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Certified B Corp. Experts in all things Digital
Compose[d] is a digital strategy & creative services agency, focused on addressing business goals through sustainable solutions for our clients. For over 10 years, we’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the most well-known brands in the world; many that have remained clients since we first started working togehter, and most for the greater part of the decade. From strategy to execution, we believe that the point of a business is to make life better for other people—mainly you.
We've built our team with veteran industry experts who've earned their stripes at some of the best agencies, brands, and publishers in the world, and we know first-hand the importance that consumers are placing on company values.
We're unique not only in being a Certified B Corp, but in our offerings which range from bespoke consumer research, to sustainability consulting; from strategy across all facets of digital marketing, content, and media, to execution that meets the highest brand standards.
Focus
Portfolio
MetLife, COTY (Marc Jacobs Fragrances, Calvin Klein Fragrances), Estée Lauder, Clinique, Alaffia, Clarins, Amyris (Pipette Baby, Purecane), AKA Hotels, Hearst Digital, Gagosian, Kasmin Gallery, Shiseido, Clé de Peau Beaute
Calvin Klein: Social Media Content Creation
How do you bring a tried-and-true brand’s fragrances to life for key holidays? Our answer: a series of elegant, whimsical animations and stills created for social media.
Collaborating with photographer Claire Benoist, we created four different sets of assets for Calvin Klein to use in celebrating the Valentine’s Day. National Fragrance Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.
Valentine’s Day
For Valentine’s Day 2019, we were inspired by the brand’s incorporation of iconic Andy Warhol imagery and the recent display of the artist’s “Shadows” collection at the 205 W 39th Street headquarters. We put together a series of stills and animations for their signature fragrances and the pieces were featured on the @calvinklein instagram account for the holiday distributed to various markets across the globe.
The resulting pieces played more to the sensual nature of the brand, and we were awarded a C2A Honorable Mention for Social Media Content for the work.
National Fragrance Day
To celebrate National Fragrance Day (March 21st), we created assets incorporating all four highlighted fragrances (Women, Euphoria, Eternity, and CK One) – each with its own color story – in a single horizontal layout. These were used as a carousel unit and individually as animations to celebrate the day.
Mother’s Day
Our Mother’s Day campaign highlighted the brand’s gift-box packaging to create custom content for Calvin Klein Fragrances’ various verticals: Calvin Klein Women, Women EDT, Euphoria, and Eternity Fragrances. The results were simple, playful and elegant to pay homage to the moms in all of our lives.
Father’s Day
Father’s Day, again, channeled in-store collateral through repetition of the black ribbon used with gift sets. We expanded on the theme by shooting both visuals for in-store promotional displays, as well as assets for social media which showcased the range of the Eternity for Men line, including the Signature fragrance, and the Flame, Aqua, and Air variants.
MetLife: Social Media Content Creation
From bite-size moments celebrating holidays to insightful industry infographics, we provide on-going support and content creation for MetLife’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter channels. Collaborating with their internal team, we concept, design, and animate a wide range of social-first content.
MetLife has consistently been recognized for their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion, and it’s a centerpiece to how they drive their business. They reflect these values to their audience through thoughtful social media content.
We bring these messages to life, drawing enthusiasm also around key corporate campaigns, such as their annual Employee Benefit Trends Study. We work in thoughtful copy and content strategy to further the brand’s thought leadership and message.
Alaffia: E-Commerce & Brand Photography
Alaffia, one of the top-selling body care brands in Whole Foods, is a purpose-driven company built around a single mission—to get the West African nation of Togo out of poverty. The team asked us to redesign and replatform their e-commerce site, with the goal of creating a mobile-first experience, including a detailed store locator, and a custom checkout process that seamlessly allows consumers to donate to various empowerment projects as part of their transaction.
Along with the development changes, we enhanced the consumer journey by more clearly incorporating Alaffia’s sustainability mission throughout. Featuring their “Beyond Fair Trade” approach front and center, we focused the user on the brand’s story first, and then how it ties into their product.
