The Yard Creative

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a business director at a footwear and apparel corporation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We were looking to elevate one of our accounts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I brought The Yard Creative to meet our office team and see if they could help us elevate our consumer maps. Our goal was to improve our physical, digital, and social media customer journeys.

Initially, we provided The Yard Creative with background information on our account so that they were clear on what those accounts stood for and how we were trying to help them elevate their brand position in the marketplace. One of the main social media channels they focused on was Instagram.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 4–5 teammates from The Yard Creative.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I already knew The Yard Creative before this project arose. Still, this project was the first time I worked with them on a formal basis.

How much have you invested with them?

The office directly paid The Yard Creative’s costs, so I wasn’t involved in the financial side of the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project from early 2019–late 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Yard Creative’s work was well-received and helped the office elevate their presence on social media and in their London-based physical stores.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The Yard Creative’s project management was simply exceptional. They were always on time and constantly delivered when needed. Managing the relationship with the office was a bit difficult because the team on our side wasn’t fully resourced. However, The Yard Creative went above and beyond to deliver effectively. We communicated via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Yard Creative’s approach to our problem was unique and original. They were looking to disrupt rather than replicate, focusing on an original solution. Their team mapped the consumer journey to really understand what the consumer was doing and how they were interacting with the office brand, the retail space, and the digital and social media channels. They were also very thorough and thought out of the box, and their team was on point and always ready.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would have been great if The Yard Creative had managed the account and the office a little better. They sometimes came at loggerheads because there were discrepancies between vision, budget, and ambition. Those instances could have been managed a little bit better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more insight you provide, the better results you’ll have. Listen to The Yard Creative because they have a creative and unique perspective; they’re risk-takers. Therefore, if you’re looking for a creative, out-of-the-box solution, you should definitely consider working with The Yard Creative.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an online banking platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We needed someone to help us in our journey to take a new brand to the market. We needed to come up with the whole name, brand value, and brand strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially had a discovery phase to lay out what we wanted to achieve and establish a process. We also went through the research, prototyping, and brand creation phases. The Yard Creative has been in charge of the whole process; we’ve only provided them with some basic guidelines. They’ve worked on UI/UX design, content creation, content and marketing strategy, logo design, naming, branding guidelines, and more. For technologies, they’ve used Figma and Google Workplace.

What was the team composition?  

We work with 10–15 teammates. We have a couple of strategists, an associate director, UX designers, content strategists, content writers, and more.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent $200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2022, and it’s an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ll launch our product tomorrow, so we don’t have any KPIs yet. Nonetheless, The Yard Creative has created something unique in the industry. We’re in a very competitive market, and they’ve provided us with a great strategy to penetrate it. Everyone on our team is excited.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The Yard Creative has assigned a project manager to guide the whole project. Overall, project management is great, and they’re flexible in their way of working. The team is always clear about resources and costs, so there haven’t been surprises.

We have weekly meetings to keep us up to date and different collaboration channels, such as Slack. We also use Trello to manage tickets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach is phenomenal. We like the way they think and explain things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’d be great if they executed the marketing strategy themselves so we wouldn’t have to involve a third party.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be put off by the brands you see in their portfolio. The Yard Creative works with large brands, so we thought they wouldn’t be interested in working with a small company like ours. However, we reached out and were pleasantly surprised by how they engaged with us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a restauranteur, our group owns three restaurants.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

Our team built a vegan and vegetarian restaurant concept from the ground up, inspired by American diners. We handled everything from designing the venue to the branding, without much previous design knowledge. We’d been running the restaurant for two years locally, but ran into unforeseen problems with our workflows. Ultimately, our goal was to expand and open 20–50 branches in London. We engaged The Yard Creative to help us understand the market and make wiser decisions before making a substantial investment in growing the brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our partnership with The Yard Creative was twofold: first, they helped us conduct market research, and second, they worked alongside us to rebrand our restaurant’s concept. For the market research phase, the team conducted focus groups and gleaned expertise from other successful restaurant brands that were a few steps ahead of us. 

After researching the market, they streamlined their findings and presented us with the necessary information regarding trends. They outlined how the market was shifting for vegan and vegetarian restaurants, and projected what it would look like 5–6 years into the future. Then, the team advised us on how best to position ourselves within the market to help reach our goals. 

Once we decided on a strategy, The Yard Creative rebranded the restaurant’s concept to align better with market trends. They started by dissecting the original concept and diving deeper into our vision for the new brand; they put all our thoughts down on paper and created a blueprint for us. Then, they helped us reconstruct the new brand from the ground up while taking the best elements from our original concept. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Steve (Director of Growth & New Business), who onboarded us and then assigned a team of experts to our project. The Yard Creative’s team consisted of Claire (Senior Designer), Alison (Associate Director), and Laurence (Executive Director). 

