Once Upon a Time Hospitality, formerly IdeaWork Studios

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the principal and creative director for a commercial real estate development company. I engage in creative development, marketing, branding, and creative choices to direct our various real estate endeavors. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Once Upon a Time Hospitality?

They were engaged to brand and position the relaunch of a social club in Florida. Our goal was to relaunch the brand.

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was a soup to nuts job on their part. They visited the property, listened to our goals for the property, and considered the market composed of other clubs in the area. The club’s history also needed to be handled with care.

When we purchased the property, we wanted to make the club more inclusive. We tasked them to make the positioning of the club reflect our values along with all aspects of branding.

They addressed fonts, editorial voice, internal voice, key membership demographics, membership strategy. Their team guided us in creating the entire look and feel for our club. They came up with the idea of being exclusively inclusive, which captures the racial and religious inclusivity that we’re aiming for.

What is the team composition?

There were about five people that surveyed our property to start. However, I’ve predominantly interacted with two individuals: Jay (Principle & Creative Director) and David (Managing Director). 

How did you come to work with Once Upon a Time Hospitality?

We were speaking with a women who had experience working with them just as we were considering relaunching the club. We selected their team in the end due to their quality of work, creativity, and strong reviews. They were producing new creative work that I hadn’t seen before.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project around January 2018.

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

They took a lofty club that wasn’t inclusive and resurrected it. Through the right language, attitude, colors, images, and voice, they were instrumental in rebirthing the club. They used the best pieces of its past reputation while uncoupling it with past cases of racial and religious exclusivity. We’re aiming to relaunch officially in January 2020. 

How did Once Upon a Time Hospitality perform from a project management standpoint?

They closely stuck to the schedule, pushing the project forward. The first deliverables were complete in just a few weeks. They nailed all their deadlines and were always very timely. 

Their team was accessible to my entire time and flexible in adjusting their scope to help us. For instance, they created a Zoom background including their branded assets that could be present for guest appearances on broadcast networks. They were nimble, and that helped us.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their skills in creative, unique branding are impressive. There are firms that can take an established brand and improve it, but it’s more difficult to establish something that’s completely new. They delivered a desirable look and positioning for our new brand. Their ability to do the hard work really stood out. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind at the moment. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t micromanage them. Even if you have an idea and vision for the work, present it to them but don’t force it on the creative side. You’re hiring them for their creativity. If you limit them too much, you’ll only see part of what they’re capable of.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a New York-based hospitality company. We operate restaurants predominantly in the New York City area, and my position is in restaurant development. I work on creating new concepts and coordinating with different teams, as well as on managing our website and communication between existing restaurants.

What challenge were you trying to address with IdeaWork Studios?

We don’t employ any creative artists or designers in-house, so a lot of our work with IdeaWork Studios revolves around creating graphics or new themes and ideas for our restaurants.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team works on everything from creating different fonts for menus to full rebrands for restaurant brands. We really rely on them to create the designs, and then we implement them. We’ve been working on one specific rebrand recently, and that involved us getting on a call to discuss the overall feel we were looking for, and then they got back to us right away with a pretty in-depth presentation of all the different ideas that they had. 

Our team provides feedback from there, they make changes, and then we sort of work back and forth towards a new overall brand outline with individual elements that we all agree on. That process is ongoing, so we’re still working with them on a few particular graphics for this project and some of our email communications.

What is the team composition?

We have one main account manager as well as a few other designers working on our account.

How did you come to work with IdeaWork Studios?

They have been a design partner with us for longer than I’ve worked at the company, so I’m not sure how they were originally selected. The decision to stay with them has been an easy one based on the work that they provide and their knowledge of our company.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together started around 2018 and is ongoing.

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

Their output, in terms of the quality of the content that we receive from them, is consistently very high. We have always been very satisfied with their work and have seen a lot of benefit over the years from those engagements. 

How did IdeaWork Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate at least once every two weeks, if not more frequently. Scheduling can occasionally be a point of friction, particularly when things are more urgent for us, but they’ve always followed through on what they promise us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their artistic talent is the biggest reason we continue to work with their team. The graphics that they deliver and the copy that they write for us deliver great results.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think the biggest challenge with the projects we work on with them, for both of our companies, is just staying on top of the milestones in long term engagements. Both of our teams could work on getting things back to one another a little faster.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Figure out what you’re trying to do as thoroughly as possible before you reach out to them. Kicking off a call without having those things in mind will only push back the process further, which is something that you can pretty easily avoid.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief of staff and chief brand officer for a hotel company.

