AtticSalt Branding

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the office manager at an organization that does employee benefits. We help employers get medical and dental insurances for their employees.

What challenge were you trying to address with AtticSalt Branding?

We needed a new contact list that would serve as a marketing piece for our clients to showcase our brand.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

AtticSalt Branding designed and developed a contact list for us. They’d already done a project for us in the past, so they were familiar with our branding color scheme. We sent them our old form to look at, and they gave us some new design options.

We really didn’t have to do anything on our end, which was easy. We just had to wait for our options and pick one. We’re now using one of their designs as a branding asset.

What is the team composition? 

I only worked with one person who I believe was the design director. We had their email on file from our past project and reached out to them again.

How did you come to work with AtticSalt Branding?

I don’t know the complete context of how we found AtticSalt Branding, but I know they did several other marketing pieces for us almost a year ago.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $100 for this particular asset.

What is the status of this engagement?

This most recent project didn’t take more than two weeks between January–February 2021.

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

The new contact list was definitely better than the one we were using. It fits in with our other marketing tools and enhances our company’s theme. 

How did AtticSalt Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

They did well. It was really easy for us to just send them an example of what we were looking for. They performed well and made the piece on brand. For communication, we emailed back and forth.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Again, they were easy to work with. It didn’t take a lot of my time to get through the process. I just told them what I needed, and they produced a quality product in the end.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything as it relates to this project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you have a good idea of what you want, it helps to give them references and examples. It could be documents of what you’ve used in the past, a rough outline, or any prep work you’ve done. The more information, the better. Just give them enough guidance so that they can use their creativity to make the process easy.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the principal of marketing and business development at DFDG Architecture, an architecture, interior design, and planning firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with AtticSalt?

It had been a decade since we had a refresh on our website and 20 years since we had a refresh on our brand. We were looking for a firm outside of our industry that could provide us with a new way of thinking and potentially disrupt what we had considered our normal.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The initial step was a brand evaluation to understand what our brand was, who we were as a firm, and what our goals and objectives were moving forward.

AtticSalt also helped us to figure out ways to honor the legacy of our founder, who had been with the firm for 50 years and then transitioning into the next 50 with a new brand. They designed our logo and WordPress website, and they also did graphic and brand standards.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with Rani (CEO & Chief Strategist) and Kathy (Brand Strategist), but there were five other teammates behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with AtticSalt?

We had found a website developer, and we asked them for some suggestions. We brought in three branding firms, and AtticSalt was the one we thought would bring us something different and create something unique. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $36,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from November 2019–November 2020.

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

The website was launched in mid-November, and the traffic has increased astronomically since then. AtticSalt did a good job of working with a group that was full of designers. Dealing with all of the creative people that we have in the office was a challenge, but Rani and his team handled that well.

How did AtticSalt perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great. It was a pleasure to work with them, and they understood where we were coming from and how we work. They realized that we were a little bit slower in decision making, and they were okay with that. 

The project went longer than expected because of COVID-19, but AtticSalt handled it well. We communicated via email. Up until March 2020, we had a lot of in-person meetings. After that, we switched to doing everything virtually. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

AtticSalt helped us look at everything from a more total market perspective as opposed to solely from our market sector, which really helped us. Having a firm that hadn’t done a lot of websites in our industry gave us a different perspective on how websites come together. 

We also had conversations around changing our name, and, after doing some brand awareness work, AtticSalt convinced people in our office that it was the right decision to stay with our current name.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They put out a post on LinkedIn about having worked with us, which was a little bit ahead of what we had done. It was also partly our fault. That’s the only time I was disappointed. Other than that, it was all good. Rani was great at making his position known, even if it frustrated people.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t have lots of people at the table; limit it to four people to make it easier for AtticSalt. Because we had so many people, decision making became rather difficult. Make sure you have the right people at the table. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of business development for a global public equity fund called Shukr Investments.

What challenge were you trying to address with AtticSalt Branding?

When we first started the company in 2013, we had pretty simple visuals that weren’t representative of the brand we were trying to portray. We wanted something sleek and luxurious, and we were trying to be consistent with our logo and branding across all of our forums.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

AtticSalt Branding recreated our branding from scratch, including our logo, website, and more.

They started with a symbolic logo that incorporated various parts of our identity. For example, it has the initials of our company name in the middle but in an indirect way. The outer layers represent equity while also evoking the bull and bear market. 

