Brand+Aid Creative

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the production director at a global PR firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Brand+Aid?

We do a lot of work in the health and social marketing space, trying to change behaviors of the general public in specific areas, such as health and lifestyle behaviors that prevent illness. We were looking for a company to help us develop branding campaigns for our clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have an internal process where we research the topic and the audience, trying to understand the issue and figure out what is going to move and motivate our audience. Then, we work with Brand+Aid to bring that to life visually. We give them a creative brief that defines the issue and our objectives, and they come back to us with several options for the campaign. We choose one option and present it to our client. They produce comps and send us PowerPoint or PDF files containing different concepts and explaining what those concepts mean. After that, we finalize them and prepare them for the production. In addition to developing the look and feel of the campaign, they help us brainstorm other tactics and events that we could use to bring campaigns to life.

What is the team composition? 

We primarily work with two people.

How did you come to work with them?

I was referred to them by another freelancer we used. They seemed very experienced and easy to work with, so we chose them.

What is the status of this engagement? 

We started working with them in June 2012 and the relationship is ongoing.

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

We've been winning new business on the accounts they've helped us with.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive and deliver what we ask them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're not flashy for the sake of being flashy. Understanding perfectly well the needs of our audience, they design with the audience in mind. Their work is solidly the reflection of our creative brief. We like their mature approach – they know there's a time and a place to be flashy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They send us conceptual content, which works for us, but sometimes we wish their files were a little closer to production.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a Director of Product Marketing at an advisory services company. I developed marketing and content strategies to drive awareness to our business offerings.

What challenge were you trying to address with Brand+Aid?

After conducting our own research, we determined that one of our training programs lacked appropriate market recognition. We wanted to launch an awareness campaign and reached out to Brand+Aid after a negative experience with a previous vendor.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brand+Aid came in and familiarized themselves with our brand. They got to know us, looked over the rough drafts created by the previous vendor, and ultimately delivered six campaign concepts, which we narrowed down to two or three.

They came up with both print and digital campaigns that matched our brand guidelines. They also provided copy. We then passed their ideas to our internal team for development.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Jeff McElhany [Creative Partner, Brand+Aid] and Shirley Fee Tibbetts [Partner & Owner, Brand+Aid].

How did you come to work with Brand+Aid?

I worked with them at a previous company. I knew they could pinpoint the essence of a very complex product, so I recommended them to the other members of my team. Everyone was impressed by Brand+Aid’s ability to understand our business and product after the first review round, so we decided to move forward.

How much have you invested with them?

Around $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between February 2017–April 2017. It was about a six-week timeframe.

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

We spent months going back and forth with the previous vendor. Even though they’d previously worked with our company, their messaging was abstract for this particular project. My colleagues were very impressed by the fact that Brand+Aid came in and quickly understood our concept.

How did Brand+Aid perform from a project management standpoint?

They stayed on schedule and were very responsive to feedback and comments.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because they’re a boutique agency, it was sometimes difficult to reach them if they became involved with other projects. They always let me know if they took on other work, and because we weren’t under a strict deadline this never became a problem for us, though I could see it being an issue for anyone in need of quick turnaround.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the CMO of Jaguar and Land Rover when Brand+Aid did creative projects for those brands.

What challenge were you trying to address with Brand+Aid?

We had a big challenge wherein Land Rover was the more popular and stronger brand between Jaguar and Land Rover. We were trying to encourage people who owned Land Rover and Range Rover products to then add a Jaguar car to their garage and vice versa. The challenge was cross-selling a heritage British brand and luxury premium products to sister-brand customers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brand+Aid was assigned to create a comprehensive brand CRM program. It would go out to owners of both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles offering them some kind of test drive incentive or incentive to visit our dealerships and to try out one of the other products.

We needed a very specialized message. We spent a lot of time with them working on the creative brief. But we also wanted to give them enough freedom to explore the concept and to explore what kind of format that creative would take. They did that and came back to us with a range of different options.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two partners. That's one of the nice things about Brand+Aid, that you get to work directly with the creative team. On the strategy and creative, it's very interactive and iterative. There's no layered agency stuff to deal with.

How did you come to work with Brand+Aid?

