Simple Truth

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO for Northern Arizona University, a public university in the state of Arizona.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

For this project, we required Simple Truth’s assistance with developing a series of branding initiatives. We have different colleges within our university. For each college, we needed to develop distinct strong identities and brand positions to help them market their various programs effectively.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Simple Truth has helped us develop different brand identities, positioning, and initiatives for our colleges. For each project, they first develop a statement of work (SoW) that clearly outlines what they’ll do. Then, they develop a strategy based on research and define a series of steps to accomplish the project at hand.

After that, Simple Truth executes those steps and works collaboratively with us, listening to what we have to say. Throughout the process, they incorporate our perspectives and feedback until we reach a final product that satisfies our needs and the needs of our clients.

The brand positioning strategies that Simple Truth helps us develop revolve around developing a better way for our colleges to communicate with prospective students and their parents. Thus, Simple Truth does thorough research, both internally and externally, to understand the position of each college.

We’ve also done a lot of research ourselves, so we provide Simple Truth with our input on each college. From there, their team develops a creative solution to convey each college's differentiators from other colleges with similar programs. The development process includes doing concept testing with students and prospective students. This testing helps them validate the positioning strategies they come up with.

We’ve worked on our brand positioning projects on a rolling basis. We address each college in a sequential manner. Thus far, seven colleges have been involved in this process. Currently, we’re in the implementation phase, during which Simple Truth will develop a number of materials, templates, and guidelines to be used by those colleges.

What is the team composition?

We work with an account supervisor from Simple Truth, who oversees our overall relationship. Additionally, we’ve worked with 8–10 other teammates, including a senior strategist, a senior creative person, a senior content developer, and a number of other people.

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

I’ve been working with Simple Truth on and off for over 10 years in two different companies. They’re great strategists and implementers, listen very well, and are extremely creative in their approach to dealing with challenges. Originally, Rhonda (Managing Partner) and I served on a board together, and we developed a personal relationship since then. Thus, I got to know about Simple Truth through that relationship.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together on this project around October 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Simple Truth has done an excellent job at developing the brand positioning for our different colleges and executing the strategy behind those initiatives. One of our main results to date is that we’ve been able to seamlessly and effectively develop highly creative materials for each of our colleges, which will be used by the colleges to market their programs and services moving forward.

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

Simple Truth is excellent at budget and client management. Their team is great at listening and managing expectations, and they do a great job of staying on track. They have a very ordered and logical approach to dealing with projects. Thanks to those qualities, we don’t have to spend a lot of time managing them — they’re self-sufficient and self-reliant. Moreover, they help move projects forward and make their commitments.

Our projects have required a very iterative and collaborative effort between Simple Truth, our university’s marketing department, and the colleges that participate in these initiatives. Thus, we have a lot of Zoom meetings to touch base and collaborate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Simple Truth’s flexibility, listening skills, and adaptability are outstanding. They’re very easy to work with, and they’re very open to incorporating our ideas and perspectives into their work.

On top of that, our account supervisor has been working with me for over eight years, ever since I worked with Simple Truth at a previous company. The fact that they have teammates with a long tenure provides continuity, which is very important.

Additionally, Simple Truth has a very deep bench, and they approach projects very strategically. Their team has a strong approach and philosophy around client service, and they have the expertise needed for research, content development, and design, all of which are the skills we require for this project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing Simple Truth could improve on. I worked for 40 years in the agency business, so I understand the value of a good external consultant. Working with Simple Truth has been relatively seamless, and there’s nothing they could do better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Lay out clear objectives, be very clear about the assignment, have a clear scope of work, and ensure that there’s continuity between the company that you’ll work with and the teammates within that company that will actually do the work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a public college system that’s made up of seven colleges serving 77 different neighborhoods in Chicago. My department serves as an internal agency for marketing and communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

We were looking to implement a complete rebrand of our city college system, as well as the seven colleges under it, to gain more awareness and enrollment growth.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There were three phases of the rebrand project; research, strategy, and the creative phases. They first did a complete assessment of our brand to identify perceptions of our various market segments, and strategized ways to establish our brand platform and messaging.

