Better Brands for a Better Human Condition
DBA is a "Purpose-Driven" Branding and Digital Marketing Agency
DBA specializes in growing brand awareness and customer volumes for purpose-driven brands, such as healthcare and hospitals, wellness, fitness and food chains, finance, higher education and sustainable consumer products.
As a lead Advertising Agency and Brand Consultant, DBA provides research, innovative brand strategy, media, platforms and creative content for emotional connections and measurement at every touchpoint of the consumer journey.
DBA Creative Services:
DBA TURNS CUSTOMERS INTO CO-CREATORS OF BRANDS
Focused on innovative and purpose-driven brands, DBA built a model around the central idea that the best way to lead a category is to create it. It starts with asking questions like, “Do your fans fly your colors?” and “Do your customers camp out the night before a grand opening?” DBA brand strategy is founded on the concept that the future will be built by passion brands and the social movements that share their cause.
DBA quantifies emotional brand equity to understand the impact of digitally connected customers who become brand crusaders. Bringing in-house design, video and interactive productions, DBA creates award-winning advertising campaigns and social media content. The DBA influencer engagement strategy accelerates client media budgets by engaging “raving fans” who will pay a premium and co-create the brand message – as irrational advocates for the brand.
DBA Media Platforms:
GET EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO PROVEN PLATFORMS.
The new competition is Apple Health, Uber Eats and Amazon Prime. DBA creates digital experiences to help brands stay competitive and lead with market disruptive innovation.
DBA partners with Adobe, Salesforce, Healthgrades/Evarient and leads beta tests with Google to keep its clients first to market with best-of-breed solutions for their digital front door. Expertise includes broadcast, search, re-marketing, multi-platform programmatic media and direct marketing automation.

headquarters
other locations
Focus
Portfolio
Consumers Energy, SVS Vision, Fathead, Michigan Medicine, Valley Children's Hospital, Barnes Jewish Hospital, Hungry Howie's, & Lake Trust Credit Union

Health Care Marketing Demo Reel
THE BOTTOM LINE IN HEALTH CARE MARKETING IS MEASURED IN LIVES
The patient is in charge of more healthcare decisions than ever before. We partner with health systems to guide patients in their search for care as well as providing branded experiences that will surprise and delight.
Our cross-functional expertise in retail marketing has been successfully used to implement leadership initiatives within the healthcare industry.
Our approach to healthcare marketing is patient-centered and collaborative, much like the health systems we serve. By bringing together all the disciplines, we can help the right patient find their way to the appropriate treatments. Effectively administered, patient communication can transform healthcare and save lives.

Purpose-Based Digital & Social Marketing
BUILD A PASSION BRAND USING DIGITAL MEDIA – AND CHANGE YOUR WORLD
Do your fans fly your colors? Do your customers camp out the night before a grand opening? The future will be built by passion brands and the social movements that share their cause.
We've quantified emotional brand equity to understand the impact of digitally connected customers who become crusaders. They will pay a premium and co-create your message – as irrational advocates for your brand.
When a purpose-driven brand stands for values greater than its features and benefits, the best advertising comes from its passionate fans, who promote the brand better than it can promote itself.

DOUBLED PATIENT VOLUME: Physician Referral Marketing
THE CHALLENGE: We started with the segment that influenced 64% of patient traffic – physicians. Physicians are busy, and want a simple way to refer patients. Patients are busy, and don't want to wait on hold to make a phone appointment.
THE SOLUTION: After developing a "click-to-refer" mobile ordering app to integrate with the hospital triage system – to help the referring physicians use the app in their daily routine.
THE RESULTS: The platform generated millions of dollars of trackable revenue from the first year of appointments generated. The mobile app doubled the number of referrals. The success of the digital experience platform was so profound, Henry Ford Health System is launching version 2.0 to allow patients to make their own self-referral through voice commands powered by Google Home and an Alexa Skill.

Game On Cancer
Millions of Earned Social Media Impressions
We reached out to the local sports influencers, Herman Moore and the Detroit Lions, firing up the 1.8M social followers.
$15 Million in Donations
We launched with a Super Bowl TV spot, sending the Detroit Lions to the Super Bowl for the first time! The TV spot won an Emmy Award and was instrumental in raising $15M for cancer care at Henry Ford Health System.

