Against Ordinary

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vicar of a church. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Against Ordinary?

We were trying to achieve a rebrand because the church was about to change its name and had a new status. We needed a new suite of attributes to market the church better.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Against Ordinary has provided branding and logo design services for our church. We’ve met with the team a handful of times. They’ve asked me what we’re trying to achieve and what messages we want to get across. Then, they’ve come up with some concepts and tried them on me. I’ve given them feedback, and they’ve listened to it and made changes. After a handful of meetings, we’ve come up with something we’re happy with.

We’ve looked at logos and different kinds of designs for social media content and templates. The team has advised us to be conscious of the people we want to attract to the logo — it has to be people who aren’t already in the church.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Jordan and Be.

How did you come to work with Against Ordinary?

They were a personal referral. I trusted the person who referred them and saw some of their work. Once I met Against Ordinary, I realized they were young and creative. They understood what we needed to do and how to reach a new audience.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent £1,500. Against Ordinary has done some work for us pro bono, so it hasn’t been as expensive as it would normally be because we’re a charity.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2024, and the project is ongoing. We're expecting to conclude the project in December 2024.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t published the logo yet, but it’s been very popular within my wider internal team.

How did Against Ordinary perform from a project management standpoint?

Broadly speaking, Against Ordinary's project management has been pretty good. Our communication has been a mixture of in-person and online meetings. I can’t remember which online tool we’ve used.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Both Be and Jordan have been very good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m really impressed by their willingness to learn and engage with what’s important about church life. They’re not churchgoers, so it’s a very unusual field to start working in when they have no knowledge of it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything Against Ordinary could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about what you want and trust them to help you through the process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder / CEO of Rollr

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Refillable roll-on deodorant designed for pleasure and planet.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Against Ordinary to accomplish?

• Create social media templates for our online channels.
• Create out of home content/ads for my product

SOLUTION

How did you find Against Ordinary?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Against Ordinary over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Against Ordinary were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To create a mini campaign to launch Rollr, which would include social media posts and some billboard concepts (great for social media).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Delivered a large number of individual content pieces and templates to be used across multiple channels.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They delivered everything within the agreed timeframe and were patient with change of timings from our side of things. They went above and beyond delivering extra work once we had already passed the final 'hand over'.

What was your primary form of communication with Against Ordinary?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their ability to work alongside us and be flexible around our changing timelines (we're a start up - so it gets hectic) was really appreciated. They discussed concepts as a team and came up with solutions which were then delivered by technical and creative individuals. It was easy from our point of view - being offered options along the way. Our feedback then guided their next steps and they iterated on what we liked.

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

Nada. They're great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of DevelopHER Awards

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Annual not for profit awards ceremony celebrating women in tech in East Anglia

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Against Ordinary to accomplish?

• Rebrand/refresh of branding materials

SOLUTION

How did you find Against Ordinary?

Through DevelopHER Awards

Why did you select Against Ordinary over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

I asked Be and team to help me come up with a evolution of the existing DevelopHER Awards branding. The existing branding had served us well but I was keen to have a fresh look and feel for our 10th anniversary next year. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I have shared the new branding with many other people who all loved it, it is new and fresh but also a nod to the existing branding and natural evolution. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Be was fantastic, she took massive brain dumps of ideas from me and managed to turn them into something incredible. Everything was done in line with my expectations and even when I had a lot of feedback Be always took this within her stride and listened and came back with new ideas. 

What was your primary form of communication with Against Ordinary?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They listened to everything I wanted and lived and breathed the brand with me, having attended the event before she had insider knowledge on what the branding meant to the event.

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

Nothing from me. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Cancer Support Suffolk

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A charity supporting cancer patients and their families. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Against Ordinary to accomplish?

• Across all platforms.
• To rebrand the charity.
• To give us a bright, positive, people focussed new look.

SOLUTION

How did you find Against Ordinary?

They approached us.

Why did you select Against Ordinary over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Against Ordinary were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We asked Against Ordinary to rebrand our cancer charity. We wanted a bright new, positive people focussed look. The team spent time with us, getting to know us and the charity. They listened to our ideas,a sked plenty of questions to fully understand waht we needed. They come up with several new looks all of which would have worked but te one we chsoe has transformed our charity look. 

This was utilised on our website, publicity materials, new signage on our building, clothing and printed materials. It has transformed our look and made many more people aware of who we are, where we are and what we do.  We are thrilled with the outcome. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Our brand is so much visble and the awreness of who we are, where we are and what we do is incdredible.  

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We ahd regular meetings in person and online. They listened to what we needed and acted accordingly. We kept in regular touch throughout the project. It was a very professional service. 