What challenge were you trying to address with IdeaWork Studios?

We first engaged IdeaWork Studios because we needed a new website. We’ve worked with them on website development for many years now.

What was the scope of their involvement?

IdeaWork Studios developed our website. We gave them a few weeks to set the designs. Then, there was back and forth between our teams. Their team worked closely with ours, so the process was collaborative.

Over the years, they’ve worked on various projects. They’ve worked on email deployment. Now, their team manages marketing services such as SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) efforts. They’re also building another website for us.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with a project manager and a creative lead closely. For the other website, we worked with another person from their team. We work with an additional teammate for SEM campaigns.

How did you come to work with IdeaWork Studios?

Colleagues worked with IdeaWork Studios previously, so we didn’t consider other companies.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s hard to say, but we’ve spent between $250,000–$400,000 on their services over the past 8–10 years.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started their work in 2012 probably and we’re continuing to work with IdeaWork Studios.

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

Since IdeaWork Studios took them over, SEM efforts have been more efficient. We're spending less money on initiatives and the website has a higher click-through rate as well as higher revenue. Our creative projects with IdeaWork Studios have been successful too.

How did IdeaWork Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

During the development of our website, we communicated quite a bit via phone and email. When you build a website, you’re in contact multiple times a week. Their team’s attentive and answers our questions. I never need to push them. When they say they will deliver a product, they deliver it. Their team has gone above and beyond, helping me in real-time on creative projects over the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Engagements with IdeaWork Studios always feel small and intimate. We get great services from them. They’re attentive and don’t feel like a big agency.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be spread too thin sometimes. So far, I haven’t felt that much, so I haven't wanted to work with another agency. But I was concerned when they were acquired.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any company, good communication skills are important.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the vice president of sales and marketing at Sixty Hotels.

What challenge were you trying to address with IdeaWork Studios?

We needed a marketing team to take over brand development. We previously worked with a team that did a good job for us, but we weren't sure they were the ones we wanted to move forward with.

What was the scope of their involvement?

For our brand development and brand books, we did a deep dive into what we stand for, what our brand means, and what our customer message is. We gave them an outline highlighting these points. We showed them our competitors and which ones we thought did and did not do a good job to model our website from.

They gave us three different options for the homepage of our website. We picked the final option after we both had an understanding of what we gravitated toward. They developed the rest of the website from there. 

What is the team composition?

David (Managing Director, IdeaWork Studios) was our main point of contact throughout the whole process. Once we moved into the creative portion, we worked with Jay (Executive Creative Director, IdeaWork Studios), Steph (Head of Creative Services, IdeaWork Studios), and one other teammate.

How did you come to work with IdeaWork Studios?

After deciding to look at different companies, we sent out an RFP for someone to develop our website. We listened to several pitches until we felt like it would be a good fit because of the relationship and budget-wise. One of our authors had previously worked with IdeaWork Studios, so he was the one who recommended them to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $100,000 on the website, then paid a monthly retainer for photoshoots and other services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from May–December 2019.

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

Our internal team really liked the new website and users find it easy to navigate. Since we just launched the site, it’s too soon to see an impact on our metrics, but it has been successful and communicates our brand. 

How did IdeaWork Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very communicative through emails and phone calls. They’d also send us links to approve work. Even when we pushed for an earlier deadline, they worked extremely hard and were able to meet it. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very responsive and proactive throughout the whole process. We could contact them at any time of the day and expect a response.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything worked out well, but the project would have been easier if we had made a checklist for the operational and creative processes. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have everything set up that they need to attack all of your major milestones with, so there are no last-minute complications. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing and Communications Manager for Brasserie Liberté, a French-American bistro located in Washington, DC.

For what projects/services did your company hire IdeaWork Studios?

Our restaurant was a construction site without a name, brand identity or any online footprint. IdeaWork was hired to assist with the name, logo, brand identity, menu design, and development of the website.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a logo that was distinctly French, while also approachable. Our goal was to create a brand that provided elevated experience at an affordable price point. We also needed a website that was user friendly, allowing guests to easily inquire about private dining and learn all the important things about the establishment.

How did you select this vendor?

