CIRCA

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CMO at an insure tech company that provides subscription care for homeowners so that they don't have to stress about the maintenance and repair of their single largest asset, their home.

For what projects/services did your company hire CIRCA?

• Brand rework
• brand research
• website relaunch
• big ad campaign idea
• digital and email ad creative
• radio
• print ads

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

We ran an RFP process. Circa's proposal gave the most comprehensive approach to what we needed, without nickel and diming every element. We were compelled by their prior visual designs and very happy with the quality of their copywriting.

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

1. Research
2. discovery
3. wireframe creation
4. target audience calls
5. quantitative Blue Ocean research and results
6. brand strategy creation
7. brand book creation
8. full website refresh and rewrite

collaboration with in-house developers for development

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

• Head of Design/agency
• strategist
• web project manager
• outside research consultant
• outside media consultant
• web designer
• copywriter
• art director and copywriter (ads)
• outside video production team (2)

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

www.hellosuper.com - entire site and videos

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was easy when via video. We all used different types of project and work management systems:

• Slack
• Basecamp
• Microsoft Teams
• Zoom

and that made it a little more challenging at time.

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

They did a great job creating beautiful work without a lot of design help from our internal teams. I loved the web copy. The ad campaign ideas were (plentiful and) clever.

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

As a collaborative, they help clients to maximize the expertise they get - everyone was a skilled professional with a ton of experience. But this means that there are no junior project managers just to track the projects and keep the wheels on the bus. I think that timelines and deliverables would be more streamlined if they had some junior staff to serve as project managers.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as a contractor for a maritime company and I do marketing for their onsite parking. My company is a parking management service provider. 

What challenge were you trying to address with CIRCA?

CIRCA is the primary vendor of the maritime company I work for. I’ve also been using them in my marketing efforts for the airport onsite parking. In our recent project, we were trying to get some evergreen materials and create one brand, update some branding guidelines, and put our best foot forward while increasing our sales growth.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve worked with CIRCA on several projects over the last year and a half including an evergreen campaign, website update, and special promotional coupon offers. They’ve also worked on customer research and surveys, printed materials, email marketing, and social media marketing. 

What is the team composition?

We work with three people from their team.

How did you come to work with CIRCA?

Our parent company decided that they were a good fit and that we needed to use them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $35,847.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started in June 2019, and our collaboration is ongoing.

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

We measure their success through the click-through rate (CTR), email open rates, coupon distribution rates, and then we can tie it back to sales. Overall, we’ve been satisfied with our success by working with them. 

How did CIRCA perform from a project management standpoint?

I think their greatest strength is their project management skills. They’re quick and great with follow-ups.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They quickly follow up and execute a project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything that they can improve. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior vice president and director of integrated marketing for Mechanics Bank. We are a community bank in California and Oregon that serves consumers, small and large businesses, and wealth management.

What challenge were you trying to address with CIRCA?

I was actually an employee of another bank that was merged with Mechanics bank, so our challenge was to define a new brand proposition for the newly merged bank.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fortunately, our branches didn’t have much overlap, so we didn’t have to get into closing branches or layoffs or anything like that. Circa started by walking us through the process of identifying the core value propositions for each bank and then finding the alignment between them.

From there, they delivered a creative brand campaign that allowed us to emphasize the alignments so that former Rabobank customers weren’t put off by the new name and brand. That included four print ads and four social media posts with headlines, sub-headlines, and body copy, as well as two radio scripts.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three members of their team.

How did you come to work with CIRCA?

They had an established relationship with Mechanics bank, and our new head of marketing had worked with them in the past, so he decided to bring them on based on the quality of work they had previously delivered.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, the project cost us around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January–March 2020.

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

We established specific milestones for the project, and they were diligent about following up with us and hitting all of the deadlines that we provided for them. The scale of the work was huge given the sizes of the two banks, so we had a lot going on and rescheduled quite often, but they were incredibly patient with us and always kept us on track. We haven’t deployed the marketing assets yet, but we have been very pleased with the work they delivered at each stage.

