Banda Agency

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name is Taras. I am Deputy General Director for Marketing and Business Development. Dmytruk-Foods is a player in the Ukrainian food industry. It was founded in 2007 and, for 10 years, was a local producer of traditional salamis and sausages. In 2017, the business model of company was reorganized. Today, our key competence is meat processing, strongly focused on production of meat snacks. We see our great goal in creating nutritious products that can simplify life.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Banda Agency, and what were your goals?

We turned to Banda Agency to help us with several services, the main of which were:

• brand strategy development;
• development of creative platforms for integrated campaigns.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The selection was made through a tender procedure, which included a series of personal interviews. The main factors taking decision to work with Banda Agency were:

• non-linear view on communications;
• readiness to work with uncertainty;
• picky selection of clients with whom the agency team will work.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

During the whole period of cooperation, a lot of work was done. For example, the development of the brand strategy was built through the crystallization of a common idea and content that will unite product portfolio and answer the question of it’s value. A communication structure and a vision of a practical sequence of messages that will benefit the leading brand’s product promotion. After, communication strategy was formed.

Step-by-step implementation included:

• Holding a strategic session
• Development of brand strategy
• Development of creative ideas (script for the video and ideas for OOH)
• Presentation of the strategy and creative idea
• Promotion of the idea;

The development of the creative platform included the following stages:

• Development of the campaign idea
• Defining the key message of the campaign
• Development of an image video script (different formats, such as horizontal, square, vertical, and different timings)
• Development of the critical visual idea
• Adaptation of ideas for further manifestations

A separate stage can be distinguished as preparation for the production of videos, support, and control of the production, which provides:

• Work with production brief, development of the storyboard
• Work with the budget (preparation, approval)
• Choice of director, locations, casting, etc.
• Participation in the process of preparation and shooting of the campaign
• Participation in the process of post-production, editing, voice-over and sound design.

Well, post-production included:

• Processing of the filmed material and editing
• Presentation of the director's cut
• Work with comments and edits
• Approval of editing
• Colour correction, music composition, recording of the announcer, production of the demo part and packshot;
• Approval of the final video
• Preparation of master files according to TT and transmission of the video to the channels.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Key roles involved in the project: team leaders, creative directors, art directors, copywriters, and strategists were working in pairs, and designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best result was getting the awards during Effie Awards Ukraine 2019, which we received in partnership with Banda:

• In the category “Food product ” – we were winners!
• In the category "Product/Service Launch" – we took bronze.
• In the category "David vs. Goliath" – they reached the final.

These fantastic results were made possible thanks to the Banda Agency team’s fruitful cooperation and proactive position. We are deeply grateful to them for this.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The work was fast and efficient. This was due to transparent communication on both sides, trust and respect in this partnership. And the awards that we received as a result of our cooperation and the achieved goal of raising brand awareness of the product among Ukrainians speak more about its effectiveness.

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

In my opinion, the main thing that distinguishes Banda Agency from others is their ability to think “outside of the box”. They can generate unconventional ideas and find non-obvious meanings in obvious things. It helped us look at the product from different perspectives we hadn't thought about before and find interesting insights, which we then used in our communication.

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

You can always do something differently. But only after you passed a way and the results obtained, it allows us to understand how this or that approach could be improved. We are satisfied with the results of our joint work! So, we believe that everything is done, and will be done in future campaigns.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name's Yuliia, I am a Marketing Director of Molokiya Company. For 20 years, Molokiya has been producing delicious dairy products with maximum preservation of natural milk qualities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Banda Agency, and what were your goals?

We have been cooperating with Banda Agency for more than two year. They made for us rebranding, communication strategy, packaging design, advertising campaigns, etc.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

When the coronavirus came, we started looking for a partner. There was a tender. All competitors stopped marketing activities, and we offered to come out with communication and try to cooperate. That was when we realized we could not just sit there, we needed to do marketing activities. Banda Agency offered us to do a test campaign.

The decisive factor was the bilateral interaction at the start, although we had no experience of cooperation before. We met and immediately realized that we have many similar values, easiness and flexibility. Banda’s initiative to join us in a tactical project later encouraged me not to think and choose new partners, but to step into a long-term cooperation.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Dairy is a simple product category where brands are chosen by habit. Therefore, big old brands always remain in the lead. We had to decide how to be remembered by the audience with half the advertising budget. Therefore, the team started with deep research of the category. They conducted a detailed analysis of competitors, their positioning, market penetration, advertising messages, etc.

Banda has found that the category is quite simple, but competitors talk about themselves in a complicated way and make people think that brands have something to hide. Therefore, they came to us with a unique solution — to turn our products on the shelves to another side. The core idea is that the side with product components is much more important than the "brand", so we proved that Molokiya has nothing to hide.

After that, there was an inspiring stage of implementing our strategy in digital materials. We developed a TV commercial, website, packaging design, billboards, merchandising, etc. After the release of our new communication, we became recognized, and sales began to grow.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

In total, about 14 people worked on the project. There were Creative Director, Strategists, Art Director, Copywriters, Designers, Project Manager and Team Leader.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With a limited advertising budget and intense competitor activity, the brand could find a solution that allowed it to stand out among competitors and find its communication niche in the category. We made rebranding. We changed the packaging style and placed product components on its front side. We got well-planned cross-media support which increased the OFF-TAKE indicator significantly. As a result, our products such as Kefir and White (plain) Yogurt took a record first place in their categories.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Banda has always been always cheerful and sincerely wanted to do a great job. It felt like they didn't treat us like just another client. They kept in constant contact with us, informed us of where we were in the process and what was expected from us to move forward. They were flexible as things came up when we needed to reschedule meetings or could speed up some processes where it was essential for us. Their professionalism and enthusiasm came through in every interaction.

