3Headed Monster

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Tropical Smoothie Café is one of the fastest-growing restaurant franchises in North America. We sell smoothies and food that is healthier under the belief that if you eat better, you ultimately feel better. My position is chief marketing officer.

What challenge were you trying to address with 3Headed Monster?

We are a high-growth brand and had worked with a variety of agency partners over the years but felt like for 2020 it was important for us to have a true creative agency of record.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They really handle anything related to our brand in terms of our overall look and feel, our market positioning, and our interactions with consumers at every level. They have helped us to develop our overall strategy for reaching potential customers through a variety of different channels, and the specific deliverables produced on top of that range from strategic briefs outlining those strategies to video and advertising assets that they plan and execute for us as well.

Earlier this year, for example, they handled a video shoot to create all of the imagery and B roll that we needed to be able to put together our commercials for television broadcasts and social media channels. They created all of the positioning and creative assets that went along with those as well.

What was the team composition?

There are a couple main points of contact that we interact with from their team, but in one form or another pretty much everyone from their agency has touched our account this point. I’m not completely sure of the specific number but I believe we have 8-9 individuals working with us for about 25% of their time and then a couple more who are totally focused on our account.

How did you come to work with 3Headed Monster?

We went through an extensive vetting process because we knew we wanted this agency to serve as our long-term partner. That started out with an initial list of about 40 agencies that a consultant helped us gather. From there it narrowed down to eight, and ultimately 3Headed Monster impressed us the most across the range of interviews and discussions that we had so we decided to finalize the deal with them.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we have spent around $1 million so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership officially kicked off in January 2020 and we are continuing to work together.

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

We released their ad campaigns to our franchisees for a review in May, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. One of our franchisees is the former CMO of another major food chain so she really knows her stuff, and she could not have been more excited about how the creative they produced brings our brand to life.

From a results perspective, we launched the brand campaign on June 3rd and have literally had record-setting sales weeks in some form or another ever since we began that campaign.

How did 3Headed Monster perform from a project management standpoint?

I am not close enough to the day-to-day relationship to know which tools they use specifically, but I know our team is fully engaged with them on a variety of project management softwares to make sure that we are on top of all of our milestones for various deliverables.

They haven’t missed a single deadline yet, and we’ve put some pretty big challenges in front of them because of our specific needs as well as the pandemic. They’ve done a great job delivering on that so far and have never hesitated to go above and beyond when we needed anything in a pinch.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their understanding of how to build an effective strategy and brand for a challenger company is very rare for the agency world. From a CMO’s perspective, there’s not much more value you can get out of an agency than ideas you would never have thought of on your own.

We are certainly a brand looking to challenge the status quo and grow relatively quickly, which requires a certain amount of being responsibly edgy, and I think that they are uniquely positioned as a company to be able to deliver that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, we’ve been exceptionally happy with the results that they’ve given us so far, so I’d be hard-pressed at this point to pick out any area where they could be doing much better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be sure that you’re looking for a partner, not a vendor. The leaders on their team won’t hesitate to push back or bring crazy, outside the box ideas into the discussion and have the debate that it brings about. If you’re ready for that level of challenge to your expectations and comfort zone, then they are absolutely the partner for you.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of marketing for a national quick stop restaurant (QSR) brand.

What challenge were you trying to address with 3Headed Monster? 

We needed to hire an external resource to help us with local activation. We have different creative needs across our 1,200 restaurants. We needed help to create an efficient process to localize our national creative.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

3Headed Monster takes key elements from our national creative and finds opportunities to localize them. They’ll make the creative relevant through copy and/or creative additions. For example, we might have a billboard that has the key creative structure from the national campaign. 3Headed Monster localizes it and makes it relevant for downtown Dallas. 

They also helped us create a campaign for when we rolled out delivery service in local markets. We weren't on national media at that time. 3Headed Monster helped us create digital, radio, and out-of-home campaigns for the launch of our delivery service. 

What is the team composition?

I honestly don't know how many people from their side work on our different projects.

How did you come to work with 3Headed Monster?

We did an RFP process and spoke to a handful of companies during the pitch process. The list was narrowed down quickly, and 3Headed Monster became the finalists. 

What is the status of this engagement? 

Work began October 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

We do a post-analysis of every campaign. From a system perspective, there is overall satisfaction that 3Headed Monster has elevated the game of our local creative. I consider them to be a true partner. In fact, we’ve recently increased our scope of work with them.

How did 3Headed Monster perform from a project management standpoint? 

