Daake

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a franchise holding company that owns several well-known franchise brands populated throughout the US and that provide printing, signs and marketing services to various industries.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

We needed help with rebranding.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daake has rebranded two of our brands that have been in the market for more than 50 years. At the start of the project, they put together a comprehensive schedule and brand development strategy. Their team compiled strategic research and led our organization through their proprietary branding process. They conducted several interviews with key stakeholders; they also led workshop activities and completed surveys with our end-customers, franchisees and our advisory councils. 

After these completed these steps, Daake helped us design, develop, and refine branding positions and strategies and create new logos. Their team utilized several technologies for the design work, including Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. They weren't involved in any trademarking, but we consulted with them to get third-party validation on our approaches.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with about six teammates from Daake, including Greg Daake (Principal & Creative Director) and several account management, design, video production, project management, and business development teammates.

How did you come to work with Daake?

I didn't put an RFP out because I find the companies who receive them often don't take them seriously. Instead, we did extensive research online into branding agencies and received some recommendations and reviews from our peers. We identified 12 agencies of varying sizes, experience, and industry focus. 

We did a full review of several branding agencies and narrowed it down to three vendors. We ended up selecting Daake because they specialized in rebranding. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent somewhere between $100,000–$200,00.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership began in November 2021. 

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

We plan to measure the impact of the new branding in the long-term. However, we've just introduced our new logo to our franchisees at our annual convention, so there aren't any metrics to track just yet. Anecdotally, our franchisees were delighted with the new designs. Our old brand identity hadn't been updated in a number of years.  The modern, contemporary design is fresh and has been met with great feedback. We expect the new branding to endure for a long time.

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

Daake has been exceptional. They've kept our project on schedule and met all agreed-upon deliverables by their deadlines. Their team has even delivered within budget.

We communicate through several channels. We've engaged with them in person and had several Zoom and phone calls. We also email Daake's team. We've even had their principal owner travel to our event and participate in our keynote presentation at our conference. In general, we couldn't be happier with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Daake excels at brand strategy, especially when it comes to rebranding and repositioning companies in the market. Daake went above and beyond on a variety of fronts.  All of the team seem like A-players and it shows.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We've been extremely pleased with Daake's service, support, and results. In this case, compared to projects with other service providers, I don't believe there is anything they could've done better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd suggest that customers follow Daake's processes. They have a very unique approach to brand development. Customers may be uncertain of the outcomes of the processes, but by follow their approach customers will get to where they've intended to go.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner/founder of a real estate development firm that builds urban infill apartments

For what projects/services did your company hire Daake, and what were your goals?

With each of our new developments we hire DAAKE to create and design the entire brand essence. This includes. name, logo, content and architectural branding enhancements.

How did you select this vendor?

They were introduced to us by another vendor who realized that the level of branding needs were not being met but our previous provider- we have high standards;-)

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

They started by being present during the building design and stay involved as the branding and building design progressed. In addition they worked closely with me to understand the vision for the project, which allows all of us to arrive at the personality of the project.

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

I worked directly with the owner and lead creative designer.

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

It's been a mind blowing experience. We get so many comments and market acceptance all because of the brand positioning.

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

We meet on an as needed basis and this took many forms- in person, face to face, on the fly brainstorming etc.

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

They will reach into your mind and pull out the brand essence that you are unable to formulate yourself. It's really a magic show.

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

The improvement comes from our end- work hard to be open about your feels ( gut, vision, thoughts, etc.) with DAAKE so they have a great canvas to start from.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the primary owner of a video production and photography company that works for corporate and marketing clients.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

We hired Daake to revamp our branding and logo design.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daake’s branding process was very straightforward. They conducted research into the market we wanted to appeal to and evaluated our standing in it. Once we completed that process, Daake developed a new logo based on their research. Their team presented a few design variations at each step of the project, allowing us to give feedback on how well they fit our vision. After we provided feedback, Daake’s team executed it and delivered a final logo design. In addition to the logo, they also delivered new branding guidelines and identity. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with Greg (Principal & Creative Director), and there was a larger team working in the background. 

How did you come to work with Daake?

