and externally. We needed to get this right for employee communications, branding and rebranding, and external constituents, especially the more than 400,000 members nationwide.

After settling on a finalist set of names, we did a pretty exhaustive exploration of logo design, color palette, secondary colors, positioning work, iconography, and how it could be expressed across analog and digital channels. WANT Branding helped us ensure that we thought of all the situations and potential users to build something flexible, whether it was an icon on a mobile phone for an app or large-scale signage in front of a building.

We did a thorough immersion with current employees at all levels and areas of the company. We talked with members, got out into the field, and looked competitively at other hospitality brands and their characteristics. Also, we looked at current trends in naming and branding for consumer-driven brands. Everything set into the process to arrive at Invited.

All in all, we looked at different naming constructs and approaches and listed out the pros and cons. It was an exhaustive process — even if we thought a particular territory was less fruitful, we explored it. WANT Branding was able to ramp resources quickly, so we did this project in under 10 weeks.

What is the team composition?

Jonathan (Founder & CEO) was our main point of contact, but we had a team of five people on the daily work. They brought in other experts and resources to make the compressed timetable work for us.

How did you come to work with WANT Branding?

I worked with WANT Branding in my previous position. I knew the quality of their work, so there was an experience and reputation there to leverage. We asked them to come in and think about how to refresh and re-energize the brand completely.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $200,000–$300,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off the work in January, and it was completed by late March 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s too early to assess the impact quantitatively. However, the feedback from employees has been very positive, and the reaction from the media has also been strong. Obviously, some members would’ve preferred not to see change, so there has been an education period to get people to understand the backstory and why we made the change. Now, we’re taking the identity and leveraging it across hundreds of touchpoints. They did a great job handing it off to our internal creative team. All the work is inside of Workfront and being actively developed.

Moreover, the name has been well received. As we look at the before and after in our communication, we can see a level of sophistication and refinement that’s more consistent with our company values. It fits us much better than before and gives us room to grow in leveraging the platform for sub-brands and business extensions. Now, we’re set up to use this platform more effectively than we could do with ClubCorp previously.

Also, considering we were a 65-year-old company, there was a lot of nuance and things to think through, so it was a big assignment to knock out in a short time. WANT Branding brought in a large team for the project, which was bigger than some of the work we’d done before. Early on, there was an outstanding level of collaboration; we could play off each other, work through the process, and be very open to critique and feedback. We must have looked at over 100 potential naming conventions and approaches, and they adapted the speed and thoughtfulness of the work from there. Overall, it was an organic, natural, and fluid process. They were wonderful to partner with.

How did WANT Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

They had a great process and were incredibly thorough on deadlines. They always thought 1–2 meetings ahead, which was really helpful. Again, their ability to jump on the phone and be hyperresponsive to questions and thoughts, as well as their level of engagement were first class.

We typically communicated through email because everyone worked in different cities and time zones. We used basic PowerPoint and Excel to keep track of where things were. We also used Workfront for all of our creative project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their thought leadership and willingness to partner and collaborate were outstanding. Whether in operations, finance, or marketing, we had someone that came to the table with great thinking and the willingness to hear a different perspective to reshape their thoughts. Overall, it was a very collaborative and smooth process. The way they went about their work was very client-oriented. Simultaneously, they weren’t afraid to express their opinion and push in different directions. However, they did it elegantly and in the spirit of partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were well-organized with this assignment. They brought the right resources and moved with a lot of agility. Again, they had an excellent level of thought leadership and partnership throughout the entire process. They hit all the marks.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open-minded and let their team’s talent and creativity work for you. They can take feedback, shape, and reform as you go through the process. Take advantage of their creativity, breadth, and experience; let them run the project a bit in the early stages. You might be surprised by the direction or concepts they bring forward because they’re so vast in their thinking about these assignments. They just bring an incredibly robust perspective.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of a media and technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WANT Branding?

We were looking to rebrand our corporate entity. This project included having a new name and repositioning our new branding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WANT helped us with our entire rebranding, which included choosing a new name, designing a new logo, setting a color palette, creating our brand guidelines, and more. We didn’t know where to start with the name, but they took our business goals, incorporated them into their creative process, and came up with a name that made sense for our business. The project also included rebranding our entire website and changing our internal communications to match our new brand.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about 6–7 people from WANT, three of whom were leading the project.

How did you come to work with WANT Branding?