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I was introduced to Steve through my wife, who’d worked with The Yard Creative before. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about £48,000 (approximately $54,000 USD)  in the partnership with The Yard Creative. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with The Yard Creative from January–May 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The marketplace was more stable when we started the project with The Yard Creative, and it was easy for us to plan for the future. We made a lot of investment plans that have changed, so we’re not in a position to grow in the way we’d hoped. Our priority has shifted to preserving our three existing restaurants. Unfortunately, this means we don’t have success metrics to support the blueprint we mapped out with The Yard Creative. 

Having said that, I was completely blown away by their work; they gave us 150% of what we asked for. They followed the specifications so closely and delivered incredible results. I don’t have a bad word to say; we really enjoyed working with them. Furthermore, we’ve been working on a new project where we’ve been implementing what we learned from The Yard Creative. We’ve completely absorbed their ideology and changed the way our organization operates since working together, which is the best testament to their great work.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The Yard Creative managed the project well; we asked them to keep the process simple from the beginning, and they did. We met weekly to discuss progress, and they sent us weekly presentations outlining the meeting’s key takeaways. We initially intended for the project to last 12 weeks, but we asked them to delve deeper into the branding aspect. The team was more than happy to allocate more time, which resulted in us dragging the project on longer. However, the delay benefitted us in the end, and it was worth every penny.

In terms of the individual teammates, they each came with their own specialties, but they worked brilliantly together to break through the barriers we encountered. Alison was great at dissecting our thoughts and putting our vision on paper, which was helpful. Laurence and Steve were fantastic as well; they worked together to ensure the project moved forward and aligned with the initial proposal. The team was very communicative overall. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with their unique approach to the project. They based their branding efforts solely on projected market trends rather than trying mimic other brands. All their ideas were fresh, which showed in the quality of their work. Furthermore, it was clear that they’d listened to us because their suggestions always reflected our goals for the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing The Yard Creative could improve on. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the commercial director for a large shopping center in the Midlands, in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We brought in The Yard Creative to create a new name and identity for our business in line with its demerge process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed to rebrand quickly, but we also wanted to work with stakeholders, inward investment teams, the community, and our customers to ensure that the new brand works for everyone. The Yard Creative helped us with that process and produced our creative assets. They put all of our new brand DNA and iconography in a brand guideline.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Steve (Co-Founder) and various people from his team. We met a lot with Miranda (Senior Strategist) to scope out the project during the initial stages, and Mark (Head of Brand) led everything from the brand side. Further along, we were passed over to Miles (Creative Director) to get to the delivery stage.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I just joined a few months after they’d been appointed. I believe they were recommended by one of our senior stakeholders.

What is the status of this engagement?

The company engaged them around October 2020, and the rebrand was delivered in March 2021. They stayed on as our brand consultants a few months after the launch, helping us as we filtered the work to all of our other agencies and partners. They’ve since dipped in and out of various projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Yard Creative was incredibly collaborative. They were able to advise us on all parts of our marketing and proposition development on top of crafting a brand concept and guideline. We also appreciate that they provided a level of aftercare once we had launched our new brand.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

As soon as they could legally travel, they visited our office. Given that the pandemic arose, though, everything had to be continued remotely. They always made themselves available and regularly communicated with us through Teams. Miles, in particular, maintained a strong relationship with our company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the things that impressed us about them was how we had direct access to anyone from their team. It ultimately helped us accomplish what we needed on time and within budget. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. Our only hurdle was the pandemic, but they worked around that so well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing director for a property development company. We’re a UK landlord and owner-operator across office, retail, and residential properties.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We commissioned them to do product naming and an integrated brand campaign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially provided The Yard Creative with some insight and a fairly complex stakeholder group. They gave us many naming options and descriptors for each. We were naming four products, and they led the process. Also, we did a follow-up, and they provided strong video case studies and social animations that went alongside the products. They commissioned someone to do the video editing, but they were our main point of contact.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, we worked with Steve (Founder). Then, we worked with Katie (Director of Branding), Joseph (Client Services Manager), and Sophie (Graphic Designer).

