C42D

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior marketing manager in the logistics and shipping industry for a technology provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We wanted to elevate the positioning and design of our brand. We’re a growing startup and were a bit amateurish in our early days, and that branding didn’t reflect who we’d grown into as a company. Our goal was to revamp our design, look and feel, positioning, and technology to not only excite customers about the brand, but also to improve our recruiting. Specifically, we were targeting computer engineers, programmers, and product managers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them direction around what we wanted in terms of the updated positioning and the narrative we wanted, as well as the logo and new design elements. They ran the process other than that, interviewing our team and going deep into understanding our business. They made recommendations after that.

They fully redesigned our website, working from scratch. The site is built on WordPress.

Regarding positioning, they updated our mission statement and vision, outlined our brand values, and created new brand assets (sales decks, design guides, business cards, etc.).

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people mainly: David (Head), who did a lot of the creative thinking around our mission, vision, and strategy, Allison (Designer) who worked on the logo and such, TJ (Developer), who handled the web development, and Krista (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with C42D?

I saw them listed as a best brand agency for startups and reviewed their work, both on Clutch and on other sites. After speaking with David, it felt like they had a good process in place for running this kind of work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The benefits will be more clear in the long-term, but our internal company is so excited about the new look. In that past, we didn’t like how our brand looked or our website looked; people were disappointed. It’s the opposite now.

We’ve gone to a few events with this new brand, and it pops out to people. It’s clear now that we’re a very technological company. Our brand matches where we’re at as a company, which makes us feel modern, cutting-edge, and important.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job. Their team tracks everything in a timeline and gave clear deadlines for everything. If we were slow, they would alert us, never dropping the ball.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design work was top-notch. Some agencies don’t do a great job, but C42D put together a high-quality design.

Additionally, they worked with us to get the job done, rather than making excuses for why they couldn’t do something according to our timelines. We told them the deadline was the end of December even though it was looking like it wouldn’t be ready until January, but rather than give me reasons it couldn’t happen they worked to align with our goals.

Finally, they managed the project well, giving updates every week and being upfront about things being delayed or pushed back. This was very helpful with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The logo took us a longer time to get right, but I think that was more about us being picky than about anything they did.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’re in good hands. Be clear with what you want. It’s worth making sure that you feel extremely good about what they’re producing. My team did a good job of nickel and diming every piece of the positioning statement, design, and logo. You’re making a large time and money investment, so these small actions are worthwhile. Ensure everything is exactly to your liking.

Also, make sure you hit your deadlines for them. We had to push those deadlines back a few times.

Lastly, try to limit the number of people involved in decisions. We had five people interacting there, but that was even too much. We streamlined the process come deadline time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Long View Talent Group. We do executive coaching, leadership development, and talent strategy. I launched the company five years ago when I wrote a book. I was still an active CEO in a big advertising corporation, but I retired at the end of 2020.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

I did many things in 2021, and I just wanted to establish the company’s corporate entity. I had a name, but I needed a logo and a reassurance website. The site needed to communicate specific values about the company. I’d already done some work on the look, but it needed to be reworked, refined, and extended into the website, as well as templates, business cards, and so on.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first thing we did with C42D was a mood board. We gave them a background, and they returned with three alternative mood boards. In general, they were all on the mark, but we just locked in with one in particular. It set the tone, and they created a brand guideline book out of it.

Once we agreed to it, they designed the actual website, which we did in a staging site. Then, we moved into production and were ready by December 30th, 2021. As a subsequent project, we engaged them to build a corporate website for the executive coaching part of my business. We’re about to go live with that.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Christa (Project Manager); she was outstanding. TJ (Associate Designer) was the leading designer.

How much have you invested with them?

I initially gave them a budget. We spent $15,000, and there were no overages. The second project was even less expensive because it leveraged much of what the team had done on the first site.

What is the status of this engagement?

I briefed them at the beginning of November to launch before the end of December 2021. We went live in January 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback has been universally positive. I started with 3–4 testimonials, and when I sent the site around, I got three more. It was reassuring to see that the site was simple, mobile-friendly, and professional. Since then, other good names have recommended my company, which was the first immediate outcome. The site has been a way to establish my credibility and get testimonials.