After that, they developed creative personas, ad campaigns, and brand guidelines, then moved on to design our logo, provide a color scheme, and create content as part of the full-service branding experience that they offered.

What is the team composition?

The CEO of Simple Truth was involved as a project manager, and we also worked with a research team, graphic designers, copywriters, and branding specialists.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $600,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2020–July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Anecdotally speaking, we were very pleased with their diverse range of branding services, as it included everything we needed to acquire a complete branding experience.

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well from a project management perspective, especially with their integration of digital strategies and technologies.

We typically communicated through email, Teams, and Zoom, and managed the project through Zoho. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with their collaborative abilities and strong creative design prowess.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve because the partnership was amazing, and I didn’t experience any shortcomings.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a privately held big data software and analytics firm supporting the consumer goods, retail, and media industries. I’m the CMO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

We were working with them on a comprehensive corporate branding initiative. We were at the point in the evolution of our business where we had a recognized and trusted brand within the B2B market intelligence space. We knew that we had an opportunity to expand that brand to meet an evolving business strategy centered around helping deliver growth for clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They spearheaded a strategic assessment where they examined our various brand components. Afterwards, they led us through a detailed creative development process, which resulted in various “look and feel” options and logos.

They used these new designs to inform a more comprehensive identity system, and they translated them into an overarching brand refresh and roll out strategy applied both internally and externally.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of between 8–10. Their roles included account manager, creative copywriter, content strategist, and researcher.

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

We came across their company through general research and networking referrals. We were enticed by how they sprang immediately into action, despite us engaging them right before a Christmas holiday. They gave us preliminary information and a workable approach, so their speed and enthusiasm secured our partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $250,000 and $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in November 2014 and wrapped up in March 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They truly delivered on their brand promise of helping you uncover the simple truth of what’ll resonate with audiences. Their work resulted in a material increase in terms of recognition and perception, indicated by a brand awareness study for before and after our rebrand.

Our company was extremely satisfied with their creative output, and since they demonstrated a unique understanding of our business, we’ve since engaged them for strategic marketing initiatives.

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

We all felt very confident in their account management and communication. They take a pragmatic approach in making sure that the right people were always plugged in at the right stages of the process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’d highlight how top-notch the end result was. They were able to come up with an identity system that the vast majority of our constituents absolutely loved.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think we could’ve used a more sophisticated project management tool or collaboration platform, but that really wasn’t the norm 6 years ago.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Follow their expertise; they know what they’re doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

For the engagement I’ll be speaking about, I worked in my previous role as the vice-president of marketing responsible for product and content marketing at League. League is a health and benefits technology platform working with employers to maximize the engagement of their employees with their health benefits and investments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

We had a couple challenges, one of which was driving our company’s thought leadership position in the marketplace, alongside using that thought leadership as a way to generate leads and engagement with the brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked with us on a couple of main things. The first was helping us develop a content marketing strategy to figure out what topics we should be talking about to most effectively reach our buyers and key audiences. From there, we looked at targeting the right formats and channels to reach those audiences.

We also did some persona work for our brand, all focused around delivering insights on our better needs to help us execute our strategy in content that would drive traffic to the platform. They helped in writing content, managing the development of the actual platform, as well as the promotion of the content. We used a tool called Uberflip to integrate our content, and Google Analytics for measuring the reaction and engagement as we implemented the changes.

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

I had worked with their team on a project in the past. They were brought in by my leader at the time, and they helped us with pretty much every aspect of a pretty robust product launch. Based on the success of that program, I decided to bring them back on for this.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $500,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We originally started working with them in August 2012 and our most recent project wrapped up in February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to deliver on everything that we were looking for from them. We are a consulting business, so it is critical to have people engaged with the thought-leadership that’s being written by our subject matter experts. We were able to drive increased engagement with those pieces, which increased our traffic as well.

