OOB (Our Own Brand)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the president of an online ecommerce store for XaaS services marketplace. We plan to connect buyers and sellers of XaaS offerings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Our Own Brand, and what were your goals?

Out business needed a completely unique brand to separate from traditional IT services industry. The brand needed to be focused more at a younger demographic as well as a less technical one. Our goal was to create a fresh and unique brand to match this paradigm shift.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

This space of brand building is crowded and seems to be difficult to navigate. OOB had been exposed to the right projects and really understood where we wanted to go.

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

Communicated directly with the president on all aspects of the brand build. Project consisted of full branding including logos, taglines, and brandbook. The team added an extra mini video set that showcases the brand nicely.

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

The founder was my primary contact. She coordinated the team in the background.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is still pre-launch, but the branding is premium in feel and very slick, but also very approachable. Exactly what we asked for...

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

Google meet and Email were the primary communication tools. Communication was a little light sometimes, but the team seemed to have great insight into the actions needed.

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

Their understanding vision of the brand was very impressive. As the concepts came in, the excitement, even from our side, grew as well.

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

I would have liked a little more real time communications with a tool like Slack/Teams.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder and CEO of VirtuAll, Inc. We are an online, telehealth medical software platform. We service multiple medical disciplines and practices, offering high-speed, customization of patient-provider experiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Our Own Brand?

We hired Our Own Brand for several important projects. We utilized their creativity and influence regarding our overall design, logo, colors, font styles, and overall branding. We also hired Our Own Brand to design both the UX experience and medical provider interface and design. Lastly, they designed our website, which has proven to be an invaluable resource in gaining new clients.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us by the software engineer company we hired to build out the software.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After several meetings and gaining information about our company and our ideal clientele, Our Own Brand, started laying out the design process for the look of our company. We discussed, in depth, the overall vibe we wanted to portray to potential clients. After laying the foundation for our design and branding theme we were able to branch out and complete the other projects.

What was the team composition?

I primarily worked directly with Richard and Sarah on all the projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have seen an increase positive reviews from clients.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

In addition to weekly meetings, we were able to collaborate easily throughout the process of working together on this project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their organic creative collaboration added so much to our project. I am incredibly grateful for their insight and direction. They contributed in numerous ways to improve the overall functionality and aesthetic of our website and software.

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

Probably have a set list of deliverables with each new project that we started would have allowed for better financial planning on our end.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a construction company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Our Own Brand?

We were launching a new product into the market, and we needed help to develop our brand for it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our Own Brand developed our website from scratch on WordPress. In addition, they’ve done the branding portion for the new product we’re launching, which includes identity, logo, color schemes, brand guidelines, and animated videos.

In addition to that, they’re currently doing maintenance and updates to our site.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with Sarah (Founder) and Richard (Co-Founder).

How did you come to work with Our Own Brand?

I found them through Google, and I chose their offer amongst 3–4 other providers because they seemed the most competitive and creative with the best pricing.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent £15,000–£20,000 (approximately $18,900–$25,300 USD) with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received good feedback on the platform. We’ve also got good initial engagement after its launch — we’ve had 30–50 inquiries from businesses and local government projects.

How did Our Own Brand perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been perfect; they’re flexible and accommodating with our dates, tight deadlines, and budgets. Overall, they go above and beyond through a friendly approach. Regarding communication, we use phone calls, emails, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with the work they did in putting the website together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they know what they’re doing and are an experienced team that has done a really good job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear brief initially; they’re a flexible team that can always tailor the project to meet your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Genie Drinks Limited, a soft drinks brand selling modern soft drinks for adults.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Our Own Brand?

We recently went through a rebranding process with another agency, but we had social media channels with our old branding still, and we needed to update those accounts with our new one. Our purpose was to move our new brand forward to grow our follower base. We also wanted to make sure that we communicated what it represented clearly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our Own Brand has helped us implement our new brand in all of our digital channels — that was their first task. Initially, we provided them with our brand guidelines and style guides. We also showed them how our new brand should look. Then, they helped us deploy the imagery sampled by our branding agency, and they made the transition from our old to our new brand in our social media accounts.

Since then, Our Own Brand has been helping us with social media management (SMM), using our new brand guidelines to ensure that our content feels part of that new brand. They’ve also helped us change how we communicate with users to better match our voice with the new brand.