I worked with Brand+Aid at a previous company when I had been the Vice President of Marketing at Sirius XM radio in 2005. When I had the chance, I found a fit that ideally suited them. We wanted to work with Brand+Aid because they were a smaller, more nimble creative shop so we felt that they could spend time getting to the nuance of the assignment rather than just creating a mass-market message.

They also have a good background in automotive technology and premium luxury products. I felt they would be a great fit for this.

How much have you invested with them?

It was probably anywhere from $150,000—$250,000. That would have been their creative fees and may have also included some printing we had billed through them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in October or November 2013. The project was completed in July or August 2014.

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

We had some of the highest response rates, in terms of open rates, that the brands had experienced from direct mail pieces. The exact numbers are proprietary but they were among the best performing direct mail.

We also got excellent feedback from our dealer network which is very important. We got great feedback from our retailer network in terms of driving traffic to those showrooms and resulting in sales of vehicles.

How did Brand+Aid perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive. They met all of our timelines for deliverables. They responded quickly to any changes on our side. Any delays were always driven by our process internally rather than them. They were adept, cooperative, and nimble.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From what I’ve seen, they're very adaptable to different industries. I've worked with them while I was at a consumer electronics or entertainment brand. I've worked with them at a luxury automotive brand. I've seen their work with other brands from retail across the gamut. They're very tuned into culture and they have a great sensibility when it comes to making compelling creative.

Another strength is that they always seem to over-deliver when it comes to the number of creative options they give you. That's really useful as a marketing leader because it helps you hone in on what the most compelling message is for your customers. They leave no stone unturned.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

One thing that's important to know about Brand+Aid is that they're not a huge, full-service agency. If you're expecting a lot of structured reports and things like that, that's not necessarily their forte. They put their effort into the creative and strategy.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former vice president and general manager for Military Times, a media company that covered life in the military and served the active duty and veteran audience in the United States.

What challenge were you trying to address with Brand+Aid?

Initially, we needed help to launch a new product and bring it to market.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before hiring Brand+Aid, we had designed a new web app that acted as a community for members of the military and their families. It allowed them to find travel deals and share reviews of different travel destinations in and near U.S. military installations around the world. We worked with Brand+Aid on the consumer marketing by creating video commercials and print media, and they also helped support the art direction for other promotions such as social media posts.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Jeff and Shirley [Co-founders, Brand+Aid]. They were involved in different parts of the project, and they both stayed involved throughout the entire process.

How did you come to work with Brand+Aid?

I knew Jeff and Shirley from a different project. We bid this project out to 3–4 different providers, but we selected Brand+Aid.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in December 2014 and started launching promotions around March 2015.

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

One time, we were promoting a contest and wanted to get military members to sign up, and Brand+Aid helped us exceed our goal.

How did Brand+Aid perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always on time and have an efficient budget. I've worked with other creative advertising companies, and Brand+Aid was always the best we could get. They consistently delivered at or below budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a personable and fun approach to their work, and the team is always positive and enthusiastic. Instead of just doing what they think is best, Brand+Aid listens to and understands the end customer. For this project, they tried to understand how a military family made travel decisions and what their lifestyle was. They asked great questions so they could create a message that would resonate with that end audience.

Other companies provide good analytic insight, but Brand+Aid goes beyond that to dig into the emotion around what we're trying to convey. Because of that, they were able to create a message that was exciting, interesting, and compelling.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. They were a great fit for our company, but they are small, so if you need a lot of work done, they might not be the best fit. They purposefully keep it small, though, in order to provide a closer service.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the Regional Marketing Director for two large shopping centers in the Washington D.C. area and I’ve since launched my own consulting firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Brand+Aid?

I’ve worked with them on a number of branding projects over the years.

What was the scope of their involvement?

One project of note was a marketing campaign for a special event at one of the malls I represented. We rented a number of robotic bugs that the public could interact with for a small fee. I created a multifaceted marketing plan that included digital ads on The Washington Post’s website, and I hired Brand+Aid to work on the creative side.

We also worked together during a shopping center renovation project. This mall had never invested in marketing of any kind, so Brand+Aid started from scratch. They presented three different campaign directions to choose from. From here, we worked on brand positioning, tagline options, print options, email templates, online banner ads, and website development.

Because this mall was located across the street from George Mason University, we also worked with the college. We incorporated branding into the public transit system to attract students, and Brand+Aid also developed a sponsorship idea for the GMU basketball team, setting up an LED display in the team’s arena.