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was super helpful with project management and owning the scope of the project from end-to-end. I was leading marketing for our specific business unit, but we had to leverage the overall corporate website, which includes a much bigger team. Simple Truth really stepped in and helped run the collaboration with the other teams at that point, which was really critical to our success.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are a strategic marketing agency, but they can also be very technical when you need them to be. Oftentimes, creative agencies will be reluctant to create certain assets without long strategic meetings and research, but Simple Truth does a good job of being flexible when you don’t have the luxury for that level of work. They are good at changing pace or pivoting to something else, which allows you to meet a much wider range of needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything I wish they had done differently.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a financial advisory firm in Chicago as the director of marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

We first hired them to work on our branding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided us with strategic direction on where we needed to be. In that effort, they conducted a competitive landscape review to inform the logo and graphic treatments. As part of that, they hosted a few effective creative exercises with us. It helped our more analytical team think outside the box in terms of our company’s image. They got a lot of direction out of that. In the end, they also provided positioning statements that detailed how we should position ourselves within our market space.

Throughout the process, we provided feedback. In our first session, we had a face-to-face meeting that allowed them to present and hear our team feedback in one sitting. In terms of iterations, we had an initial presentation, one other round, and last-minute tweaks. After the second round of revisions, we had everything completely the way we wanted.  

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people with James (Client Engagement Director & Partner, Simple Truth) being our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

The owner of our company knew of someone who had partnered with them in the past. She was impressed with their capabilities and hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we spent about $40,000–$50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started collaborating in 2016, and our most recent work with them wrapped up in the fall of 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Internally, people found that it was easier to present pitches using our new branding and positioning strategy. Our clients weren’t familiar with what we were doing beforehand, so it would be rare to have feedback from them. 

In terms of graphics, people have commented on the clean look and feel. That’s allowed us to feel more comfortable in the pitching process as well.

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication between the account manager and I has been very strong in terms of customer service and deliverables. They’re understanding of the roadblocks on our side, and they’ve been flexible in accommodating our needs from that perspective. We communicated regularly through email, phone calls, and the occasional face-to-face meeting. Along with their impressive responsiveness, they remain strategic when we need them to be strategic. That can be rare in this space. They’ve done a great job on that front. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had experience working with clients with issues similar to ours, with plenty of knowledge about the finance space. We started our partnership with confidence because they shared their experiences and expertise with us. Our purchase cycle can be years long, and they understood that. That was very beneficial to us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Throughout our process, I didn’t have any issues. I have agency experience, so I’m familiar with common issues in that space. Everything went smoothly, though. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As you hand over your project, ask if they’ve had other clients and projects similar to yours. That’ll ensure that they have the experience that you’re looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Argo Translations. We’re in the B2B space, helping clients sell services abroad and help clients communicate with their workforce all over the globe. Our two goals are to help companies earn more revenue and to help companies better connect with employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

We hired Simple Truth to help us with branding. We felt that we had a good set of core values and a decent value proposition, but we didn’t think it was fully ready to be launched and could be refined.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start, Simple Truth ran all of our employees through a series of exercises in their office to help us figure out what our most defining attributes were. They then helped us synthesize it into a set of strengths and a solid value proposition, or go-to-market statement. Additionally, they created a few wireframes and mockups for key pages on our site. We’re in the midst of incorporating those aspects into our website. 

What is the team composition?

Although there may have been others behind the scenes, we worked with four people from their team. There was one main point of contact, Jonah (Account Director, Simple Truth). He was the lead on all the phases of the project. 

