BrandingBusiness

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Communications of Cosylab

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Cosylab is the leading provider of cutting-edge expertise, software, and electronics for the world’s most advanced systems and devices, such as particle accelerators, large telescope arrays, fusion reactors, innovative medical devices and cancer therapy systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire BrandingBusiness to accomplish?

• Revitalize the brand positioning and identity as the business had grown globally, and expanded beyond the science sector and into the medical and other market domains

SOLUTION

How did you find BrandingBusiness?

Online Search

Why did you select BrandingBusiness over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Deep expertise

How many teammates from BrandingBusiness were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The project was split into two major phases: 

• Phase 1: Corporate identity and brand strategy 
  • Corporate identity elements verification/update, reflective of Cosylab’s heritage and future vision; based on proven qualitative and quantitative methodology (including management workshops, employee workshops and surveys). 
  • Brand definition and architecture verification/update: a review of the current corporate/service/product brands and preparation of future-proof brand architecture to accommodate the needs of evolving Cosylab organization, partnerships and product development. 
• Phase 2: Visual identity and brand guidelines 
  • Review of the current visual identity and development of a professional, modern, flexible, forward-thinking visual identity system 
  • Brand book with verbal and visual expression, rules and guidelines effective across multiple sectors and geographies, including brand story, verbal expression, visual systems and brand application schematic templates

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Brand awareness and understanding as well as employee engagement

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The BrandingBusiness team did an excellent job, starting at the agency selection stage when they impressed us with their expertise and ability to understand our business model and solutions for the most complex devices and outline some possible brand developments based on limited information, and then throughout the project

• they were always very responsive, reliable (they never missed a deadline), proactive, flexible to meet our specific needs, and willing to run an extra mile for our company 
• our collaboration was really productive and enjoyable, far beyond a classic agency/client relationship 
• we became a close-knit branding team and real colleagues.

What was your primary form of communication with BrandingBusiness?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

It was fantastic to see the BrandingBusiness's genuine interest in our project and their intense dedication to helping us succeed - they advised us even after the formal phases of the project were finalized, and we remained in touch after the project - the companies became true partners, and the team members developed lasting friendships.

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

Not a single thing - everything was perfect, beyond our (high) expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President of Mission of CHRISTUS St. Vincent

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Regional hospital and health care delivery system including 31 outpatient sites

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire BrandingBusiness to accomplish?

• Develop a Discovery Center within the walls of the hospital that tells the story of its founding, its history, and how its legacy of healing and care continues today

SOLUTION

How did you find BrandingBusiness?

Branding Business did the branding of a local organization. Their work is unique and beautiful.

Why did you select BrandingBusiness over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from BrandingBusiness were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Branding Business designed a Discovery Center to help capture the 158 year history of our hospital and health care delivery system. We are the oldest hospital in New Mexico and wanted to show the history of our Founding Sisters, the evolution of our facilities and our long term commitment to providing health care for our community. 

We wanted the installation to be artistic given that we live in the 3rd largest art market in the country and are surrounded by art. The history of the health care delivery system is deeply embedded in the history of Santa Fe, the oldest Capitol in the U.S.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Branding Business designed a museum quality installation that tells our story over 158 years of time. It is informative, beautiful and engaging. Branding Business worked with us in learning about our history, wrote the narrative, developed the videos, did all of the extraordinary work and worked with us on every small detail until it was perfect. We had a turn of the century stained glass window that we wanted to reframe and repurpose. 

The Branding Business Michael, designed the most beautiful piece of art framing the stained glass window. It will be our organizational icon for years to come. It is truly spectacular.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Any delays of the project were caused by us. Branding Business worked very closely with us to make sure that we approved every word written, every photo chosen and every design detail. Our work was interrupted by over two years because of the pandemic.

What was your primary form of communication with BrandingBusiness?

Virtual Meeting

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

The talent and the amazing people who make up their team. They are without question, the most extraordinarily talented group of people I have ever worked with. Their values were so closely aligned with ours that they made our story their story. They were engaged and very interested in learning the story and were also enthusiastic about turning the story into a work of art. It so far exceeded anything I could have ever imagined. They listened to every concern and were extremely responsive.

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

No. They are amazing!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior marketing team leader for an engineering and science consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BrandingBusiness?

We were trying to refresh our brand and craft a more compelling brand strategy than we had before. Our existing story didn’t separate us or help us stand out. We have three diversified business units and were trying to create a strategic umbrella under which all our businesses could operate.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BrandingBusiness created a full range of products for us. They started with a workshop and did external research to deliver a brand strategy, positioning statement, message, and brand roadmap for our individual business unit. The roadmap included counsel on how to activate our new branding, both internally and externally.

