NickelBronx

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of federal sales of a software security and solutions company. We’re a value-added reseller of cyber security and data analytics products. The company is a third-generation family business.

What challenge were you trying to address with NickelBronx?

We were in the process of having the third generation of the family take over the business. We were evaluating the market and looking at our brand, website, and everything around our go-to branding. Overall, we wanted to differentiate ourselves from how we did things before and usher in a new approach to the market while continuing to have a tie with the legacy and history of the company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve had two projects with NickelBronx. First, we did our rebranding effort, which included our logo, colors, designs, and all our collateral. The second project was an entire website revamp.

Initially, we’d already thought about what we wanted the brand to look like and how we wanted to represent ourselves in the media. However, as we went through the process with the board and team, NickelBronx opened our eyes to things we hadn’t thought about, such as why we were rebranding and what story we wanted to tell. They didn’t direct us; they just gathered information and helped us figure out our style by interviewing us and giving us feedback and suggestions when we asked for it. Overall, they led us to a conclusion that made sense to us.

The challenging part of the rebranding project was that we couldn’t wrap our heads around it. We wanted to demonstrate our new brand strategy but didn’t want to abandon the company’s history. As a third-generation family-owned business, we wanted to pay homage to the past and what got us here today. We didn’t know how to marry the old with the new, so NickelBronx helped us through continued dialog and multiple iterations back and forth.

They spoke with multiple people within the organization, including stakeholders, partners, and people across the board to understand what we were trying to go for. We went through several iterations, and ultimately, they gave us several proposals.

For the website, they’ve asked us what story we’re trying to tell and what are the essential things about us that we’d want someone to remember after visiting our website. The first is our culture and history, and the second is the market we serve. We want people to look at our site and understand what we do and who we are. NickelBronx has guided us and helped us achieve that.

Our culture page shows our core values. We didn’t want it to be just bullet points on the site; we wanted it to look and feel different. Therefore, we went to our internal employees to hear what they thought we stood for and our identity. We put out a survey to each person and took that feedback to make a collage that represented everybody in the organization. It’s a unique thing, and we use it in a lot of our branding.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 4–5 people, including the owner, designers, and copywriters.

How did you come to work with NickelBronx?

We had a personal relationship with them. I’ve known them for many years and used them in previous companies. I’d referred them to dozens of colleagues, partners, and friends, so I was well aware of the quality and consistency of their work.

How much have you invested with them?

The rebrand was around $10,000, and the website was between $30,000–$50,000. Overall, we’ve spent between $75,000–$100,000 for everything we’ve done with NickelBronx.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them for many years. We started with smaller projects, and this specific effort began in August 2020.

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

Before the rebrand and website, we never received inbound leads from our site. Now, we receive at least a handful of them a week. Also, we couldn’t pay or request quotes on the site, so that’s a new function that has provided a lot of value to our business.

On the other hand, the branding process was interesting, fun, and seamless. We’ve gotten an incredible response from our partners and industry, and we’re very happy with how everything turned out.

How did NickelBronx perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been fully transparent along the way. We’ve never waited on them; on the contrary, it’s the opposite way. Once they provide what they’ve signed up for, we do our side of the homework and send it back to NickelBronx. Moreover, they’re communicative, and the team meets all deadlines, timelines, and budgets.

We use GitHub and communicate via phone calls, video conferences, and in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They think outside the box — the design isn’t the cookie-cutter kind. What’s remarkable about their approach is that they’ve created a custom design that represents us well. They listened to us; we didn’t want a stuffy, corporate look, and they’ve made us shine.

Additionally, working with them is fun and easy. They’re highly communicative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve never met anybody who has worked with them and come back with a bad experience, but the more you put into it, the more you get out of them. When they’re interviewing you, really give it a thought. If you can provide them with what you’re looking for and what’s important to you, they’ll have more to work with, and the results will be better.