We were both located in Omaha, and I've worked with Greg in various capacities over the last 15 years. So it made sense to hire Daake for this project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project with Daake was from August–December 2019.

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

We don’t have any quantifiable data on the partnership results, but my customers have provided positive feedback. Everyone really likes the new branding and often inquires about the company who executed the project. None of the logos I’ve launched for this company have received this much positive feedback or generated as much brand awareness as the one Daake designed. 

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

Daake exceeded our expectations in terms of project management, although we didn’t use a project management tool because of the small size of the project. We primarily communicated through emails or phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Daake’s team is incredibly creative — they provide designs beyond what their clients have even considered. Daake’s processes are extremely thorough so that they can unearth all the client’s needs. They offer a wide breadth of services despite being a smaller team; they can cover a multitude of creative areas. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for Daake to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to go into the project with clear expectations that align with the resources provided, but still be open to opportunities or ideas they haven’t anticipated. It’s also essential to trust Daake’s process. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO of a consumer electronics, AI-enabled cooking device. We recently launched our products in February.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

As a new company with new products, we approached Daake to help us with branding and market research.

What was the scope of their involvement?

There were three major categories of services. Branding was first. They came up with the brand for our business and products: the look and feel, logo, colors, and the brand guidelines for our products. Second, they did market research to help us determine what functionalities would be important to consumers and what the direction of the brand should be. Their brand work wasn’t based off of abstract ideas, but legitimate market research. The third service area was content creation — specifically video production and photography in the early days before our product launch. They rendered our prototype, allowing users to see what it would look like in action.

Anybody can generate a logo, but not everyone can extract important information from multiple partners. Daake captured the personality of our product in the logo with its colors, patterns, and other images. They combined all those things into a palette and allows you to select what fits your new brand.

One of their partners put together the research. They have contacts with market research firms that go out and interview and survey respondents, and Daake guides that team in aggregating and interpreting those results.

For video production, they provided everything, including the videographer, the talent, and all the equipment. We helped with scripting, but it was nice as a new company to not have to handle the whole process from beginning to end. The deliverable was a video for our crowdfunding campaign, which was an introduction to our product and company.

What is the team composition?

We had three main contacts throughout, but there were others that worked on the project as well. The owner has his fingerprints on everything that goes on there, so we felt like we had a guide for the project. I don’t think that’s something you get everywhere.

How did you come to work with Daake?

I had some experience with them about 10 years ago at another company and put them on the list while finding a brand partner for this position. We evaluated them against three other firms based on their presentations and evaluations and chose them because they were the best fit for our personality.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2020 until July 2021.

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

It’s hard to put down metrics of any kind for marketing, but the quality they delivered has given us instant credibility as a new company. They’re able to provide brands and ideas and guidance that we weren’t able to even think of as a new company. We didn’t have a marketing department at that point, and they acted in that capacity on our behalf in the early days. Their professionalism was key.

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a dedicated project manager throughout the work, along with a weekly meeting. They did well managing deadlines.

Leading up to our crowdfunding campaign, we used Microsoft Project to manage the internal and external work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their personal touch stands out because it allowed them to understand our people and our product. Even in firms we’ve worked with since, I feel like they don’t have this touch.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them as experts and use their advice and experience to guide your process.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the VP of enrollment management of Servite High School, a college preparatory school.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

We needed someone to help us with branding.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daake helped us understand the essence of our brand and provided us with branding, graphic design, and the production of our marketing materials. They refined and modernized our existing logo and did so by connecting it to our community’s past logo.

Moreover, they guided us through the creative process and meetings and allowed us to have conversations about the direction of our branding.

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with a brand strategist, creative director, graphic designer, and copywriter.

How did you come to work with Daake?

I found Daake online and we decided to engage with them based on their experience and past work on a school that I thought had great branding.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere between $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2019–April 2020.

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

Daake helped significantly increase our fundraising efforts and enrollment rates thanks to their branding work that’s been very much well-received by the community.

