Cultivate Brands

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager at MTM Trailers, a trailer manufacturing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cultivate Brands?

We needed help with web design and media work, including photography and videography. Our goal was to increase engagement on our website and become a more established brand within the industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cultivate Brands has built our website and done media work for us. Initially, we did some workshops to figure out our brand voice and tone. From there, the team scheduled the photoshoots and video shoots we needed while simultaneously building out the new website.

We've gone into the functionality and needs before going into the design process of the website. Cultivate Brands has used Figma to have a wireframe and design look going, and the site has been built within WordPress. They also integrated HubSpot on the backend for our CRM.

Cultivate Brands has produced videos that are featured on the website, YouTube, and social media. We also use them within our email flows and distribute them across all our channels. The videos have some text animation as needed.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around seven teammates from Cultivate Brands, including a couple of UX designers, a videographer, a photographer, and a brand strategist.

How did you come to work with Cultivate Brands?

We found Cultivate Brands through a referral from another company that had used them. They had experience in our industry and examples in their portfolio that matched the overall aesthetic we were going for. 

How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent between $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2024, and the main project has been completed. We still talk with them about new and upcoming projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen an 86% increase in organic traffic and a 130% increase in conversions.

How did Cultivate Brands perform from a project management standpoint?

Cultivate Brands delivers the work on time and on budget and communicates well with us on a Slack channel. We collaborate through Trello.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I’d like to give a shout-out to Jenny. She's wonderful at capturing everything we need for the website regarding functionality. She has great ideas to streamline things and make them more engaging for our users. She has worked on making the site functional and beautiful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cultivate Brands is extremely knowledgeable about looking at the functionality of the website and how we could optimize it for better conversions for our users.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only area for improvement is that sometimes we, as the client, aren't sure what we need to approve or what they're waiting on from us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend trusting the process. There may be a little bit of legwork in the beginning, but be patient because it will ultimately lead to wonderful results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Project Manager of Barnabas Foundation

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Since 1976, Barnabas Foundation has helped thousands of generous Christians transfer their wealth through gifts that reduce taxes, gifts that pay income or gifts in a will.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Cultivate Brands to accomplish?

• Design a new website
• Update Branding Imagery

SOLUTION

How did you find Cultivate Brands?

Referral

Why did you select Cultivate Brands over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Cultivate Brands were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

The scope of the work entailed several website strategy sessions, which led into a branding direction that would inform a new website. Casting, directing, filming and photographing at an off-site venue was coordinated and provided imagery and video for the new site, as well as branding assets to be carried into other marketing channels. A completely new, multi-functional website was built, which included complex user log in, tiered access and a tremendous amount of content.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A fully functional website and sub-site were built, new branding (including imagery and language) (was implemented that completely refreshed our marketing materials and our staff was trained on content/website management to be able to sustain new website use.

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

We were very impressed with overall project management, as well as Cultivate's accessibility and responsiveness. Project specification/scope and budget were clearly outlined beforehand so there were never any surprises. They kept our team accountable to deadlines, but were also flexible when we needed more time. All project components were delivered on time. Their team was especially open to our feedback and was collaborative with us in getting our messaging and branding "just right."

What was your primary form of communication with Cultivate Brands?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Cultivate is unique in that they have a large team of people that are highly specialized in their field (i.e. photography, videography, web strategy, branding, design). This means that they are using the most-up-to-date technology, equipment and methods available in their craft. They are extremely professional, but a fun, laid-back, and creative group to work with. They understood our constituency and culture and were able to really capture our "voice."

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

I really appreciated that Cultivate invited members of our team to join in and help on our offsite photography and filming days. Not only was this a great learning experience for our team, it was awesome to observe the Cultivate team at work. It ended up being a great team building experience for us and provided a lot of overall enthusiasm around the project.

I'd encourage Cultivate to continue to look for opportunities where they can invite clients to play a hands-on role, if the client is interested and appropriate to do so.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own a construction company that delivers on-site production efficiency systems for contractors and trim crews. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cultivate Brands?