Our team researched branding companies in DC and beyond. We narrowed the decision down to 3 companies, but ultimately ended up choosing IdeaWorks. IdeaWorks has a proven track record in the hospitality industry. When we met with Jay and David in person, we were fueled with excitement by their competent understanding of the DC market and French restaurants beyond.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected the company, Jay and David came to DC to meet the team, tour the sites and learn a little bit more about our vision. They had us complete surveys about our target audience, the vibe/energy of the restaurants, restaurants we see as competitors and the different components of other restaurant's websites that we saw as successful.

From there, we were given a selection of draft names for the location. They patiently waited as we did our own field test of them (even though they did their own version of testing). IdeaWorks then produced another round of potential names before we selected. Once the name was selected, we began the same process of creating the logo.

Once the logo was done, IdeaWorks sent us different versions of a website to review before selecting the final layout. With the opening day approaching, IdeaWorks sent us sample menu covers to review and menu layouts with items carefully placed to ensure easy reading and up-selling.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a project manager who arranged meetings with the designers and worked with us to understand what we were looking for.

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

Since opening, we have had strong success in creating private dining leads from the website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager we were assigned was easy to work with, provided open communication and maintained a high level of professionalism. Jay and David were a wealth of knowledge, always providing us with insights into the NY market and beyond.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was blown away by their knowledge of food, restaurant menu layouts and their ability to strategize. IdeaWorks really examines the project as a whole and makes every decision based on the brand we built with them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The timeline was a little tight once we got close to opening, therefore things could have moved a little quicker. That being said, we weren't unhappy with their speed.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I help operate a hotel that my boyfriend owns.

What challenge were you trying to address with IdeaWork Studios?

We were opening a brand-new hotel and needed help with our branding efforts.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started four years ago and played a big part in creating all of the collateral and design aspects. Another branding firm was brought on briefly when we had a new general manager, but things quickly went awry with them, and the project was eventually handed back to IdeaWork Studios. They created the name, the logo, room collateral, menus, and things of that nature. They've also taken over our social media accounts and continue to manage our ongoing branding needs.

What is the team composition?

Our main points of contact were David (Managing Director, IdeaWork Studios) and Jay (Executive Creative Director, IdeaWork Studios).

How did you come to work with IdeaWork Studios?

They were selected by a previous project manager. We re-hired them because we had a colleague that had just been hired by them and wanted to have her on the account.

What is the status of this engagement?

They first began in 2015 and their work is ongoing, although there were two years in that span where they weren't involved in the project at all.

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

They hosted a great influencer event in the fall. Our Instagram is certainly more on-brand and has more followers than ever before.

How did IdeaWork Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

I mostly work with the team that handles social media, and they're terrific. As a whole, they've been communicative and responsive as teammates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I particularly love our social media manager Shelby (Digital Marketing Consultant, IdeaWork Studios). She's creative, dynamic, fun, engaging, and has good ideas. She's very easy to work with and is always flexible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, I feel like the website is playing catch up rather than being ahead of the game. I haven't seen this on the social media team, but It would be nice if the other teams were more proactive and acted without having to be asked.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They're a great company to work with. If you're transparent with your needs and goals, things will work out well. If you have any social media needs, make sure to ask for Shelby on your account.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the regional director of PR for a hotel with locations in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington DC.

What challenge were you trying to address with IdeaWork Studios?

They handle our social media content calendar and influencer marketing community for all of our properties in the US.

What was the scope of their involvement?

As we grew, we needed a more consistent way to manage our influencer marketing efforts so that we had consistently scheduled content across all of our different hotel channels. They were brought in to create a uniform program for us to implement.

IdeaWork Studios primarily focuses on negotiating with influencers or third-party services to deliver content for our Instagram and Facebook accounts. They also offer quarterly content shoots to help fill in the gaps in that schedule for areas where it can be more difficult to find independent influencers.

What is the team composition?

We work with a three-person team from their company, although I have one primary point of contact from day-to-day.

How did you come to work with IdeaWork Studios?

Our London team actually initiated the relationship with them, and we decided to bring them on for our project based on their recommendation.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $60,000 in total on monthly fees, along with some ad hoc work on top of that.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in May 2019 and we are continuing to work with them.

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

We’re quite pleased with what we’ve been able to do with them so far. IdeaWork Studios has been really good about growing with us so far in the engagement and integrating new digital and graphic elements into our posts all the time. Their team has a lot of insight into the US audience and what’s new in the industries here, and access to that level of expertise has been really valuable.