How did CIRCA perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really great to work with on the whole. I found them to be pleasant, professional, creative, and diligent throughout all of their work. Their persistence struck the perfect balance between being proactive and not being too much for us to handle, which we really appreciated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their reliability is one of the best aspects of working with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would need to work with them more to truly understand their weaknesses, but so far there hasn’t been anything that stood out to me that could be improved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Dive deep with the discovery session, because the more you uncover there, the better you will set yourself up for getting the right deliverables in the end.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior planner at a transportation agency. 

What challenge were you trying to address with CIRCA?

We wanted assistance with branding after we launched a pilot program to provide on-demand public transit on Sundays when we don’t have regular service.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us create a unified brand. This included selecting a color scheme and typography design that was used for logos, community outreach flyers, and vehicle wraps. Their team also assisted with social media strategy and content creation for our social channels. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of five people regularly, but there were an additional three teammates that rotating in and out based on what we were working on. 

How did you come to work with CIRCA?

As a public agency, we have a specific process that we go through when selecting a vendor. They submitted a proposal after we put our request out to the public. Their portfolio was strong, and they had experience working within the transportation industry. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $100,000 on their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed a three-year contract with them in May 2019.

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

We received positive feedback from our board and the public. Their work increased community awareness of our services. 

How did CIRCA perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very communicative. We have regular phone calls and emails. They’re good at keeping track of everything and letting us know if there are any potential issues. CIRCA has been open and transparent with us. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re capable of taking something that is high-level and turning it into something concrete. They understood the messaging that we were looking for. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of off the top of my head. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to stay communicative and be clear about your expectations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of events at Jack London Park, a nonprofit that operates the park on behalf of the state of California. I’m in charge of both private and fundraising events.

What challenge were you trying to address with CIRCA?

We needed a polished brand and graphics for a fundraising event to entice people to buy tickets.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I came up with a concept for our gala, and CIRCA created graphics and branding to match the theme. The gala centered around a bar that Jack London used to frequent, so CIRCA made a vintage-looking brand concept for the invitations and event signage.

They assisted me with the copy, even when some changes came at the last minute. The program needed an extra page, and CIRCA came up with a low-cost solution and found an inexpensive printer.

What is the team composition?

We worked mainly with three people.

How did you come to work with CIRCA?

I worked with the founder when I was at a different job.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from September 2016–September 2017.

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

The final products looked great, and the event itself was incredibly successful. We sold all 350 tickets and had a high sponsorship success that year. People were impressed by the theme, which was represented attractively in all the printed materials.

How did CIRCA perform from a project management standpoint?

His team is one of the best I’ve ever worked with. They stayed up late with us to make last minute changes two weeks before the gala and were extremely dedicated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Not only is their work high quality, but they did it pro bono; we only paid for printing costs. They’re incredibly generous and responsive, treating us like a full-paying client. They catch things before they become problems and adapt well to change. Our industry can be fast-paced, but they’re incredibly calm and laidback.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They’re a full-service agency, so they’ll take care of everything. Rest assured that, if you work with them, nothing’s going to go wrong, and you’ll have a successful project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the account-based marketing manager for Autodesk, a company that develops design and production software for industries such as architecture, engineering, construction, and media and entertainment. I oversee the North American product design and manufacturing marketing practice.

What challenge were you trying to address with CIRCA?

We needed a quick and nimble partner who could help run campaigns on a short timeline. Our goal was to increase leads through sales and trials.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CIRCA provides both creative and strategic assistance. They audited some of our nurture programs and conducted competitor research to develop recommendations and strategies for our campaigns. They also provide copywriting, design, layout, and production assets.

In some cases, CIRCA would take one of our global campaigns and adapt it to achieve our regional goals. They worked on email campaigns, display ads, landing pages, social media ads, and direct mail.