Their team is very solid from a client-agency relationship standpoint. 3Headed Monster is definitely best in class in terms of responsiveness, creative aptitude, and support.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

They deliver on time and on budget. We don't always see that in the agency world. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

One thing I appreciate them the most is that they're not afraid to push back. So it's not an area needing improvement, but I look forward to us working even closer together. If we can continue to work hand-in-hand, we’ll get even better creative ideas from 3Headed Monster. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

3Headed Monster does really good work when they have the background of the problem that you're trying to solve. Give them the full context from the business side, not just from the marketing perspective. Also give them the creative license to push boundaries. They’ve helped create technology that’s never been done before. Give them the freedom to run with their ideas and they will punch well above their weight. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of LEO Cyber Security. We help businesses run their entire cyber security programs.

What challenge were you trying to address with 3Headed Monster?

We were looking for a vendor to help us develop our entire branding and messaging around it. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We shared our vision with 3Headed Monster and they interviewed some individuals that were involved in starting our company. Then, they helped us develop our brand identity and messaging. They also designed a website for us and created our name and logo. 

What is the team composition? 

I worked with a total of 10 people, including their creative team and their leadership.

How did you come to work with 3Headed Monster?

We were referred to 3Headed Monster. They seemed very responsive and creative, so we decided they'd be a great fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

We worked with 3Headed Monster between June–October 2016.

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

We have constant positive feedback from our investors, customers, and future employees. People say they like our website, logo, and messaging

How did 3Headed Monster perform from a project management standpoint? 

They did a fantastic job. We mostly used phone to stay in touch, and they were very responsive. We also had a number of in-person meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were a small customer for them, but they treated us like we were spending a billion dollars on advertising.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd definitely recommend 3Headed Monster. They’re going to ensure you'll have a successful experience. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an organization called Nothing Bundt Cakes, which is a multi-unit specialty retail and restaurant company. We’ve been operating for about 20 years, expanding our footprint past the immediate region.

What challenge were you trying to address with 3Headed Monster?

We were looking for a creative strategic partner with an emphasis on content delivery.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I was brought in to the company soon after a private equity acquisition with much higher expectations for our marketing strategies and growth. We needed a new agency partner that could handle all things creative to help position the brand accordingly. 

Initially, they collaborated on brand and creative positioning, which also led to several campaign ideas to consider. After we achieved internal alignment, they took on everything. Whether it was video, social media, digital support, product and promotion work, or an in-store new look and feel, they handled all our consumer touchpoints creatively. We didn’t have any other in-house services or creative partners, so they took the lead on marketing and storytelling efforts. They even consulted with in-store interior design, which went beyond the scope of the work. They’re still our creative partner today.

What is the team composition?

Just about everyone at the agency touched the project. There’s probably five teammates that we commonly interface with and another ten focusing on the project back at the shop. 

How did you come to work with 3Headed Monster?

We had a prior working relationship with Shon (Founder, 3Headed Monster) and were familiar with the company. In the past, we've worked with some of the bigger agencies, but we determined that we didn’t have the proper funding or desire to buy into larger-agency fee structures. 3Headed Monster is full of talent with big agency experience, but they use a more nimble, scrappy, and affordable approach. They offered the best of both worlds.

How much have you invested with them?

At this point, we’ve probably spent $500,000 since the start of the relationship including outside projects. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We first started working together in June 2017, and our relationship is still moving forward.

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

Since partnering with them, we’ve seen over double-digit sales growth for the brand. They absolutely had a part in that success. Whether it was a campaign evaluation or in development, they always scored high in our test environments too. They’re ultimately one of our key partners, and their deliverables have been well-received internally. That’s important for a franchise organization like ours.  

How did 3Headed Monster perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management skills are good. We always had a fair amount of lead time for several projects. On our end, we can tend to overthink and add an extra round or two of iterations. But, 3Headed Monster is able to keep us on track when we strayed outside of our scope. They were respectful of us while remaining mindful of the deadlines we set. Not all partners are able to hit deadlines in a retail environment, but they consistently have.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a smaller shop full of big agency talent, their value proposition is super attractive. I’d put them up against any other creative agency. The team is talented, skilled, and can contribute beyond the scope of a project. We had full engagement from their three founding partners on a regular basis, often using their whole team as an extension of ours. For instance, they’ve been present for all types of our board presentations, which added a lot of value.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the first month or two, both our companies were growing and recruiting. At that time we should’ve thought more about the size of the project and how our need would be filled from a manpower perspective. But, it’s been a few years since then, and we’re both in a better place now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Tap in and engage with the leadership team initially. It's great to be able to see the talent pool and creative leadership abilities for yourself.