OOB (Our Own Brand)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a London based boutique consultancy, focusing on financial services risk and regulation, assisting Boards and Management to deliver sustainable business models through financial, operational, and cultural resilience.

I am the Head of Marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our old website was very simple that hadn’t been done by a professional and it was difficult to personalise. As the company evolved, we needed to build a new website with much more functionalities and one adapted to our branding.

SOLUTION

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

I looked at review sites for developers. I was looking for someone with extensive Wordpress experience. I found some good reviews about Our Own Brand, so I visited their site.

We asked for quote from 3 different agencies and had calls with all of them, and based on the offers and the calls we decided to work with Our Own Brands.

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

Our Own Brand developed our new Wordpress website from scratch, with custom CMS system, members area and other functionalities. They built the design around our already existing branding guidelines and helped us to find the look and feel we were looking for.

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

We worked directly with the two owners of the business, Sarah and Richard.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have a much-improved website and we're very happy with it. We had great feedback from clients and partners, and there are some further functionalities we’d like to add in the future.

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

We were in close communication the whole way through. We were quite demanding in terms of all the tweaks we wanted to make and how we wanted the site to look. I usually sent them an email or we used a shared document for the feedback and changes.

If it was urgent, I called them and they were quick to reply. All of the feedback I’ve provided has been implemented, or they’ve made recommendations on bits and pieces.

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

No one in our company had previous experience with WordPress sites. Richard was very helpful in explaining the process, the website functionalities and how it was going to work.

It was a very broad project, so we needed time to get it work as we imagined.

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

Sometimes a bit more testing and a bit more time for customer feedback and changes based on those feedback could have been a little better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Tried and Supplied is a software platform designed to make it easier for food service operators to source and order from local, sustainable suppliers. I am the founder of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Re-branding both our main brand and our blog brand Migrating a Wordpress blog Building two Wordpress websites

What were your goals for this project?

Bring the brand of our app, Tried and Supplied, and our blog, Saucy Dressings closer together so that they look like part of the same family. Create branding that looks natural, dynamic and approachable to appeal to chefs and foodie consumers.

Separate the blog and our static pages from the functional app and rebuild them as a Wordpress site we can more easily manage content wise ourselves. Create a new ecommerce platform under the name of Saucy Dressings that can help us monetise some of the traffic we receive on the blog.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I was recommended this vendor by the excellent developer who has built our app.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They started by discussing the brand values and what we wanted to portray with our brand. They researched other relevant brands and we discussed how we felt about their look and feel. Then they came up with a few sketches for us to review and feedback on before finalising the designs.

Once we had completed the branding exercise, they started mocking up designs of the new sites. The new site design was based on a modular approach that gave consistency to the site in terms of look and feel, but also meant we could easily adapt the design to future content. Finally they built a Wordpress theme including styling for the new ecommerce site and migrated the blog and existing static pages.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with the two owners of the business. Sarah was our point of contact on the branding exercise and involved the designer in the initial briefing call. Rich was our point of contact on the website rebuild.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have a much improved branding that looks really cohesive and complementary. I have received lots of unsolicited compliments on the new brand from customers, investors, family and friends.

We now have a means of monetising our blog traffic through the sale of physical products, bookable meetings and affiliate links. We can much more easily manage the content of our website ourselves.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was very smooth. Both Sarah and Rich made themselves readily available whenever there were things to talk through.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

This was a highly complex project, that required a great deal of sensitivity and thought. Both Sarah and Rich were adept at understanding what we were trying to achieve and how to realise that. They weren't phased by the complexity of it and put a lot of effort into making it as good as it possibly could be. I really felt like they were part of our team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

With any project like this customer feedback is to be expected. The one area I think they could improve for next time is building in more time for customer feedback and responding to that within the initial plan. If it's not needed, that's great, but I think it would be helpful to schedule that in.