Secondly, I’ve used the site to reassure prospective clients that we’re a recognized, quality company — it’s helped me convert 3–4 prospects into paying customers in just one quarter. Considering I only need 10 customers a year to be comfortable, it’s a large retainer in contrast per customer. I don't need thousands of leads or a high Google ranking because the site plays a specific role, and it’s doing so exceptionally well.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was outstanding, and it was thanks to Christa. If we wanted to do a meeting, we’d discuss it back and forth to schedule it. Overall, we never really had an issue. One time, there was a piece of copy from an old version, but everybody caught it, and it wasn’t published.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their value for money was extremely good for this project. We got an excellent project for a good value.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything; I had an excellent experience. In fact, I renewed our engagement, and I’ve even recommended them to other colleagues.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Tell them everything you think and feel and be clear about your boundaries, especially on what’s negotiable and what isn’t. We did it, and it was beneficial because we got in sync since the first meeting. When they came back with mood boards, not all of them were on the mark. However, one in particular was, and it came back better than if they’d just done what I wanted. It was an insightful interpretation with some innovations, so their mood board process was excellent. 

Additionally, you have to be responsive and specific as a client. It’ll pay the real dividends.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a company called Inecta. We offer an ERP system specifically for the food and beverage industry. We’re a Microsoft Gold Partner, and we’ve been in business for 20 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We shifted from serving multiple industries to focusing on the food and beverage industry, so we needed to rebrand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

C42D helped us create a new look and feel for our company. They designed a brand new logo, color scheme, font, and so on.

We first had a discovery call where we went through our needs with the team. The plan was to create a cohesive branding, and the team created a two-month plan to help us accomplish this.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, two designers, and David (Founder & CEO).

How did you come to work with C42D?

We found them on Clutch. We interviewed five agencies before we decided on C42D. They just had that finesse we needed, and we were confident they could make us look and feel like an established company.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $25,000–$30,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from December 2020–March 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything they delivered looked great — it was a massive change for our brand, but everyone loved the new look.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was really solid — they stuck to the timeline, which was great. At some point, our side caused a delay because we were busy, but C42D was always on time.

In terms of communication, they gave us weekly reports on their progress. They also asked for feedback during those meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of C42D’s work was fantastic. They delivered in a timely fashion, too. We were so happy with the team that we engaged with them on other projects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it went exceptionally well. We were delighted with their work. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give yourself enough time to work closely with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a venture capital firm that focuses on real estate technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We didn’t have a coherent branding strategy so we searched for a firm that could take our ethos and craft a brand around it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

C42D combined all the ingredients related to who we were and what we were doing into a big funnel. We gave their team sketches and ideas to get started, but we wanted them to drive the ship. After that, they distilled everything into specific messages to produce our brand story and brand identity. Their work also involved designing our logo, website, and other materials.

What is the team composition?

We were working with seven people from C42D, including people responsible for website design, team communication, creative deliverables, and more. 

How did you come to work with C42D?

I did a pretty exhaustive search and I found out that one of our portfolio companies had used the services of C42D. In the end, we loved their branding work, and we liked their team — it was important that we liked the people we were going to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2020–May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received positive feedback from individuals who were familiar with our previous branding — they said they liked our new branding. The team was excellent at incorporating our ideas though we were pretty adamant that the ideas should come from them because we weren’t creative people. Overall, C42D did a really good job.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

C42D did very well from a project management perspective. We communicated through Zoom, and they sent us PowerPoint presentations every week. On top of that, the team kept us informed about their progress, and we had a fairly straightforward rebranding process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills were impressive. I think we would’ve gotten great work from a number of firms, but the most important thing for us was how we were working with the team. For example, our engagement was over a long time ago, but we could still reach out to their team if we need additional help.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were times when we were underwhelmed by the creative material they produced. During those times, they were fairly adamant about their position so we had an element of tension. Perhaps, they just wanted their clients to agree with their work, but in our case, we weren’t just going to say yes because we wanted to understand the why of what they were producing.