What is the team composition?

We had a team of three people with two others that came on as needed.

How did you come to work with CIRCA?

I’d worked with the founder at a previous role and knew they'd be a great fit for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $100,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2014–December 2017. We only stopped working with them because we reorganized our account-based marketing model.

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

Their work impacted our business goals and helped us achieve what we set out to do.

How did CIRCA perform from a project management standpoint?

They had a dedicated project manager who was responsive and kept us on track. They were organized and incredibly efficient about tracking our progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They pushed back when appropriate and responded to our comments and feedback. Unlike other agencies we’ve worked with before, CIRCA addressed our concerns and was consistently professional. I always had confidence in their ability to deliver exactly what we needed on time. I’d definitely work with them again.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Leverage their thinking power and have a senior creative closely involved in your business. They’ll give you great ideas.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

When I worked with CIRCA on this project, I was the VP of marketing at YuMe. YuMe is a global advertising and marketing company that connects publishing houses to targeted consumer groups. I led global marketing efforts in 16 offices in five languages.

What challenge were you trying to address with CIRCA?

We were looking for a company to help us communicate a message about complex technology in a very clear and yet fun and inviting way.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did advertising work for us across different mediums, that included digital and print advertising as well as billboards. They also helped us with general branding campaigns. I'd explain to them what exactly I was looking to evoke and they implemented that in a creative and artistic way.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with 3–5 members of their team, including their creative staff and an account manager.

How did you come to work with them?

They were recommended to me.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between March 2014–December 2016.

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

Our digital advertising campaigns led to the greatest engagement and the increasing number of views. In terms of billboards, I got a very positive feedback directly from our customers.  

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

They exceeded my expectations. They stayed within our budget and delivered ahead of schedule, even when we had very tight deadlines. They understood our needs and were able to read my mind. When we had to make changes, they were able to create a clear path towards making those changes. Also, they were always enthusiastic about the process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I liked their sense of fun in advertising. They were able to make the process enjoyable, while talking about complex technologies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They delivered at 110% every time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them the creative freedom and let them do their job. I'd recommend them to the highest possible level.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Senior Marketing Manager for Microsoft. We’re one of the biggest tech companies in the world, spanning cloud, desktop, and everything in-between.

What challenge were you trying to address with CIRCA?

I’ve used their team for a number of different projects, and for each one, we needed to find a way to creatively enhance a campaign to get the attention of software developers, and to get them to build on our platform. In order to do this, we wanted to start a creative process, whether it was in terms of language, visual, audio, or anything else that would help us break through the mold most developers put tech companies in. We needed new and interesting ways of getting their attention, so we wanted an agency that could help us identify those creative avenues for building out messaging and creative content.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CIRCA worked on various projects relating to our outreach efforts. They took our presentations and made them more visually impactful and revised their messaging. Generally, I’ll draft out any strategic messaging, and then I’ll engage someone like CIRCA to finish it up. Our most recent project involved taking a number of disparate PowerPoint decks from different speakers, and giving them a consistent look-and-feel, one that would be appropriate for Microsoft’s biggest developer conference, which runs annually.

CIRCA worked on graphic and layout design, language, and global awareness, ensuring that what we created would work across worldwide markets. They also produced creative to go along with strategic messaging, including both print and digital media, posters, stickers, PowerPoint decks, animated GIFs, animated videos, and postcards. They’ve also contributed to social media efforts.

What is the team composition?

I typically interface with two to three members of their team, including a main project manager and an account manager. They will then resource up and down accordingly, behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with CIRCA?

I received a recommendation from a colleague. Microsoft has a policy that requires the consideration of multiple companies, so I’ve talked to at least two or three companies for every project I’ve done. CIRCA was fantastic in terms of timing in the first project, and they really understood what I was driving for. They get it even more so now, given that they know how I think.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since 2012, and our most recent project ended in May 2018.