To address the inconvenience caused by the renovation work, Brand+Aid created large-scale signage to inform customers of our long-term plans. These messages were also placed on the website and used in external advertising campaigns.

What is the team composition?

I work with Jeff McElhaney and Shirley Fee Tibbetts. They're the owners and the creative team.

How did you come to work with Brand+Aid?

I first met them during one of my mall projects. One of our third-party contractors brought them on board as the creative element and I was so impressed, I’ve continued to work with them ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

Between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first worked together in 2001 and I continue to reach out to them for any marketing projects.

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

It’s difficult to measure sales increases in malls since there’s such store diversity. One tool we rely on is food court sales, as this tends to be a good indicator of how many customers are present at any given time. We saw a significant increase in food court sales during their robotic bug campaign, the most sizeable increase in recent memory, in fact.

We also received excellent feedback from The Washington Post. The digital banners we placed on their website saw more hits than any other in the paper’s digital history.

Brand+Aid’s efforts on that single campaign probably resulted in $50,000 in revenue because their work was so good.

How did Brand+Aid perform from a project management standpoint?

You never have to worry about deadlines or creative ability with Brand+Aid. When hiring them, I know I’ll get exactly what I asked for and more, either on time or ahead of schedule.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What I love so much about them is that they're easy to work with. They provide a range of options that fit my budget and schedule without pressuring me or my clients.

They also bring a level of professionalism to any job, no matter how small. Jeff and Shirley worked with a major ad firm before launching their own agency, so they’re able to deliver top-quality results at a fraction of the price.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can't think of a single thing. I recommend Brand+Aid to any clients or friends starting a new business on small marketing budgets.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the chief marketing officer at Elvis Presley Enterprises in Memphis. We operate the Graceland attraction, Elvis Presley's home, as well as a resort hotel, Elvis-themed live touring events, and exhibitions that travel around the world.

What challenge were you trying to address with Brand+Aid.

We were opening a new entertainment complex called Elvis Presley's Memphis, our most significant enhancement to the attraction since Graceland opened to the public 35 years ago. We were trying to get the word out that we have a newer, bigger complex to attract new visitors, as well as encourage previous Graceland visitors to come back because there’s so much new to see. We needed help developing marketing concepts for these goals.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have a rather extensive process, which included a number of phone calls during which I explained the challenge and sent them background materials on the new complex. It wasn’t open yet, but we sent over artwork, imagery, and research on the Elvis and Graceland brands; they then did extensive research into only what we were about to open, but what we’ve done in the past in terms of branding with Graceland. The final deliverables produced were creative concepts for print, digital, and outdoor to announce the opening of the new complex.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with the two principals, Jeff and Shirley for all aspects of the project.

How did you come to work with Brand+Aid?

I initially found them through a colleague in my previous position at XM Satellite Radio in Washington, D.C. He had worked with them in the past and we decided to try them on a small project, and liked their work. We appreciated that they were local, very talented, and cost effective. We had been using big agencies, and it was great to have a local option that did comparable work but with significantly less overhead.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in January 2017, and the engagement was complete in March.

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

I can tell you that intuitively as someone that's been in the business for over 30 years, they do high quality and effective work that generates awareness and drives results.

How did Brand+Aid perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed very well. They’re a small agency, but know what they need to get done and stay on timeline. They provide schedules and stick to them, and I don’t have to worry if the deliverables will come in on time. They’re capable of self-management. I trust them and they’ve never let me down. They know when to check in and provide progress updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are extremely strong creatively and they perform agency quality work without the overhead. It’s like hiring an agency creative team and getting that level work – which is rare. I’ve gone to them with emergency projects when I don’t like the other work I’m getting and they’re able to quickly understand the marketing problem and provide creative solutions. I highly recommend them.

They’re a creative boutique, not a full service agency, so creative is their specialty. They’re able to provide a full range of ideas, from more traditional concepts to crazy out-of-the-box concepts. They know when to dial down or dial it back up based on the project. They’re dependable and I use them as my go to resource whenever I have the budget to go outside of my company. They’re always the first people I call.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don't think so. You're getting a great creative team. They have an excellent grasp of strategy, in addition to creative design and execution.