Map & Fire

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Corporate Learning Officer for Emory Executive Education at the Goizueta Business School, responsible for our non-degree professional and executive development programs.

For what projects/services did your company hire Map & Fire?

We wanted to understand the market and positioning for a new type of program offering that is a cornerstone of how we want to be seen and differentiate ourselves. It was important to us that we bring in outside expertise to help us shape this opportunity differently and more imaginatively.

How did you select this vendor?

3 companies were referred to us as potential contenders and through an interview and proposal process we quickly landed on Map & Fire as the ideal partner for us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We asked Map and Fire to conduct research via in-depth interviews and surveys with senior executives; to synthesize the findings from each into insights that would inform our direction and the positioning of this new offering in the market. Through this work they were also able to help shape how we described this new offering in a new and fresh way.

What was the team composition?

We worked closely with the senior team throughout the project.

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

We are about to launch our new offering and have a great deal of confidence that it is built on a good foundation of relevant research, that the approach is solid, the look and feel is fresh and that the program is poised for success in the market.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Map & Fire was extremely responsive to our timetable and proved to be a willing and understanding partner for us.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The groundwork they laid through their preliminary approach was very helpful and the insights they were able to glean from the research was excellent. Most of all their willingness to work in partnership and their obvious interest in us as a client was refreshing.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

None that come to mind.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Operations Manager at Iris Healthcare, a SaaS company providing value-added advance care planning (ACP) through a comprehensive suite of tech-enabled solutions for at-risk providers across member populations aimed at reducing unnecessary care utilization, lowering cost of care, improving care quality, and member experience by ensuring that members receive medical care that is consistent with their values, goals and preferences.

For what projects/services did your company hire Map & Fire, and what were your goals?

Our company is in the process of converting our website from a B2C focus to a B2B focus. We partnered with Map & Fire to facilitate our brainstorming sessions and lead discussions surrounding new messaging that resonated with the C-level executives and healthcare executives.

How did you select this vendor?

We found several companies that we interviewed. Through the selection process we asked for references and work samples as well as met with company representatives. We felt Map & Fire were the best fit for what we were trying to achieve based on this criteria.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

We had several 90 minute sessions where Map & Fire led us through brainstorming sessions and extracted key information and details regarding our product and service offerings, our key differentiators from competition and SWOT analysis. Each session we revisited past ideas and expanded on other topics. By the end they provided us with a complete Brand Positioning Deck with suggested messaging and key points that were discovered during our 5 working sessions.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with two members from their team the Head of Marketing and Business Development and a Brand Strategist.

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

We have been able to utilize some of the new core B2B messaging for several different projects including web, marketing collateral and other marketing projects.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We utilized Basecamp for sharing project files and some communication. We also used email for coordination of meetings and follow up or questions for both teams. Everything was on time and within our schedule.

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

We liked the process that was utilized to walk us through each sessions. Using Basecamp for document sharing allowed us to easily access documents across team members instead of searching email inboxes. They had a personal connection with our field so there was a good amount of knowledge on their part about what we do and who our target audience is.

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

There was not too much that we could suggest for improvement. Maybe the implementation of a Calendar to more easily schedule meetings/sessions directly with them but that was not a deal killer.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-creator of The Death Deck. The Death Deck is both conversation tool and party game that gets conversations started on a topic most people are obsessed with but often afraid to discuss.

For what projects/services did your company hire Map & Fire, and what were your goals?

We have two very different audiences (end-of-life community/game playing adults) and hired Map & Fire for help with brand strategy to reach them both. We also needed help with creating a website that went beyond product and shopping cart, and advice on creating content to drive sales.

How did you select Map & Fire?

I hired Map & Fire a number of years back for a personal project I was working on. I had a great experience with Clay and the team and knew they would be a great fit for brand strategy for The Death Deck.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Map & Fire helped us develop and launch our brand and has grown with us serving as our Chief Brand Officer -- advising us on overall strategy, website design and updates, content, creative marketing, research, and analytics.

How many people from the Map & Fireteam worked with you, and what were their positions?

I often work directly with Clay, but have found the entire Map & Fire team knowledgable, helpful and professional.

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

The creative input and work from Map & Fire has contributed to our overall company growth, including a 200% increase in sales over the last year. We look forward to more success in the years to come.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

By having Map & Fire available as an ongoing resource, we're able to consult on a monthly basis to gather valuable insights on decisions and new opportunities that are always coming up as our brand evolves. As questions come up - they are always prompt to provide a wealth of information and advice to keep our brand on point.

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

We always feel like a valued client working with Map & Fire. They provide incredible resources to help us bring out the best in our messaging and brand strategy and have taken the time to get to know us, our product, and our mission to best serve our brand.

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

So far, everything has run smoothly so I wouldn't change a thing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Eat This Much, a web and app-based meal planning and nutrition platform. Our service creates personalized meal plans based on users' food preferences, budget, and schedule.

