Stay Calm Industries: a creative marketing agency
We're a small, flexible team of creative people that specialize in marketing and advertising. We work in branding, web design, graphic design, and creating marketing strategies. On a broader scale, we can do almost anything creative (like photo shoots, video production, or podcasts).
We have a creative director (that's Evan), and a bunch of freelancers. That means we can build the perfect team for you, finding exactly the talent we need to complete your project, while keeping costs down.
We'd love to chat, no matter what your need. Let's talk.
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Portfolio
Allentown Economic Development Corporation, Glemser Technologies, Peregrine Surgical, Gaucho Grills, Village Publishing
Branding - Glemser Technologies
Glemser was a bit of a special case. They knew they needed help with marketing, and they knew what they do (pharma services, but it’s way more complicated than that), but they weren’t sure how to tell other people what they do. We built them a new brand, which includes a refreshed logo, business cards, Powerpoint templates, and much more.
Branding - Allentown Economic Development Corporation
To freshen up their brand standards, we redesigned the AEDC's logo. To make AEDC’s goals more understandable, we divided their work into three pillars, or sub-brands, which helps define what each represents.
Urban Sites concentrates on brownfield reclamation projects, undertaking rehabilitation of buildings with perceived environmental issues.
Urban Made is a combination of business interaction and loan programs for emerging small businesses, helping with loans for equipment, expansion, operating costs, while making sure businesses in Allentown are getting what they need from the city.
Bridgeworks Enterprise Center is a business incubator celebrating their 30-year anniversary, and one of the few in the country concentrating on manufacturing businesses.
Combined, these three pillars make up the AEDC. We hope that the public can be more aware of the AEDC’s efforts in launching more jobs and benefitting the Lehigh Valley community.
Branding - Village Publishing
The leaders in child custody and parenting evaluation tests, Village Publishing was looking a little homespun after 37 years in business. For their brand identity, we cleaned them up, set their name in Futura, and chose clean, professional colors.
Logo Design - Historic Easton Cemetery
To help the people of the Lehigh Valley learn more about the cemetery’s history, we built a brand and a website that educates visitors while informing them of the many burial options offered. This cemetery has historical resonance, so we created short biographies of each notable individual and where they are buried. We want people to know that this is no ordinary cemetery, so we designed a new logo showing off its National Register status while being respectable and trustworthy, and still being accessible to younger generations. While cemeteries are not the ideal hangout spot for younger folk (especially those that don’t want to think about their own mortality), we wanted the cemetery to be presented as the scenic park it was originally created as, while also respecting those buried there. With a refreshed brand (including new business cards and letterhead) and website, we hope that the Historic Easton Cemetery can be a place that both locals and visitors can appreciate and enjoy.
Allentown Economic Development Corporation
The first step for the website was to create a wireframe (a rough blueprint) for the site. This gives the client a sense of what the layout of the new site is going to look like and how customers flow through the site. Bridgeworks explains what the business incubation program is and how it works. It also includes information about the Makerspace and the MAKE Lehigh Valley initiative, where builders can work on projects with the necessary tools provided. Urban Made discusses how the AEDC helps local manufacturing companies grow and reviews the many loan programs it manages. Urban Sites reviews the nonprofit organization’s capabilities with brownfield redevelopment of existing manufacturing sites. News section features recent press releases and blog posts describing work done at the AEDC. About section recaps the organization’s 40-year legacy of success dating back to 1979.
After we developed a strong layout, we started to create content for the website. We built custom graphics, wrote the descriptions for the individual sub-brands, outlined each step of the business incubation process, discussed loan & incentive programs, and talked about the past and present projects from the AEDC. Marco Calderon Photography provided us with professional pictures of the Bridgeworks Flex Office & Coworking space, along with an inside look of the many office spaces that the AEDC makes available for use.
Once we had all the content laid out, we built the actual website, slotting in information, graphics, and photos as we went. Once we had a working site, it was time for another round of reviews. We presented the site to key stakeholders, including AEDC staff and board members. Taking their feedback and input into account, we revised the site, and performed another client feedback loop.
Glemser Technologies
Working in the solutions business, Glemser analyses, comprehends, and solves issues related to pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical devices, life sciences, and high tech manufacturing. Their work in pharmaceutical services and information technology has led quality management solutions and services, which continue to meet the needs of their clients as their systems change over time. The website we built for the company includes their case studies with international clients with detailed summaries, challenges, solutions, and results.. On their homepage, we have an overview of what the company works on, their process, and contact information.