As part of their SMM efforts, they interact with our community and potential partners and create the content necessary to engage them and help us grow our follower base. Additionally, they plan our social media output and identify the right audience to target our products to. Furthermore, Our Own Brand has also helped us launch Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok accounts, and they’ve set up a social media e-store to offer our products.

What is the team composition?

We work with an account director, an account manager, and a social media manager.

How did you come to work with Our Own Brand?

We put out a tender to find someone who could manage our social media accounts. Before that, Our Own Brand had already worked with us on building our website. Thus, when we launched the tender, they approached us to help us with SMM, and we decided to work with them again.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent around £25,000 (approximately $31,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in August 2021, and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our Own Brand has helped us increase our social media reach. Our follower base has gone from 3,500–7,000 followers since we started working with them, and we’re now reaching more people than we ever have. Between January and February 2022, our Instagram impressions grew by 7,000, and our engagement grew by another 7,000 interactions. Overall, our statistics are growing monthly, and everything is going the right way; we’re getting more likes, shares, and engagement than before.

In addition to that, Our Own Brand has executed the look and feel of our new branding on social media very well. I also like their copywriting because it accurately reflects our voice. All things considered, we’re very happy with their work, and we enjoy working with them.

I believe that social media has less impact than before, so growing accounts is harder. However, Our Own Brand has done a great job at growing our accounts fastly and consistently enough to consolidate a genuine community of followers; we’re very happy with that community.

How did Our Own Brand perform from a project management standpoint?

Our Own Brand’s project management has been very good. They’ve successfully delivered their work on time and on budget. We use Trello and HeyOrca to manage the project, and we use Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our Own Brand is a pleasure to work with, and they deliver what they say they are going to deliver — I would highly recommend them. From the start, they believed in our brand and our mission, and they’ve truly supported us along the way. Their team understands where we are going and what we want to achieve. Overall, I feel that they’ve been real partners.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if Our Own Brand helped us find more brand partnerships than they currently are. They’re doing a great job overall, but we feel that we’re finding more partnerships than they. Still, it is understandable that we’re doing a better job in that regard because we’re part of the industry and have close relationships with other people within it. Other than that, I don’t have any constructive feedback for them; they’re doing a very good job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Firstly, I would highly recommend working with Our Own Brand. As for advice, I can tell you to take their proposal seriously, meet their team, and work closely with them because they’re pleasurable to work with and great at what they do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Head of Creative Partnerships for an international Music Production company. We create and curate music for media.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Our Own Brand?

Our Own Brand are providing ongoing social media management services.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We went through a rigorous process of vetting companies to partner with. OOB were warm, professional and we appreciated the patience and hand holding they provided to help us build our brand story authentically and organically in the social media space. We also liked how their team camaraderie echoed our own.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We're in an on-going working partnership where we communicate daily via Slack and have learnt to streamline our process for creative sign off using Hey Orca. We have monthly content planning meetings but often meet more frequently when a project or team member has questions or concepts.

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

We work with most of the OOB team, including the company directors, but with their social and content manager on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've grown organically on Instagram, Linkedin, FB with key audiences indicators growing daily. We've found huge success creating original educational content posted on reels that we will be posting on TikTok starting this month and with more confidence surrounding our ability to create valuable content and have OOB design and manage it, we are ready to explore paid media options to push the content we now know is the most valuable to our audiences and for our brand identity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our workflow has become more streamlined each month. They understand our brand language more naturally and we have confidence in their design and creative concepts based on the success we've experienced.

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

We've found them to be happily amenable to our needs, flexible, positive with their feedback/comments. They work as a machine in the same way we do as an international company and have accommodated us outside the normal working hours when needed.

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

As we grow and evolve as a company, we're learning what works on our platforms. Together we've navigated the audience response and where we're not seeing the best results, we've taken note and redirected accordingly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the directors of a boutique eco music festival. Our festival takes place in the mountains in Bulgaria.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Our Own Brand?

We needed help with social media marketing, PR, and community management. We wanted to expand on the cult following our festival had to attract a wider audience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with them to manage and run ads on our social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. They’re working to grow our audiences on these platforms. Their team has done PPC work as well as PR and press projects. They also assist with content creation. They’ve been present at some of our festivals, interviewing musicians, artists, and other vendors and performers to build the content.

