IKM

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of a marketing agency, and we work with small and emerging B2B technology companies. We provide them with marketing strategies such as go-to-market strategy (GTM), messaging and positioning, and content creation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IKM Creative?

We hired IKM Creative for a number of different projects. We wanted to utilize their strategic thinking skills for creating digital content, designing websites, developing branding materials, and more. Overall, we wanted an out-of-the-box thinker that would consider both creativity and marketing in terms of reaching our target audience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done over a dozen websites together. That includes developing the platform’s navigational structure, design, branding, and layout. They also help us launch our websites.

Their other work involves branding and design. They also develop sales tools, PowerPoint presentations, datasheets, promotional materials, and other materials that can help support the needs of our third-party clients.

What is the team composition?

I've known Ian (Art Director) for over a decade and primarily work with him directly.

How did you come to work with IKM Creative?

I first met Ian when he was working at another agency, and they were working for my company. He was clearly the most talented designer at their company. We remained in touch even after he had left there. After that, I began to tap him to do projects for me.

We also chose him because he was a great listener and was good at assimilating information. I also liked the fact that he didn’t just bow down to directions. He challenged my thinking and at the same time, respected my decisions.

Additionally, he was not contented at just doing a great job. Instead, he wanted to produce deliverables at the highest level. Above all, he had the skills to execute his ideas and come up with something that we never imagined. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2008, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

KM Creative is a fantastic partner. My agency's clients are thrilled with the design work produced by IKM. The work has been profitable for our agency and has helped us continue to build and grow long-term relationships with our clients.

How did IKM Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

IKM is very organized. We mostly use Google Docs and folders to share materials. We also use email to communicate. However, we don’t have a particularly formalized project management process.

We have deadlines and milestones and IKM Creative has been very good at adhering to those. Additionally, with the many projects we've done together, there may have been times when things slipped a little bit, but I can't recall anything major. When they commit, they're good for it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

IKM Creative is not just a vendor to us. We don’t just give them some brochure or website so that they can do our projects. We know that they’re concerned about the outcome of their work. They care about collaborating and providing us with their creative thinking in order to produce phenomenal results we can be happy with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Though they’ve been hitting their deadlines and getting their job done, it might be helpful if we had more formalized tools and processes for running our projects. However, in general, it really hasn't been an issue. The bottom line is that IKM is organized and gets the work done on time at a very high quality.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open-minded. Recognize that while you have ideas that should be taken to account, you can also open yourself up to even broader thinking. Be willing to go beyond to get the best results from IKM Creative.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP of Communications and Marketing of AHAM

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Trade association that represents the home appliance industry.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire IKM to accomplish?

• Refresh branding for the association
• Become our go-to primary resource for creative design

SOLUTION

How did you find IKM?

Online Search

Why did you select IKM over others?

• Good value for cost
• Exceptional design year after year

How many teammates from IKM were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

IKM has worked on several breative projects including a brand refresh and designing all assocaited creative elements such a stationary, notecards, pop up banners, a suite of signature line graphics etc. In addition they have been retained for the past 4 years for creative brand develpment for our annual conference.  They start with brand/ logo development and apply it to all aspects of the meeting such a web site develoment and icons for our meeting app, pop up banners for on site registration, staging design, programs, signage, social media promotion etc.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Wowing our audience year after year with a very creative, immersive experience unlike other groups.

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

They're extremely responsive, on time, and organized.

What was your primary form of communication with IKM?

Virtual Meeting

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

They way to push our group into completely new creative pathways while maintaining consistency of our brand.

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

no