Regarding the website, we provided the content while they coordinated everything else. They did the designs, working with a third-party to build out the features and install the plug-ins on GoDaddy. Finally, they created our PowerPoint presentation, business cards, and letterheads.

What is the team composition? 

I mostly worked with Rani (Founder & Creative Director), but I know he has a design team that was responsible for creating a lot of things. He also collaborated with an individual from Rocket Digital to build our website.

How did you come to work with AtticSalt Branding?

I’d done a lot of research for companies within the US and internationally before reaching out to the best marketing companies in my area. I wanted to see who they worked with for branding. Those top-ranked marketing company in the Valley area of Arizona recommended Rani to me.

What is the status of this engagement?

The process lasted from August–October 2020. It took longer than expected due to some delays on our side. My brother was moving, and we’d changed our minds on certain things like colors.

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

We were very pleased with the branding materials as well as the design process. Their team remained flexible with us and understood that we were figuring things out as we went along. Any time we asked to make a change, they would walk me through all the steps, which was definitely reassuring.

How did AtticSalt Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

AtticSalt Branding always met deadlines. I was in touch with them via text, email, and regular Zoom calls, and they used DropBox to deliver designs. They were consistently professional, too. When it came to billing, there were a few things that we added at the last second, and they didn’t nickel and dime us on them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by their knowledge of their industry and level of professionalism.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because of the global pandemic, we weren’t able to meet in person. That wasn’t their fault, but having face-to-face communication would’ve been better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be definitive in what you want. Our main weakness was that we had multiple people involved, which led to differing opinions. We were able to be successful by trusting AtticSalt Branding’s designer.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a brand called Lemon London. We’re an experiential salon concept that’s essentially a café, juice bar, and nail salon.

What challenge were you trying to address with AtticSalt Branding?

Essentially, we needed to develop brand language, a pitch deck, brand mockups, and logos.

What was the scope of their involvement?

AtticSalt helped build a brand identity and position the brand. They developed my brand language too. Their team gave me the language to describe the business in a way that ensures a person understands it. They essentially took me through all of the brand book processes.

What is the team composition?

I directly worked with two people including Rani (CEO & Chief Strategist).

How did you come to work with AtticSalt Branding?

My architect introduced me to AtticSalt. I spent about an hour on the phone with the CEO and our ways of thinking aligned. He presented fantastic ideas, and I knew this team could help develop my brand into what it could be.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested $20,000 in their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in August 2020, and it’s ongoing.

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

AtticSalt’s one of the most professional agencies with which I’ve ever worked. I’m impressed by their branding initiatives, which they nail. They understand what I’m trying to do. 

I’ve worked with a lot of designers over the year, and it’s not often that you find an agency that delivers work at an elevated level in a timely fashion like AtticSalt that.

How did AtticSalt Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management and communication are stellar. We mostly communicate via phone, email, or Zoom. They’re on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed by their communication skills and ability to develop a brand.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything’s great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your research. The more prepared you are, the more they can deliver in return.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a software company that serves the K-12 market.

What challenge were you trying to address with AtticSalt Branding?

We hired them to create a logo and company name.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a pitch deck that included our mission and vision that AtticSalt helped us begin to market. They created a name, logo, and brand framework. That included the color palette and the design. Their team essentially ran our design initiative, designing our print collateral and website, which they rolled out. Their team was also responsible for our messaging and positioning. AtticSalt continues to function as our design team.

What is the team composition?

We normally work with 2–4 people from AtticSalt. There’s one main person, Rani (CEO & Chief Strategist).

How did you come to work with AtticSalt Branding?

I personally wasn’t involved in the initial search for agencies. However, I know how it happened. We used Clutch and its filters to narrow our search. That helped us to find an agency that matched us. We had about ten options and called about 6–7 for a quick interview. Eventually, we chose AtticSalt.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $6,800 a month on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our company started working with AtticSalt around September 2019, but I first engaged them in January 2020. We’re still working with them on a monthly retainer.

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

The brand was extremely well received, including the logo and colors. We have 200-plus school districts, so it’s a good start. COVID-19 was in the middle of this rollout, which was a challenge. However, we’re pleased with the results so far.

How did AtticSalt Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team uses Asana and Slack. We like those tools and use them too. We have weekly calls to make sure that we’re on point and strategy. They’re responsive and organized.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed by the quality of their work. AtticSalt does everything at a high-level. They’re perfectionists, so their team does everything extremely well.