We conceptualized and completed an elevated brand relaunch by shooting all new lifestyle, product and model photography, for use across all digital channels including the website, email, and social media.
Lastly we developed custom Shopify story templates for the brand to continue to amplify the rich story of their efforts–from the positive impact of the way that their products are produced to the company’s job creation mission in Togo & Washington State.⠀
Reviews
the project
Content Creation & SMM for Insurance Company
"Compose[d] elevated the look and feel of our social content while staying on brand."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the lead of social strategy and content at a B2B and B2C company in the insurance and employee benefits space.
What challenge were you trying to address with Compose[d]?
We’ve been working with them for a few years now on social media design assets for our global social media channels.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We’re active on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. We give them creative flexibility with ideas and requests. They work off that to create the concepts from scratch, using our design guidelines.
Their work includes a mix of static imagery and video animations. Recently, they worked on a larger video project for us. We wanted to do a tribute video for our CMO that was leaving the company. The video included short snippets from employees, and their team pieced those together with copy and text.
What is the team composition?
All of our requests go to Jason (Founder) and a project manager.
How did you come to work with Compose[d]?
I’ve worked with them on and off over the years. I worked at a magazine years back, and my boss at the time had a relationship with them. I enjoyed working with them so much that I brought them on to another company I worked with. Now, I brought them on to work at my current company.
How much have you invested with them?
We spend around $150,000 a year.
What is the status of this engagement?
Our engagement with their team started in January 2020.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We encourage Compose[d] to be creative and push the limits within our brand guidelines. From 2019-2020, we’ve seen a 19% increase in clicks and a 6% increase in engagement on social. On Twitter, the engagement increase has been significant.
We don’t have any internal design resources. Compose[d] elevated the look and feel of our social content while staying on brand. We rely on them to be experts to ensure we’re creating innovative work.
How did Compose[d] perform from a project management standpoint?
From a project management standpoint, they perform very great. They’re responsive. Their team is the easiest agency I’ve worked with. They’ve never let us down.
If we have last-minute requests, they’re always accommodating. They’ve also been brought on to lead different workstreams related to our annual employee benefits study, which a different group manages. Their project manager keeps these cross-functional projects on track to ensure everything is delivered on time.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The ease of working with them is the most impressive. They’re genuine, nice people.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, not really. I’ve had no complaints.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
They’re great to work with. They work with multiple teams across our company because we’ve recommended them. They’ve become our creative design agency of choice.
the project
Content Creation & Digital Marketing for Cosmetics Co
"Without their content, we wouldn’t have had anything to share for all of our key temple marketing moments."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I was the senior director of global digital marketing for COTY, a beauty brand.
What challenge were you trying to address with Compose[d]?
We were tasked with creating digital content to fuel our different social channels, as well as creating paid ads and sharing that with our global markets so that they could utilize that as well across their channel.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Compose[d] worked with me on creating content. We gave them a lot of creative flexibility, but these brands definitely had a specific aesthetic. They were given the flexibility to help come up with ideas. Then, they presented those ideas to us and we chose the direction that we felt was the most appropriate and they made that come to life.
They created more graphic design content in-house. The team also helped create photoshoots with artists and designers to create more real-time content. Some of these campaigns were around holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day, while others were more around product launches. Compose[d] created both still graphics and motion pictures.
What is the team composition?
We worked mostly with Jason (Executive Digital Producer & Founder) and Jaclyn (Senior Art Director & Designer) and then we also worked a little bit with Misaa (Management Consultant & VP of Digital Marketing).
How did you come to work with Compose[d]?
Jaclyn and I used to work together at another company where she was the lead designer. She was phenomenal, so I trusted her judgment and started working with Compose[d].
How much have you invested with them?
We invested about $100,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from January 2016–December 2019.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Compose[d] produced a lot of content for us and that really helped set us up for each season throughout the year. Without their content, we wouldn’t have had anything to share for all of our key temple marketing moments.
How did Compose[d] perform from a project management standpoint?
We usually had tight deadlines and their turnaround time was so quick. They were very communicative and always responded very quickly.
