Redfern Partners

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of AIKEN, a fashion brand born in Kazakhstan that focuses on introducing the nomadic lifestyle to the international market. As a brand, we’re also focused on producing high-quality clothing. Our textiles come from Italy and Japan, and we position ourselves as a semi-luxury contemporary brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Redfern Partners?

I have an international professional background, but I’m originally from Kazakhstan. It was important for me to start the brand in the country and then expand internationally.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Redfern Partners worked on branding and marketing research, focusing on placing us in an international market. They put together logo designs, a brand philosophy, and fonts, and made a couple of presentations. The collaboration was research-oriented, and I had to answer a couple of questionnaires. They analyzed the data and quickly came up with a result that I liked and approved.

The company website was fully designed by Redfern, and one of their members was in charge of our social media. We had a couple of meetings with that person in order to briefly introduce them to AIKEN’s vision and ensure that the communication would be correct.

How did you come to work with Redfern Partners?

I searched locally, and worked with other branding companies, but was disappointed with their small vision. I had more international experience than the companies in Kazakhstan that initially built my brand.

A friend of mine knew Redfern Partners’ founder. It was important to me to establish a trusting relationship first, so we met a couple of times just to see if we understood each other. After that, I shared my ideas and vision with them and put together an agreement. Their proposal had the best approach to translating my ideas into solutions.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their services was $3,000–$5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Redfern between May-August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are currently three collections on our website. I established the first one under another brand, which was just my last name. That was the branding made by a local company, and the collection didn’t get much press.

When I introduced the second collection, press attention increased by a lot. We also saw an improvement in how the local fashion community and other professionals were referring to the brand. It left a more professional impression on them; they were seeing it as a brand and not just as a last name. I saw more recognition, and the brand itself was more focused, straightforward, and translated my values to the customer.

How did Redfern Partners perform from a project management standpoint?

Compared to my experience in working with local companies, I was amazed by how Redfern Partners structured everything. I was given dates for when each phase would be done, and they met deadlines perfectly. This was important to me, as I was involved in other projects and needed a vendor that would not just do the work in order to get paid, but that acted as a true partner that shared my same values.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They think globally and act locally.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We only had a few meetings during which my PR manager was briefly introduced to the whole system. They can improve by providing better training for the PR team.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Stay involved in the process. People usually pay money to companies and expect all the work to be done, which doesn’t yield the same outcomes, as in my case. Anyone starting a partnership with Redfern Partners should be involved and proactive; they need to do their own homework and not just rely on the provider. The brainstorming part is an interesting and inspiring process in general.