We’ve hired Cultivate Brands to create a mobile application that streamlines our processes and communications. Previously, we’d worked with a company and didn’t have the best experience. We were looking for a company that could understand our vision, so we brought in Cultivate Brands.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is being developed from scratch for iOS and Android. One of the app's features is that users can take two measurements for a window that needs to be trimmed out. By setting a few parameters in the app and entering those two measurements, the app produces a cut list for any trim style. That list is then seamlessly provided to an automated saw. 

The cut list shows up in real-time, so there’s no lag between taking the measurements and cutting the materials. Cultivate Brands has also created promotional videos for our company. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 10–15 individuals. 

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

We’d like to shout out Mark (Co-Founder), Jenny (Senior Product Manager), Walter (Design Director), Paul (Software Developer & Tech Lead), Michael (Designer & Developer), Chris (Co-Founder), Rick (Creative Producer), and Melissa (Photographer). 

How did you come to work with Cultivate Brands?

We found them through a Google search. We called multiple companies, but after talking to Cultivate Brands, we felt they understood our vision and even added to it. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $150,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Every time they deliver a new phase, we’ve been extremely impressed. They take our vision and go above and beyond what we think is possible. Our goal with the first phase of the project was to deliver an in-house solution that we could use, and it works perfectly. Multiple phases after that have been focused on adding more programs and functionalities to streamline more processes. 

How did Cultivate Brands perform from a project management standpoint?

Cultivate Brands is extremely communicative; their team keeps us updated at every turn. They are also transparent, giving us confidence about where they spend our money. The team meets deadlines and is consistent. We communicate via phone, email, Zoom, and in-person meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate their willingness to walk our team through their processes; the team is highly available and responsive. We’ve been thrilled with what they’ve delivered so far, and we look forward to continuing our work with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their terminology could be clearer; we wish it were a little more relatable and understandable. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be authentic and communicate your vision as clearly as possible. The more information you can give Cultivate Brands, the better they’ll be able to expand on it and create something that might even be better than your initial vision. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a former senior manager of the training department for a utility services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cultivate?

We needed to develop an application that could be used in the field to manage our on-the-job training program, so we hired Cultivate to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cultivate helped us develop a mobile and web app from scratch. Initially, we explained our needs, and they proposed different concepts and solutions. After evaluating their thoughts and ideas, the project’s scope changed slightly because they identified some other things that solved problems we didn’t initially see.

Due to the security profile of the business, bringing a new product to our network was highly complex. Therefore, Cultivate also had to navigate those challenges and learn new technologies because certain app parts had to be coded in certain languages. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the specific technologies.

Ultimately, they delivered the app for Android and iOS, as well as a web-based version, to address our different users’ needs. Additionally, they implemented offline uploading capabilities, which were very important for us because some of our users work either 200 feet underground in a deep tunnel or 350 feet up in the air on a structure.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two teammates from Cultivate: Mark (Co-Founder & President) and Jenny (Product Manager & Art Director). Jenny was in charge of the design and execution, whereas Mark managed the project and drove the whole concept and wireframing portion.

How did you come to work with Cultivate?

Cultivate did some work for a large concrete company in Chicago, and I heard about the great results of that project through some professional relationships. Thus, I got in touch with Cultivate and told them about the project. Fortunately, it was right in their wheelhouse.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around February 2020, and Cultivate delivered the app around February 2021. However, I know that they’re still developing other parts of the app. Additionally, once other departments saw what Cultivate did for ours, they started reaching out to them for technology support. Cultivate is now doing some graphic design and app development work for other areas of the organization.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cultivate built a comprehensive solution that addressed all of our needs instead of just the most apparent ones. Through their independent analysis of our requirements, they identified areas that were essential for the project's success. In addition to that, the app’s UI/UX design was incredibly intuitive and represented our brand very well.

Setting up this app in our network was a very difficult task for Cultivate. Learning about new technologies took a lot of adaptability on their end — their designers and programmers successfully adapted and learned, which was a big win for us.

My former company manages an enormous amount of apprentices in different areas of the business, and some trainees go through years of training. The largest portion of these efforts is on-the-job training. However, before having this app, everything was paper-based. Thus, it was hard to have visibility into the process and identify when someone wasn’t getting what they needed from their training.