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great from a project management standpoint as every deadline was met just as planned. We typically communicated through email and video calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with the level and quality of their work, as well as their thorough process — they just had a genuine interest in the success of the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind because I was really satisfied with the results of the partnership.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise you to do market research so you can fully understand your goals and what you’re trying to achieve in terms of brand initiatives.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

At the time, I was the founder and CEO of Hail Varsity magazine. We were a subscription magazine, a website, and a radio show, so we were a public-facing brand.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

We were looking to build a brand, including logo, name, brand guide, and so on. We went to them for assistance on that process.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After an initial description of what we were looking for, we agreed to work with Daake. We started by building out a brand guide. We had an experimental and creative process to determine what the brand would look and feel like. They took us through the DNA of our company and came back with five potential versions of logos and jumping points.

Once we selected the finalists, we did a deeper dive into the brand and the design for our magazine, website, and all the different products we were building. Then, they empowered us to work down the road without them so we wouldn’t have to come to them for everything.

They initially spent a lot of time getting to know us and our goals and looked into our customers to figure out where we needed to go. Once we settled on the final logo, we talked about the brand guidelines and how to protect the brand moving forward. Also, they gave us feedback on things we should incorporate into the website and some great ideas for the content and how to present it.

In summary, Daake designed multiple versions of our logo to use in different situations, some video pre-rolls, and merchandise. They built out the skeleton for our brand, and then we took it from there.

What is the team composition?

Several people were involved, including the founders Greg (Principal & Creative Director) and Lisa (VP of Operations). At different project stages, we worked with other 3–5 people. Some of them were more involved in the beginning, and others were involved in other parts of the process. Overall, the team included the founder and 2–3 people of his team.

How did you come to work with Daake?

I knew about them through mutual acquaintances, and they were 60 miles down the road from us. 

How much have you invested with them?

It was between $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2012. The primary work was done in 3–6 months, but we went back to them for advice over the next four years. Now, I have a different job, working with them and some of their clients in a different role.

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

When we started, we wanted to position ourselves. We were a new company, so nobody in the market knew anything about us. However, we were well-received, and one consistent feedback was that people loved our brand and the name and look. They felt we were a premium product, which was one of our goals. Without telling what we were trying to accomplish, people recognized us for that, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Daake.

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t need many technological tools because it was a hands-on, physical process. Most of the work was done in person. We looked at the bulletin board, played around with material things, and looked at printed versions of the work.

We did some in-person phone calls and emails, but most of our communication was in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had a very creative approach. Many companies can design logos, but Daake had an excellent methodology to determine our brand's look and feel. When it comes to branding, it’s not just about turning in 10 different designs and choosing one. They did their research to get a creative result, and it was a very involved process. Overall, it was a unique experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there wasn’t anything. It was one of the best working experiences I’ve ever had in my entire career.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anybody building or reimagining their brand should at least have a conversation with Daake. Their approach is curious and compassionate; they’re looking to help their partners, not close a deal. Also, their brand-building process is pretty exciting.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the executive creative director for Loyola Marymount University (LMU). LMU is a Jesuit higher education institution in Los Angeles with 19 NCAA Division I athletic teams.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

We hired Daake to look at our athletic facilities. They were old and dated, and they had competing visual identities, which accrued over time.

We decided to do a comprehensive visual identity change in 2019. So, in anticipation of these changes, we brought Daake in to look at our athletic facilities and assess what we might need to do in order to integrate our athletic facilities' aesthetics into our new visual identity.

This ultimately led to a comprehensive overhaul of all of our athletic spaces, both internally and externally. Daake has provided the design and installation oversight for this project. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daake began this project by designing a brand new floor for our basketball court. They then redid our entire basketball arena, as our men’s and women’s basketball teams are NCAA Division I teams and play on national television.

In the arena, Daake innovated a new way to capture team accolades on banners, redid the paint scheme, and added new signage. They also overhauled our concessions and on-site merchandise vendors. 

From there, we tackled our other athletic facilities. We have 19 Division I sports teams in total, with venues for soccer, baseball softball, swimming, tennis, golf and more. Daake took a comprehensive look at all of our athletic spaces—inside and out—to revamp the whole fan experience. The goal was to present ourselves and our visual identity in an entirely new way. 

Because of their success with this complete branding overhaul, we assigned them an additional project and expanded their scope. In the midst of upgrading the branding of our facilities, our university became the venue for the sixth Democratic Presidential Primary Debate, hosted by PBS NewsHour and Politico. 