Branding’s team also created a flagship brand asset program. In addition to delivering our logo and wordmark, they identified six flagship brand assets and did design evaluations for each of them.

They held one-on-one interviews with a wide range of our clients, as well as performed a quantitative internal study comprising 600 of our employees. Then, their copywriters came up with our purpose statement. We did all the legal work around trademarks on our end.

What is the team composition?

Ray (Founder) was the point person on the entire engagement, and Michael (Founder), acted as the art director. There were also a couple of copywriters and some other individuals. As we moved into implementation, we worked with a senior brand manager as well.

How did you come to work with BrandingBusiness?

We found them back in 2018 after forming a subgroup to do vendor research based on our requirements. There were five agencies, and BrandingBusiness had worked for a company whose CEO was friends with our CEO.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $250,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2018–May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

You can’t solely attribute revenue work to branding work in the same year that it’s launched, but we had a record year in 2021 for a number of reasons. The branding certainly didn’t hurt, as it informed all our digital work, including the digital advertising we did. We have an even more robust digital presence now than we used to, driving all-time highs in impressions and engagement on social media.

How did BrandingBusiness perform from a project management standpoint?

They did very well, especially with staying in line with our budget. We had regular meetings and workshops with detailed deliverables that we established specific timelines for. It was a good, old-fashioned communication structure. We communicated over Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In addition to being strategically sound, smart, and creative, they understood our change management process. Sometimes, branding businesses don’t like working with a company that doesn’t really understand marketing and branding. BrandingBusiness had a great method of engaging all the key stakeholders, meaning everyone understood what was going on, why it was happening, and how it could benefit the business. Their overall approach and key stakeholder engagement were superior.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were on the high-end when it came to pricing, but we pressed and negotiated, and they detailed their value proposition. We felt strongly enough about their work and went forward with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Every situation is different, but if you’re going to do a strategic branding upgrade and want to move past just having a pretty brand to possessing an actual marketing tool, then BrandingBusiness is ideal. Make sure your organization is full-engaged in the project, from the top down.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing manager at Granford. We’re a global company focused on providing services through logistical distribution, contract manufacturing, and sourcing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BrandingBusiness?

We rebranded our company back in 2021 to go in a different way. Our name didn’t reflect our global vision as a sourcing and logistics company, so the main service Branding Business offered us was to completely rebrand the company, develop a new website, and change our name and colors.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a new WordPress website, along with a new brand name and identity with new colors and guidelines.

What is the team composition?

Justin (Director of Brand Management) was the main point of contact. He acted as project manager. We also worked with Ryan (Founding Partner), as well as specific resources for our brand story, name, logo design, and website.

How did you come to work with BrandingBusiness?

We’d found them on Google; our queries were targeted to B2B branding agencies in the US. There were a couple of months of meetings — including between our executives — to see how BrandingBusiness could help.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $220,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January 2021–January 2022. We could have finished earlier but had to close project on our side for 3-4 months in the summer of 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The brand is still fairly new so there isn’t any quantitative data, but manufacturers, customers, and partners say it’s more appealing than our old materials (website, name, brand, and logo).

It’s been a relief for us to move away from our startup image and into a proper multinational brand identity.

How did BrandingBusiness perform from a project management standpoint?

We spoke almost daily despite the 14-hour time difference and had weekly calls. Justin was great, and his side pushed us to hit the timelines as well as they did.

Google Sheets allowed us to collaborate and share updates. Most of our team already used Sheets daily, so we were comfortable with it going in. We also emailed and spoke on the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness stood out the most. BrandingBusiness was very proactive, as well as supportive. We were trying to define our vision for the next 5–10 years, and they guided us through an unfamiliar process in an easy-to-understand way. What we thought would be a complex endeavor became very simple. We knew what to complete and could see how those tasks built on one another at every milestone.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their deliverables and project management were excellent. We’re now communicating with them to build other brands as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s okay to change direction and vision but keep your partners in the loop. We’re a nimble business, and so are they.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder & CEO of GroupSolver

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Develops market research software and provides associated services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire BrandingBusiness to accomplish?

GroupSolver completed a capital raise and sought to shift its business model toward a SaaS subscription base. A brand refresh was needed to signal to the market the growth in capabilities and product and service offerings.

SOLUTION

How did you find BrandingBusiness?

They are our customer in other projects

Why did you select BrandingBusiness over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from BrandingBusiness were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Develop brand positioning, key brand assets.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Employee alignment, brand clarity, reception of new/consistent visual identity

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Professional, timely, collaborative

What was your primary form of communication with BrandingBusiness?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We appreciated their wealth of experience, as they consistently tuned into our needs. Flexible.

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

Not really.