Sponge

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of the world's largest speed skate producer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Sponge?

We hired them for marketing and design work.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to increase awareness of our new product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were a referral from a friend, who had great work done by this company.

Describe the project in detail.

Initially, I sent product images and some guidelines. The Sponge came back to me with a mock-up that was exactly what we were looking for—the colors, images, and feel were all perfect. They also came up with the tagline.

What was the team composition?

I worked with a project manager and designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product was launched successfully and has gone on to be one of our best-sellers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They did the work quickly and easily. The best part was that they got the concept immediately, so there was no back and forth to get the right look.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were always in agreement when it came to the design. They chose cool relative fonts and knew which colors work best for our market.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a company that provides software and services to the premium hospitality and leisure sector. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire The Sponge?

We hired them to refine our brand purpose, values, and story.

What were your goals for this project?

We had outgrown our brand. We wanted a fresh start that represented the caliber of our business and showcased our ability to help new and existing clients. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them through a referal. 

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Through a brand discovery workshop and several self-assessments, we clearly identified our values. The Sponge team helped us articulate our brand purpose and identity from our answers. They also helped us identify our core story, which stayed at the center of all the marketing that followed. They developed a full brand identity, which included event displays, business collateral, and a website.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with Luke (Brand Strategist, The Sponge), but saw the results of his creative team in his work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new branding improved our presence and credibility in the lead-up to company acquisition. Everything they produced clearly conveyed our brand and connected with our buyers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was effective. We frequently communicated through phone calls and video conferences. Luke and his team were always available to answer our questions and address our concerns.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed by the team’s commitment to their values. They inspired our project. We can’t imagine not having a strong purpose like the one The Spong sculpted for us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They are always growing, innovating, and staying in tune with current trends.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the marketing manager for a manufacturer and trader of ceramics. We produce plates, toilets, and sewer pipes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with The Sponge?

We're an international company with offices in multiple countries. Each of those offices used to market itself, before we realized that this created confusion in the market. The public was seeing different messages from each entity within our company. Our plates were being sold in a premier shopping mall in one country, but weren’t as popular in other markets. We weren’t presenting our company to customers. We were simply trying to sell our product, which doesn’t work in the modern day.

After realizing that internet plays a big role in marketing, we decided to review and unify all our brand messages. We hired The Sponge for a brand refresh that aligned with this new strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially held a workshop to review our brand story, our previous efforts, and our current marketing strategy. Our brand had existed for many years, so its mission, lower goals, and layout were quite old-fashioned. We tried to modernize and simplify them. We talked more about our brand history and described what we could offer customers beyond product quality. We listed our core values and provided customer references.

From there, we developed new core brand values. We interviewed customers to determine which core values we could provide to them. Then we created a purpose statement and brand stories to align with our strategies.

We also refreshed our bland website and social profiles after realizing that they didn’t properly represent our brand. The Sponge helped us develop a website, Facebook page, and LinkedIn profiles featuring our brand story.

What is the team composition?

I mainly worked with Luke (Brand Strategy and Storyteller, The Sponge).

How did you come to work with The Sponge?

We initially started working with them seven years ago, before I was in charge. We stopped the collaboration for a while, but we decided to give them another try. We chatted with Luke, and we had a nice synergy.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work was AU$25,000 ($19,111 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the current project with The Sponge in February or March 2017. The project was completed at the end of April of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our audience has increased by 40-50% during the past year.

How did The Sponge perform from a project management standpoint?

They followed up, they delivered on time, and they were available for anything we need. They were willing to meet with our board during nights and weekends.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Luke was a responsible person. He looked after everything, stayed up-to-date on current marketing trends, and delivered what he promised. He had a strong relationship with everyone who was necessary to finish the job. I achieved what I needed and learned a lot while talking with him.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They lacked a good designer. Our initial designer left the team and was replaced by someone who didn’t deliver very impressive work. That person improved a lot during the past year, but there was still room for them to improve.