IKM

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.

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.

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.

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.