Contrast & Co.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a partner in a law firm. I co-chair the firm's national Communications, Internet, and Technology practice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Contrast & Co.?

We sought a consistent brand identity for a client looking to engage decisionmakers on the Hill about complex regulatory issues that would benefit from a visual, as opposed to narrative, presentation of ideas.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have worked with Contrast & Co. numerous times on multiple different projects. They consistently deliver an outstanding product on time and on (or under) budget.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We worked to develop a newsletter that would remain timely and informative month after month and develop new content and means of presentation to keep material engaging and timely. They have numerous ideas about orchestrating the project and present new innovations to keep the product fresh.

What was the team composition?

Core members of the team included Wes, Beth, and Carin.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client reports much greater engagement and presence as a result of the work product. We can assess engagement over time and by issue to see what matters most and where more work needs to be done.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have an extremely efficient workflow between us and Contrast & Co. They keep us informed of any production delays, which do not occur often if at all, and we keep them apprised of ongoing edits and changes to the copy we are jointly producing.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are invariably enthusiastic about new projects and brimming with creative ideas about how to present material in a way that will be both accessible and instructive to the ordinary reader as well as meticulously accurate for an expert in the field.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

Contrast & Co. could not have done anything differently or better than the stellar performance they have delivered.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Performing Arts Organization

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Contrast & Co., and what were your goals?

We have hired them for several projects -- from branding, reworking our core messaging, focused campaign development, and visual concept creation. Our goals have always been to clarify complex ideas, inspire, and help us connect.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Having worked with the founder in the past and been thoroughly impressed, we reached out to Contrast & Co. when we first needed some fresh creative work in 2019. Since then, we have reached out to inquire about working with whenever we have creative opportunities. Their expertise is so valued at our organization and working with them is always a great choice if the project allows.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Our latest project with Contrast was to help us reframe our core messaging from Mission and Vision and beyond after some rethinking through a strategic plan. We hoped to have language that would not only help better describe our purpose to our patrons, but also help us frame our own thinking.

We met several times with key stakeholders and the Contrast team and shared our goals. They presented a first draft concept that was moving and beautiful -- capturing all of our key ideas and more. We spent some time together making minor changes and are now moving to a new stage of the project in which we build out some several public facing campaigns that grow from the language we developed.

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

I worked primarily with Contrast's Director of Strategy & Content on our most recent projects. We've also had the pleasure of working directly with the Founder and Creative Director and Senior Art Director. Everyone we've worked with is truly extraordinary and understands the project from top to bottom. Every single person on their team is a brilliant creative.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our most recent project is still in final stages -- but we've been able to get buy-in at all levels about work that is incredibly personal, complex, and important. We could have never gotten to this place without Contrast.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The Contrast team does a fantastic job of managing projects, regularly checking expectations and adjusting as needed. We mainly relied on meetings and email to communicate about our recent projects, but the team was incredibly proactive and we always felt well informed about the process.

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

We're impressed with their ability to distill complex ideas into clear, compelling content for our readers. I've been lucky to work with Contrast & Co. on several projects over several years. They are brilliant creatives -- and exceptionally gifted at listening. Their work is always moving and it not only helps us tell our story, it helps us rally together behind a clear, inspiring purpose. I'm so grateful to have crossed paths with this team and I hope to be able to tap into their wisdom for years to come.

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

Nothing. I wish we could work with them much more regularly!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for Health First Company, a healthcare organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Contrast & Co.?

We wanted to redo our brand image. We had a corporate reputation locally and wanted to change that image within our market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Contrast & Co. has been helping us with branding tasks. They started by doing market research on our reputation within our community and our pros and cons. Consequently, they reported a plan to transform that reputation into what we’re now moving forward into through a campaign that focuses on a consumer-centric role. Additionally, they interviewed our stakeholders, executive leadership teams, and other departments to determine our goals.