What was your primary form of communication with Against Ordinary?

In-Person Meeting

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

They listened and acted upon what we wanted. They were not afraid to challenge us with new ideas, but we settled on one winning look together. We were on the journey together. 

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

No they were exceptional.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of TwentiesFest

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Talk Twenties is a digital media channel that creates impactful, purpose-led content. Home to formats that pivot the traditional media industry. With edutainment that pushes boundaries, tackles taboos and creates human connection. Our team creates vibrant, youth-skewing content for the sought-after 18-35 audience. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Against Ordinary to accomplish?

• Branding for TwentiesFest

SOLUTION

How did you find Against Ordinary?

Referral

Why did you select Against Ordinary over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Against Ordinary were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Anti-Ordinary worked closely with us to produce a brand feel and design for a brand-new festival called TwentiesFest which launched in October 2023. Be took on board all our ideas and our existing media platform branding and produced something which was both eye-catching and in-keeping with the demographic.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Logo, brand guidelines to be utilised across the festival on the day and in the lead up across website, social media, billboards and OOH.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes they delivered on time and responded to our needs. The company was in the beginning phases of launching and this was one of their case study projects to help put them on the map.

What was your primary form of communication with Against Ordinary?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Against Ordinary's ideas are unique; they always think outside the box!

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

No, as this was part of the early stages of the launch of their company, I don't have anything to add as no doubt they have changed and developed tenfold since!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company that offers an innovative form of invoice factoring that we've developed using unique technology. Our product enables us to accelerate payments to our customers and compress payment terms on their invoices quicker than the competition. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Against Ordinary?

We were looking for a marketing team that could support the initial launch of our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Against Ordinary has grasped our requirements and created a marketing strategy for our business launch. We initially provided the team with our brand guidelines and an overall vision of what our product would look like and how we wanted to present it to the market. Against Ordinary has come up with a strategy for visual and written content from the ground up. 

Against Ordinary primarily focuses on LinkedIn marketing since we offer a B2B product, using the platform to maximize exposure and visibility for our business. The team has undertaken several campaigns created from scratch, and we've just launched our website, which the team has also worked on. Against Ordinary provides strategic advice and manages our content and marketing strategies. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Jordan (Marketing Strategy Director & Co-Founder) and Be (Creative Director). The roles are split broadly between strategy and written content, which is where Jordan comes in. Be is the key creative within the organization and supports the creative content and campaigns that sit alongside Jordan's work.

How did you come to work with Against Ordinary?

One of our advisors referred us to Against Ordinary. In our search for a broader marketing team, we interviewed several service providers.
How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Against Ordinary in September 2023, and our engagement is ongoing. We have a monthly contract with the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Over the last few months, we've seen more inbound leads due to Against Ordinary's campaigns. Our brand's general customer engagement has increased, as well as the number of impressions. We've had a significant increase in engagement, which has resulted in increased customer acquisition.

How did Against Ordinary perform from a project management standpoint?

Jordan's planning is excellent. He maps out every task and is a good communicator, sharing information quickly after our calls and meetings. We primarily communicate via Slack, and Jordan shares information through Google Sheets. The team is organized, and I don't have any negative feedback regarding timelines. The deadlines of each project vary, but these changes don't reflect the team's work. I'm pleased with Against Ordinary's communication, planning, and deliverables.
Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Given the amount of time I've spent working with Jordan, I'd like to highlight him in particular. He's great. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

First and foremost, I like that I've worked with the same teammates since I first approached Against Ordinary. When working with marketing agencies, what often happens is that customers tend to work with senior team members who inevitably pass work to junior teammates, causing them to lose the initial connection. Secondly, I like Against Ordinary's creativity and how they position their company as a small and young agency. 

Lastly, Against Ordinary's cost is impressive. We talked with larger agencies that were disproportionately expensive for the work they offered. Against Ordinary provides the whole package we were looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although this has been rectified, the only issue we've experienced was when Against Ordinary introduced another team member to the project. In my perspective, this teammate wasn't as good as Jordan and Be. I raised my concern quickly, and the team took my feedback onboard. In that regard, Against Ordinary has shown that they listen to customer's feedback and respond to it quickly. 

Additionally, I'd like to spend more time talking face-to-face, which I've also discussed with the team. Although we're based in different cities, spending more time face-to-face with customers would increase the team's success.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I suggest being very specific about what you're looking for and giving Jordan and Be the opportunity to develop an interesting strategy. More than everything, I recommend looking beyond Against Ordinary's company size and seeing it as a positive thing.