They didn’t know the K-12 space, which was a challenge. However, their team said marketing is marketing. It works no matter what, and they picked up the space well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is my first time fully managing an outsourced agency. We stayed tactical over the last six months as opposed to strategic. It’s not their fault because we’re hiring them for basically 20-hours a week. They want to get it done right, so I haven’t seen a lot of speed.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and designated broker of a real estate brokerage.

What challenge were you trying to address with AtticSalt Branding?

We basically needed to build our brand from the ground up.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically, we created an overall business development plan with them. We had about three four-hour sessions with AtticSalt. During the sessions, we sat down with a few of their employees to discuss our business including marketing efforts. We went through keywords that encapsulated our business and target marketing. We discussed our vision, target audience, and business statement too. Outside of a logo and colors, they helped us to define where the company should go.

They ultimately created a logo that resonated with our audience. Their team still does advertising, print marketing, and branding work for us.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was Rani (CEO and Chief Strategist). We also worked with two business development team members.

How did you come to work with AtticSalt Branding?

I found them on Google and went through their online portfolio. Their work resonated with my style. We sat down, had a meeting, and moved forward.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $25,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around September 2019, and our partnerships ongoing.

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

They dove into our goals and audience and then created a brand that's completely different from other real estate companies. Our brand’s more approachable to our target audience. Everyone that has seen the brand likes it.

How did AtticSalt Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via text, calls, and email. Their team’s super responsive. We also have in-person and office meetings. Their team meets deadlines. They’re communicative too.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their designers have a unique perspective that helps to reach certain aspects of the market. Their business development team’s great too. Before we started the branding process, we dialed into what we wanted to put out there.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No business is perfect. It's not part of our contract, but it would be nice to have them see through more of the actual presentations. It would be helpful if they could move a design on paper down the road.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have an idea of what you want going into the project. Gather your thoughts and know your brand's story.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a consultant at ChangeX, a global nonprofit organized based in Dublin. As an organization, they provide microgrants to community members looking to start community-based projects and organizations. They have about 100 different tasks on their platform, including block parties or environmental projects.

When I was working with them, they were partnering on a big project with Microsoft to provide microgrants to Microsoft partner cities.

What challenge were you trying to address with AtticSalt Branding?

We worked with AtticSalt Branding on two main components of the project.

What was the scope of their involvement?

One aspect of the engagement was to provide a pitch deck for future partnerships and fundraising and reporting purposes. It was a brand enhancement. AtticSalt Branding took the best parts of ChangeX’s brand, elevating them in a more contemporary style while maintaining the core values of it. They also created templates for reports and pitches.

The other aspect was a landing page for prospective partners. The page talks about the main program, benefits, and why companies should partner with them.

What is the team composition?

There were likely more people behind the scenes, but I directly worked with Rani (CEO & Chief Strategist) and one of their designers in Spain.

How did you come to work with AtticSalt Branding?

I’m part of another community that’s nonprofit accelerator organization in the Phoenix area, and Rani is based here as well. They send out a monthly newsletter, and in one of them, they highlighted AtticSalt Branding as an innovative local business.

That stuck with me because we needed branding help. In July 2019, I was in Ireland meeting with ChangeX. When I was there, I said that we definitely needed more professional branding and marketing support. I emailed Rani from my hotel there, and he thought I was in the Phoenix area and called me in the middle of the night.

As soon as I got back from there, I had my first meeting with Rani and signed the contract after that.

How much have you invested with them?

It was around $10,000. But since we’re a nonprofit, the value is more than likely between $20,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from August–December 2019.

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

I was blown away by the designer’s quality of work. It was world-class design work. It increased our level of communication and clarity with our main donors. It also helped bring in three new partners. We also expanded our Microsoft partnership. The team at AtticSalt Branding’s work opened the door for major partnerships.

Since I left the team, they recently launched the website, which is more than likely bringing in new leads. During our end of the year board meeting, one of the highlights was the brand update and PowerPoint template that they now use for everything.

How did AtticSalt Branding perform from a project management standpoint?

They were absolutely stellar when it came to project management. Throughout, there were regular check-ins with set expectations for communication. Rani workshopped ideas with us, gave us feedback, and provided overall creative direction training. We also used Slack.

AtticSalt Branding went above and beyond to give us an exceptional project.