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

It was through an internal referral. One of our leasing managers had worked with them previously.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between £40,000–£65,000 (approximately $49,000–$80,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in June 2021 and finished in May 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Even though we just launched it a couple of weeks ago, we’ve already got leads. Also, we’ve gotten a solid pitch to engagement and decent press coverage.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The team got really involved. They were determined to excel and make it happen despite deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We saw them as some within the industry that we could go to for advice. They had the knowledge of retail and hospitality in a disruptive sense, which was really valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), which is a global destination shopping center. I’m the SVP of development within URW Airports, LLC and I’m in charge of the airports and travel retail division.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We’re looking to develop the commercial aspects of a new airport in the US. We need a thought leader to research and provide editorial commentary on the current and projected state of customers and certain brands. A lot of our contracts are long-term and we’ll be involved with this one for many years in the future, so we need to do some fresh and creative thinking around what kind of brand attitudes will prevail hereafter. We brought in The Yard Creative to help us with this challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The engagement had multiple stages. The first was a workshop and creative session with various internal stakeholders. We tried to capture how we currently do things and what opportunities and challenges were present, which helped The Yard Creative get up to speed on what we’re trying to accomplish and created an avenue for our team to get feedback and become involved. This stage was about exploring the behavior of the next generation of travelers.

The next stage was broken down into three pieces revolving around innovating and designing offers for our customers' attitudes. This was when The Yard Creative conducted research and gathered information on their own to produce an output. We had not originally anticipated the next part, but as we got into the work, we decided that we needed a detailed survey of potential global customers or travelers from around the world, specifically those from key regions. 

The third stage involved consolidating all the information into an executive summary or a roadmap. It was about distilling the research into more concrete recommendations and action items for our company.

What is the team composition?

We regularly engage with around six associates from their side.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

A year and a half ago, we hired a new person who had previously worked with The Yard Creative on a project involving Heathrow Airport. The team came highly recommended, so we took them up for this endeavor.

How much have you invested with them?

The total value of the project is $137,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off in January 2021 and are about to complete the engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have yet to receive the final deliverable, so we cannot enact the recommendations from the research just yet. However, I will say that the team is extremely creative. They’re thought-provoking professionals that really challenge us to think bigger and stretch our view of the world.

Our team finds The Yard Creative inspiring. They really force us to be aspirational when it comes to our approach. Even if we only end up enacting 25% of their recommendations, it would be a world of difference from what we would’ve achieved on our own. 

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The Yard Creative is very organized. They knew what they needed to do and when. They were also very accommodating with our schedules, considering that they’re based in Europe and we’re based in the US. Despite working across different time zones, the team was always on time.

The Yard Creative ran very focused and moderately paced meetings that kept us on track with the topic at hand. There is always an allotment of time set aside for exploring different ideas that would come up during our discussions.

We use file-sharing services and video conference tools to conduct our meetings virtually.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Yard Creative very much has their finger on the pulse of retail and technology trends. They’re knowledgeable when it comes to different kinds and generations of customers. We had not worked with many firms that do what they do, but it was a really different experience for us. We’re incredibly impressed with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

One hiccup that we’ve had along the way was around the customer research piece; it only became apparent later on in the project that we needed to incorporate this activity. I don’t think there was any miscommunication, but they could improve on properly scoping the project out of the gate.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It really comes down to commitment. You will get the best out of the engagement if you involve and commit your best people to the journey.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director for a retail development and regeneration project in Edinburgh.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We were looking for a creative and digital solution for mall retail.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We issued a brief in a tender environment. After embarking on the project, they subsequently interviewed and researched all key stakeholders. Then, they assumed the brief, and it was a three-pronged tender process. They made creative changes to our design guide and mall retail kiosk designs.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around seven people.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I’ve worked with The Yard Creative before. They were asked to tender along with two other design agencies, which they won based on their creative proposition and financial submission.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested in excess of £200,000 (approximately $275,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement started in October 2020. They’re currently working on the third stream of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main project doesn’t open until the summer.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they were exceptional. Their team exhibits clear and frequent communication. We largely communicate through Teams and Zoom, but we also use email and phone calls. They’re a great cultural fit.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team does their research very well. Their futuristic approach is very customer-focused. They don’t spend too much time looking in the rearview mirror. They work as if they’re part of the team as opposed to a third-party agency.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re very happy with the output and ongoing relationship. There’s nothing we would change about the relationship thus far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Look beyond the key principals. They have a very talented team beyond their head designer and CEO. Clients should do a deep dive into their whole organizational structure.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a desserts business; we also make milkshakes, smoothies, and waffles. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We hired The Yard Creative to help us with a rebrand. We’d like to move to a franchise model, so we felt that we needed to rebrand ourselves. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we had an insight day so they could find out what I liked and wanted from them. I let them know the type of look I was going for and what I envisioned.