We were referred to WANT by some people in our industry. We also launched an RFP process and met with many other agencies, but we felt that WANT’s size and experience were more appropriate for what we wanted. We wanted more specialized attention from a team that could be very invested in the rebranding process, and they offered us that. Additionally, we were impressed with the talent of their team, so we chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around March 2021, and we wrapped up the project in September 2021. Still, WANT helped us with some additional tasks after that.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the most successful outcomes of this project was that we were able to go public with our new name and launch it on the New York Stock Exchange, which definitely helped us with our financial metrics and gave us a new profile with investors.

Our new corporate name describes very well what we do. We have different verticals within our company, including sports, lifestyle, and finance. Still, the way we refer to each vertical alludes to our corporate brand, integrating our business as a whole. Everyone likes our new name — it was a very successful project overall.

How did WANT Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

WANT was very efficient and worked very hard to stick to the timeframes. Although we sometimes pushed those deadlines due to some internal challenges, they kept us on track to get the project done. Throughout the project, we discussed additional scope and hours, but we ultimately met in the middle, and they gave us the additional hours. We communicated via email and had virtual meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

WANT’s talent is their differentiating factor. They have a great team of experts who were invested in our project, and we felt seen and heard by them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would have been great if WANT was more flexible about the timeline changes caused by our internal challenges. They knew about them and still worked very hard to stick to the deadline.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep a meeting schedule and get your team aligned so that they’re ready to go all-in on the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior account supervisor of enterprise branding at Edelman, a global marketing and communications agency. We help organizations to reposition and relook at their brand strategy to find new ways to tell their story. We also help them go through major transformations, including renaming and creating new visual identities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WANT Branding?

WANT helps us with the naming portion of our services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Whenever we engage with WANT, we provide them with a brief detailing what the name needs to accomplish and what our client hopes to be known for. Then, they use their expertise to translate our requirements into the naming criteria the client should consider. They also provide recommendations based on the client’s industry.

After that, WANT leads a detailed exploration of the name generation process, providing hundreds of name options. Then, they begin the vetting process, narrowing down the options they provided based on which names are stronger and can better tell the story.

After the vetting process, WANT presents the names to our client, listens to their feedback, apply that feedback, and comes back with a round two of name options. Ultimately, they help the client work through their final decision on the name.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked very closely with Jonathan (Founder), John (Director), and Lars (Brand Analyst). Still, they bring more creative people to the project behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with WANT Branding?

Edelman had already built a relationship with WANT before I joined the company, so I wasn’t part of their hiring process. However, we continue to work with them and prefer them over other naming agencies because they’re very easy to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $25,000–$50,000 on our last project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our last project started in December 2021, and we wrapped it up in March 2021. However, our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

WANT does a great job of bringing meaning and a lot of story behind a name. Thanks to this, we’ve always been able to find names that are very exciting to our clients and their leadership. Additionally, those names always pass legal clearances and are ready for ownership and usability. Furthermore, we’re very impressed with WANT’s service, which has helped us grow and support our relationship with those clients.

How did WANT Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

WANT has always exceeded our expectations, and they’re willing to adapt alongside us to ensure the client gets what they need to launch their new name on their schedule. They’re very helpful, and they’ve always delivered quickly without letting quality falter. Additionally, their team is very organized and streamlined, and they always help make our presentations successful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

WANT’s storytelling, meaningful work, and creativity are impressive. Naming is a tough trade nowadays, given the large number of trademarks being filed every day. Still, they’re very creative and knowledgeable, and they provide great stories behind each name while staying within the brief requirements we provide them. 

WANT is also great at pivoting per our client’s needs and demands, and they always find the right way to ensure customer satisfaction. They excel at providing thorough explanations behind their reasoning, and they’re not afraid of thinking outside of the box to find new metaphors to tell stories. Thanks to their combination of flexibility, great idea generation, and thoughtfulness, they’ve never let us down.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’ve always been very happy with them; it has always been an excellent experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate to work with them; they’re a great partner to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Sounds of Saving, a music mental health nonprofit organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WANT Branding?

We needed to name a music festival that we’ll do in 2023 to raise mental health awareness.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, our main focus was coming up with a name for the festival. Then, it expanded into our general branding. We’ve had several discussions with WANT Branding’s team to establish our focus and identity. They’ve come back to us with different ideas on how to present our brand through an intellectual property perspective and in an appealing way for our target audience. They’ve given us a lot of guidance and suggestions.

We initially provided our social media and website so they could get a sense of what we had. Since then, they’ve gone into a different direction.

What is the team composition?

We work more actively with Jonathan (Founder) and 1–2 other people from his team. However, I imagine there are other people involved who aren’t on the calls.