In the venture capital world, that would be something called deal fatigue — since they were working on a project for so long, they might’ve wanted to quickly finish the project. Despite that, our overall experience was still great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you intend to work with C42D and you want to have optimal outcomes, you need to spend time with them and engage with their team. They’re not just going to do your work for you; there’s an element of work that comes from the client as well as from their team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief strategy officer at InMarket, and we’re a real-time digital marketing and measurement platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We hired C42D to bring our InMarket story to life through video production and web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

C42D helped produce explainer videos and revamp our entire website. The new website not only includes product content, but also insights and resources for clients. This is to help them learn more about trends in the market and industry. The team created interactive videos and testimonials from clients who talked about their experiences and how they’ve benefited from engaging with our solutions.

We used a couple of their tools to help provide the background around the InMarket story and value proposition. They were very helpful in conveying the tone and voice of the brand, as well as how it was presented.

We’re currently working on some new projects and additional web development enhancements.

What is the team composition?

For this project, we worked with their web development team, account management and strategy team, David (Founder & CEO), and Christa (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with C42D?

I was introduced to David a few years ago through a mutual contact.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we’ve spent under $200,000 USD.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We keep track of all our metrics and have seen a 25% increase in web traffic on the website, and several thousand views on each of our video testimonials. Apart from that, we’ve also gotten a lot of positive qualitative feedback from both clients, prospects, and other constituents across the InMarket family.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is extremely responsive and collaborative. During the web development phase, we had ongoing check-ins for timelines and updates. They were extremely good at keeping us abreast of all the work and progress and as a result, we were extremely pleased with the responsiveness, as well as the quality of their deliverables.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with the level of quality they bring to every project — it’s been refreshing and it has exceeded all of our expectations. Along with that, we also found that their work doesn’t really require a lot of revisions, and it’s been instrumental in keeping us on track in terms of timelines and deadlines.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would say the consistency on billing could be done a little better, so it’s just a matter of understanding, and being able to provide a better system for managing the billing process on the projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I suggest aligning on the strategic direction and vision for what you’re trying to create. When you have that, you can work together in a very strong way to complete projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a beauty and healthcare company which opened in June 2020. Our company is founded on making dermatologic care accessible and inclusive. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D? 

We hired C42D for web development and three additional projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our original project was for our brand identity and the development of our website. In the first subsequent project, we wanted to build our direct care model as we moved away from an insurance-based system. The website should give people a good overview of that model, so C42D had to create a good landing page with graphics. They also created a separate page where users could see frequently asked questions that explained our direct care model in a user-friendly way. 

In the second additional project, I reached out to C42D in September 2020 to develop a retail website, which was a huge undertaking. The goal was to launch a subdomain of our main website by Thanksgiving to have a Black Friday sale. I asked them to finish it in eight weeks, but I only wanted to move forward if we were sure we could stick to that timeline. They said yes, and then we went through the ideation phase and planned the website. I even hired a photographer to shoot the product images and gave the team the descriptions of our products.

For the final project, I asked them to create a lookbook. I wanted it to be accessible via a QR code, and it should feel much like a real book — this was the most important goal of this project. Moreover, we had an even shorter timeline for this task since I already had all texts and images necessary for the deliverable. I asked them to do it in two weeks, and once again, they said they could do it. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with their CEO and another person who took notes during our calls. They outsourced much of the development work beyond updating pictures. 

How did you come to work with C42D?

In the very first project, I was looking for a direction that I could take, but I couldn’t find anything that aligned with dermatology. As a result, I began looking outside of that field and found a fertility group that worked with C42D before. I liked C42D’s vision and direction for that medical practice; it was interesting and innovative. As a result, I called and met with them, and that was how we started working together. 

How much have you invested with them?

The first engagement cost around $35,000–$45,000, while the additional projects cost $30,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from October 2019–June 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

C42D’s work was great in the initial project. However, during the three additional projects, we realized that we faced major issues, which included delivering their work in a timely manner. To be fair, the first project was delayed because we gave each other a pass due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, however, I didn’t appreciate the extent to which that was a problem. Our original deadline for the website was March 2020, but it wasn’t launched until we opened the business. They had to rush a version of it in June 2020, and we had to finalize it by July 2020. 

Moreover, the first subsequent project — the direct care landing page — was delayed by about a month even though it was supposed to be a quick project. The team said they’d finish it within 3–4 weeks, but they ended up launching it around 5–6 weeks. 

