PSYKHE

Please describe your company and your position there.

I lead marketing areas for a group of businesses across finance, consulting and workspace sectors. This project was specific to one of our businesses in the Financial Services industry.

For what projects/services did your company hire PSYKHE?

The problem: We had an impersonal brand with very content-heavy, factually-driven materials even though we were a business that was very much built around relationships, and motivated by personal goals. We had the internal know-how, but struggled to pull a compelling brand story that would convey the essence of our brand in a more meaningful manner.

What were your goals for this project?

To distill content provided by us and turn it into a brand story that shares how we value add to prospective clients, capture the brand purpose in a tagline, and design the pitch deck materials.

How did you select PSYKHE?

I had heard of Hema from mutual friends and connected with her when she first started PSYKHE. We had an open conversation to share what our companies did, and I really liked her passion, authenticity, and ideas. This opportunity to work together came up, and we have since worked on several projects together.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The rebranding effort included workshops to collaboratively build the brand positioning, and content outlines to create the two key deliverables - a presentation deck and a brand tagline.

What was the team composition?

I was mostly in touch with Hema (Director) and Marissa (UX consultant), although Sofiah (Designer) would occasionally join in meetings. The team makes an excellent thought partner for more exploratory projects.

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

The deliverables were well received by the senior management as well as key stakeholders.

PSYKHE may be new to the business we're in, but they understood our objectives, and played a pivotal role in shifting the mindset away from an emphasis of details, to communicating the brand experience. Inspired by this, we have since used the deck material as a reference point to develop other marketing materials.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I appreciated that they were committed to our success, honest when they needed to be, and deeply engaged in the project, leading to smooth collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Each individual is skillful, personable, and passionate about what they do. Together, they are a formidable team that makes it a joy to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There will always be areas for improvement in every project. PSYKHE understands this and their journey to continuously seek areas of improvement is evident in our post-project reviews.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Ulo, a travel goods startup.

What challenge were you trying to address with PSYKHE?

I needed help with customer research to see if it was something that was a viable opportunity and made sense.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started with customer research. We brainstormed together on what we were looking for in terms of the personas and people we’d be targeting. Then, they helped to formulate an online survey that we executed. They did the end-to-end work with that. We were really trying to understand what our target audience would be.

They did some other work in tandem. On the customer research side, they helped with wireframes and contextual design. They also developed the branding, the style guide, and all the visual design elements of the website, as well as other collateral including digital TV screens and offline properties. Some things have been designed as recently as February 2020.

What is the team composition?

I worked closely with Hema (Director) who lead the team, Marissa (User Experience Consultant) and Sofiah (Visual Designer). They were all amazing.

How did you come to work with PSYKHE?

We had heard of Hema before she started her own agency. We knew she did great work and would be much more accessible to a small business like me.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $10,000. They’ve done more than I paid for.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May–July 2019.

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

I will definitely engage them again because they’ve been so integral to the creation of the business. I trust them; they really understand what I’m doing. They have exceptional design skills, and there was no rework. They grasp the concept visually.

I was able to partner with a global hotel chain and work with one of their five-star properties. That wouldn’t have happened if the branding was not as good as it is. There’s also been a lot of positive comments about the look and feel of the site. A lot of small businesses ask me who did the site, and I’ve recommended PSYKHE to quite a few of them

How did PSYKHE perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really organized. The director was always involved and present for meetings to make sure we were on the right track. My day-to-day person was Marissa, who was excellent and really passionate about the business. She’s extremely organized and reliable. She created a shared Drive; we use a lot of Google and Dropbox to make sure we can pass things to each other. They also have some internal tools as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take on your business as if it’s their own. They go above and beyond; they did so much extra work beyond the scope. They’re always thinking about the next thing you need in a way that’s quite empathetic with your journey. They’re driven, passionate, and proactive. Their personal empathy is very different from others. Their technical and creative skillsets are great, but it’s the personal side that makes them so nice to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they go above and beyond.