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

My digital marketing manager researched a few different options. We sent out our scope and received three quotes. Although Simple Truth wasn’t the lowest price, we felt their proposal was the strongest, so we chose them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $25,000 on the project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–July 2019. We still consider our engagement open in the sense that we could go back to them to tune up some deliverables and other documents, though. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new branding isn’t customer-facing, so I don’t have any direct metrics. However, all of the internal changes we’ve made have been very favorably received. Our whole team was involved in the project, so we’re all very happy with the way Simple Truth delivered it. 

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

They did very well. Everything they promised was delivered on time and within budget, which is huge for a small company like us. We spoke through conference calls, Zoom meetings, a few in-person meetings, and emails. Although it was a mix, they definitely used the appropriate channel for every need. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to synthesize our information into a well-written value proposition and set of core values was great. I don’t think we could have achieved this level on our own even if we tried, so the work they did was really important. All too often, marketing firms deliver work that doesn’t look or feel like the client’s company. Simple Truth’s work really reflected our company, so I have a lot of respect for them in that regard. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there’s anything they could improve on. They did a good job communicating everything from budget to timelines. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to have as many people in your organization involved as possible. Getting all of our employees represented is what made our branding project work well. All of the voices in the room did a good job communicating our values, so the end product was really reflective of who we are. If you just use one individual, you won’t get the best representation of your company. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of a professional individual member association.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

We wanted them to take a fresh look at our brand image in the marketplace—both in terms of members and customers. We wanted to know how we were perceived and to compare ourselves to the competition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They conducted key interviews with top leaders of our organization, a broad range of customers and members. Focusing on diversity, they made sure that we had a very diverse group of input across different practice specialty areas and different companies. Their team completed a competitive analysis, or audit, on what our competition in the field looked like, so we could determine how we would differentiate ourselves in the marketplace.

We then created our core focus and determined what the brand was going to look like. They gave us many options and proposed a series of logo designs. After implementing revisions from our executive board, they developed complete brand guidelines.

Three of their team members flew to our board meeting to present their work. This way, they could answer any questions on the intent and meaning behind our new brand strategy. Now, Simple Truth is working on a web discovery audit. Their report will determine how we can best extend our brand to our web presence.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with a point person, and about five people collectively worked on the project.

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

I interviewed three different firms that were recommended to me and asked them all to submit RFPs. Simple Truth seemed to do the best—they didn’t try to do more than was necessary to create a bigger RFP, they understood what we needed, and they knew how to work with associations. Through reference checks and conversations, it was clear that they had experience working with a board of directors for a nonprofit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We hired them in February 2019 and wrapped up in October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our board of directors was awed by the results. They presented their work at our annual meeting, and everything came together flawlessly. It was a lot of work, but they exceeded our expectations and delivered everything on time. When it was unveiled, I had so many people comment on how much better it was than they expected. I don’t have any metrics, but we received phenomenal feedback when it was launched on our site, social media, and communications.

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great because they were accessible and I could communicate with them any way I wanted—we texted, e-mailed, picked up the phone and called. They answered my questions after hours. They came on site. They were extremely flexible and always available.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really took the time to understand the organization and where it fits in the marketplace. They figured out our problem and created so many great ideas to address the issues. It wasn’t just one idea—they came up with  multiple strategies and the rationale on how to approach it

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I thought it was a great experience that I would hire them again.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start with good dialogue. You need to be able to articulate why you’re doing something, what the motivation is, and what you want the outcome to be. They are able to manage expectations, out you need to scope out the project first.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Mary Lynn Fayoumi: I’m the president of HR Source, an employer’s association that provides a range of HR services to different organizations. These include manufacturers, park districts, libraries, banks, and any other entity that requires HR assistance. We provide a range of services, like training, consulting, legal assistance, and even an HR hotline.

Kevin Menzer: I’m the COO, and I coordinate our member services, business development, and marketing activities. I also oversee our IT management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

KM: We’re a very old association, formed in 1898. We were called the “Management Association,” which doesn’t clearly express what we do. We’d been toying with the idea of rebranding ourselves, because prospective clients were now discovering us on the internet—and no longer by word of mouth.