We were awarded the debate with only six weeks to plan for it. It became necessary to quickly makeover our entire campus with our new visual identity. We needed to prepare for the 3,000 visitors, the national media, and the six presidential candidates who were about to descend upon our campus. 

In preparation, we executed 8–9 signage installations in high-visibility venues. Daake had to bring in multiple designers to execute these incredibly complicated sign installations on buildings, which were necessary to complete a project of this scope.

This project was the quickest overhaul of our campus' image in our history. Thank goodness Daake was already working for us when we became the hosts of the debate because that project would have been impossible without them already on-the-ground and knowing our branding mission.

What is the team composition?

We interact with three people regularly. Underneath the surface, there’s a team of designers powering away, most of whom I don’t interact with directly.

How did you come to work with Daake?

They had experience branding facilities of our size as well as branding athletic venues. Very few firms have expertise in this area, and they brought a work history that nobody else had.

Looking at multiple other consultants and vendors, Daake was, far and away, our best choice. This was an incredibly important project that had significant financial backing, so we needed to make sure we picked the best firm.

How much have you invested with them?

This is a $2.3–$3 million project. It was very significant to get the funding for this overhaul. We’ve invested over $200,000 with Daake alone.

What is the status of this engagement?

They put in a proposal in the summer of 2018, and they began work in November of 2018. Their work picked up in 2019, and the relationship is ongoing.

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

The feedback on this project has been great. This is our most visible identity transformation in university history.

Rebranding a university can be a negative process—people hate changes at a higher education institution. The logo changes initially resulted in lots of negative pushback from all different corners of campus. But, once Daake began working and implementing the design change in our athletic facilities, we started getting pretty great compliments.

An anecdote for showing Daake's impact is when LMU hosted Gonzaga in December.

Gonzaga was then the number one Division I NCAA Men’s Basketball team in the country according to the AP Poll. National media descended upon our campus for the game. Gonzaga is in our conference, and they beat us pretty badly. At the end of the game, SBNation ran a story on the “Top 10 Takeaways from the Gonzaga–Loyola Marymount University Game”.

Their number four takeaway was a shoutout to us for our rebranding. It’s never fun to lose a basketball game, but that was amazing receiving that compliment. Our work with Daake received immediate and high-profile feedback from the largest independent sports media brand. This made me know that we were on the right track working with Daake.

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent. I feel bad how much we have them work, but they’re so responsive. They anticipate our needs. We have great mutual respect, and I feel like I’m their only client. Their customer service and project management are unparalleled.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They care, they’re responsive, they have great expertise, and I trust them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re fantastic.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate—up, down, and sideways. Whenever we needed them to do anything, Daake was right there for us.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked at Loyola Marymount University, a small Jesuit school in Los Angles. I’m one of the senior associate athletic directors in charge of internal operations, among other things.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

We engaged with them during our school’s rebranding process. During that time, athletics was afforded the opportunity to select a vendor to reimagine our athletic branding.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We outlined a laundry list of needs that included all of the spaces that we needed to have rebranded. All of them came back with a range of suggestions and pricing. From there, we completely reworked and designed our basketball arena and lobby areas. That started us off on the path to success with them. It’ll likely take 6–8 more months to complete.  

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked primarily with three contacts from their team: Greg (Principal & Creative Director, Daake), Steven (Senior Creative Director, Daake), and Susan (Director of Project Management, Daake).  

How did you come to work with Daake?

We interviewed several groups and asserted that we liked them best. They paid the most attention to the needs we expressed and the vision we were hoping for. We could tell that we were immediately comfortable with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’re spending six figures with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in late spring of 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.  

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

So far, the feedback has been great. A large publication wrote a review, commenting on our rebrand inside of the arena. There’s been a significant amount of positive feedback.  

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

We have daily contact with their team, and they’re terrific people. It’s been a pleasure to work with them. We use email, phone calls, and texting to communicate. Steven, while designing aspects of the project, has been on-site several times.

