Parliament

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the chief creative officer at Rivian, an electric vehicle startup primarily focused on SUVs and trucks. I was responsible for our brand and automotive designs.

What challenge were you trying to address with Parliament?

My company hired Parliament to provide branding services. We wanted to shift the direction in which our company was going to be more of a Pacific Northwest lifestyle brand. In particular, we wanted the brand to reflect the future of transportation, such as self-driving cars.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Parliament helped us redefine our brand identity. They underwent a lengthy discovery process, during which they analyzed why Rivian existed and what we wanted to provide to the world. Then, they built a new website that was more in line with our brand identity. Finally, Parliament produced a short video that they linked to the site.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team that ranged from 5–12 people. This included Chris (Founder and Creative Director, Parliament), account managers, graphic and motion designers, and copywriters. For the video production work, Parliament hired subcontractors to do the voiceovers and music.

How did you come to work with Parliament?

My company had an agency of record in Chicago, but they didn’t fit our brand or company goals. We looked at around five agencies across the US, and none of them understood our vision. Prior to joining Rivian, I’d worked at a multinational athletic apparel and equipment company, and it was in this context that I knew Parliament. We asked them for a quote, and they comprehended the brand we wanted to create.  

How much have you invested with them?

Rivian spent around $275,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted about a year, from May 2017–May 2018.

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

After Parliament rebranded our company and created a new website, we experienced higher site traffic and lead generation.

How did Parliament perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was excellent. Parliament’s team was very professional and timely; my team caused any scheduling issues. I’ve worked with a lot of brand agencies, and Parliament provided one of the best working relationships I’ve had yet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood the lifestyle brand that we wanted to establish. Parliament didn’t have considerable expertise in futuristic vehicles, but they were incredibly knowledgeable about branding. We were struck by their ability to study future demographics and tie those into their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t think so. They did a great job doing what we asked of them.

Any advice for potential customers?

They were incredibly involved and proactive, so I don’t have any advice on how to get the most out of the partnership. The whole team gave 110%.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of WYLD, a cannabis edibles producer. We sell THC and CBD products.

What challenge were you trying to address with Parliament?

We hired Parliament to help us with branding.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Parliament is helping us structure our brand strategy. We’re about halfway through the project. Currently, they’re analyzing our company to help us determine our brand identity. They have interviewed the other owners of the company and me. We’ve been discussing our vision, brand, and what we’d like to see out of their work. Parliament will be using this information to further develop our mission, vision, and values, and some general content surrounding those areas.  

What is the team composition?

We consistently work with 4–5 Parliament team members.

How did you come to work with Parliament?

We were seeking an agency that could help us with long-term brand planning, and my friend referred us to Parliament.

How much have you invested with them?

The contracted proposal was around $50,000. We paid a retainer of $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The collaboration began in May 2019, and the work is ongoing.

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

Our work together is very new, but the brand strategy that Parliament develops will guide our company’s future. Their work will also help our holding company better structure their marketing so that they can eventually take on more brands.  

How did Parliament perform from a project management standpoint?

Their deliverables have been well-detailed and on time. We have meetings to brainstorm, pitch ideas, and ask questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve been impressed by their strategic thinking and planning. Unlike other design agencies I’ve come across, Parliament considers long-term brand strategy and growth.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything they’ve done for us has been great. Parliament should consider updating their website; when referred to them, we found that their site didn’t have much of their current work nor provide a good sense of their capabilities.

Any advice for potential customers?

The more honest you are, the more Parliament can help. The work that we’re doing with them speaks truthfully about our brand and vision.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a brand creative manager at an optics manufacturer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Parliament?

My company hired Parliament to create and produce some of our marketing materials. I’m responsible for the creative team that develops our collateral and does all of our advertising, and we needed help with overflow work.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, Parliament worked with my team to conceptualize and create our complete 2019 product catalog and guide, which we give to retailers to help them understand our products and their features. We then followed the same process to create a seasonal consumer catalog and guide. Parliament contributed various storytelling components, which led to several rounds of conceptualization before the final delivery of the design files.

Currently, Parliament is helping us develop new brand guidelines. They're streamlining our brand and product identities, tone, and voice. They’re also analyzing our current creative campaign so that they can evolve it in the future.    

What is the team composition?

My team engages with five Parliament team members, including a designer, a copywriter, an account manager, and strategists.

How did you come to work with Parliament?

We looked at a few local agencies and ultimately chose Parliament.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in August 2018, and it is ongoing. Parliament completed the retailer and consumer catalog projects, and they’re still working on the brand guideline and ad evolution work.

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

We don’t have any discernible KPIs, but they’ve been great to work with. They’re a dynamic group that thinks strategically.

How did Parliament perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Smaller agencies like Parliament seem more personally invested in the success of the project. Parliament is invested not only in the deliverables but also in our relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our projects have gone smoothly. I think they’ve done what they needed to do.

Any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have a point person on your side to work with Parliament’s point person.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Icon Motorsports is an internationally distributed motorcycle apparel brand. We design our lines to appeal to the most at-risk group of riders out there, namely people who don't normally wear protective gear. As the art director, my responsibilities include our website and producing all our marketing content. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Parliament?

We hired Parliament to create our new consumer-facing website. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Parliament handled both the design and development for our company’s website.  They programmed the platform from the ground up on a Craft CMS.

At the time of launch, we carried three interconnected brands: our Icon brand, a premium apparel line, and an adventure sport riding brand. All three sites needed to communicate within one CMS, which was the most challenging aspect of the project.

It was difficult to find a vendor that could handle the amount of work we needed to complete, but Parliament was capable of creating multisite functionality within one CMS.

How did you come to work with Parliament?

I was tasked with finding an agency that could handle our project. I’d heard about Parliament in the past and saw them during my research, so I reached out to learn more about their exact capabilities. 

Our first meeting gave me the sense that our companies had a similar vision and style of working. We felt that Parliament was the best suited to handle this job.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was about $120,000 for the main project. Beyond that, we've probably spent an additional $10,000– $20,000 with Parliament on updating and adding new features to our website.

What is the status of this engagement?

I initially contacted Parliament in May 2015 and our first project lasted through the fall of 2016 when we launched our website.  Throughout the years, we have worked with them several different times. They've mainly updated our website and added new features.

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

We monitor a couple of metrics to measure progress, but our brand is unique because it's not an e-commerce website. I assume we judge success differently than most clients, since we don't have revenue coming in and out of our website. 

The main KPIs we track relate to user information. We have definitely seen an uptick in our subscription rates and new user information that we didn't have previously. 

Parliament is a team of amazing people. They offered useful insights into the ideas we proposed. I feel like we formed some really nice friendships out this engagement, as well. 

How did Parliament perform from a project management standpoint?

Parliament is great at communicating with us. They keep us informed about what's going on when we're not there. We always know what specific work they're accomplishing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The reason we chose Parliament is that their passions were in line with our own. They love the outdoors and adventure, and they want to take risks.  They demonstrated many strengths we value in our office, as well. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Off the top of my head, I can't really think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I give Parliament my full recommendation. I couldn't have asked for anything better. They did an amazing job on our website. Personally, they were great people to work with and I found them very professional.  I would continue to work with them if given the chance.