For what projects/services did your company hire Map & Fire, and what were your goals?

Eat This Much is a product that appeals to a lot of different types of people -- we help users figure out what to cook, shop for, and eat, something that pretty much everyone deals with.

We were looking for help with narrowing down our target audiences, and the right way to position our branding to appeal to those groups of people.

How did you select Map & Fire?

We evaluated a handful of branding professionals, and Map & Fire exemplified the professionalism and approachability that we were looking for in our own brand. We later found out that he lived locally in Los Angeles, a huge bonus :)

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Map & Fire is very full-service with regards to our branding needs. They started by working worth analytics of our existing customer base to see what our most successful customers are like. They then helped us put together surveys to send to our customers to help us figure out the main reasons people were using our service.

They then analyzed the results, and put together a series of excellent landing pages that we put onto our live website as soon as we could. They also created a cohesive Brand Guidelines document that has been useful whenever we work with contractors and bring on new hires.

How many people from the Map & Fire team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked directly with Clay Ostrom, founder of Map & Fire.

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

I can only share limited information, but we had a significant boost in conversion rates from our new landing pages. We also constantly use the Brand Guidelines documents created by Map & Fire, and share them with all of our contractors and new hires.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had regular daily communication over slack, as well as weekly meetings over Zoom. Very hands-on coordination style. They are a big help in our needs, we continue to work with their team.

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

When working with Map & Fire, we feel like they're a part of our company. They regularly reach out with new ideas for us even when we're not in the middle of a project, and it's awesome to know they're thinking about us.

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

Nothing comes to mind.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder and CMO of Hi-Lo Liquor Market - we are a modern take on the neighborhood bodega with a focus on craft beer, small production wines and artisan spirits + a market with delicious and healthy snacks,

For what projects/services did your company hire Map & Fire, and what were your goals?

We had an internal vision of who we are but needed to truly define it to our team, to our customers and to ourselves.

How did you select this vendor?

They found us, came into the store and we talked. Once we began to expand (we are doubling in size this year), we realized that we needed Map & Fire to help us get down on paper what we had been carrying around in our heads - to refine it and define it.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

They began by sending us a thorough and thought-provoking questionnaire which our team filled out individually. Then we met with them weekly to do a deep dive and discussion about who we are - this all took place in a format guided by Map & Fire - and who we want to be. This became our Brand Voice/Identity Book and Our Team Core Values, which we have shared with everyone from a Social Media team to our new hires.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked with the entire team at Map & Fire. Great guys!

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

We have been able to hire the right Social Media team - someone who "got" our voice. We have been able to use the Brand Book to better train our team. And, most importantly, as we have been raising money for our growth, we have been able to incorporate some of the dynamic language around our brand to generate more interest and excitement.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They are guides but also collaborators, we had very lively open discussions. But they also gave us homework each week and ran a tight, focused meeting.

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

Their commitment to getting it right for us was truly impressive. THEIR belief in the brand!

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

None at all.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I run Lunacy Productions - an indie film production company that also has the leeway to pursue other related innovative and entrepreneurial endeavors. I am sole sole manager of the LLC, and the chief decision maker at the company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Map & Fire?

Brand strategy, marketing strategy, and implementation for the development of a new online education platform and an event-planning app.

What were your goals for this project?

For the education platform, the primary goal was to translate a course I’ve taught for the last 10 years into an online experience. This course nowo serves as the flagship offering on what will evolve into a more robust educational platform for our company. The app expands on a beta test we created for bringing people together around events and turned it into a fully functional saas product.

How did you select Map & Fire?

We’ve been working with Map & Fire since 2015. They clarified our overarching brand strategy and helped us manage all the extensions of our brand including the websites for all our verticals. So they were a natural choice to assist us in the conception, brand strategy, and marketing of the educational platform as well as the app.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

For both initiatives they’ve assisted with all elements of the businesses from initial concepting to launch — including the foundational positioning, customer research, to the written and visual communication.

What was the team composition?

Clay served as the strategy lead and primary POC, and then helped bring in additional resources for various aspects of the implementation.

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

We’ve successfully launched the educational platform and have grossed more in 2021 than I made teaching in person in all of 2019-2020 combined. Our core brand site’s traffic is up 130% YOY, and our organic traffic is up 112% YOY.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We’ve held consistent weekly meetings throughout the entire process and Map & Fire has been able to scale up those points of connection as needed during more intensive periods, e.g. prepping for launch.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Map & Fire is the most thoughtful, organized vendor I have. They’ve been a great partner to help navigate and clarify the direction and execution of some very complex concepts. In addition to everything I expect from them professionally, I also find them great company off the clock - and welcome their perspectives on issues outside core missions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Like any small business, they have certain limitations. I wish they had more billable hours - I would use them! But I don't imagine that will be much of an issue for very long.