Since having this app, the company has been able to get a great view, gauge the health of the training program, and find areas of opportunity. Additionally, they’ve been able to build a very good strategy and deliver tactically on improving some of those opportunities. The company has also been finding new ways to incorporate this app beyond our craft field employees. Now, they want to implement it for performance development for some managers and leaders.

How did Cultivate perform from a project management standpoint?

Cultivate delivered on time and within budget. As previously mentioned, we had a lot of challenges along the way. When the scope had changed significantly enough to impact the budget, we stopped everything and discussed and adjusted our contract.

Still, all those changes were needed, and Cultivate went above and beyond to meet our deadlines and budget. The project was difficult for them, and there was probably some learning work for which they weren’t compensated. However, they did an excellent job in that regard; they were very flexible.

In addition to that, Cultivate was very communicative, and we had a lot of in-person meetings. My team went to Cultivate’s headquarters to meet with them at the beginning of the project. Then, as the project progressed, Cultivate also came to our site to take a look at our workflow and better understand our requirements.

Those in-person meetings were also a challenge because we were in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to our security requirements, bringing people to our site required extensive background checks. Still, Cultivate was very adaptable to our policies and stepped up in every way. Regarding technologies, we used Microsoft (MS) Teams for our remote meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cultivate really took the time to understand our needs and the needs of the app users, delivering technology that worked in different ways according to those needs. Moreover, the fact that they were able to do some of the things they did was impressive. If we had gone to a larger software development company, they probably wouldn’t have been able to adapt to some of our requirements, especially those around our program needs and our security protocol.

On top of that, the diversity of Cultivate’s team is outstanding. They have teammates with incredible backgrounds, strengths, and skill sets in really niche areas of expertise, and they all come together and know how to collaborate with their customers. Their team was able to translate our needs into great ideas and concepts, which was very impressive to me.

During the ideation phase of the project, Mark and Jenny brought a lot of other teammates into the room with different areas of expertise. That part of the project was very unique because those teammates brought different perspectives, ideas, and concepts to the table that ultimately became part of the project and the app.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can only recommend to Cultivate that they stay agile and keep doing what they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be willing to meet their bar. Cultivate is a high-performing group, so they’ll move fast, and you need to be able to keep up. Still, they do a great job of coaching and keeping you engaged to ensure you meet your deadlines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of corporate marketing and communications at Superior Construction, a heavy civil contractor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cultivate?

We originally hired Cultivate to help us out with our video and photography needs for a couple of our projects, but our scope of work grew after working with them. Now, they do a lot of different things for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cultivate helps us with pretty much everything related to our branding. Among other things, they’re in charge of about 90% of our video production and photography projects, which is why we hired them in the first place. Most of their video production work involves editing footage that they take. However, some animation work is also involved.

One of our biggest projects in Indianapolis has been launching a couple of different marketing campaigns. For this project, Cultivate has done all the photography and video production work, and they’ve helped us all the way through the campaigns, from posting the content on social media to building a new page on our WordPress site for these campaigns.

Additionally, they’ve done our holiday cards for the past two years. The first year, the holiday card was really last minute, and they decided to create an animated one — they pulled it off, of course. Last year, Cultivate took six of our project sites and put a little Christmas tree on them. Then, for the holiday card itself, they did two versions: a video one and a printed one. The video was a lit-up Christmas tree that was lifted up on a crane, and the printed card included a Christmas tree hanging from a crane and a nice message they wrote for us.

Currently, we’re getting ready to launch our new visual identity and brand refresh with them, which should be ready in a couple of weeks. As part of this rebranding effort, Cultivate will also help us create a new website.

The input from our side depends on each project. For example, if we need a redesign of an asset we had previously done, we provide Cultivate with it. However, most of the time, we just talk through ideas and define what we’re hoping to achieve, and we let them run with their creative genius.

What is the team composition?

We work with Mark (Co-Founder & President), Kimberly (Brand Strategist & Creative Director), Hope (Project Manager & Copyeditor), Wally (Design Director), and Rick (Creative Producer).

How did you come to work with Cultivate?

