Five by Five

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the head of marketing and communications at a global agricultural company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Five by Five?

We engaged Five by Five's team to help us optimize our startup brand through market research and strategy development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Five by Five initially conducted market research to identify our customer persona, brand architecture, and our company's role in the industry. Additionally, their team studied our market positioning to determine our qualitative and quantitative impact on both B2C and B2B clients.

Upon collating their findings, Five by Five devised a creative brief for our logo design. They then built our company logo, tagline, and visual identity from scratch, incorporating our vision and core values into each branding material. After completing those deliverables, they submitted the finalized brand guidelines, which we deployed across all our promotional materials.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 10–15 resources from Five by Five, including their director, project manager, copywriters, designers, and research team.

How did you come to work with Five by Five?

We launched a vetting process for both local and international agencies. Five by Five easily secured the role of being our partner because of their global reach, skill set, and pragmatic approach.

What is the status of this engagement?

The branding project ran from April–October 2021.

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

Five by Five produced in-depth research solutions that fit well into our visual identity and brand positioning. They delivered well-founded results that led to brand-specific and innovative materials, effectively promoting our business. While no specific metrics were recorded since we just kicked off our brand launch, from our perspective, Five by Five met all our quality-based standards and impressed our board with their deliverables that required zero revisions.

How did Five by Five perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via weekly online meetings and relied on Wroke for project management. Five by Five was on top of their project management game — our original 8-month timeline was cut down by two months because of their quick turnaround times and faultless communication channels.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were most impressed with their go-ahead and detail-oriented approach. We faced some setbacks like any other project, but they willingly solved those with their proactive mindset and resourceful solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The pandemic-related border closures prohibited us from conducting in-person meetings, which could've sped up the brainstorming process. Apart from that, I couldn't fault their team for anything.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clearly explain your market offering and listen to their reliable and passionate ideas. Five by Five is an exceptional partner with genuine interests in understanding the ins and outs of their client's business, so you can trust them to deliver your exact needs.

Please describe your company and your position there.

EMAGINEER is a new form of play. We blur physical and digital play by combining imagination, drawing, photography and building to reinvigorate LEGOfor users through hyper-personalisation.

For what projects/services did your company hire Five by Five?

We are a startup so adding smart capable experts to our team has been essential. We hired Five by Five to assist with strategy, content, marketing and advertising but don't see this as a client/provider relationship. We work with Five by Five because they are our partner.

What were your goals for this project?

Test our minimum viable product, test our product-market fit, prepare our launch strategy, establish measurable metrics and to be able to confirm that Five by Five are authentic experts and are committed to our success.

How did you select Five by Five?

We were referred to Five by Five in the first instance. Matt Lawton (Five by Five MD) was immediately available to us and his expertise was readily apparent from the very first call.

Matt was always looking for ways to add value to the relationship and was incredibly authentic from day one as he was helping us without a formal engagement or with any money changing hands.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Five by Five's work has been across the whole of our business from; branding and logo work assisting raise funds from investors launch strategy launch budgets marketing metrics and so much more.

What was the team composition?

We have worked closely with Matt (MD) and the Five by Five team. Matt is our day to day contact and team members are brought in whenever their expertise is required.

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

As we are building to commercial release the measurable metrics are a little premature. However, the work done by Five by Five has been integral to us raising capital and ensuring that when we come out of Beta we are prepared to launch EMAGINEER to the world.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Perfect workflow. Matt and the team are readily available by phone and email. Video chats are organised when needed and an agenda with clear outcomes and ownership of tasks is always part of the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Being able to leverage the expertise of the company that launched worldwide phenomenons like Fortnite through direct ongoing contact with Matt in an authentic, real relationship that grows stronger over time has been amazing.

I know that Matt and the team aren't interested in one-off launch budgets, they are investing in our success as that's where everyone involved gets to work on cool projects, has job satisfaction and benefits financially.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only improvement we could recommend would be some more face to face time between everyone involved. However we acknowledge we are in the middle of a pandemic, we are in different states and our hometown is currently in Stage 4 lockdown.

What we have been able to build with Five by Five despite these challenges is the best testament to their expertise, desire to help and commitment to being totally authentic.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of Sovereign Stones and have responsibility for all facets of the eCommerce business; developing and pioneering innovative solutions to disrupt the luxury jewellery space.

For what projects/services did your company hire Five by Five?

Sovereign Stones engaged Five by Five to assist in developing the brand, creative assets and digital marketing launch strategy.

What were your goals for this project?

To develop the brand identity, launch strategy and creative content.

How did you select this vendor?

There was two main criteria for selecting a vendor; Firstly we were seeking a vendor who demonstrated an intimate understanding of the challenges of start up companies in the digital, luxury space with a prove track record in this niche.

Most importantly, Sovereign Stones sought a team who were were honest, transparent, flexible and who shared our vision.

Our trust and judgement has been validated, particularly given the challenges of launching into the COVID-19 environment. We are indebted to Five by Five for their loyalty, courage and ongoing support given the enormous task we have set them.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Five by Five delivered the brand identity, associated creatives and launch strategy. FBF worked to design the Sovereign stones logo and colour palette that would better align with who we are and the experience that our customers are seeking.