He’s supervised installations to ensure that they were done correctly. We really appreciate that effort, because he can make adjustments on the spot to make sure that we’re receiving exactly what was planned.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re down-to-earth, caring people. That makes them very easy to collaborate with. Our team has gravitated to that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve been responsive and open to communication, never pushing back when we have feedback for them. They’re terrific. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They understand our vision, so that’s made it very easy to work with them. In addition to our department, there are tons of other people on campus who are now interested in and engaged with their team as we conduct this rebrand. We don’t have to work hard to get the most out of our engagement.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the VP of sales and marketing at AMAROK, a security company. We specialize in electric security fences for commercial properties.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

Our company name was causing some confusion in the marketplace and consumers associated us with a different product. We were hoping to change our name and rebrand our organization to make it easier for the market to understand what we do.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daake came up with a new name for our company. After hours of internal research by their team, including employee surveys and in-person interviews, they spoke to external sources as well. Then, their team had the company leadership come up with a mood board that defined our brand, including images and colors that capture our essence.

Based on our mood board and their research, they came back with a list of named and taglines. We went through an iterative process and held focus groups to pick a name. Our teams came to a decision together.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 6–7 members of the Daake team.

How did you come to work with Daake?

We put out an RFP through an agency search firm. After going through five agencies and interviewing them on their processes, we decided to work with Daake. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Daake ran from April–October 2019.

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

We have not yet launched the new name to the public, but plan on doing so on February 1. When we first interview our employees, only 33% approved of our name. After making the switch, 98% approve of the new name. This puts our brand in a much better position.

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

Daake never misses a deadline. Every week we have an update call, which is always helpful. Their team never cancels.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Daake gives every project a personal touch. Greg (Principal & Creative Director, Daake) is a marketing genius. He’s a really great guy and would give all the credit to his team, but he brings so much to the table. Their leadership is very strong.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We were between two options and they had a very specific opinion. We chose to go another way that we felt fit us better, but I wouldn’t recommend they stop giving their opinions. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Dive deep into the mood board process, that was key to our success. We thought it was just a creative process and weren’t taking it too seriously but ended up getting really into it. That flipped things for us and made the whole process better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m vice president of marketing and community relations for the children’s hospital and medical center in Omaha. We’re the state’s only children’s hospital.

What challenge were you trying to address with Daake?

For this specific initiative, we needed support for a new branding campaign. I have a longstanding relationship with Daake, so we didn’t initially hire their team for this initiative specifically.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Daake’s process began with understanding our organization. Their team went deeper than basic questions such as what do you want to do and what do you want the project to look like? Their team tried to understand the essence of our organization by talking to key people. Then, they translated that knowledge of how we function and what we do for the community to a message that is easily understood and makes an impact. Daake created the ads for the campaign, which included a 60-second television spot, four 30-second spots, and then two companion spots for primary care. On the radio side, it was six radio spots. There were also print and digital ads. This campaign involved the development of a new theme line, so their team also updated internal materials along the way. We have an ongoing relationship with them, and they’ve helped us with a number of initiatives.

What is the team composition?

Our primary contact was with the president and creative director. At least 3–4 other people were involved, but there could’ve been more.

How did you come to work with Daake?

We have a long relationship with Daake, so the question becomes do they still meet our needs? We continue to work with them because they over deliver and never disappoint us. Daake's in a competitive market and there are a lot of good firms but their investment in us over the years has paid off.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $500,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Daake started working on this campaign in November 2018. The major campaign elements launched in July 2019, so the bulk of the project’s done.

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

At this point, we have about 2,000-page views just for this campaign. We have a lot of metrics across social media platforms as well, but this campaign was not designed to elicit actions such as scheduling appointments. We produced an annual consumer assessment survey that will better tell us how the campaign’s performing.

How did Daake perform from a project management standpoint?

We never had an issue with the quality of their work or deadlines. They were great. We mostly communicated via phone or in person. Their team used digital boards and e-mail too. They were flexible and responsive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Daake’s insightful and connects what the consumer wants with the message that we want to deliver to constituents. They have an insightful way of understanding not only what’s important to us but also what’s important to a consumer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just as they listen to you, it’s important to listen to their creativity, advice, and expertise. If you go into an engagement with something in your mind, executing on that probably isn't their strong suit. Daake shines when they have the freedom to exercise their creative juices to produce something stellar.