Cultivate came recommended. A lot of our team in the Midwest was familiar with them, and they also had a good relationship with one of our subcontractors. As we already knew who they were, we decided to reach out to them. After working with them once, I fell in love with them — they’re amazing rockstars!

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. I don’t foresee an end to our relationship in the future; we still have a lot of work to do. Just the other day, during our monthly call, I realized how much work they're currently doing for us. I knew that I had them working on many things, but I didn’t realize how many they were until I saw the list.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything that Cultivate has done for us has gotten excellent compliments from other employees and clients. I wouldn’t be able to do my job without them.

How did Cultivate perform from a project management standpoint?

Cultivate is really good at project management, especially since they’re growing. They recently hired Hope, and from the project management perspective alone, she’s very good at tracking everything.

We have a monthly call to go over our projects, and there’s always an agenda, so we constantly know what projects are going on. Additionally, they always know the status of each project.

Cultivate is also very communicative. If I send them another request that needs more time or more urgent attention, they communicate with me to reorganize the priority of our current projects. There hasn’t been a time when we haven’t met a deadline, but if there’s ever an issue, they definitely let me know.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I find two aspects of working with Cultivate to be impressive. Firstly, the quality of their work is awesome. They’re familiar with the construction industry, which helps them deliver quality work.

The second thing I love the most about working with Cultivate is how well they try to understand every project, digging deep into what we’re hoping to achieve and how we will measure its success. They have a questionnaire they call AIM with 10–15 questions that I need to fill out before they start working on the project, and those questions go through every aspect of it, which is fantastic. If I forget to fill the format out, they always remind me — I love that approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no. I have nothing but positive things to say about them — they’re fantastic!

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their process because it works. A lot of people tend to want to get right into the design and creative work from the get-go, but that’s not how Cultivate operates. First, they need to understand the project before they start working on it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and founder of Trinidad Construction, a general contracting company founded in 2010 that does commercial and industrial work for corporate clients throughout the Midwest. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cultivate?

Our company was asked to be the headliner of a global virtual event, and we needed a professional video to tell our story. Simultaneously, we wanted to make a corporate overview video that we could send to prospective clients and people that wanted to have an understanding of our business. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cultivate was involved in the entire production process. Initially, we had a discussion about the key aspects that we wanted to include in the video. Then, we talked about the ways we could achieve our goals. Our teams then developed a strategy for the interviews we wanted to conduct. 

The Cultivate team took it from there; they did all the interviews, filming, editing, and post-production tasks. Ultimately, they produced a seven-minute video that we used for the virtual event. We also used it on our website as a background with a link. They took 15 seconds of highlights from the video and turned it into an animated background for the website. Then, if users clicked on the background, the link would take them to the full video. 

As a minority-owned business, our goal for the video was to talk about our beliefs and to inspire others. It wasn’t only to encourage people to work with us; it was also to inspire diverse people to consider a career in the construction industry. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from Cultivate. Mark (Co-Founder & President) was involved throughout the process, while other teammates came in and out as needed. 

How did you come to work with Cultivate?

I was familiar with a company that worked with Cultivate over the years. When this project came up, I reached out to them and went over its details. That was how we started working with Cultivate.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere under $10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began and finished the project in August 2021. It lasted for 3–4 weeks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received a ton of positive feedback. Our company shared the video not only on our website but also on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. On top of that, the video resonated well with our target audience. People have reached out to us asking if they could show the video to high school students attending a career fair. In other words, the message of the video was so strong that it inspired young high school students to consider working in our industry.

How did Cultivate perform from a project management standpoint?

Cultivate had a quick turnaround time. I was in contact with Mark throughout the process, and their process was quite streamlined. Watching the video, viewers wouldn’t realize it was only done on two separate days of production. We thought the process would take longer, but it didn’t. Overall, we had a schedule that we wanted to keep, and our teams pulled it off. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Cultivate team did a great job understanding the emotional and human side of our cold industry. The team understood the human elements of the video and extracted them to get our message across through the story we were telling. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. We were truly satisfied from start to finish; we didn’t have anything to complain about. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t change their style; let Cultivate do their thing. Remember that you hire them because they’re better at the project than you are. You should have an idea of what you want; at the same time, let them do what they’re good at. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a nutrition, communications, and consulting company. I do both B2C and B2B services in the health and wellness industry with a focus on food and nutrition. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cultivate?