How did you come to work with WANT Branding?

It was through a referral from someone who had done some work on our website; they came highly recommended. Subsequently, we researched and saw all the great press they had and the TED talks that Jonathan had given about what makes a good brand. It was really impressive, and their experience across different industries was also outstanding.

How much have you invested with them?

They’re providing their services pro-bono.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since the work is ongoing, it’s hard to quantify the impact. We’re still discussing and working on things with them. The results will come in 6–12 months, so it isn’t applicable to where we are now.

However, they’ve been helpful, attentive, and sensitive to our mission and what we want to accomplisth as an organization. WANT Branding works with many companies with lots of funds and resources, so they’re great at getting us to the next level even though we’re a young nonprofit organization. They want to help with their expertise.

How did WANT Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is great. They’re engaged, and the team follows up actively. During meetings, they collectively brainstorm, research, and generate new ideas. We communicate through email, phone, and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a real desire to dig in and understand where we’re coming from and what we’re trying to accomplish. Also, their experience across industries and household names is incredible. WANT Branding knows the lay of the land and different brand strategies — there’s an art and science to that, and it makes the process fun.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any negative feedback. It’s been a positive experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go into it with a clear idea of who you are as a company and give them references of what you like and don’t like to steer them toward your sensibilities. They’re really responsive, which helps a lot.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at a venture studio that ideates, builds, and scales early-stage startups from the ground up.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WANT Branding?

We were working on an innovative joint health center in partnership with a major health system, and we needed to form our brand manifesto related to mission, vision, and values. We also needed to name the initiative and develop a brand package.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WANT Branding began with a series of interviews. We had nine interviews with executives from our entity and our healthcare partner to understand what the initiative was doing, why we formed it, what we were seeking to achieve, and what we wanted in a brand package. The interviews also helped them determine the purpose of the project and our business goals.

From there, they came to us with a series of interim deliverables, including a brand manifesto. They went through their understanding of our initiative end-to-end, our motivation, mission and vision, values, and why our two organizations came together. The WANT Branding team also outlined where we’d be able to go in the following months and years. We then iterated on that manifesto together.

The team presented the iterations and some initial name candidates in a series of phone calls. We would give them feedback, and they made adjustments based on our comments. Once we selected the name, we progressed further with revisions of the manifesto, and the team presented concepts of the brand elements. 

WANT Branding showed us how we could bring the brand to life through a series of modalities. They presented visuals of how the name would look on business cards, a website, folders, a television screen, and any number of places. We decided on which brand package we wanted to go with from the different options.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four different team members, though I’m sure many people were working in the background. Jonathan (Founder) was the project leader. His number two was a director who was his right hand on all initiatives. He had two analysts involved in the delivery process, such as putting presentations together and more execution work versus high-level strategy.

How did you come to work with WANT Branding?

We found them on Clutch, and their reviews were amazing. We were trying to find a firm that could deliver the quality that we would get from one of the major design firms while also getting a more personal touch and a more competitive price, given that we were building an early-stage company.

Although we’re not a Fortune 500 company looking to rebrand and spend seven figures, we were hoping to replicate the level of service and creativity offered by large firms. So, we looked for a boutique agency that could give us the best of both worlds and interviewed a significant number of firms. 

Ultimately, we were incredibly impressed with the WANT Branding team, their level of personal attention, and the fact that Jonathan would be personally overseeing our project. They were also reasonable on the price and understood that we would become a major customer over time. 

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from November 2021–February 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were delighted with the outcome of WANT Branding’s work. The challenge was taking something very abstract and making it real to try and demonstrate our initiative’s goals, and WANT Branding was extremely good at teasing out what everyone was hoping to get out of the process. The team was also very responsive to our feedback. We’re planning a major media campaign around the launch of this venture. Although it’s early days for us, we believe that the branding package will be extraordinarily powerful in preparation for a period of visibility and attention. 

Jonathan exercised extraordinary care and oversight on the project. We really felt like he gave us undivided attention; he was on every call, always available, and very responsive via email. He was also customer-centric and customer-first, which was extraordinary. We had a fantastic experience with every team member we dealt with; we loved working with them. 

It’s rare to come across a vendor that is more than just a one-off agreement. WANT Branding has become a partner we would go to for every single project within a certain scope of services. We’ll be working together for many years to come. We’ve just completed our first project with them, and we’re already working on four more for different initiatives. We’ve become a major customer quite quickly, so the relationship has turned into exactly what both sides were hoping for. I can’t say enough good things about WANT Branding — they were fantastic, and I’m so glad we found them.