In order to elucidate our HR service offering, we approached Simple Truth for a name and logo change.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MLF: The scope of the project grew to entail a complete rebrand of our business. We first underwent a data collection phase, where their team engaged our stakeholders. They held interviews and focus groups to collect data on different perceptions of our business.

Their team then analyzed that data to discern our brand characteristics. They arrived at our corporate essence, or theme, of being an “invaluable ally”. They delineated our brand characteristics—of being clear, personal, and versed. They took those concepts to generate different options for our company name.

We vetted these options with various audiences, and shortlisted three names as a result. We consulted with our attorneys to analyze the risks of each name and arrived at HR Source.

Simple Truth then launched into the logo process. Again, their team produced several logos to choose from. After deciding on one, they helped us develop a color palette and brand guidelines.

Their team assisted in rolling out our new brand, by creating a video and another announcement piece. These were shown to all of our members and key stakeholders.

While the rebranding itself lasted around a year, we re-engaged Simple Truth for brochures and other collateral. We needed to ensure that our brand was being properly expressed through our website and marketing materials.

What is the team composition?

KM: We worked heavily with their leadership team, who collaborated with our cross-functional team at each step of the project.

A primary point of contact was Mark (Executive Creative Director, Simple Truth) who oversaw much of the work. We had a project manager, and we also engaged with writers and brand specialists. The team size fluctuated depending on the phase of the project.

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

KM: While we had several references for branding agencies in Chicago, we found Simple Truth through a web search. We asked them if they wanted to be included in our RFP process. They were the ones we ultimately chose.

MLF: Upon connecting with them, we liked that they had experience in working with service-oriented organizations. They were local (Chicago-based), and we got the impression that they were a small, relationship-focused business like ours. After meeting them, our teams just clicked. We decided to go with them since we felt an organic connection with their people.

How much have you invested with them?

MLF: We spent somewhere between $100,000–$150,000 with them, including the add-on work.

What is the status of this engagement?

KM: We signed off on the statement of work in October 2017. Their most direct work ran through March 2018. We officially launched the new brand in July of that year. It was a nine-month project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

KM: While I don’t have the exact numbers with me, the number of visitors to our website has more than doubled, only a year after the brand change. The time that page visitors spend on our website has also increased by 50%.

We’ve received many more inquiries and have earned more members through online discovery. These web statistics point directly to the success of Simple Truth’s campaign.

On a more anecdotal note, even our veteran members—many of whom are long-tenured with us and have spent many dollars—have embraced our new brand, as well. We’re excited that it seems to be just as appealing to our existing members. 

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

MLF: They’re well-organized and err on the side of overcommunication, which was fantastic. They kept us on schedule, met deadlines, and let us know if there’d be any delays. Some of the delays were certainly caused by our side. We took a bit longer than expected sometimes, but there were absolutely no problems on this front.

What did you find most impressive about them?

MLF: Their people are amazing. Their team members are creative, communicative, and innovative, and they adapted to our culture exceptionally well. We’re a people-oriented business, and the collaboration felt customized to our specific business model.

They let our unique perspectives play a role in the process, and they patiently facilitated challenging meetings with conflicting opinions. Simple Truth did a masterful job of ensuring that everybody’s voice was heard while helping us remember that this was ultimately a business decision. They reminded us that there were several important, measurable factors—beyond our personal preferences—that had to be taken into account.

Are there any areas they could improve?

MLF: While we experienced a minor problem in the process, Simple Truth handled the error with the utmost professionalism. It was a communication issue on both of our teams’ parts. We quickly recovered and had very candid conversations about it.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

MLF: Just go for it. Get to know them, tap into their services, take their advice, and follow their process.

