Born & Bred

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in communications and marketing at a cannabis delivery service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Born & Bred?

If we have a project we want to bring to life, we contact them. They handle different marketing, branding, and advertising projects for our startup.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We originally hired Born & Bred to help with design aspects of a cannabis-themed marketing campaign two years ago. Since then, we’ve kept them on retainer to create marketing copy, data reports, and logos. When we do events, they create educational content and materials for us to distribute.

Right now, we just kicked off another project with them. We give them an idea of what we want to stand for, and then they perform a discovery exercise to dive deeper into the look and feel. They then present us with a logo and naming concepts. After that, they have a copywriter and social media designer create online or physical ads, depending on what we need.

What is the team composition?

They have a creative director and project manager. For the projects that need messaging, they have a copywriter who is also in discussion with us. The project manager consolidates all the feedback and liaises between us, the designer, and the copywriter.

How did you come to work with Born & Bred?

I’ve worked with one of the founders of Born & Bred in the past. Other people in the cannabis industry also spoke highly of them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested close to $100,000. The amount has fluctuated throughout the length of the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July of 2018. They have ongoing projects with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Born & Bred helps our brand recognition, creating a very professional and approachable brand to aid in destigmatizing cannabis. They’ve achieved a professional look and feel and made our brand cohesive, whether that’s in a big campaign or partnering with a band.

How did Born & Bred perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a Slack channel for us to submit any creative requests when we’re on retainer. We fill out a creative brief and email it to them. They have an Excel spreadsheet that they keep for me once a month, and I can also check progress on Google Sheets.

We have set deadlines and established timelines, but sometimes unexpected tasks come up. They’re very fast workers—we’ve assigned projects a day or two before they’re due, but they’re very flexible. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their work for the price is incredible. They’re better than some big-name agencies I’ve worked with that offer subpar work at a high price. They’re very flexible and deal with our startup-induced craziness. It’s been a pleasure to work with them and they go with the flow. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we started, there was some disconnect with what we wanted and what they’d produce. However, when we implemented the creative brief, they got better at aligning to what we want to see.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The biggest thing is making sure that decisionmakers at your company are brought in from the beginning and know their staff. Sometimes, we have them work on a project, but as it climbs the ladder, decisionmakers who weren’t initially in the process are confused or noncommittal. In order to not waste anyone’s time, you need to have engagement at all levels them from the beginning of the project.