For the retail subdomain project, I had to do more things that weren’t on the original list of tasks. Eventually, our communication and email threads became onerous, and I started feeling their resistance to feedback. As Black Friday approached, I told them I would accept a bare-bones version of the website, but they couldn’t do it. As a result, I ended up creating an entire retail website by myself on the night before Thanksgiving; missing the sale wasn’t an option for me. Given that, I had a call with their owner, who gave me credits toward additional work. 

Finally, for our last project, they delivered a PDF that could be scrolled up and down — it didn’t feel like a book at all. Moreover, it had multiple typos that didn’t come from the texts I gave them. On top of that, some images didn’t match their descriptions even though I paired them ahead of time. Once again, I had a call with their owner and told him that the PDF wasn’t what I asked for. He was resistant to feedback, saying that their team put much work into the deliverable and there was nothing we could do about it. In the end, I was left with unfinished work. As a doctor, I’d never leave a patient out to dry. Given that, I felt that C42D became highly unprofessional. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

Since C42D wasn’t receptive to feedback and left me with unfinished projects, I was forced to look for other options. That disrupted my business considerably — I haven’t updated my website since June 2021, and that’s not good because retail websites have to be updated frequently to keep people engaged. 

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

They were truly disorganized. Because of my job, I’ve had to have an extremely good memory of things and random details. In our engagement, I’d tell them about those details in our calls, and no one else would remember such information from their side. They’d look in their notes, but the notes would be sparse.

In what specific areas can they improve?

Apart from the issues I’ve already mentioned, their customer service must improve, especially in terms of their attachment to the project versus what I wanted. For instance, I’d tell them to remove a certain element from the website, but they’d tell me no. I understood that they had their opinions in terms of UI, but I should be the one to make decisions since it was my website. Simply put, they didn’t subscribe to the philosophy of customers always being right. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Look for a vendor somewhere else. 

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on 05/13/2020

CEO, Beauty & Healthcare Company

Healthcare

1-10 Employees

Chicago, Illinois

$10,000 to $49,999

Oct 2019 - May 2020

Project summary

Assisting a dermatology company with overall branding, C42D developed and designed a website, wrote copy, and provided Instagram assets. The team also created brand guidelines and a teledermatology platform.

Feedback summary

C42D’s deliverables were met with an extremely positive external response. The team’s work gave a clear picture of the brand and resulted in over 1,000 Instagram followers and several virtual consultations. Their project management exceeded expectations, and they weren’t afraid to take risks.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a board-certified dermatologist and the CEO and founder of a beauty and healthcare company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

The concept of this practice came to me about a year ago. The challenge I had was finding a team that understood the concept of the practice, which is a very different direction than most medical practices are taking.

We wanted to do something that was a push towards direct-to-consumer (D2C). In medicine, there is a traditional model and a retail model. My problem with retail medicine is that it doesn’t have that personal connection.

We wanted to have a practice that was really personalized, embedded in the community, and accessible. Our challenge was to not take the traditional route with marketing and messaging because patients wouldn’t understand that we were doing something different.

I worked briefly with a different marketing company in the early stages, but I wasn’t getting to the messaging that I wanted. So, I met with C42D.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team helped us with brand strategy, positioning, brand narrative, and key messaging. C42D drafted some brand guidelines for us, developed and designed our website, and wrote copy. Additionally, they provided us with a few social media assets for Instagram.

They also helped us with our photography direction, but due to COVID-19, we weren’t able to shoot anything live. However, we were able to find a lot of stock photos, which helped us execute web design.

C42D also assisted with an email campaign. Finally, the team created a teledermatology platform or workflow, which was an added element of the project.

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with two team members, but during my first meeting and periodically throughout the project, I met with David (Founder & CEO). They also had a designer who worked on the visual aspects of the brand early on. 

How did you come to work with C42D?

When I was looking for an example of what direction I wanted to take, I couldn’t find anything that aligned with dermatology. So, I began looking outside of that field which is when I found a fertility group that C42D had worked with.

I liked their vision and the direction they took with the work they did for that different medical practice. What they did with that company was interesting and innovative. So, I called them and asked to meet them. Upon meeting with C42D, I could tell immediately that we were going to do great things. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $35,000–$45,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2019–May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All of the deliverables have been completed. We launched the website and email campaign recently. We also launched the teledermatology platform, and it’s been well-received. As a result of working with them, I have a clear vision of what images would fit with the brand, which is helpful. 