Even if we needed a fast turnaround, they helped to refine our pitch deck for potential partners, so we could have the confidence to land those deals.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their out-of-the-box thinking makes them stand out. Their team blends their design skills and clear communication with fresh ideas. The creativity of their team would make me want to work with them again.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Given the scope of the contract, they went above and beyond. I feel like, in some cases, they pushed the box so far that the nonprofit was unsure if it would land with our partners. Nonprofits are usually traditional, and Rani’s team pushes the envelope.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients should know that they’re working with a creative agency. To start off, customers should have a workshop with their team to communicate core values and other processes. If they understand the organization, they can understand what the client is trying to do and communicate it as effectively as possible.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the principal of an architectural firm. We help clients with the full design process from creating blueprints, getting permits, and doing construction. We work with a variety of clients from developers to commercial entrepreneurs and restauranteurs.

What challenges were you trying to address with AtticSalt Branding?

We had a logo and company name, but we wanted to refine our brand and make it more professional.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took us through the branding process and helped us identify our values in a concise way. They also redesigned our logo, created content, and put together marketing guidelines. Their team also helped with some of the story writing behind what our brand does. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Rani (CEO) and one other team member. 

How did you come to work with AtticSalt Branding?

We met Rani through a networking group. We hadn’t considered branding services before, but upon speaking with Rani about what branding is and how it could help us, we decided to engage their services. 

How much have you invested in them? 

We invested about $25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–September 2017. 

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

They helped us make our brand more consistent across the board. The quality of our appearance online is aligned with the quality of our work. It’s also helped us hone in on who our clientele is and increase transparency. 

How did AtticSalt Branding perform from a project management standpoint? 

They did great. I appreciated their strong communication. They provided deadlines and met them. There were some tasks where we didn’t have strict deadlines, but they did a great job of ensuring we were making progress and hitting milestones.

We met in person about once per week, and we also communicated via email and phone.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have experience and knowledge of the branding process. I appreciated Rani’s authority in the space. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

It’s helpful to understand the importance of branding overall and how it can help your business.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Red Rover delivers modern software solutions for K-12 Education administrators. I am a co-founder and CTO.

For what projects/services did your company hire AtticSalt Branding?

We needed to develop our visual and verbal brand identity from scratch including finalizing a name selection, web site, print collateral, etc.

What were your goals for this project?

Launch our brand and initial website

How did you select this vendor?

I was not heavily involved, but reviewed Attic Salt along with a couple other agencies. Their personal yet professional approach seemed to fit where we were taking our brand; their strengths fit our needs; and their price was reasonable (not cheap but not exorbitant).

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

• Brand identity
• Logo and visual identity including colors, illustrations, and brand guide
• Website
• Business cards and other print collateral
• Powerpoint/Keynote template

What was the team composition?

We mainly interacted with Rani and Kathy. They were great and even came onsite for our brand workshop. They worked with the rest of their team and their technical partner to produce everything for us.

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

We launched the brand on time despite having a few hiccups on our side (a name change early in the process and some late stage logo revisions). In the end we've received numerous complements from our colleagues and target market about all aspects of the brand.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication via slack & video calls was seamless - like they were part of our team. The in person workshop is absolutely worth the time and effort.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They know branding - not just logo or website design - and can speak to theory behind it. They got personally invested in understanding our brand, they're a real partner.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There were a few times that we had to ask for a status update when they had gone dark working on stuff, but they were always more than willing to give us a slack update or get on a call right away.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work with a company called Viva Ananda that is an up and coming center for wellness in Scottsdale Arizona. I am one of the owners and specialize in naturopathic medicine.

For what projects/services did your company hire AtticSalt Branding?

We were looking for general branding help as well as helping us come up a bit with the model of business that fit the branding given that we are many individuals coming together to serve the community. We also needed to get clear on logo, colors, etc.

What were your goals for this project?

To come away with a model of business that we felt good about and unified with as well as have as brand framework to work with

How did you select this vendor?

We called around to about 4 different companies and they all ranged in pricing. We had an initial meeting with Attic salt and felt they were personable, within a good range as far as budget and the process was going to be fun and enlightening.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We had a couple sessions where we put everything that was on our mind onto the table. We did some fun exercises that got us thinking

What was the team composition?

the owner and one other person that we continually worked with

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

We will now be using this information to present to investors and use for our own branding materials.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. Our meetings were sometimes 4-8 hours and they made it fun, productive, and always had snacks/brain fuel available.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They went above and beyond and didn't hold anything back that was on their mind. They helped us decipher some business models as well as came up with the branding and logo and other marketing and brand framework.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really