From there, they worked on that and came back with a few branding options for me to choose from. When we picked the direction we wanted to go in, they created a final concept for it. They’ve built the new logo, uniforms, color scheme, and other branded files and pieces. 

What is the team composition?

Four people have worked with us. There is one lead designer, two other designers, and Amanda (Creative Director). 

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I found a design for another company and really liked it. I found that The Yard Creative had done that design, so I went with them based on that.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around £22,000 (approximately $30,400 USD)

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2020 and we’re still doing some work with them. The majority of the project was done in about two months, but we’re still working on the third premises. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The shops aren’t ready yet, so we haven’t used the design. However, I’m really happy with the designs and they’ve gone above and beyond. I really feel like each of them is invested in the project. I genuinely feel like I have a long-term relationship with them. 

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re really good at project management. We use WhatsApp to communicate, even if it’s the middle of the night. They’re very open. Amanda is really great to work with, along with the rest of the team. They’re so professional in dealing with the project, which can be quite difficult, and they’re very understanding.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their skills and designs they’ve provided, along with their attention to detail, are very impressive. The people themselves are great, too — they’re all so nice. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Looking at it now, it may have been my mistake, but I should have thought more about how much I wanted the final concept to cost. I don’t want to limit their creativity, though. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it. Know what you want, research it, and be clear about whether it’s a vanity project or for commercial viability. I’d 100% recommend working with them; you’ll be in great hands. They give great links afterward and they check in on you, so it’s like you are part of the family. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an advisor to the co-founders of the fintech startup that hired The Yard Creative.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

The startup was exploring an environmentally friendly banking offering. We wanted The Yard Creative to advise us on brand identity and help us create brand guidelines.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were doing a series of workshops and interviews to get their team to understand the nature of the proposition and the problem we were trying to solve in the market. After they put that together, they developed a series of brand paths that we could explore.

In another workshop, they came with a list of 200 potential names. We had a workshop around that selection process. In finalizing the project, they put together an investment document with all of our branding guidelines and information.

What is the team composition?

I dealt with five or six people.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

One member of our team had done a lot of branding work in London. His friends had worked with The Yard Creative previously. After many initial discussions, the main reason we chose them was how their value point of view aligned with our thinking. Social impact is at the center of what they do, which is aligned with what our startup was doing.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2020–February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Yard Creative is fantastic. Their creativity throughout the brand naming process was amazing. We were struggling in that area, but they had no problem. All of the deliverables were fresh and creative. We’re standing out from others in the financial services space. I couldn’t recommend them enough.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The team was structured but also very flexible. They gave us plenty of time to think and reflect but kept a good momentum.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with the freshness of their thinking. They’re on the pulse of what people are interested in.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As you can tell, I like them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to give them the freedom to be as creative as possible. Try not to constrain their thinking.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of the Derby Centre at Savills, which is a shopping center. We have two hundred stores in the shopping center and are one of the top 10 shopping centers in the country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

The challenge was to rebrand the shopping center. We were part of a group that had 15 different shopping centers under one brand that went into administration last year. We approached The Yard to create a new brand for the shopping center because it didn’t have a name or a unique identity.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked The Yard to critically think about our business and its strategic direction rather than focus on collateral. Their team undertook research with key stakeholders in our city and our business, including customers. They looked into growth opportunities and worked to understand our DNA to come up with a unique position.

The Yard crafted our story around the city’s history. Their team then worked on a name and brand guidelines, which they’re applying to different elements in the business. They’re designing our website with our web provider so that our website fits the guidelines.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with 5–6 people from The Yard.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

One of our consultants recommended The Yard. We invited them to tender alongside four other agencies. We checked their credentials and previous work. They had great experience in our industry.

What is the status of this engagement?

We appointed The Yard around September 2020, and they’ll finish the contract in June 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re really, really pleased with the position The Yard made for us, which is unique. Their team’s facilitating customer testing, and we’re pleased with the results. Their stakeholder management is also excellent, helping us manage our stakeholders and owners. Their team presents their work to them and received excellent feedback on their creative route.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

When we first conversed with them, I was pleased that they included their thoughts for our direction. The Yard took a methodological approach to the project and presented a project plan that their team follows. Their team was quite agile when we told them that we needed to deliver certain elements early such as uniforms. They were able to accommodate and achieve that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed by their enthusiasm. They got behind the project and put a great team on it. The Yard made a great effort to understand our city and immersed themselves in it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would absolutely recommend them. I would encourage any city center, shopping center, or destination to check out the yard.