What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’re very successful as a company, and we have no debt. We spend our own dollars on marketing, and we don’t charge our stores, so we have to get sales response and profits from what our marketing. With id8 as our partner, this has always worked out well.
We now have multiple brands, and id8 has grown with us in all the efforts we engage in with our four brands. It’s been a successful and comfortable relationship, and we’ve gotten some outstanding creative made by id8, which receives comments from people visiting our web page, and from people who look at our collateral. They particularly enjoy how we go about our business, and how we promote our brands. All of this is because of id8’s work.
We’re a small company, in terms of number of employees, but we’re the largest in our field. No one else does what we do within colleges; no one has programs like us; and no one has the same products. We have a foothold in a unique area and id8 has helped us establish it.
How did id8 perform from a project management standpoint?
We have no problem communicating with them, from the top on down. I know that their president is involved in every project, and I know that she has more on her plate than just us, but it’s comforting to know that she’s looking at everything and giving it her stamp. For every project, we determine what we need and when we need it up front, and then they’ll establish a budget for us to approve. They’re always on the money when it’s all said and done, both in terms of timing and delivery.
Sometimes, we have a hard time understanding the time necessary for web page development, and the constant changes that occur. We’re dealing with a highly technical, constantly changing category, and we have a very non-visual president, who likes to get their fingers into projects. This can cause some headaches for everyone, but id8 has done a great job of holding costs to what they quote us.
It’s amazing that, after knowing someone for certain amount time, we can deal with them over the phone, or just shoot them materials in an email, and they’ll back to us with something that’s on target, and very close to being finished.
What did you find most impressive about them?
We’ve always enjoyed working with them and their young, creative talent base. They stand out in terms of understanding our customer and brand, and delivering creative that is fresh and on target. They appeal to us because they’re able to communicate with the millennial and Gen Z customer base, and all of our products and marketing efforts target those demographics.
They also have a strong base of creative talent for tasks outside of their realm, like professional services, photography, and food styling. They have a good list of people, with whom we can work directly, and then coordinate back them on. Our sales literature is more focused on decision makers, but our in-store menus, collateral, web pages, and social media communicates to the end-user. id8 has done an excellent job of understanding that nuance and crafting materials that appeal to both sets.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They’re a very visual firm, and their visual delivery is wonderful, but I occasionally need a bit of copy addressed to corporate-level decision makers, in the case of contract feeders. In those instances, id8 has found individuals for us to work with, but whom weren’t necessarily on their staff. They did develop a group though, partly because of our needs, as well as those of other customers.
Overall, though, we don’t miss with their work. We don’t have a problem with it, and we’ve never had a mistake with it. We’ve never had any issues whatsoever, either from a creative, production, or billing standpoint.
Although id8’s rebranding efforts haven’t made an impact on profits, their work is well-received by audiences. Immense creativity shines through in all of their projects.