AJ

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the managing partner of Bridge Partners, a corporate finance advisory firm based in the UAE.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AJ Consulting?

Our firm was looking for branding, marketing, and web design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were setting up women’s investments in the Saudi Kingdom, and we needed web design, brand design, and brand communications as well as an online platform for education and transaction processing. It was a wide brief, so we wanted someone with both technical capability and global access.

They developed a full communication strategy, including the online marketing and social media campaigns.

It was a unique project. Accessing Saudi women, while keeping them private yet also public, is a complex process. They want to be online, but not accessible to everyone. We had to maintain their privacy, which was a complex thing to manage.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Moe (Founder, AJ Consulting). We also worked with Anas (Creative Director, AJ Consulting). I did meet some of the team as well.

How did you come to work with AJ Consulting?

They were recommended to me when I was looking for digital marketing, but I also knew Moe from some time ago. He had not only the technology, but also the consulting experience that we needed. I needed someone who understood the unique, mostly online proposition we were trying to put together.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them in 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

What impressed us the most was their attention to detail and the depth of their inquiry. They questioned us and focus groups to get the brand right. That was an impressive piece of their work.

They were innovative when developing the financial education tools for the platform, the blogs to make an impact on social media, the branding and social media campaigns, and the education platform itself. All those elements were unique.

How did AJ Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

It was very good. I could go directly to Moe and get an immediate response.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They went out of their way to introduce us to other people in their network, which was outside of the scope. They came up with ideas and other vendors we could speak with for business. They acted more like a partner, which was good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Deal directly with the top. Sit down at the beginning and do a whole day of brainstorming and data dumping sessions. They were off and running. If you reveal everything, they can work quite efficiently.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a marketing and communications firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AJ?

We needed to get our corporate website and brand identity done quickly. We are digital storytellers and our corporate identity needed to reflect that. We also wanted an identity that was really memorable and stood out. We were looking for something timeless, not trendy or fashionable.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the website from scratch. They took care of all of the collateral, such as letterhead and our blog. Everything that identifies as the corporate identity package was required.

What is the team composition?

We had a core project management team of two working on this project. We also talked with the creative team.

How did you come to work with AJ?

We found them through word of mouth. We had looked at 4–5 other firms, but their portfolio and their digital DNA gave us the confidence to go ahead with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from March–April 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

What they created for us is so different from than anything else in the market, and that identity really sets us apart. People are really fascinated with the logo and they want to know the story behind it, which is exactly what we requested. We wanted people to engage with it and be curious about it.

How did AJ perform from a project management standpoint?

We were working with people in other parts of the world. It didn’t matter what day of the week it was – we could jump online and discuss the project. They really wanted to get it done right. They presented options beyond the scope that we didn’t pursue, but it was really interesting to see their thinking. They created some logos that would be beautiful for other products, but ultimately, when we saw what they came up with, we absolutely knew it was the one.

What did you find most impressive about them?

While it was a rush job, they never made it feel rushed; it felt very thoughtful. Their commitment to craftsmanship really shines in the results. I have recommended them to others, and their work speaks for itself.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This was something that was done with a limited budget and timeframe. I personally controlled the process, and with this being my company’s logo and corporate identity, I was pretty strict and didn’t give them much room to fail.