I also think it would be helpful to keep track of customer feedback in Google Sheets or similar so that it's easier to keep on top of what has been requested and completed. This would have been particularly helpful for the website build, because there were lots of little things to adjust that got easily lost in the exchange of emails.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Guru Systems develops intelligent technology to make energy systems more transparent, lower cost and lower carbon. I am the Marketing Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our company hired Our Own Brand to create a series of branded assets as well as slide templates and brochure templates.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to deliver consistent and high quality digital promotional material.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Our Own Brand came recommended, and their pitch and quote was competitive against two other services.

Describe the project in detail.

Using our brand guidelines and brief, Our Own Brand created a range of branded assets for use across social media and web. We worked together to choose the final design. Our Own Brand then created a draft Google Slides template and Indesign brochure template. Together we refined through two edits before deciding on the final design. Our Own Brand send all assets via WeTransfer.

What was the team composition?

We worked with Amber and Richard at Our Own Brand. Richard steered the project and helped make design decisions and Amber did most of the execution work as well as coming up with ideas of her own.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've already had great feedback on our new public facing image.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Working with Our Own Brand was easy. They were always on hand if I had questions and the work was completed on time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

You don't have to be a design expert to work with Our Own Brand - they'll guide you through the process, help make aesthetic decisions and provide 'how to' documentation or comments where needed.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None - I would work with them again.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of an independent development agency, focused on react and react native application builds.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The definition of brand guidelines for an e-commerce platform rebuild

What were your goals for this project?

The project was the redesign and rebuild of an existing e-commerce platform. The aim was to give the brand a facelift, while simultaneously building in additional functionality on the system and jettisoning technical debt accrued prior.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Through personal recommendation in my network in London.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Our Own Brand were responsible for defining all elements of the brand from scratch. Their deliverable was complete guidelines from the ground up, encompassing tone of voice, imagery, iconography, typography and social presence.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with Sarah, the found of Our Own Brand.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our Own Brand delivered some of the most comprehensive brand guidelines we have encountered. Rarely have we had so few follow up questions when collaborating with an external resource on a project build. They have a clear understanding of what is required from a development team to be able to deliver a project with all branding and visual elements encorporated.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We would have weekly standups and had a shared slack channel. Responses were timely and the flow of information between us was seemless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were able to produce comprehensive brand guidelines with no grey areas, or ambiguity. No amendments were required whatsoever.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at all!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a not for profit focussed on providing the foundations for a fair and inclusive digital future for all citizens within society. As Adult Learning Project Manager, my role is centred around building levels of engagement and digital inclusion within the region and beyond.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We decided to appoint Our Own Brand to better establish our company presence both online and in the community. As a small, close-knit team working engaged in a number of complex projects, we found that we didn't have the dedicated time, resource or expertise to develop our presence ourselves.

Our Own Brand stood out to us as sector experts in driving growth for brands and widening audiences. As an organisation wishing to broaden our mission, message and reach to all members of society, Our Own Brand not only provide a service that can allow us to do this at pace, but their expertise and execution will no doubt create future opportunities for us to broaden our networks and reach.

What were your goals for this project?

Our primary goals are to widen our audience, networks and community presence so that our messages can be digested and actioned by an ever increasing audience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We conducted a search for online agencies and wished to work with an independent, creative agency that was able to dedicate the necessary time to understand our context and wider advertising objectives. We found that Our Own Brand were very versatile and more flexible than a number of "larger" agencies. Ultimately it was the bespoke approach coupled with the quality and diversity of their current projects that made the decision easy for us.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After appointing Our Own Brand, we met with both directors of the company (Sarah and Richard) to discuss our goals. Both were extremely flexible and keen to understand the background of the company and the context of the sector we work within. We continued to engage and liaise with both Sarah and Richard on a regular basis to develop a delivery plan that was creative, diverse yet relevant and credible.

Through taking the time to continually engage with us, Our Own Brand have been able to develop a range of materials that can be used online as well as in person at our local engagement events. We have benefited greatly form a social media brand refresh, website edits and for the development of print materials that are concise yet informative.