I’ve received a lot of comments from patients and colleagues about the website and the images on our social media account. The images are so strong that people feel like they understand and have a sense of the brand before I even have to speak on it. 

They understand what we’re about just from the visuals, the website, and the name. I’ve done a few interviews speaking about the brand, and before I even spoke about it, the interviewers already seemed to have a sense of what we were trying to do.

We’ve already seen 15 patients virtually, even after launching the website only a week ago. We also have 1,600 followers on our Instagram account.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

We had at least two teammates on our calls. C42D is very responsive to emails, and one of the team members responded to my messages almost immediately. I’m a first-time business owner, so I’m working with a lot of different teams. 

Out of all the teams that I’m working with, C42D exceeded expectations from a project management standpoint. I’m a perfectionist, so that says a lot about them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to deeply understand the founder’s vision is impressive. They spent a lot of time asking me questions and having checkpoints to make sure that they were doing work that was true to my vision.

C42D was also not afraid to take risks. I like to push the envelope a little bit, so I liked that they presented me with lots of options, some of which were safe and some of which were innovative. For example, the color scheme we chose is something you don’t see in the medical space, but it works so well with our brand. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind, but there’s always room for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to spend time on your own to understand what your vision is before approaching any marketing team. I spent a lot of time brainstorming my vision, which made our working relationship smoother because we were always on the same page.

RATINGS

Overall rating: 5

Quality: 5

Cost: 5

Schedule: 5

Willing to refer: 5

Company Responses

The vendor responded on October 11, 2021.

We truly enjoyed this project and created some of our best work. Unfortunately, this client's updated review does not accurately represent the entire story.

C42D holds itself to the highest standards - above all, the cornerstones of trust and mutual respect. When a client's behavior does not align with our values, we feel it's best to end the partnership.

We will always remain true to our standards of conduct in all relationships. This is the bedrock of our ethos and will never be compromised.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director for a managing general underwriter. We underwrite for medical stop-loss insurance.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We wanted their help with brand development and website creation. We wanted the site to be easy to use on mobile, desktop, and tablet. We also wanted the information to be understandable since it’s so dense. In summary, we wanted something elevated, clear, and simple.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had our name, but C42D helped us create our logo, visual identity, brand guidelines, and WordPress website. First, we did a round of logo creation, brand guidelines, and a presentation template that we can use to match everything together. Then, we did website development. We provided the copy, and C42D designed the pages based on what we needed. We reviewed them and went into development. We had a few rounds of feedback on some functionality pieces that we wanted to optimize. Finally, they helped us to push the site live.

To jumpstart the project, we had a few kickoff and discovery calls. Since they probably hadn’t heard of medical stop-loss, we had to onboard them, tell them about our competitors, and so on. From there, we put a line on the types of colors, imagery, and iconography we wanted, and they did a mood board.

What is the team composition?

There have been five people involved in the project, including the president of the company, two designers, and one UX/UI specialist.

How did you come to work with C42D?

I found them through a referral. My background is in advertising, and I could tell that they were a small company that cared about achieving results at a good price. They were also nimble and able to work with us in a more flexible way than bigger agencies.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership in October 2020. Our busiest season is December–February, so we paused and picked it up at the beginning of 2021. The website is now live, but we’re still working with them for site updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of the work is excellent, and the site and brand design have exceeded our expectations. Our team loves the logo, and people are really excited about the website.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been super clear on time and prompt with things. If anything, our side slowed things down due to our busy season. We typically communicate through email and Zoom calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They stand out for their creativity and flexibility to work with us. They’re amazing partners.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a very smooth project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want your business to stand for. If you don’t know yet, they offer strategic services to figure that out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for Mandelbaum Salsburg, a full-service law firm based in Roseland, New Jersey. Founded in 1930, we’re one of New Jersey’s largest and fastest-growing law firms, and we have around 90 attorneys.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We were interested in rebranding our firm, looking to create a more dynamic, sophisticated, and yet approachable brand that would relate to our business and personal clients.