What is the team composition?

We worked initially with Sarah (Co-Founder) and Richard (Co-Founder). Now that our engagement has grown, we’ve also worked with their production team, their social team, and an account manager.

How did you come to work with Our Own Brand?

They were recommended to us by a mutual colleague. We took a look at their website and were impressed with their previous work. They seemed like a good fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over £25,000 (approximately $35,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together since May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since starting our work with them, our collective following has grown by about 45% and we’ve been able to sell festival tickets more quickly. Our audience has grown to be more international, which is great. Their results are consistent and reliable, and we’ve been able to connect with them on a personal level as well. They have a very tailored approach. Their team is very down-to-earth and conservation-minded.

How did Our Own Brand perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done great. Sarah’s taken on the project manager role. Their team delivered everything on time and on budget. We’ve used Trello and Slack, providing us with a direct line of communication to each other. We also have weekly calls so that we can approve any content they create.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They genuinely care and want to do a great job. Their team took the time to get to know our goals and beliefs. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. We’ve had a great experience with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Definitely work with them. If you give them the space to be creative, you’ll be happy with the results. They’re a great company made up of great people.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Co-founder of HugoSave launching SE Asia's first Wealthcare app with saving at its heart. Hugo helps customers discover hidden wealth by turning everyday spending into opportunities for growth and making healthy financial habits second nature. Development in UK and HQ in Singapore.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Our Own Brand?

UX and UI Design in neomorphic style for Mobile App, in React.js native. Development and curation of Webite maintaining core App brand identity. Development of Hugo animated and static bot.

What were your goals for this project?

1. Best-in-class UI and UX for App and Website - Specifically, the brief was to build an App interface that made finance friendly. - The website followed a similar design format.
2. Development of the 'iconic' Hugo Bot. The brief was to bring HugoSave to life in a fun and candid way, using a cute Bot.

SOLUTION

How did you select Our Own Brand?

We spoke with a number of brand agencies when originally selecting who to work with on creating our company brand identity. We had 7 pitches/ meetings from agencies globally, including Our Own Brand.

Although they impressed and worked closely with our engineering team on a number of projects we chose an in region branding co. Although this worked out we began to understand the OOB capabilities more when they were recommended to do our App design UI and UX build.

We were so impressed with the approach and designs with reference to our existing identity we began to engage them on more specific projects which are really evolving our brand.

Describe the project in detail.

The brief was to build an interface that made finance friendly. We wanted to engage our App users with an intuitive navigation flow that replicated how they engage with their financial universe.

The app flowed on the temporal horizon of the immediacy of spending via cards to near-term budgeting in money pots to longer-term savings in physical gold and discrete investment portfolios. The simplicity of use and design. The website followed a similar design format.

Development of the 'iconic' Hugo Bot. The brief was to bring HugoSave to life in a fun and candid way, using a cute Bot. We wanted to evolve his personality and establish Hugo in the lives of our customers across SE Asia.

What was the team composition?

Account executive and founder Sarah, App design team led by Richard with animators and web designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We undertook pre-launch testing with 100 users of App and engaged in the product. Feedback via video interviews with 15 people plus Typeform Q&A. 1 hour sessions which involved UX testing and Q&A. Feedback on UI UX of app was 5 star out of 5. Simple, slick and best in class. Encouraging data set. Plus Everyone loved Hugo the bot. The real litmus test will be on launch.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless. Used project management and worklflow boards. Trello, Plant.io (design /devs), slack etc.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Efficient. timely delivery on great ideation. The team posses a truly creative outfit. Exude style as a group and have good taste and this manifests itself in their work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They have strong opinions, not keen on compromising their artistic bent so they are authentic. Nonetheless, they do exhibit strong empathy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Palatial Leisure Limited, a bingo, gaming, and online casino company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Our Own Brand?

We hired them to support marketing and frontend development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They manage our Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and Instagram Ads, contract monitoring, and managed it. We come up with most of the content, but then they adapt it and are responsible for posting.

They also created our TV advertisement. They did everything from storyboarding to scripting. They hired voice actors to come in and we were able to choose who we wanted to hire for our ad.  

Whether they’re working on a TV or digital ad, they usually ask me what my thoughts are, what my strategy is, and what promotions I want to do. Then they glamorize it and prepare it for the media.