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

We had a project a few years ago and the creative CIRCA came up with was so good that it went viral, and was used worldwide. We originally intended to use it at a number of events over a short period of time, but the event attendees grabbed all of it to use on their own: web properties, stickers, and anything else they could make out of it. It was simply so impactful.

We ran another project around 18 months ago, where CIRCA heavily assisted with the creative redesign of our education website. It’s had a big impact for educators engaging with Microsoft.

How did CIRCA perform from a project management standpoint?

I wish that all my agencies worked the way they do. CIRCA is very good in terms of timing and scheduling. Very few projects have gone over deadline, and when it has happened, it was due to us, not them. They're fantastic in terms of communication and the different levels they provide. I appreciate the ability to be brief when it’s required, but at the same time, we can also dig in and spend a good amount of time on something, if it’s needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Some agencies like to talk through things to the nth degree when we really just need to get started and make things happen, and maybe iterate as we go. Other agencies are too brief, and don’t ask the questions they need to ask at the beginning of a project. CIRCA seems to have struck the right balance between those two.

I also appreciate being able to clearly articulate to them that something isn’t working. They can extract the right kind of information from my feedback, which allows them to course-correct. They usually only require one or two iterations in order to get to what I was envisioning in the first place.

They’re able to bring my crazy ideas to life. I know that other people haven’t had the same experience, but that’s because they weren’t able to articulate certain things. CIRCA and I have been on the same wavelength for every project we’ve had. I’ve had very little churn, I’ve been able to iterate quickly, and the output is of fantastic quality.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, messaging has been a bit of a challenge. Creatively, they’re amazing, as they also are in terms of timelines and teamwork. The actual wording though has had to go through more iterations than needed. It hasn’t happened often with me, but I have had colleagues where it’s been an issue. It’s definitely something I would like them to continue working on, in order to round out their overall portfolio.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I advise clients to take advantage of the first meeting, where they can fully outline everything they want. CIRCA asks questions for a reason, so they should be allowed to do so, and be given the answers. Secondly, it’s important to be very clear with feedback. They work well when they hear exactly what you don’t like and why, along with a suggestion for something they should try next. It’s harder for a company like CIRCA, or any other agency, to work with clients who won’t give reasons for disliking something, or won’t even express that feeling at all.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for the aviation division of an international airport. We have a staff of 250 employees and an annual budget of $150 million.

What challenge were you trying to address with Circa?

Lacking relevant in-house expertise, we try to contract out most of our advertising. We've occasionally worked with other vendors, but wanted to have an actual agency in our tool kit. We've used Circa on a variety of applications, from minor projects to major campaign redesigns. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Circa designed and produced ads for two of our major campaigns. Each one had about 18 months of shelf life and aimed to promote our business locally, nationally, and internationally. One of our most important clients is a major college's athletic department. They created all the in-venue advertising deliverables to fulfil that contract. Onsite displays of all shapes and sizes included backlit signs, backdrops, tension fabrics, and even billboards. Recently, we featured ads on train exteriors and interiors within our local rapid transit system.

Our strategy incorporates both traditional and digital marketing tactics. We place print magazine ads primarily in local and airline industry publications. Postcard mailings help us promote our free parking to targeted demographic groups. To reinforce our message, we also used online avenues like Facebook ads and email blasts. Circa has proposed some radical ideas that encourage us to think outside our comfort zone. Although we haven't executed as much on those, we appreciate their creative approach.

What is the team composition?

We typically work with 1-2 team members from Circa on any given project.

How did you come to work with Circa?

Circa responded to our RFP. As a public agency, we have a laborious process to get to the finish line. They committed, prevailed, and ultimately won that competition.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $200,000 for design. That figure does not include production costs.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2015. As part of our ongoing relationship, they’re preparing to wrap a train car for the first time ever. Circa is currently executing the concept we sketched out.