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

First of all, it's a very creative and unconventional approach. It was very well suited to our task, which was to attract attention and be remembered as significant part of the market as possible, while having a two times smaller budget than the competitors. I was also highly impressed with how much they pushed us to do something new that no one had done in our category before. And it worked. Banda Agency is committed to getting to the heart of your product and brand, understanding the challenge and problem, and then boldly solving it.

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

No, Banda is a great partner, and we will continue to work with this agency.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Hello, my name is Oleksander, I am the founder of PONCHYK BOY, the donut shop in Kyiv. This is not just a donut shop, but the most innovative donut shop in the world! We have the widest line of donuts in Ukraine, the menu has more than 30 permanent flavors and every month we add a new one. People come to us for a bit of pleasure, to meet friends, and to plunge into the atmosphere of Kyiv disco. Ponchyk Boy is your guilty pleasure.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Banda Agency, and what were your goals?

We turned to Banda Agency to help us go from development to launch our brand Ponchyk Boy. They developed our identity, naming system and many other features for our brand. To do this, Banda team conducted several studies: interviews with the target audience and competitive analysis. They found out the cliches of the category and showed the direction in which we need to move to be a successful brand. Our work with Banda was significant for ensuring we have a precise brand positioning that sets us apart from all the competitors in the market. Banda Agency also developed the visual identity and the tone of voice for us. Their work allowed us to set out our direction for the brand's future development and our personality.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I knew one of the agency's co-founders well and followed their work for a long time. I was confident that the work would be done well, and I liked the range of brands they worked with. Regardless of the brands' scales, whether it is a world-famous brand or a small one, all the projects are excellent. Because of this, I had no doubts about which creative agency to choose, except for Banda.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

They started with a stage of gathering information about the market and our audience, after they figured out what direction to go in, they started testing their hypotheses with interviews. Banda spent quite a lot of time at this stage, and we understood it was essential. We started developing the brand's naming and visual part based on the analysis results. Several identity variants were proposed, and one of them was chosen and finalized. This style was then used everywhere on the packaging, on social networks, and everywhere.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The project team consisted of 4 people, including the Creative Art Director, Designer, Copywriter and Project Manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Visitors liked our tone of voice and how we looked online. We have queues for both offline and online orders. We are satisfied with the Banda’s professional approach, and the result exceeded our expectations.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Communication was easy and friendly, like with our own. We went directly through our project manager, who distributed our message or request to the right people. Several times we met offline for strategic and brand sessions. The workflow was built correctly, it helped us to meet the deadlines.

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

The team — lightness and a desperate desire to make an excellent result. The guys are very united and purposeful. Processes — all processes are built to build strategies quickly and efficiently. Creativity — can be implemented in the project. From the very beginning, Banda charges you with energy, which is very inspiring and helps developing the brand further.

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

Nothing even comes to mind. I am so happy with how great everything went from start to finish! Perhaps to make more spacious parking near the office))

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name is Kostya, I am a Senior project manager at Baraban architecture crew. We are changing reality with architecture and design since 2001. We explore concepts, forms, and materials as deeply as possible, working on contrast, combining the incongruous, using previously unimaginable solutions, infinitely modeling the space, fill it with individual aesthetics. This depth gives us the opportunity to create seemingly impossible projects and pursues ambitious goals, including science fiction, such as the Guggenheim Museum on Pluto.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Banda Agency?

We hired the agency Banda to rebrand our company. It was like coming out after many years of traditional identity, which we had ceased to correspond to the essence. The rebranding was 100% successful and became a new manifestation of our DNA. It turned out that for many people, this rebranding only emphasized what we did in our projects.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We have long known about Banda, Ukraine's most famous creative agency. We knew that they specialize in rebranding and web design. Ultimately, we wanted to find a strong creative partner that would fit our company culture and could help us reach the next stage of our development. After the first meeting with Banda Agency, it became clear that they understand who we are and what our mission is. They have a similar culture and we were confident that we would work well with their talented team. During each call, it was easy to see their energy and passion for what they do. During our cooperation, they repeatedly inspired us and made us fall in love with our brand again.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The briefing was our first step. We got to know each other better and were asked about the objectives and goals of the project. This was followed by a long strategy session, for which they prepared in-depth research and analyzed all our existing materials. At this stage, we identified our target audience and what problem we were solving and outlined the hypothesis.

Then, Banda Agency conducted in-depth interviews with customers and focus groups with employees and management to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the brand. After that, we were presented with the strategic direction and decided on how to develop further. We continued to improve and started working on the current assets (digital materials, website, etc.). We were delighted with the result when we saw how our brand has changed.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The project team consisted of 9 people, including:

• the Creative Director
• Head of Strategy
• Strategists
• Designers
• Copywriters
• Team Leader
• Project Manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We did not set a goal to attract new customers, we already had a large workload. But since the release, we have had four exciting participation in design competitions and the most significant progress has been in helping the updated brand communicate with specialized media. One of the goals was to be active in social networks and media to expand information about Baraban's creative success and СEO personally. In our opinion, all social networks have acquired a characteristic face with an expressive design and increased audience interest and feedback.

We also received two covers in the leading edition of Ukraine and a whole printed issue in another specialized edition dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Baraban architecture crew. And all this is not only thanks to the projects themselves, but also to the updated identity, which sometimes could be a separate project with an exciting history of its appearance. And thanks to the talented team of industry leaders - Banda Agency.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had a clear, easy, and excellent workflow with the Banda Agency team from concept to final implementation. We immediately planned the stages of work on the project, and the project manager guided us through them.

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

Empathetic Banda feels like an extension of our marketing team. They deep dive into our project and understood our requirements, and started making real magic.

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

I don't know, they always tried to make everything better, and they did it; I am happy with our cooperation.