KM: We weren’t familiar with many of the branding processes—for example, the concept of a naming exercise was totally new to us. But, they really know their stuff, and their solutions are research- and data-driven. My advice is not to have any fear: Simple Truth has lots of experience and can work through tough situations. You can trust them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in the marketing department of an established insurance company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

We hired Simple Truth to simplify the pricing conversation for our auto customers since the insurance industry can be very complex. We wanted to have simpler language that can be used across our company as a whole.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us put together and moderate a work session that involved people across our organization, including people from various departments like claims and customer experience. They pulled all these people together so we could have a rich, comprehensive conversation about price and how we externally communicate it to our customers. 

They gathered information from that session and developed a content guideline for use among all of those different departments that were involved. We had a few critical conversations to nail down our strategy and content language. 

What is the team composition?

About 5–6 people total supported the project, including those in the room with us and those working behind the scenes. 

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

We’ve had a longstanding, rich partnership with Simple Truth, which is why we thought their background would be a good fit for our project. 

How much have you invested with them?

This project cost between $40,000–$50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This specific project ran from May–November 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The deliverable itself was produced and we’re hoping it’ll streamline our communication with customers. Their services have really helped us refine that language across the company. We’re hoping this content guide will offer a better customer experience and provide a unifying language for our internal team to use.

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

They were wonderful at managing the project. They honored the timelines that they set. If we had any questions or needed to accelerate the work, they were accommodating and responsive. Their team was a great partner. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Simple Truth was down to earth and wanted to be involved—it felt like a true partnership. It didn’t feel like an external vendor working with our internal team, so their approach was wonderful. Their eagerness to get the work done and think critically to provide the best experience was great. A partnership like that is hard to find if you don’t have people who are genuinely invested in the work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some technical difficulties but those issues fell more on us than them. I think they did a great job, especially considering the project was short-notice. If they had more time they probably would have been able to produce even more visual presentations, but they were working as quickly as they could. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep them updated and be as transparent as possible with your timelines, goals, and feedback. Look at them as a partner because it’ll help you hit your end goals. If you trust and build your relationship, you’ll get the best product. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the former president of Gateway for Cancer Research, which is a nonprofit organization that raises money to fund early-phase clinical cancer trials.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Simple Truth?

When I became president in January 2014, I discovered that Gateway's brand identity was confusing. The logo and name had been replaced by a slogan in many communications materials and the brand was not being used consistently. Few people knew what Gateway for Cancer Research was. We engaged Simple Truth to help us determine a new logo and brand attributes to reclaim our lost name recognition and create a consistent brand and messaging.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The name of our company was somewhat buried, and we felt that we needed a new logo and other brand elements to revive it. We relied on Simple Truth to lead the design efforts of a new logo. To get a full grasp of our organization, Simple Truth examined the research that we funded and our existing strategic plans. In our creative sessions, their team made a concerted effort to consider our vision for the organization. The output of their work included a new logo, a brand platform, and brand guidelines that we could use in all of our communications.

What is the team composition?

I recollect that we had a project manager and several other people working with our account.

How did you come to work with Simple Truth?

Their managing partner is a cancer survivor and a board member for Gateway for Cancer Research. It was easy for us to find the right organization because of her.

How much have you invested with them?

The value of the initial project was about $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in April 2014 and remains ongoing. The process of identifying the brand platform and making the logo took around four months. Since then, we’ve turned to Simple Truth for recommendations on a variety of communications issues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks in part to Simple Truth’s work, we were able to achieve a 34% reactivation rate for donors that had stopped giving, and as a result, we also doubled the amount of money raised over the next couple of years. Additionally, our social media campaigns experienced a 50% increase in engagement. We received a crisp and clean logo and a lot of positive feedback.

How did Simple Truth perform from a project management standpoint?

Simple Truth kept us informed the entire time and stayed on target with their timelines. They stayed within our budget and did a great job overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated that they valued our input regarding the brand attributes that we wanted to communicate. Then, Simple Truth managed to articulate those desires within the final product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were all quite pleased.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as forthcoming as you can about your business so that they can learn more about you. And then have trust that Simple Truth has the expertise necessary to help you accomplish your goals.