We wanted to convert our web-based app into a mobile app with cross-platform and cloud-syncing capabilities. Our goals were to improve our UX, increase our visibility, and strengthen our brand positioning. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we scheduled a call with Cultivate and told them what we were trying to do. After that, they delivered the app we needed and shepherded it through the app stores’ review and publication processes. They also ended up doing brand refresh and UI redesign work for us.

The app was a quiz-based platform that tracked users’ results over time. Refining the app’s UI, the team built the data visualization portion of the platform. Our original version was crude and displayed limited data. To resolve that, Cultivate worked on an elegant way to let users see short- and long-term trends and communicate plenty of information in an intuitive way. 

In addition to those things, Cultivate also proposed an entirely different element to the app that I never thought of doing before. They wanted to integrate content from our other channels right into the app. That way, the app would be more usable and could draw more users into our business more deeply than the original app. They came up with this idea based on their research into our business and by listening to our goals.  

In terms of tools, Cultivate used InVision, which allowed them to build the app’s mock-up. This enabled me to go through its functions as if I was using it on a phone; it let us visualize and clarify the flow of the app. When I needed to check something or stay aware of what they were doing, I used InVision.

What is the team composition?

I primarily interfaced with Mark (Co-Founder & President) and Jenny (Senior Product Manager & UI/UX Designer). Other people worked behind the scenes, although I had limited interactions with coders and developers.

How did you come to work with Cultivate? 

Cultivate came through a referral from someone in my personal network who knew one of their principals. We also interviewed a handful of different firms that we identified either through an internet search or a personal network of referrals. 

Ultimately, Cultivate’s proposal and presentation blew all other vendors out of the water in terms of research. I was dazzled when we got on our first call; they simply knew all about us and every corner of what we were doing. They looked at our original app and told us what they thought about it even before we spent any amount of money on them. In short, we were truly impressed with the amount of research they did, so we chose them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $20,000–$25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from April–September 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t had any specific success metrics in terms of referral traffic or installations, but we’ve received highly favorable responses from our existing audiences. Around 3,000 users of the original app have transitioned to the new app. The transition involved some fairly fancy footwork in terms of exporting their usage histories, so we had to make sure we didn’t lose any users in the process. Cultivate took an extraordinary amount of care in helping us through this tricky transition, making it seamless for our users. They worked hard to make it happen. 

Moreover, everybody was impressed and dazzled by the new app. The feedback was highly positive. In fact, I received several emails from users who told us how much they appreciated all the work we’ve done. On top of that, Cultivate provided support and materials that we didn’t expect; they even designed email templates, press releases, and a whole new landing page for the app. Simply put, the marketing support that they provided was truly unanticipated. I had no idea that they were going to step up and do all of those things. 

Ultimately, I felt that Cultivate was a part of our company. They thought about everything that we might need and didn’t simply stop working for us when our contract ended. 

How did Cultivate perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of project management, Cultivate was truly responsive and kept in touch with us. There was a long period where we weren’t communicating unless I wanted to talk to them. I appreciated that because I had so much confidence in them. In simple words, the team was highly independent and self-sufficient but was also responsive to my questions. On top of that, they were also highly personable, so it felt great working with them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I worked with two other development companies in the past, but Cultivate provided an entirely different level of experience for us both in the development process and the end results. They were in a wholly different league of developers. 

Meanwhile, the way Cultivate saw their role in our business also stood out. The team was so much more than app developers or designers; they truly functioned as if they were a stakeholder in our business. From a marketing, customer service, and accounting perspective, the team was deeply codependent on us in the best possible way. They even gave me a marketing video that I could use for promotions; it was beautiful and professionally produced.