Gaucho Grill Website
Gaucho Grills are sturdy, premium grills. They make a beautiful, hand built, made-in-America product, but their website was pretty rough. It didn't match up to the quality of their grills, plus it was expensive, difficult to maintain, and they couldn't work on it themselves. Because of that, we built a website that informs, offers help, and makes it as easy as possible to order a grill. We spent weeks working with Gaucho Grills to determine the best customer flow to optimise sales, and reduce abandoned carts. Since most of their sales come directly from their website (around 70%), we added an e-commerce option to make buying a grill online a frictionless experience for customers. Their website is regularly updated, and its simple scroll-down layout makes it easy to go through the many grill options and accessories.
Durham Hill Farm
Durham Hill Farm is a great location for any sort of large events, especially weddings. The Durham Hill Farm website has details about the barn’s history, details about venue rental including descriptions of the barn, private tours, rental prices, hours, a 3-D tour (from Visit Bucks County and Paul Loftland Photography), and pictures of the property and wedding photos. There is also a “rental” button on the top right corner of the website.
Historic Easton Cemetery Logo
The Historic Easton Cemetery wanted to show off their National Historic Register status, and help people learn about all their incredible residents. We built a beautiful (on brand) website that educates their clientele while informing them of the cemeteries many burial options. This cemetery has historical resonance dating back to the 19th century, so we created short biographies of each notable individual and where they are buried. We want people to know that this is no ordinary cemetery, so we designed a new logo showing off its National Register status while being respectable and trustworthy. We wanted the cemetery to be presented as the scenic park it was originally created as, while also respecting those buried there.
Reviews
the project
Web Dev. & Digital Marketing for Medical Manufacturer
"It’s been a highly successful engagement."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the president of Peregrine Surgical, a family-run medical manufacturer. We’re primarily an OEM. We manufacture single-use devices for ophthalmic surgery. Over the past three years, we’ve been manufacturing endovascular catheters.
What challenge were you trying to address with Stay Calm Industries?
We hired them to help with our website.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Evan (Owner) created our first website using Squarespace. The engagement involved Evan creating a website, doing a lot of photography, and organizing the site. We engaged with them on a monthly retainer where he helps with digital marketing pieces and tools. He’s created posters that we use as visual tools to help our customers or our assemblers with training.
After the website was created, we started working with a catheter company. Evan helped us create sketches and posterboards to help owners or any investors who had a hard time understanding these catheters' design or engineering. They’re large sketches that really can identify the 30,000-foot level design of the product.
What is the team composition?
I work with Evan.
How did you come to work with Stay Calm Industries?
A few years ago, I came across Evan through a friend who had been using him for social media marketing. He came highly recommended.
How much have you invested with them?
Over the years, we’ve spent between $100,000–$200,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
Our ongoing engagement with Stay Calm Industries started in June 2014.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
It’s been a highly successful engagement. Evan created an easy to navigate website for us. He did a great job with the posters. The sketches helped people understand the device’s intricacies. They were able to understand the purpose of different designs better.
When we started with this catheter company four years ago, we brought a scientific advisory board on board, which are icons in the cardiovascular industry. These were physicians who were brought onto the board for their expertise.
When we initially brought them in, just to bring them into a board meeting and walk them through the product's design, we brought them into our facility, and we took these posters that Evan had created for us. We put them on the easels, and these board members came in.
As I was showing them the catheters themselves, I walk through the posters one at a time. We put them in a progression. They fully understood the device, which they wouldn’t have been able to without the posters.
One of the board members, an extremely experienced physician quoted by a number of the large manufacturers in the industry, walked out and said it was the best presentation he’s ever seen, which was a huge compliment. That comes to mind immediately when I think of the work that Evan’s done for us.
How did Stay Calm Industries perform from a project management standpoint?
Evan comes and visits every week. We go over the projects that I have. I explain to him what I want to accomplish. I tell him I want to have 5 or 6 slides where I’m walking the FDA through the pictures of the device and some bullet points, and I want to walk out of there where they understand the device and what we do.
He will take a couple of weeks to create this PowerPoint presentation or these posters, but he works on them on his time. He provides them to me on an interim basis. We’ll go back and forth over two weeks. He will manage that time, and I’ll tell him what my deadline is, staying on time and within budget.