We hired C42D to work on our entire brand identity, including logos, color palettes, visual design elements, and stationery, printed, and electronic collateral.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically, C42D created our brand identity and all of the assets needed for the new brand rollout. For this task, they first went through a discovery process, where they had a couple of calls with me, our larger marketing committee, and our CEO.

C42D talked about their process, and they were very clear about the timelines for creating certain elements, how our collaboration would work, and what we could expect at various points of the journey. They did a great job of communicating all of that upfront to make us feel comfortable with the process.

Halfway through the rebranding process, we decided to change the firm’s name, which was a great deal for a 90-year-old law firm like ours. Thus, the project’s timeline extended, and we’ve not launched our new brand yet. However, we’re planning on launching it around January 2022.

What is the team composition?

We started working with David (Founder & CEO). Our current team also includes Christa (Project Manager) and Alison (Associate Art Director).

How did you come to work with C42D?

I found C42D on Clutch. I purposely didn’t want to work with a branding firm with experience with law firms because I believe that the work tends to get diluted when having a background on similar projects. We wanted something out of the box.

For that reason, I looked for a firm with experience with startups, entrepreneurs, emerging businesses, and dynamic brands.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around August 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. C42D has already delivered the assets of the original scope, but now we’re working on other projects.

Their initial engagement timeframe was extended because we have several stakeholders, and we wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to weigh in. This slowed down the process, but it wasn’t C42D’s fault.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback on our new brand identity has been largely positive. Branding can be very subjective, and with 90 lawyers in our firm, we have many different opinions. However, we got to a point where a wide variety of lawyers agreed that this was a great work product. They’re happy with our new brand, which is very successful.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

C42D’s communication and project management skills are exceptional. Christa is amazing, and she sends us a PDF document with the project updates every week. This document shows what’s in process, when the deliverables will be ready, and whether we’re on time and budget.

In addition to that, Christa is highly responsive. I rarely wait for more than half an hour to hear back from her, and she’s great with moving things from email to phone or Zoom if we need to discuss something further.

What did you find most impressive about them?

C42D delivers great work products, and they bring a collaborative mentality to the table, which is rare in creative professionals. Usually, other companies in the creative industry are only collaborative to a certain extent. However, C42D is very willing to go in our direction. Their flexibility, collaboration, and great work product have made them an excellent partner for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that C42D could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and honest during the process. C42D is a collaborative partner capable of hearing your feedback, taking a step back, processing it, and coming back with suggestions that will resonate with you. Share your feelings and opinions with them, and be collaborative as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a performance marketing company serving the online sports betting space and the regulated gambling industry. Our company generates leads, helps operators acquire customers, and publishes comparisons that essentially allow consumers to see the difference between online gambling sites. 

I’m the director of communications and I oversee all external and internal communications. For a relatively small organization, this sometimes includes brand communications as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We were facing a corporate branding challenge. We’ve got a portfolio of B2C brands for the New York sports betting market, with our own corporate B2B brand on top of all of those. We had not done a lot to differentiate ourselves from consumer brands since we were only borrowing some visual elements. 

We’ve reached a point in our growth where we’ve recognized the importance of establishing our own identity to really elevate our peers and partners’ perception of us in the industry. We brought in C42D to help us with this challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

C42D outlined the steps that were required in terms of developing a strategy for the corporate brand, getting into ideation for logo and imagery, and, ultimately, executing all those in our website and brand guideline. It was a pretty straightforward process once we described our needs and objectives.

What is the team composition?

David (Founder & CEO) was the one we initially worked with for the onboarding. Christa (Project Manager) kept everything on track and Alison (Associate Art Director) did a lot of the design work. We also worked with a developer for the website. 

How did you come to work with C42D?

I searched for the top brand agencies in New York and browsed the lists that came up. I checked each company’s website, portfolio, and case studies. I also reached out to agencies that were recommended to me by former colleagues and friends.

We did a formal RFP that involved six agencies, 3–4 of whom submitted more concrete proposals than the others. We were ultimately able to narrow it down to C42D through that process.

How much have you invested with them?

It was $55,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

My first correspondence with David was at the end of January 2021, and we got the proposal finalized the following month. We pretty much kicked off in March 2021 and launched the brand and the website yesterday.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s hard to quantify the impact of corporate brand work, so we based our metrics on the smoothness of the project rollout and C42D’s ability to interact with our stakeholders. All those factors were completely flawless. We launched our site on time without any issues, which is why, for the most part, we’ve considered it a success.