How did WANT Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

We were delighted with their project management skills. They were extremely responsive and always willing to schedule calls on short notice and to move as fast as we wanted them to.

The team understood when it took us a little bit more time to sign off on things on our side, given the number of stakeholders involved in our joint venture. They never pressured us and were always on time on their part. 

Our team wasn’t interested in using sophisticated software, and WANT Branding was very good at meeting us where we were. They understood we loved getting a fully-formed PowerPoint presentation, having them walk us through it, and delivering feedback verbally.

If there was any writing, they put it into a Google Doc so that we could directly make edits or provide comments. What we found most impressive was their end-to-end service; they did 95% of the project management work for us, which was exactly what we were looking for.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by WANT Branding's willingness to go above and beyond and provide exactly what we were looking for. I felt that customer satisfaction was very much in their DNA; it was what drove them and made them excited to get up every day. 

I also appreciated their creativity and willingness to think harder when we were hoping for other options or wanted to change direction slightly. They were responsive, nimble, and willing to go where we pointed to deliver an outcome that everyone was really proud and excited about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there wasn’t anything they needed to improve, and I would always give critical feedback if I had any. WANT Branding was terrific.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

For anyone going into a branding project, it’s useful to understand who’ll be involved, how much time they have available, and the level of feedback you need to provide. WANT Branding makes it really easy for you; they clearly define the project beforehand, everyone’s requirements, and the timeline. They did well in understanding those elements upfront so that everybody could plan ahead. 

I would also advise going into the project with eyes wide open regarding what is needed from each stakeholder, the types of approvals required, and how much input different people want to have at each stage. This will make all stakeholders involved happy and excited. Executives with very busy schedules are often involved in this kind of project, making it challenging to coordinate. WANT Branding is excellent at scheduling calls in advance; they’re very flexible with timelines and willing to move things around if needed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Marketing Officer for MakoRabco, a nation-wide award-winning self storage builder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We acquired another self-storage builder and desired to merge the two brands into one.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I selected several companies based on Clutch reviews and past experience. I request quotes and conducted interviews. Want came out on top based on their responsiveness, ease to communicate with, their experience and ability to handle a project of this scope.

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

To initiate the project, they interviewed and met several key team members and conducted market and competitor research. They then formulated the strategy around the whitespace they identified in market positioning and created the brand building blocks. From there, there were several rounds of logo iterations. Once the logo was settled work started on the brand guide. Several collateral templates, a website wireframe of the home page with a couple of internal pages and a general booth design direction and video were delivered.

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

I worked mostly with Jonathan, Founder and John, Director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new brand was recently launched and all key elements - such as website, collateral, booth - activated. The response from the market is very positive - actually a raving success!

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

Both Jonathan and John are passionate about their work and are serious about giving the customer what they need. They've go the extra mile to ensure we had been happy with the result. I found their communication to be easy, effective and timely. They used the right communication tools at the right moment such as zoom, phone and email.

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

Their ease of collaboration. Their ability to listen to feedback and dig deeper. Their expertise. Their no-nonsense approach.

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

Nothing major that stands out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of a fintech startup app recently launched. We’re in hypergrowth mode, with more than 30 people working for us, of which about half are developers or technology-focused specialists.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WANT Branding?

Our former brand’s name and visual identity were not relevant in the marketplace. Our brand looked professional, but it wasn’t resonating with our target audience. Thus, we hired WANT Branding to rename and rebrand our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the initial sales process, we provided WANT Branding with a basic overview of our company. From that process, they understood at a very high level who we were, what we were trying to do, and what we needed. Then, they produced a pitch explaining how they would help us and what we could expect from them.

Once we started the rebranding process, we provided them with a more in-depth overview of our company, which helped them execute their service better. As a result, we got our new name, a logo, a color palette, and some website and app mockup designs.

What is the team composition?

We worked with five people from WANT Branding, including the owner, the creative director, a branding strategist, a researcher, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with WANT Branding?

We found WANT Branding through Clutch. We interviewed around six different companies, 2–3 of which we also found on Clutch. We went through the same sales process with all of the companies, but we chose WANT Branding due to their timeline projections, their level of expertise, and the quality of their previous work. They made us feel that they knew what they were doing, and they were able to work with us on a very constrained timeline.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $175,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–August 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone was very excited about our new branding, and they loved what WANT Branding did. Their service made a huge difference in our business, but we didn’t have any KPIs tied to it. Overall, they did a great job and delivered what they promised.