What was the team composition?

I have been fortunate to have worked primarily with both company directors, something that has been very refreshing. We have also had some occasional dealings with other members of the team and it has been impressive how both Sarah and Rich's understanding of our project has been communicated and understood by their wider members of staff.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Whilst the project is ongoing as we will likely continually use Our Own Brand to develop our online presence, since the commencement of our collaboration, we have benefitted from a 56% increase in website traffic and more than doubled our engagement levels and interactions on social media platforms. Recipients of our 'for print' material in the community have also been complimentary of how our information is now presented and easy to understand for the reader.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

As previously mentioned, we were fortunate enough to work with both directors. It is very clear that both Sarah and Richard are staunchly passionate about their company and the work it delivers. Our Own Brand was highly efficient, friendly and most of all, wholly approachable. They were willing to work with us on any queries we had, big or small.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was most impressed with the dynamism and passion that the company demonstrated from the outset and continues to demonstrate

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are thoroughly satisfied with the service and product received from Our Own Brand. It would be advantageous if in the future there was a branch or annex office in further West in the UK but we understand that London is likely where the advertising sector thrives the most.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Design Director or Henham Interiors - Interior design consultancy, specialising in residential.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a very basic website, and Our Own Brand built it on a new platform from scratch, in a very user friendly format. Very image based showing, with snippets of key information, which is so engaging for the clients. They also design a full rebranded package, which is far more in keeping with the company identity

What were your goals for this project?

Creating a user-friendly and inviting website, and being on brand with the company ethos.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Very friend and such a personable service. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and everything was captured within one brief. A few minor tweaks and the website and branding was all up and running.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The took time to understand the service offering of Henham Interiors, and asked lots of questions which lead the conversation to cover all elements of website and branding. They had such insight of how the website could be improved and become more approachable to potential clients.

What was the team composition?

Working directly with the director and founder.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Greatly improved traffic. Numerous comments from clients and suppliers. Many more project enquiries.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have had regular discussions, which is the most time effective way for me to work. This has meant that distance hasn't been any issue

What did you find most impressive about this company?

So dynamic. Although a new company, their knowledge is great, and can back up all their ideas with actions!!

Are there any areas for improvement?

None!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO of a technical recruitment agency based in Los Angeles, CA and serving the US and the UK and Europe thru our London office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a corporate website with an inviting design and with the added functionality to integrate with our CRM to enable us to post new opportunities from the CRM and have them populate to the website.

What were your goals for this project?

Our main goal was to achieve a site that displayed our open opportunities and provided potential candidates and clients with valuable information and an easy process to reach us while giving us the ability to filter the communications to the correct person.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had a personal recommendation initially which lead us to successfully contract with OurOwnBrand for marketing and graphic design. It was an easy choice to entrust them with our website design and development.

Describe the project in detail.

The discovery meetings with Rich were excellent. He offered us a number of different options to achieve our goals and was very clear in explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each. Once the work started the team kept to the schedule and the update emails and meetings were always progressive. At the conclusion we had a few tidy up items that were handled quickly and effectively.

What was the team composition?

We worked with Rich and Sarah. I'm not sure if other developers were employed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our jobs are posting, clients have the information they need and candidates are able to find us and apply for the roles they are interested in. The site is a success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything progressed exactly as planned. Communication was easy through email and scheduled video conference calls. The team was always responsive to our questions and requirements.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They looked at our project as if it was their own business. We were never in the dark and always felt like they had time to do a complete and professional job.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Overall I was very happy and impressed with the work we had done.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the director of Yellow Hat. We provide rehearsal space for bands, and are planning to take our service nationwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired them to develop our branding and identity.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a design that reflected our brand and aligned with our business model. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We called them and explained our project. They were a small company that could focus on our project. Their ideas, enthusiasm, and approach aligned with our goals.

Describe the project in detail.