We’ve worked with other design partners and have struggled to get on the same page or point the project in the direction we wanted it in, but with C42D, there were never any hiccups. They did a fantastic job of interpreting and bringing to life what we wanted our brand to exude and represent. 

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

In a nutshell, their project management was great. They really excelled at the scope of work; they stuck to it very well and were quite disciplined. C42D did everything to stay on track and hold up their end of the bargain. David was accessible and participative throughout the process as well, which was fantastic. 

We made a timeline back in March 2021 and said that we wanted to launch the website by June 2021. We were able to launch on the date. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The one thing that really stood out about their work was their ability to grasp our objective and quickly absorb our culture, mission, and approach as a business. They didn’t just read it all back to us; they turned it into a strategy and translated it into materials that completely resonated with our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I threw some stuff at them that they probably could’ve pushed back on since it wasn’t in the scope, but they stepped up and delivered. We also offer a bit of extra budget for the additional stuff, so it's not an issue. There’s nothing I can think of that needs improving.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open and transparent with C42D. Trust their process, as this is something they really stress in their approach. When we were looking at the timeline and calendar for this project, we saw that we weren’t going to see any designs or logos until six weeks in. It seemed like a long time, but we trusted that they knew what they were doing and that they were really trying to understand who we are and what we want, so we let them do their thing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and founder of a startup platform that connects young professionals and students with hosts that offer affordable housing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with C42D?

We needed help revamping our brand, messaging, and website. Our website was originally developed in-house very early on in our company’s history.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled the entire WordPress web revamp from discovery to implementation. They interviewed our customers and us to understand our brand and provide a third-person point of view.

After that, we talked about what we felt the most important facets of the brand were. Then, they talked to us about how we wanted the site itself to look. Our host group is generally older adults, so accessibility is important to us.  For example, we wanted the color palette to be easy to read.

C42D came back to us with a whole brand book, which we reviewed and edited together. The brand book included both visual and messaging design. Defining the messaging was a highly collaborative process.

We went through several rounds of revising the site. The designer was really dynamic and able to take our feedback. Finally, they delivered our new site.

What is the team composition?

We worked with David (Founder) as well as a project manager, a lead engineer, and a designer.

How did you come to work with C42D?

We put out an RFP and we talked to several agencies that had experience dealing with testability. We narrowed down our pool to two top candidates. We chose C42D because of their portfolio and price. It also felt like the culture of David’s company matched ours more. They really worked with us to find a price that met the needs of an early startup.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and we wrapped up in January 2021. We launched in early February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The output they produced is beautiful. The messaging is on point, too. For the level of quality we got, I would’ve expected a much higher price tag. The feedback has been great.

With other rebrands I’ve had in the past, there have been some customers that were confused and frustrated because of the changes; that wasn’t the case here, since it was such an upgrade.

How did C42D perform from a project management standpoint?

The project ran a little long, but I’m not sure that was all on their side. Sometimes we weren’t as responsive as we needed to be. They were very polite and kind with us, but there was sometimes an entire week where they wouldn’t hear from us. C42D was very willing to accommodate our delays and it never became an issue.

The communication was handled through Slack. It was all well done. When we got to the implementation phase, I was able to contact their development team directly and they addressed any of my concerns. It really reduced the work I had to do in speaking with a middle person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They worked really hard to understand and analyze what our needs were. Their designs are beautiful and the team was incredibly pleasant to work with. The team was always responsive to us.

David jumped in at the drop of a hat, even though I’m sure I was one of their smaller customers. I feel privileged that we were able to work with them. Even though we were a smaller client, they still treated us with the same responsiveness and respect as a larger account.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took us a little while to get to a place where we had a really good flow working with the development team. Things became a lot more seamless once I interacted with the development team directly. I’m sure their first structure would’ve worked well for a client without a CTO.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be as interactive and verbose as possible during the discovery and review phases. Those are critical points where they’re waiting for feedback and it leaves open issues when they’re trying to make progress. The team takes input well. The quicker turnaround you can make with feedback, the better.