How did WANT Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

WANT Branding’s project management was great. They were very punctual and thorough, and their work was always very clear and on time. Around 80% of the time, we communicated via Zoom meetings or phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

WANT Branding’s work speed and professionalism were impressive. They felt like a part of our team, and it was great to see how well they understood our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would have been great if their services were less expensive. However, we paid for a high-quality service. Other than that, I don’t have any constructive feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be ready to participate and have a lot of conversations. You should be involved in the decision-making process; the more time you’re willing to invest with them, the better the result will be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the VP of Financial Operations at a retail organization. I also help lead our brand marketing efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with WANT Branding?

We were planning on expanding across the country and needed someone to take a deep dive into our brand to help us understand how it resonates with customers, both new and old. 

Specifically, we wanted to know the driving force behind their shopping behavior regarding how frequently they visited our stores and the seasonality of their purchases.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

WANT Branding helped us conduct a brand study. They first helped us validate existing customer data by looking at data regarding brand awareness, Net Promoter Score, reasons customers shopped, competitive analysis, and so on.

The team then gathered information regarding what people think and feel about our brand. They identified the top words that come to mind when customers hear our name and the reasons why they engage with us. Additionally, they looked for our audience's passion points.

Furthermore, WANT Branding looked into what was next for our brand. For example, they asked customers what they wanted to see from us and what we could do more of in terms of giving rewards and birthday discounts. 

We then used all this information as part of our brand development strategy. After ingesting all this data, our next step is to identify strategies that we can implement to grow our brand.

What is the team composition?

Three teammates were working on the project, including the owner and two data analysts. 

One of the analysts was in charge of crafting the surveys and conducting them, while the other helped us digest the results and gave us recommendations on what to do next.

How did you come to work with WANT Branding?

We first reached out to them years ago when we were looking into changing our pricing strategy, but we ended up going with another vendor. However, we decided to keep WANT Branding’s contact information.

Eventually, we gave them a call to do the brand study for us. We chose them because they were agile and quick. Additionally, we wanted to get the perspective of an agency we hadn't worked with before.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from July–September 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered within a fast turnaround time at our request. After providing the data, WANT Branding was generous enough to give us their suggestions on how we could leverage the information they collected.

The data helped us understand how our customers perceived us and our products. We were able to identify some key takeaways from it to help us improve our messaging and our efforts.

How did WANT Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

The WANT Branding team was very agile. They never missed any deadlines. In terms of communication, we used text messaging, phone calls, and email. We kept all channels open to ensure that no one would miss anything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were extremely agile and responsive. We also appreciated that the team wasn't afraid to give their opinion on how we wanted to go about the data collection process. 

Overall, WANT Branding delivered the comprehensive data we needed and helped us understand their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could've given more recommendations on what to do next.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don't be afraid of challenging them by asking for complex deliverables. Additionally, get their recommendations on how to structure data.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Marketing Officeer at SESAC Music Group, a global music rights management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had acquired a business from a company that required we change the name once the sale was complete. We needed to find a new name that would meet our creative criteria as well as be able to work around the world. We also then needed to execute a logo/brand once we decided on the name.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had worked previously with Jonathan B., the founder when I was consulting for another media business several years ago and I enjoyed the process of working with him.

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

They did an analysis of the competitive set and worked with us also on our legal requirements in tandem. They described the different types of naming structures and interviewed key stakeholders in order to get a sense of the vision of the business and leadership.

They then delivered two rounds of names - we selected several to 'clear' and went through the process to determine which name would be most appropriate. We also wanted a clean and simple URL we could acquire in conjunction with the new name which we were able to do.

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

I worked with Jonathan B., Bruno B., John D. and Julia I.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to successfully achieve all of our objectives on budget and on time. We selected a new name, which we were able to clear legally. We also secured a new URL in conjunction with that name for business and email. Lastly, we worked on a new logo/brand style guide and were able to deliver the assets to create a new name and brand within the required (and short turnaround) timeframe.

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

We had weekly calls and I was also able to check in with Jonathan high level about the project as often as needed. I never had any scheduling challenges on their end - and everything was easy and methodical and worked at the proper pace for us. If anything, they were patient with us to get approvals and feedback in order to meet our deadlines.

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

I liked their style and creativity. They kept it light but also brought gravitas and deep expertise to naming - which really is such a specialized process. Naming in particular is really a specific process.

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

I think they did a great job and I'm not sure I would say they could do something differently.