Consumers Energy - Hard Hat

Consumers Energy - Frank

Hungry Howie's - Two Two

Hungry Howie's - Fire

Hungry Howie's - The Power of Love, Hope & Pizza

Valley Children's Hospital - Fernando

Flagstar - Craftsmen

Michigan Office of Highway and Safety Patrol - Excuses

SVS Vision - Grandma
Reviews
the project
Advertising & Marketing for Regional Pizza Chain
“DBA does a great job building brands that result in increased sales.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
The organization is Hungry Howie’s Pizza, a regional pizza chain. We operate in 21 states and 565 stores. I’m the EVP of marketing, with oversight of all facets of our marketing and advertising.
What challenge were you trying to address with Daniel Brian Advertising?
Daniel Brian Advertising (DBA) was our full-service advertising agency of record.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They assisted us with traditional and digital advertising. They did a lot of brand work for us to help define the Hungry Howie’s brand. We’re known for flavored crust pizza, so they updated our logo to include Flavored Crust Pizza.
They developed a full host of broadcast support materials, print support materials, and then, prior to leaving, digital materials.
What is the team composition?
When we worked with DBA, it was a small–mid-sized agency. They probably had a staff of about 35 people within all of the various disciplines: account, creative, media, and strategic services.
How did you come to work with Daniel Brian Advertising?
I’ve been with my company for about nine-and-a-half years, so I inherited DBA when I joined as EVP of marketing. I’ll give them accolades because normally, when a new marketing person comes in, you change agencies. However, I did a full assessment of DBA, and I thought they were the right agency for our brand at that time. They were very capable and qualified.
What is the status of this engagement?
I believe the relationship began in 2009; it was kicked off with a campaign in the fourth quarter. Our work together ended in the second quarter of 2017.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Sales is the ultimate parameter when you operate in any retail business. DBA helped to contribute to many quarters of increased growth, and we saw increasing sales for the entire time that we worked with them.
We also look at key metrics through research; we use NPD CREST’s syndicated research to understand how we’re doing as compared to competitive sets. With DBA, we always did very well in most of the advertising measurements, such as awareness and persuasion. DBA does a great job building brands that result in increased sales.
How did Daniel Brian Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?
They were always on time and budget with sales-building ideas. Back then, our communication was mostly email, phone, and face-to-face because they were local in our trading area. I manage our agencies by being part of the process, and they were always open to that. It was easy to have meetings at either of our offices.
One of the great things about working with DBA is the hands-on ownership. Dan (Owner, CEO & Chief Strategy Officer) gets very involved with his clients, so we had a good working relationship with Dan and Matt (Principal, EVP & Creative Director). I enjoyed working with both of them tremendously; they’re gifted and talented. The relationship was one of mutual respect and trust.
What did you find most impressive about them?
There were many impressive things. I was always very impressed with their creativity. For example, they helped execute a promotion in conjunction with the National Breast Cancer Foundation that they named Love, Hope, & Pizza. That has stood the test of time; we still support that campaign 10 years later, and we’ve donated over $3.5 million to the organization. Any great brand has an association with a great cause, and DBA was responsible for that campaign.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They were always a partner, and they grew as we grew.
Any advice for potential customers?
Follow their creative instincts. Dan manages the agency to maximize sales results.
the project
Branding Campaign for Healthcare Company
"They're a team of forward thinkers!"
the reviewer
the review
The client submitted this review online.
Please describe your company and your position there.
I am the Director of Marketing and Brand Management of a $6.5 Billion health care system.
For what projects/services did your company hire Daniel Brian Advertising?
Brand Campaign
What were your goals for this project?
To enhance the health system brand in market
How did you select this vendor?
through an RFP process
Describe the scope of their work in detail.
Develop a multi-channel brand campaign
What was the team composition?
Worked with the owner and president of the agency along with senior staff team members
Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?
Working with this agency we have seen a significant lift in our brand preference.
How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?
workflow was very effective. The agency team was available whenever we called on them.
What did you find most impressive about this company?
They're a team of forward thinkers!
Are there any areas for improvement?
none