We have a regular Tuesday call over the phone or in-person. Sometimes we’re in touch several times a day or several times a week, depending on my level of need. He always accommodates, including evenings and weekends.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Evan is creative. He knows what people are looking for when they look at a website or poster. He avoids clutter, emphasizing minimization. He’s extremely good at organization.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I have a great relationship with Evan. He listens to what I say and want but still gives his honest opinion. I don’t have any concerns about Evan.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
If you have a company with several layers of marketing, it’d probably be helpful to create a Gantt chart or spreadsheet that would allow you to manage several projects together.
the project
Site Redesign & Digital Marketing for Wood-Fired Grill Maker
“Their strength lies in developing a deep understanding of your business and meeting whatever needs might arise.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the business manager and operator of a wood-fired barbecue grill company.
What challenge were you trying to address with Stay Calm Industries?
We were looking to increase our online presence and digital marketing efforts.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Stay Calm helped us to start taking advantage of social media, upgrade our web store, and handle general advertising and marketing. The first part of the project was a website redesign, including of our online store, followed by optimizing the organization and code and making sure everything was up and running successfully.
From there, they got to work with SEO, both through advertising and content creation on our blog. They have also assisted with social media advertising on Instagram and Facebook, and are currently putting together a YouTube channel for us as well.
The content creation efforts include research, photography, and email marketing as well.
What was the team composition?
I know that there are a number of their staff members working on the project in some capacity, but my main point of contact is Evan (Creative Director).
How did you come to work with Stay Calm Industries?
I was looking for a smaller boutique company to work with so that I could interact with the owner and approach the project more collaboratively with them.
How much have you invested with them?
The total cost of our work with them has been around $50,000–$75,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together on the initial website redevelopment about three years ago in July 2017 and have worked together ever since.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve seen an increase in sales since we started the project, up 10% in the first year alone. In 2019, we were up 30% over 2018, and despite thinking all bets were off with the way this year started, we have actually caught up to where we were last year at this time. We are consistently growing our campaigns with Stay Calm and are very pleased with the results they have provided.
How did Stay Calm Industries perform from a project management standpoint?
Everything has been delivered on time and within budget, and they have done an excellent job of breaking down all of our requirements into tasks that we can tackle one by one and really start seeing results as quickly as possible. Typically, I have weekly meetings with Evan and he generates reports for me that we discuss and decide how to move forward from there.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Evan is really willing to work closely with the client and wear many hats depending on our needs. He really has become an extension of our company that has allowed us to do a lot of things that we otherwise couldn’t have.
For example, some of my clients are chefs who will suggest collaborating on social media, and Evan will even help with the handyman work of delivering the grill just so that he can be there to sit down with me for that discussion and provide his expertise in terms of how that collaboration could go.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Of course, there is always room for improvement, but everything that he does, he does very well. The only thing I think would help him is to continue to bring in other resources to his team so that they can handle an even wider range of tasks.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Just sit down with Evan and have an honest conversation about how to develop a real, organic relationship. If you’re looking for prepackaged services, they might not be the best fit, because their strength lies in developing a deep understanding of your business and meeting whatever needs might arise during their partnership with you.
the project
Branding, Design, and Web Dev. for Non-Profit Organization
"I appreciate them taking the time to educate themselves on our complex industry."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
We’re a private not-for-profit economic development organization, and I’m the executive director there.
What challenge were you trying to address with Stay Calm Industries?
We’d completed a marketing plan previously, and one of the recommendations within it was to establish a brand for each of our three primary programs.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They primarily took care of the rebranding for us. We met with them several times to walk through the marketing plan and help them understand our business before jumping in.
He took the time to understand what we do and then packaged different brands for the programs. In that effort, he handled graphic design for logos and web as well as the build of our site.
What is the team composition?
Evan (Creative Director) was our only point of contact. He had subcontractors assigned to the project as well.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent between $10,000–$25,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from February 2018–June 2019.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Their work dramatically improved our ability to communicate the specifics of our programs to stakeholders quickly and seamlessly. It made our communication process more efficient and brand more discernible.
How did Stay Calm Industries perform from a project management standpoint?
There were no issues with project management because they handled themselves efficiently. They delivered on time and within budget.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Evan is a talented designer with a strong sense of marketing. He put a lot of effort into understanding our company before diving into the project. I appreciate them taking the time to educate themselves on our complex industry. It felt like he was an in-house employee.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I can’t think of anything.
Over the years, Stay Calm Industries has become a trusted partner. Their visual work is appealing and exceeds client expectations. Their organized approach is also noteworthy. They're accommodating, responsive, and creative.