In terms of deliverables, they’ve redesigned our logo so that it could honor our old brand but with a new modern look through minor tweaks. They’ve also chosen our new color scheme and changed our tone and voice in how we speak to our consumers — we’re now more conversational and laid back.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Dharma (Founder). Liz (Director and Content Strategist), Carin (COO), and Wes (Director and Branding Specialist).

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent around $2 million with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2019, and the engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from our internal team and associates. Overall, they go above and beyond with their work, which is hard to find with other agencies.

How did Contrast & Co. perform from a project management standpoint?

They always meet deadlines, even when we’ve had quick turnaround times. They also remind us when we have deadlines coming up and let us know what they need from us to move forward. Regarding communication, we use email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been impressed with Dharma and Liz because they have a good vision and the ability to execute that vision eloquently. We’re constantly learning from them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — their work is impressive, honest, straightforward, and by far the best. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their ideas because they’re branding experts that know what they’re talking about, so accept change.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Marketing at a global professional services firm that specializes in domain specific AI research and analytics for F1000 companies across financial institutions, corporate brands, and professional services firms. I’m responsible for the corporate website and demand generation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Contrast & Co.?

The creative and messaging we used throughout our website, decks, and digital channels had last been updated 5+ years ago. Alongside a continued technology-first focus, we hired Contrast to help create a singular, unified message and modernize our creative. This included messaging & creative for our website, slide decks, and additional digital media (social, ads, etc).

SOLUTION

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

We were looking for a local vendor who had a proven track record in helping modernize and energize the brand of professional services firms. Additionally, we liked they were a smaller team and we would be working directly with the core members of the agency.

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

We started the project with a number of discovery calls with both internal and external interviews to understand objectives and perspectives from all key stakeholders. After the initial research phase, we were presented a couple design directions to pursue further. From there, both the website wireframes and messaging were being worked on in parallel. We had regular touchpoints during this process since we had a tight timeline on our website launch date. Once we received the high-fidelity designs, we had our internal web developers execute the designs. After the website launch, we started working on supporting creative elements including PowerPoint templates, social media cards, and display ad templates.

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

We worked primarily with four people: the project lead and company owner to oversee the vision, the project manager and messaging lead, the IA and UX designer, and the head graphic designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website designs were easy to execute on and really updated our look. They captured clear stakeholder notes that helped to inform both the design and messaging. Overall website traffic and engagement has improved since the launch and both internal employees and clients have been highly complimentary of the updates.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had regular weekly calls as progress check in and did in-person meetings for larger checkpoints and presentations. Contrast was able to hit the agreed upon deadlines or gave warning if the original deadline would not be met. They were easy to communicate with over email.

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

Compared to the other agencies we looked at, Contrast & Co had the strongest design portfolio and the engaging messaging from the samples they provided. They used simple, distinct designs by mixing color, photography, and font styles that we loved. They also spent a lot of time getting a strategic understanding from both internal stakeholders and our clients which lead to good copywriting and overall representation of our vision.

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

We did hit a few snags along the way, however were we able to resolve them. One example is we would have liked to see is a few more directional examples of where to go creatively. Additionally, we would have liked to see stronger account management. Overall, we were able to work through this and had a good experience.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founded in 2016, our company is an early-stage food-tech startup making healthy eating remarkably simple—fresh, flavorful, locally prepared meals and functional beverages delivered directly to your doorstep. We are an e-commerce, subscription-based, direct-to-consumer food company based in Washington, DC, serving health-conscious, intentional eaters throughout the broader DMV area. I am a Co-founder and our company's CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Contrast & Co., and what were your goals?

We engaged Contrast & Co to conduct a comprehensive rebranding of our existing foundational brand identity—including all visual brand identity elements, product packaging, and web design. We have been a largely bootstrapped company since officially launching in October of 2016.

As a result, our brand development, design, and content efforts (aside from creating an initial visual identity for launch in 2016) have been more sporadic than coordinated. Over the past several years, we have gradually introduced new products, including co-branded products with other local food and beverage brands, established new partnerships, and developed a deeper understanding of our core customer and general positioning within the competitive landscape.

