milk*

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a nonprofit, public policy think tank in Washington DC. We worked with milk* on website design and print collateral. I was the director of digital media, so I oversaw all our digital properties, including our website, social media, and email campaigns.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with milk*?

We originally worked with them on a website redesign. We were on a Drupal site and we wanted to update the backend and then the frontend design. Our site was probably five or six years old at that point and in desperate need of a refresh.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with milk* over the course of about 10 or 11 months to redesign the site and migrate it to WordPress. The reason for migration was primarily for functionality, but also just larger design.

We publish a number of reports, white papers, and issue briefs in print format. In our second year of working with milk*, they took over those services and helped us to design those. We were probably producing three or four print collateral every one to two weeks. They also helped us with add-on service, primarily on the design side, around email templates and event collateral.

They also helped us with updates to our brand and style guide, so that the brand we were sharing and using internally was consistent. Together with milk*, we also updated documents in line with those style recommendations. Overall, we’ve worked on over 150 projects with them.

How did you come to work with milk*?

We put out an RFP for the website redesign. We were primarily looking at firms in Washington, D.C., but we got a recommendation from one of our consultants, who had worked with milk* previously. He had a good experience with them, so we included them in RFP process. As we went through the review process, we were particularly impressed with their experience and design work.

How much have you invested with milk*?

We’ve invested close to $1 million over the course of three years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January of 2014, and the relationship is ongoing. I have since left DC and that organization, but milk* is still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I kept a close eye on our website traffic and user flow, both before and after the redesign. A few metrics that improved post-redesign are average time on page, average number of clicks into the site, and total user time on the site. We redesigned a few landing pages specifically to highlight on the homepage and showcase, and they got higher click-through rates and engagement rates. Qualitatively, we received feedback from stakeholders, both internal and external, that the site had improved dramatically. We were much more in a modern space when it came to site design.

Most of our print collateral went up to Capitol Hill and was geared toward staff there. The feedback from them was that documents were much more engaging, approachable, and digestible because of the way the collateral was designed and presented. From a broad perspective, we saw deeper engagement. We positioned ourselves as more modern and forward-thinking, both in the site design and the collateral.

How did milk* perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always responsive, which is probably their strongest suit. The biggest thing for me, given the sheer volume of projects, was that there were a lot of crunch moments. They had multiple projects on their plate, working on a number of things at once. The other challenge initially was that they’re based in Connecticut and we’re in Washington, DC. However, they were always flexible with calls and in-person meetings. We had at least a quarterly meeting, where a few of their folks would come to our DC office, and sometimes more frequently. They were always accommodating with digital communications, phone calls, or just coming down to help us think through a project. I would say responsive, flexible, and creative are their biggest attributes.

What did you find most impressive about milk*?

It’s the comprehensive nature of their services. They have a team that’s probably on the average-to-small size for creative companies, but they had people in-house who could do everything, from coding and design of a robust WordPress site, to print collateral, branding, and event collateral. They had people who could get in the weeds and do a lot of the nitty-gritty, day-to-day work, but they also had people who were great creative minds and would think from a 30,000-foot level.

Are there any areas milk* could improve?

I can’t point to anything specifically. They had some turnover in their junior staff when I was engaged with them, but they were always communicating with us about any changes or impact to our account. I never felt any ill effects from that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a former director of Communications and Marketing of FCDS

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

FCDS is a K-9 all-boys independent school.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire milk* to accomplish?

• Rebrand
• Redesign
• Campaign Creation

SOLUTION

How did you find milk*?

• Referral

Why did you select milk* over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

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

milk* worked with FCDS to rebrand the school logo, mission statement and internal and outward facing messaging along with all print and online collateral.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

yes

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

Quick response time and they always delivered before the due date.

What was your primary form of communication with milk*?

• Virtual Meeting

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

• creativity
• organization
• design
• idea formation

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

no

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of Lux Media Solutions

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Marketing consulting and media performance agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire milk* to accomplish?

• New branding
• New website
• Social media engagement

SOLUTION

How did you find milk*?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select milk* over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from milk* were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

My agency partnered with milk, helping with paid media and analytical reporting. We are lucky enough to be strategic partners, where we work together to help bring unique creativity and new ideas to clients. 

This specific project helped a very stagnant local brand into the 21 century with a new exciting brand personality and identity. Watching milk bring this to life from initial conception was special and rare in the industry.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We helped establish a new baseline/benchmark for the brand as they first re-entered the local community. We hit or surpassed all industry benchmarks, in regards to web traffic, customers, media metrics (both organic & paid), etc.

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

Usually ahead of schedule. They were always available.

What was your primary form of communication with milk*?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their unique way of communicating with clients, helping them envision what could be seeing come to life. Pure creativity.

Are there any areas for improvement or something {provider_name} could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of Hank's Beverage Company, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Manufacturer and distributor of Gourmet Sodas

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire milk* to accomplish?

• Marketing
• New product development

SOLUTION

How did you find milk*?

Referral

Why did you select milk* over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from milk* were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We hired Milk to take over our marketing at our company. They have since created a brand bible, brand strategy and has submitted designs for us to review for a new product line.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They gave us timelines for branding once they took over our account and met those deadlines. They gave us a schedule for new label designs for new product line and met those deadlines.

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

Met all of our projects on time and are extremely responsive to any of our requests.

What was your primary form of communication with milk*?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their attention to detail and their overall responsiveness are impressive.

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

Not at this point.