Finally, they reviewed our site and identified why it wasn’t converting. Then they redesigned the site’s frontend to address the faults they found.

What is the team composition?

We mainly deal with Sarah (Co-Founder) and she delegated to the rest of the team.

How did you come to work with Our Own Brand?

We were facing some challenges with our previous provider, so I searched online for a new partner. I spoke to 6–7 companies, but Our Own Brand was the most helpful when I called.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve about £150,000 (approximately $210,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2020 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our Own Brand always gives us what we want. They’ve increased our numbers by about 75%. The customer response has been very positive because the TV ad is quite good.

How did Our Own Brand perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very collaborative and they keep us informed at all times. We communicate via phone, text, and Skype so they’re always accessible and they respond very quickly. If something isn’t working right, they immediately start to work on it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re empathetic and understand the position we are in. They listened to our problems to better understand our business needs. Rather than viewing our feedback as criticism, they view it as a constructive critique and do something about it.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. What they came up with is better than what I expected.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear and candid about what you want because they will do their best to help you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and co-director of an online print shop that sells artwork by about 50 different artists. We have two stores in the UK as well. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Our Own Brand?

Our company started out as a blog that transformed into a shop later on. Initially, they built us a bespoke website. As we started selling things, they’ve expanded the site to include a Shopify store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built our original website, which was a bespoke blogging website. During that time, they also created a logo and graphic design elements for us. When we transitioned into selling prints, they attached a Shopify store to the existing website. They did the web development to integrate a WordPress site with the Shopify site, so they can run together while being compatible with mobile devices. That involved custom frontend development and design. They didn’t use a WordPress template. In doing so, they took SEO best practices and preservation into account. When we moved the site, they handled domain management as well. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people: Rich (Co-Founder), Sarah (Co-Founder), and one other teammate. 

How did you come to work with Our Own Brand?

I worked with a designer who put me in touch with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent £10,000–£15,000 (approximately)

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since June 2018.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m more than happy with their work. They’re the reason we’ve doubled our inventory turnover year over year. They’ve refined our site, promoted our content, and done a brilliant job with web design. Our company wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for them.  

How did Our Own Brand perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re responsive and deliver on time. It feels like they’re an extension of our team. We communicate using email and Trello.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great at listening to us to understand our brand. They’re involved with our company and want to get a good result for our sake. We’re happy that they bring in the right expertise and agile approach whenever we need it. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve always come up with a good solution. I can’t think of anything.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Executive Director of a newly founded non-profit organisation that is working to tackle climate change. The organisation works with leaders from business, finance, government, and non-profit to deliver a portfolio of sustainability initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Our Own Brand, and what were your goals?

We hired the team to build our first website and marketing material. Prior to this, we had a very simple landing page and our presence online was limited.

SOLUTION

How did you select Our Own Brand and what were the deciding factors?

Shortlisted ~5 companies based on their portfolios online. Decided to go with OOB after a couple of good phone conversations, where we described what we were looking for and how they could help.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We wanted to build a professional-looking website that would showcase the work our team is doing and help us enhance our brand awareness. Additionally, we wanted to create a set of polished outreach material that would go out to both existing and prospective donors.

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

We interacted directly with the Co-Founder, who was on every call and coordinated with the rest of the OOB team to incorporate our input and feedback.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Both the website and marketing material have been a great success! We have seen a big increase in online traffic and interest received from organisations that are looking to partner with us.

Similarly, we have received great feedback from funders about the marketing material we have put together, which was based on the templates that OOB had created for us.

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

OOB led the initial website design, with input from our team regarding colours, imagery, and copyright. After 1.5 weeks, the OOB team had put together a mock website that our team could go through and provide feedback on.

The website underwent a couple of further iterations before we were happy to go live. It was very easy and fluid. We aimed to have a call during each week of the project and exchanged multiple emails throughout to share feedback offline and status updates.

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

We were very impressed by the team's ability to capture our preferences and make them look appealing in a website format. Everything came together nicely and we're very proud of the end product.

Additionally, we are hugely appreciative of the OOB team for going above and beyond to check in on us after the project ended. They did a full handover of the website to make sure our team was comfortable in making edits in the future.

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

No - everything was terrific!