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

This might be correlation rather than causation, but our airport is up 31 percent in passenger activity since Circa came on board. They've helped us operationalize many creative concepts and briefs. Their ads are always featured front and center and work in tandem with the airlines’ complimentary advertising efforts. We try to use different channels and approaches to avoid duplication. Whenever our airport gets a new nonstop flight, we have a robust marketing program in place to kick it off. We're still building awareness of our airport as an alternative to our main competitor.

How did Circa perform from a project management standpoint?

Although Circa is a smaller shop, they always make us feel front and center. Their work for other clients can sometimes delay response times and we're not very patient. Given our short fuse timelines, they've done a good job of juggling commitments and meeting our deadlines. We’re a fairly challenging customer with sometimes unrealistic expectations and they've done their best they can.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Circa takes a genuine interest in your business. They really want to work as partners, which is always appreciated. Dave [Founder and Creative Lead, Circa] regularly sends us pertinent articles. This level of engagement lets us know that he's thinking about our business and ongoing challenges. It's nice to know they're invested in our success rather than just trying to sell us individual ads.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As is common for design agencies, they often want to offer a better strategy than what we request. That's part of their role. Unlike many of their clients, we have a clearly defined objective and need execution, not reinvention. We’d rather have one excellent version than three potential options. It's not the most creative process, but it's the nature of our business. They've tried to push us outside the envelope and we haven't always been receptive to that. That’s probably been a bit frustrating for them. While this is not necessarily Circa’s fault, it can occasionally cause some friction.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former Vice President of marketing for L’Oréal. I was responsible for all the US marketing and advertising in the Clarisonic beauty device division.

What challenge were you trying to address with CIRCA?

We were launching a new men's product called Alpha Fit, and I wanted a unique marketing approach. We also had a women’s product that we needed strategic and creative support for.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CIRCA helped us develop a digital marketing plan for Alpha Fit. It was in a new category (facial device for men), and while it was for men it needed to be advertised to women, so it was a complex project. They also helped us show women why their man needed our product and what the benefits were. Their work included strategic thinking and planning, creative development and concepting, and execution.

Their marketing materials covered magazines, all social media, digital, web design, and videos. Instead of approaching each medium individually, CIRCA integrated the marketing plan across all areas. In particular, they helped put together a brand new strategic and creative approach for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. They developed the concepts and photographed and executed all the ads and posts.

What is the team composition?

We had anywhere from 3–5 people, depending on what we were working on.

How did you come to work with CIRCA?

I've worked with CIRCA in different positions for 16 years. When I choose an agency, I want a long-term partnership. Anyone can come up with an idea, but I wanted a firm that could ground ideas and creative in solid, smart, and strategic thinking. I’ve been with CIRCA so long because their work has longevity and resonates with our customers more than anything else another agency could do.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent up to $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from July 2015—January 2017.

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

The men’s launch was so successful that we were featured on the cover of AdAge, which is highly significant. The women’s launch was also extremely successful, highlighted as one of the best campaigns within L’Oréal.

How did CIRCA perform from a project management standpoint?

CIRCA is phenomenal. Even after 16 years, I have nothing but great things to say about them. They listen to your problems and enthusiastically take any feedback you offer. They aren’t defensive, unlike a lot of other agencies. They have systems in place and always deliver on time or have a good reason if something will be late.

What did you find most impressive about them?

CIRCA is mature and has a wealth of experience on a lot of different brands and clients. Most agencies are limited to digital talent, but the people at CIRCA have it all because they’ve been in the business so they can do digital but also print, TV, video production, etc. They're extremely strategic and creative, putting a lot of work into their approach. They always go above and beyond and are some of the hardest workers I know. They’re passionate about their work and want to do it well.

I recently had to use a few different agencies due to circumstances I had no control over, and it simply reinforced how amazing CIRCA is. These other firms delivered late, were overpriced, nickeled and dimed us, or didn’t know what they were talking about. In all my years of experience, CIRCA is by far the best agency I’ve ever worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can think of.