They created our name, logos, website, content, font, and social tags. First, we discussed the project and exchanged ideas about our vision through email. Then we had a one-on-one meeting with their team to talk about our ideas. Over several months, we exchanged ideas until they put together a full brand package.

What was the team composition?

We dealt with a single point of contact who delegated work to her team. She understood our ideas and handled communication between ourselves and the designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Three months ago, we didn't even have a name for our business. Now every aspect of our branding is complete. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was seamless. They talked to us in a way we could understand, speaking on our level without getting bogged down in the semantics. Our point of contact verbalized our ideas to her team, so they always had ideas available for review.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were friendly, enthusiastic, engaging, and great listeners. After our first meeting, I was excited to keep working on our project. Their team shared our enthusiasm.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't know how design works, but they only gave us five ideas. It would be better to have more to choose from, but that might be the norm.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder of Smarter Click, a marketing company that specializes in conversion optimization. We help e-commerce websites better guide their traffic throughout their website journey. We're based in London with an office in Madrid.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Our Own Brand to help cement our brand identity and take charge of our social media marketing along with our PR. Having had fast growth since our inception, it became time to focus on our identity as a company and present it to the market.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals included a website refresh to properly outline where we stand in 2019 along with updated marketing materials to match. We also put in a strategy for our social media and content marketing to ensure we're presenting relevant information to our clients and the market we work within.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected them after speaking with a number of London-based agencies, looking at their cost and ability to grasp our ideas. Our Own Brand showed a great understanding of what we wanted to achieve and mapped out a good marketing strategy to follow throughout 2019, all while staying within budget.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After Our Own Brand accepted the role as our PR and marketing company, we had a brand identify and social media strategy session. This helped everyone align our common goals from a marketing standpoint. Being able to set the scene and create a tone would be key when presenting ourselves publicly. 

Once we completed the marketing framework, we began developing the social media strategy, including regular posting and blog articles, to further engage with our clients and audiences. They continue to guide us through our marketing strategy and manage our social media.

What was the team composition?

I have principally worked with the agency on a daily basis to help deliver our marketing strategy’s goals.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've seen a huge uplift in every aspect of what we were trying to achieve. Our almost non-existent social media efforts are now growing in terms of engagement and following.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It has been easy to communicate the strategy on a regular basis using Slack and Trello. We’re able to make frequent changes to optimize the campaigns.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It's been fantastic having a top-agency experience that’s both within budget and has a more personal feel. The team is always responsive and open to our way of projecting ourselves while providing guidance.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not that I can see. So far, it’s been good!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the tech lead at a FinTech startup based out of San Francisco and London. We provide credit lines to app developers and digital publishers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Our Own Brand to help us refresh our branding and create a new digital marketing strategy. Additionally, we tasked them with some accompanying frontend design and development work.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to update our messaging to reflect changes in product focus and positioning. Our project focused on creating a new marketing strategy to build brand awareness and to drive engagement and inbound leads.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We’d been impressed with Our Own Brand's quality of work in our previous engagement. We chose them for this project on the basis of our past project together. 

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We held several meetings to discuss our goals and focus for the branding and strategy. Our Own Brand helped us put together a new digital marketing plan. The strategy we assembled included ongoing social media and content strategies. They refreshed our messaging and branding, and also re-designed our website.

What was the team composition?

We worked with Sarah (Founder, Our Own Brand) and Rich (Co-Founder, Our Own Brand).

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RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since working with Our Own Brand, we’ve seen an increase in website traffic and engagement. They’ve also helped us generate a notable uptick in conversions. The strategies we’ve put in place have proven highly effective and were very easy for our small team to implement.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our Own Brand has been really easy to collaborate with. Their communication style is excellent. When we weren't meeting in person, they contacted us via Slack, email, and phone calls. We use Trello to manage and schedule tasks.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

A pleasure to work with, Our Own Brand brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm with them. They took the time to truly understand our business and the market before helping us move forward.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No.