And while we’ve tried to maintain a consistent aesthetic, there remained a lack of cohesion between the physical (e.g., product packaging suite) and digital (e.g., website) experiences we offer our customers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We prepared a formal RFP that we submitted to seven prospective agencies. Once we reviewed each agency's proposal, we scheduled interviews with a list of three finalists. After speaking with the Contrast team, we knew immediately they were the right partner to bring our vision to life. The Contrast team spoke with such passion and clarity of vision and purpose, and we were particularly impressed with the team's focus on bringing their clients' visions to life.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

The general scope of work included:

1. Brand Identity Enhancement: Foundational brand identity enhancement, including a review and update of existing brand guidelines (i.e., logo, logo variants, brand words, typography, type usage, color palette, etc.).
2. Packaging Design: Complete packaging design for several food and beverage products, including fully prepared meals, tonics, cold brew coffee, wellness shots, energy bites, and more.
3. Welcome Package Design: Create a “welcome kit” that is to be included with each new customer’s first delivery (e.g., die cut sleeve envelope and bi-fold brochure).
4. Content Strategy and Identity Development: Develop comprehensive content strategy and guidelines that consider the customer journey—end-to-end—both digitally and physically.
5. Website Design and Content Refresh: Redesign Home, Menu and How it Works pages to reflect updated identity and content strategy.

Contrast & Co.'s process included the following phases:

1. Discovery
2. Brand Development
3. Brand Guidelines
4. Other Signature Brand Assets
5. Packaging Design
6. Welcome Package Design
7. Website Designs for Three Key Views

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

We were assigned a project manager, who led all communication, but there were several others involved in the rebranding effort, including the agency's two founders along with several members of the agency's creative strategy team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In a highly competitive and fragmented industry, where "simple" often means complex, Contrast unleashed the power of connection by bringing magic to every moment, big and small. They took a holistic approach to our brand and translated our vision into a brand experience that reflects what doing good and living well looks like.

As a result of the effort, we now have a comprehensive and cohesive brand identity that seamlessly ties together our online/digital presence with our offline/physical experiences. Since launching our "refreshed" brand identity, we have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from our team, our customers, and even our competitors. The Contrast team far exceeded our original expectations.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We communicated primarily via email, which is our preferred method of communication. The Contrast team provided consistent updates along the way and always erred on the side of over-communicating to ensure that we were aware of any progress, updates, changes, etc.

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

The breadth and depth of research conducted during the initial discovery phase. The Contrast team spent an exceptional amount of time understanding our industry and competitive landscape to ensure that our brand not only accurately represents our vision and values, but also stands out relative to our competitors in the space. We were also impressed by the team's humility (i.e., ability to set ego aside) and focus on what was best for our company.

In the creative space, it can be easy to focus on beautiful designs that win awards, but the Contrast team's sole goal was leverage their expertise to help bring our vision to life.

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

Literally can't think of a single thing. It was a true pleasure working with Contrast & Co, and we look forward to hopefully becoming lifelong partners with their team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Consero Group. We’re a conference production business that focuses on invitation-only events for senior corporate executives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Contrast & Co.?

We had relied on the same website since the inception of our company, so we hired them to build us a new site that accurately reflected our business and operations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Contrast & Co. started with a completely new concept in building a new website for us from scratch. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a handful of people from the Contrast & Co. team, but we worked closely with Dharma (Founder & Creative Director) and the project manager. 

How did you come to work with Contrast & Co.?

I was referred to Dharma by someone who worked closely with him on a previous project.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on this project from June–November 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After launching our new website, we saw more traffic coming in and our business continued to grow.

How did Contrast & Co. perform from a project management standpoint?

They did an exceptional job in terms of project management — they communicated proactively and did a very nice job of setting our expectations about timelines and the things they required from us in order to keep the project on track. They also operated very efficiently, which kept things moving forward at a pretty rapid pace. In a nutshell, we were extremely happy with how they handled the project.