In each step of the launch process, FBF have partnered us as by critical friend and protector of the brand to ensure that we did not stray, particularly during challenging times. Digital marketing channels were the primary source of engagement for FBF.

Content creation, monitoring and reporting were all completed by FBF with a critical eye for improving and learning from each experience. This approach allowed us to pivot and shape our launch strategy based on a data informed approach and protect the integrity of the brand and budget.

FBF were tasked with launching the company digitally in Sydney, New York and London. Unfortunately COVID-19 interfered with these plans and with FBF guidance we pivoted our launch approach to something that was more suitable and coherent for a new company in the luxury space, confronted by the' new norm'.

What was the team composition?

I worked with members of the FBF team. This included critical engagement with the principal at pivot points.Account Managers, creative directors, IT developers have been directly engaged at various appropriate times through the journey.

FBF have even discussed staff recruitment as a means of resourcing any pivots in strategy by Sovereign Stones. This flexibility and commitment to our company has given us extraordinary confidence.

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

We have successfully ascertained a brand affiliation with a high profile personality. Given the symbiotic nature of these collaborations, this has given Sovereign Stones great confidence about the future success of the campaign.

In addition, social media interactions have resulted in positive engagements with potential customers despite the complexities of trying to educate a sophisticated buyer within a new paradigm.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Work was always completed on time and within budget. Weekly updates and regular written communication was received at key juncture points within the project.

FBF responded to feedback and made adjustments to meet our expectations. They were also willing to provide greater clarity around creative decisions or educate our team when required.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

FBF 's ability to strategise with innovation and adaptability to suit the brands evolving needs.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are in no position to offer feedback in this regard to a team who have provided us within unparalleled support during the most difficult and trying of circumstances.

Five by Five Principal Matt Lawton has been outstanding in every aspect of his leadership and support for Sovereign Stones. We are incredibly fortunate to have worked with Matt and his team!

Please describe your company and your position there.

Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher. One of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market, we deliver authentic gaming experiences and services across PC, console and mobile platforms. My role at the time was Country Manager for the ANZ markets.

For what projects/services did your company hire Five by Five?

One of the challenges for online players receiving the best experience possible is latency. Essentially how long it takes for your inputs (and the server's outputs) to be sent, received and responded to. A key way to resolve this is to place server clusters in close proximity to players. However many games don't have dedicated servers close to ANZ. Wargaming was going to fix that. And we hired Five By Five to help us launch this and build excitement within the Wargaming community.

What were your goals for this project?

The key goals for this project were simple.

1. Creatively announce that the dedicated servers were launching (as the message around servers can be a little 'dry').
2. As this was the first time Wargaming was seriously investing in this market, make the messages' tone of voice 'Australian'
3. Keep the creative idea simple to produce, as the marketing budget wasn't huge.

How did you select this vendor?

I'd worked with Five By Five previously in my role as VP Global Brand Management at THQ based in LA. Once I'd moved back to Australia and started at Wargaming, the time to launch was very quick so I knew Five By Five could deliver what was needed in this short time frame.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Five By Five developed the entire creative platform across channels. This included broadcast, digital and social. They created key assets as well as used existing assets from the Wargaming portfolio. They also helped with PR outreach and events.

What was the team composition?

The core team was 5 people. From MD to Creative Director to Account Management.

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

Being an online game company, we are able to track all player behaviour whilst in the gaming environment. The server originally launched for only a few peak hours each day with the plan to extend the hours it operated once the demand was shown for it. We estimated extending the server's live time after 2 weeks. Due to the demand, we opened up the server after 48 hours. The launch by Five By Five played a critical role in this achievement.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between Five By Five and Wargaming was incredibly effective. Their nimble team size allows collaboration and then decisions to be made extremely quickly. In a fast-paced, ever-changing environment like video games, having a partner able to keep up is important.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Although they aren't as large as a multinational, they have heavyweight personnel there. Senior people working directly on the business that know what they're doing. Too many agencies push important work to inexperienced juniors, which is usually where errors are made. No such issues here.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None around this project.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is a tech start up in the e-commerce industry. I am the marketing and partnerships manager.

For what projects/services did your company hire Five by Five?

We have engaged Five by Five to help us build our launch plan, plus product and brand development.

What were your goals for this project?

To launch the new e-commerce platform successfully.

How did you select this vendor?

I researched online first and then spoke to Matt via video link. I felt we fit immediately.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Five by Five have helped us to prepare all facets of launch - from input at a product level, to UX, website design, social media, networking and introductions, branding, positioning, strategy and launch marketing plans. They have essentially been an extension of our internal team.

What was the team composition?

Being a start up then internal team was originally just myself, we have now grown to include 3 others and work closely with Five by Five.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We are yet to launch so do not have tangible measurements on that front, but we have had early success in onboard two partner streams which are essential for our platform. Early indications are very promising.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We mostly deal via google docs to manage WIP (esp recently with COVID19). This way the whole team can work together simultaneously. Five by Five have always stuck to promised timeframes and I have not once ever had to prompt or follow them up.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They become true partners — we have formed a relationship beyond the standard working arrangements — I feel they are part of our team. They are completely candid and will always look to assist in every way they can.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It's hard to find faults to be honest - they are very easy to work with. If I had to be picky, in the earlier days I would say that their creative design was their weakness, but in saying that, recently this has been great.