What did you find most impressive about them?
As a team, they were really flexible with us in regards to our budget. I think it’s really easy for agencies to take advantage of that and they really did everything possible to stick within the parameters we gave them. I loved how collaborative they were.
Jason really was the nicest person to work with. He was so careful and caring about the business and about creating nice relationships with the people that he worked with. Jason is also extremely patient; working in the beauty industry was not easy and there were a lot of personalities to juggle. He really took everything in stride and was very open to feedback without arguing or trying to get his point across. He was open to everything and still made sure to put his creative input into it, being that they were the experts.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, they were great to work with.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be as clear as you can on what you want. Give true deadlines and don’t take advantage of their willingness to power through incredibly short deadlines.
the project
SMM & Content Development for Beauty Brand
"They’re really there to deliver what you need and make you happy."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the head of marketing and communications for a beauty brand, Clarins. We develop products in France.
What challenge were you trying to address with Compose[d]?
We initially engaged Compose[d] to help create digital assets. At the time, we didn’t have what we needed from our parent company.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We provided our digital assets to Compose[d], and then their team reworked them to be relevant to the US marketplace. Compose[d] has created banners that we used in programmatic buys and content about our best-selling products. Sometimes we provide them with text and visuals but other times we rely on them to develop everything. When creating assets from scratch, they had to direct the photoshoots. Their team had to find photographers and book locations.
Their team has also created social assets for our different platforms. Compose[d] has developed different carousel assets for Facebook and Instagram for key launches. When we launched a product, they helped us create content that was focused on teasing and revealing.
Compose[d] recently created content for our social channels. They’re working with my team on digital banners for our recently activated campaign.
What is the team composition?
My team handles the day-to-day operations, so I only communicate with the founder.
How did you come to work with Compose[d]?
I found them through a partner agency.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent between $50,000–$200,000 on their services.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working with Compose[d] around March 2016, and they’re still working with us.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
For our most recent campaign, the assets performed at our target engagement levels, which was great. Compose[d] created that campaign's assets, and I was happy with their performance. In the past, they also created highly engaging assets. Our audience not only liked them but also commented on them. The banners that Compose[d] created also performed. They worked on a campaign that has run for a couple of years and those assets continuously meet our awareness KPIs.
How did Compose[d] perform from a project management standpoint?
We communicate via email, and they're great communicators. Their team’s always on top of their projects, so a project has never been late. If anything, Compose[d] always goes above and beyond. They’re patient when we change our minds even though that’s not easy for them. I’m pleased because Compose[d] knows how to manage a project and deliver in a timely manner.
I like working with the owner because he has his eyes and ears to the ground. He brings us new opportunities that might interest us. He also understands that we don’t have huge budgets even though we’re a big company.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They’re attentive to our needs and deliver on them. Their team accepts constructive feedback and adapts their assets to it. They’re always there to please, so Compose[d] is really a service agency. They’re really there to deliver what you need and make you happy.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, they’re great. I honestly wish I had more money to work with them on bigger projects.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
It’s important that the owner’s involved in the project. Definitely meet with him because he has great ideas and knows how to deliver on projects. You won’t be let down.
the project
Game Development for Beauty Company
"They're just easy to work with. Our needs are always met, their fees are reasonable and I enjoy them as people."
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I'm the Global Digital Manager at COTY, a global beauty company.
For what projects/services did your company hire Compose[d], and what were your goals?
App development Game development Social content Digital content
How did you select Compose[d] and what were the deciding factors?
They were an internal recommendation
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
I generally work with 3 people at Composed. See below for titles: PRESIDENT & CCO Executive Digital Producer SENIOR ART DIRECTOR
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
We always receive high quality work that is well received by our licenses and markets contacts.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.
We always get a timeline, updates on ongoing work and quick replies over email.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
They're just easy to work with. Our needs are always met, their fees are reasonable and I enjoy them as people.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
no
Engagement and clicks on social media have increased since their work began. The team at Compose[d] is responsive, personable, and creative. Customers can expect a seamless engagement with their reliable team.