We communicated with them via email and occasional phone calls, going over any updates about the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was very impressed with their creativity and ability to understand our business as well as we do. They spent a lot of time getting to the heart of what makes our business special, and it took a lot of effort to weave that into the fabric of our website.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve on; we’re uniformly satisfied with their work, which was outstanding.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to all of their ideas — they gave us very creative and innovative concepts.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Marketing Officer at Altum. We are a SaaS platform for research grants management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Contrast & Co., and what were your goals?

We hired Contrast to lead our rebranding effort, which included the development of a new logo, style guide, branding guidelines, vision and mission messaging, and web design. Our goal was to elevate our brand positioning and ensure that it reflected our corporate mission.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed several firms and selected Contrast for several key reasons:

1. The level of empathy and personal connection they created with our leadership team
2. the quality of the presentation
3. the creativity and precision of their work and proposal.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Contrast runs an every effective process that is highly efficient. Unlike many agencies I've worked with that can tie up leadership teams for days, they come prepared and facilitate quick, impactful intake and requirements gathering sessions. They ask the right questions, study the brand, study the competition and come equipped with ideas and compelling recommendations quickly. After quick iteration with the team, they developed an amazing brand guide that blew us away and required very little tuning. From there they applied the new brand to our web redesign effort and led the rollout of our new website from start to finish. Over the last year, they've worked with us as we've continued to enrich our digital / marketing toolkit. They've helped us create case studies, ebooks, custom landing pages, a social media system, and more.

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

We have 1 primary point of contact (Wes (complete rock star)) who manages our account but is also my creative partner. Behind the scenes the team has an array of talented design experts who make magic happen.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen a significant increase in every possible marketing metric. Site visits, leads, engagement, pipeline, etc. All of that is directly attributable to the hard work we've done on the digital/creative side working hand-in-hand with C&C.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Effortless. Responsive. Flexible. They'll work with whatever tool(s) you're most comfortable with. We use both Asana and Trello and then meet every couple of weeks to dive into progress.

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

The quality of the team and the way they work. They deliver first class design work but without any pretentiousness or wasted time. They were incredibly easy to work and we really did feel like an extension of our team.

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of OTOT Technologies. We’re a digital transformation and monetization company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Contrast & Co.?

We needed help with our branding efforts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re a new company that’s one been founded in 2019, so we needed Contrast & Co.’s help in establishing what sets our brand apart from our competitors. Their team helps us come up with our own brand narrative and the necessary marketing strategies we need to boost our clientele.

As a digital company, a huge part of our branding efforts depends on our website, so we need Contrast & Co’s expertise in augmenting the UX of our platform to help us define our brand identity.

What is the team composition?

We work with Carin (CEO), Dharma (Founder & Creative Director), and their designers.

How did you come to work with Contrast & Co.?

Contrast & Co. was referred to us by a similar service provider that we previously worked with. I looked their team up and found that they had an impressive portfolio, so I decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $75,000–$100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off the engagement in October 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Contrast & Co.’s efforts have elevated our website’s user engagement rate. They’ve done a great job in making our brand stand out in that our clients can also resonate with our identity — I don’t have numbers to report as of now, but that’s been our main success metric for their work.

How did Contrast & Co. perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and have regular virtual meetings. Contrast & Co.’s team has definitely exceeded our expectations in terms of project management. They respond promptly and stick to deadlines without troubling us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Contrast & Co. has the ability to capture exactly what we want — we have a lot of ideas we can’t execute, and their team handles that for us by bringing our vision and narrative to life. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing else Contrast & CO. can improve — they always deliver impressive results.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Plan ahead of time. You’ll be able to give them all the information they need if you visualize your goals early on, and they’ll be able to implement everything according to your liking in return.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m VP of corporate marketing and communications for SmartSky Networks. We’re a startup creating new technology for aviation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Contrast & Co.?