Overall, I wish I had another project to work with them right now. We had such an enjoyable and successful collaboration that I’d definitely hire them again.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have confidence in Cultivate’s attention to detail. Even if you don’t tell them your goals, they’ll find out. Moreover, to be fully successful in your engagement, you need to be open-minded to the ideas that they’ll bring to the table that might not be a part of your original vision. Such ideas can turn your project into something even more valuable than you anticipate. In other words, don’t keep them in a box; let them do their thing. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Mvmnt, a freight technology startup. Our tech platform connects companies with shipment needs to nearby truck drivers across the country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cultivate?

We needed a new website and branding strategies to amplify our online presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cultivate’s initial work for us centered around brand messaging and strategies, which involved logo and business card redesign and rewriting our company's mission statement. 

Upon accomplishing all the necessary branding and design elements, Cultivate has developed our website using WordPress, focusing on its UI to implement our particular design and functionality preferences. They’ve integrated product and career pages into our platform, and they’ve taken our team’s headshot photos, which we’ve put up on our information page.

We continue to rely on Cultivate’s site maintenance services, and they’re responsible for implementing site updates when necessary.

What is the team composition?

We work with Chris (Co-Founder & Executive Creative Director), Kimberly (Brand Strategist), and Wally (Design Director).

How did you come to work with Cultivate?

I found them on Google while searching for potential local agencies to onboard for this project. I checked their website, and I was impressed with their extensive portfolio that mirrored their familiarity with our industry. Additionally, I also discovered that they worked with one of our customers in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Cultivate’s team started in May 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cultivate has seamlessly put together a professional-looking website that’s successfully elevated our online presence. I don’t have exact KPIs to share, but I can confirm that our investors and internal stakeholders have expressed their liking for the website, pointing out its straightforward and improved UI. We’re looking forward to achieving more milestones with the help of their team’s expertise.

How did Cultivate perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily communicate via email and Zoom. Cultivate accommodates both our feedback and requests professionally, so all our change requests are processed within quick turnaround times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cultivate’s understanding of the complexity of our industry and target market has helped them flesh out spot-on solutions, which have addressed our branding and development needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly can’t think of anything in that regard — Cultivate has even exceeded our expectations with their top-notch performance.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear in communicating your goals and preferences to their team. Additionally, identify your target market and take your time in explaining the ins and outs of your industry to help them devise tailored solutions for your business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of a family-owned investment company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cultivate?

We needed their team’s web development and branding expertise.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cultivate’s initial task for us centered around website development. They built our platform from scratch and based the iterations on our brainstorming efforts and functionality and design preferences. I specifically wanted them to focus on optimizing its UX by giving our customers options for seamless payment methods. Over the course of the development process, they created five iterations to apply panel and design changes.

As for our branding pipeline, we tasked Cultivate to generate brand strategies that mirrored the mission and vision of our family business. Their team also conducted thorough research to determine which industry-specific strategies worked best to get the word out about our company. Cultivate then proceeded with designing our logo based on the color scheme they chose for us. Additionally, their team came up with our tagline, which we still use on our website to date.

Cultivate currently performs web hosting-related tasks for us. They update our site content on a quarterly basis and put up new web links for our customers when necessary.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Cultivate’s co-founders.

How did you come to work with Cultivate?

We knew one of Cultivate’s co-founders as a family friend, so it was easy to reach out to their company when we needed their services. We were confident that they could deliver the results we needed because their company was known for the high-quality projects they took on in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $25,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off our partnership with Cultivate in December 2019, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cultivate has done a great job in understanding the right aesthetic for our business — the main reason why our company has entrusted them with our branding efforts for quite some time now. They have a natural talent for optimizing the visual aspects of a business, and that’s well-reflected in their deliverables every time.

How did Cultivate perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicated with their team via email and regular in-person meetings. Cultivate generally meets our project management expectations, but there are times when some tasks take them a while to finish. However, this is understandable since any artistic work takes time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re most impressed with their capacity to comprehend and implement the right branding approach for us — they understand the importance of a good logo and a striking tagline.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Cultivate can benefit from a more articulate scoping and timeline management approach. Additionally, they can be more transparent in defining the services included for every price point they negotiate.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be particular in outlining your needs to their team. If you’re hiring them for creative work, you have to consider that this aspect requires artistic liberty, so you’ll need to have clear goals from the get-go.