How did IdeaWork Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a good job of handling how many moving parts we have going on all at once. I think as we continue to grow, there is some room for them to grow in how they handle our account as well, but they focus on paying very close attention to the quality of the material we put out there, which I really appreciate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re flexible and nimble, which allows them to keep up with us. As a small but international agency, that’s what we were looking for in the engagement. We’ve never worked with other social media agencies, but everyone here is really impressed with the value that they’ve brought to our channel so far.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think project management is the area where there is most noticeably a feeling of things falling through the cracks. As we continue to grow, I’d like to see them expand their team handling the account so that we can really feel secure that everything is being handled.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any agency, you want to really spend time briefing them to make sure they have an in-depth understanding of your core goals and requirements.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing and creative at a real estate firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with IdeaWork Studios?

They designed and developed two websites from scratch that represented the personality and brand of two new buildings.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We briefed them, they sent the first round, and we sent back feedback and ideas. It was a very organic process.

What is the team composition?

We worked with David (Managing Director, IdeaWork Studios), Gina (Project Manager, IdeaWork Studios), and a designer named Kent.

How did you come to work with IdeaWork Studios?

I’ve only been here for eight months, and they were already here.

What is the status of this engagement?

It took four months, from March until July 2019.

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

We’re happy with how the website presents and represents the two buildings. They were able to properly brand the two properties separately from each other. Differentiating the two was very important to us.

How did IdeaWork Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

I communicated with them once a week, but a person who works for me did so more often. We didn’t speak while they were working, so there wasn’t a ton of direct back and forth. Overall, they did very well and were responsive and attentive. They’d send over things for us to review and we’d respond over email or get on a call with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They dealt with a lot of changes and feedback quickly and effectively. They’re great with design and have a great eye.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I saw.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give a clear briefing and timeline, as is the case with any project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a hospitality brand. I am VP of operations.

What challenge were you trying to address with IdeaWork Studios?

As a new company, we needed a website but lacked the technical expertise to build one ourselves. We decided to hire an outside firm to help.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a kickoff meeting and they built the wireframes based upon our creative input. We made changes, then they provided an updated version and we moved from there. We decided to have a two-phase project and they managed the entire process. They started with a temporary holding page and then developed the finished site. Once the site is complete, they will provide marketing and advertising support.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with a team of three, but a fourth member joined us occasionally.

How did you come to work with IdeaWork Studios?

We knew about their work in our industry and liked their approach. We considered a few other teams, but our senior staff was familiar with them and we decided to work with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in summer 2017. They built an initial holding page within a few months and delivered part of the final website in August 2018. They’re still working on the finished product.

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

We haven’t launched the full site yet. The permanent site is partially finished and we just published what we have so far about a month ago. We’re starting work on SEO and PPC campaigns with them, but we don’t have any concrete results yet. We love working with them and the pieces they’ve delivered are on-brand.

How did IdeaWork Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re amazing and very on-point. They remind us when they need our input and are communicative. We have twice-weekly phone meetings to go over the project and email each other throughout each day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They explain the whole process. They’re very detailed and they carry through. Building a website is tricky, but they made it a very easy process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re great at what they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No, I don’t have any recommendations. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the COO of a real estate development company.

What challenge were you trying to address with IdeaWork Studios?

We worked looking for a team to assist with our branding and marketing efforts.

What was the scope of their involvement?

IdeaWork Studios is creating and designing brand messaging campaigns, websites, brochures, signage, advertisements, and other marketing collateral for our two condominium projects, luxury apartment complex, and senior living program. They’re fully involved in the scope of each project.

What is the team composition?

We worked with the vice president, COO, creative project manager, and head of creative services.

How did you come to work with IdeaWork Studios?

We chose them based on a recommendation from another sales and marketing organization.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2017 and the project is ongoing.

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

With their expert collaborative skills, IdeaWork Studios has helped us conceptualize our brand and translate it into various pieces of marketing literature. Of the websites that have been completed at this point in the project, each one favorably presents our product to our target audience. We’re already gaining traction and starting to see inquiries coming from the sites.

How did IdeaWork Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

We tracked the project using two timelines. The first detailed each deliverable and its expected deadline and the second specifically scheduled work on the websites. They provided consistent updates on each schedule. As we move through each project, there has been some timeline adjustments and we’re currently a little behind our targets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with the quality of their work and services. Because they do the proper research, they are able to craft branding strategies that really align with the lifestyles we want to be reflected in our products. Additionally, they always provide multiple options so we can decide which design most resonates with our company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

IdeaWork Studios could be more mindful of their original estimates in terms of timelines and schedules. I also think they should work on better balancing the client’s vision and their own idea for the brand.