I was brought on board to launch SmartSky into the market. In my assessment, the brand was basic and not highly professional. I saw the need for not only refreshing the brand but also refreshing the logo. I sought a branding company that could understand our innovative technologies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Contrast’s core task was to refresh our brand, specifically improving our logo, website, and how we talk about ourselves. Based on the technical language that we used to talk about the company, their team created a new language for us to use when talking about the company that succinctly communicates our innovations. They held a series of interviews with people at our company and came back with a significant transformation plan for how we should talk to the market. Their team created a new brand, which included new colors, a new logo, and a new language.

What is the team composition?

I worked with three people from Contrast.

How did you come to work with Contrast & Co.?

I heard about them through their work with an airline association, which was excellent. It was a competitive process, and they won the competition.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly $70,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

I hired them around October 2019, and we finished in March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new brand is universally loved inside the company. I haven't heard any negative comments about Contrast's work. They got the language right from the beginning. The team 100% accepted the language that their team created for us to use when talking about our company. Our leadership embraced their work and wants to use it.

How did Contrast & Co. perform from a project management standpoint?

To begin the project, they gave us a detailed outline. They followed through on every stage of that outline even though we were a bit disorganized at the time. It was a challenge on their side to deal with multiple stakeholders, but their team stuck to the plan and delivered on time. We had regular phone calls and email exchanges with them. They also did a whole series of presentations that were useful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Contrast marries great design and great language abilities. Their team figures out a way to communicate complex ideas in the most simplistic form. That’s why we hired them. They boiled down our ideas into succinct phrases that resonate. There are many companies that focus on design and many other companies that write copy. Contrast does both extremely well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have presented more than one core image for our logo. We ended up adjusting it after their final presentation. Contrast basically banked on one approach but I was in favor of having a choice.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Before starting the project, ensure alignment inside your company. Alignment is critical to a smooth process. An in-person meeting with Contrast will tell you that they have a phenomenal ability to understand complex issues and communicate them well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior VP of sales for HHM, a hotel management company with 120 hotels across the US. We have several large brands and a portfolio of independent hotels that we’ve designed ourselves.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Contrast & Co.?

I approached Contrast & Co. to help us cross-promote our brands and independent hotels.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created customizable promotion templates for print and digital channels. Each template reflected our company’s overall brand, but my salespeople could customize the content to reflect their specific region and cluster of hotels. They developed a persona that conveys professionalism so people felt safe doing business with our hotels, but it also needed to have a creative flair that would intrigue customers.

Then Contrast & Co. put an autonomous system in place where each salesperson could access all of the content.

What is the team composition?

I worked with about four people — one on creative, and 2–3 on the process itself. I’m sure there were others working on it internally as well.

How did you come to work with Contrast & Co.?

They popped up on my radar after a hotel acquisition. They had done some of the creative for other companies and accounts in the market. After talking to them about my needs for that particular hotel, I liked their approach to creative work. They were very hands-on and seemed to work in a grassroots way. They seemed open to trying new things and they offered a solution that met all of our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began around October 2018 and we rolled out the new system in January 2019, but my hotels still utilize them for content.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Contrast & Co. created a completely seamless digital process that we were able to roll out across our hotels. There are about 200 salespeople that rely on this system, and streamlining their workflow wasn’t easy, but they delivered a scalable solution that I can build on. I’m extremely pleased with the quality of their work. They set a high professional standard, which has enabled us to showcase our brand.

How did Contrast & Co. perform from a project management standpoint?

We request everything digitally and their turnaround time is very quick.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with their ability to think outside the box. I deal with several comparable firms, but Contrast & Co. stands out because of their ability to look at something objectively and propose an extremely creative solution.

It was just so easy to work with them. They stuck to the process and delivered exactly what I needed. I definitely received what I was looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There wasn’t anything they need to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They didn’t have direct knowledge of the hospitality industry, so I provided an overview of what we were looking for. Going into the project, I think that really helped. So it’s important that new clients articulate their overall goals for the project and provide background information on the industry