Bradbury Brand + Design Experts

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a maker of luxury coconut soy candles. I am the maker and owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bradbury Brand + Design Experts, and what were your goals?

I hired them to develop my entire brand.I wanted to be able to convey my story and connect with my customers. I wanted a luxury brand that would be approachable and would connect to my customer on an emotional level.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had seen other work from Bradbury and had been recommended by others.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Brand strategy consulting, graohic design, customer experience management

Helped us form a branding team Lead a one-day session of facilitated discussions and excercises with the branding team Took information from the session and developed a brand strategy that was fine tuned collaboratively with me Once the brand strategy was done Bradbury designed a brand playbook, and collaborated with me to design a logo and packaging. At the end of the project Bradbury sent me electronic files for the playbook, logo and packaging, and assisted with some product photography and with printing the packaging How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Catharine - President & Creative Director Bill - VP Brand Strategy Bree - Graphic designer Bev - Copywriter

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I ended up with a cohesive, elegant brand that tells the emotional story that connects with my customer and is the reason my company exists.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Collaborrative, using highly developed internal processes. Some tools used for project management included Zoom meetings, online calendars, phone calls, etc.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I am impressed with Bradbury because they always show that they care about our brand and its growth. I was also impressed with the vast knowledge and experience they have to be able to develop a brand in its entirety.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The NorthWest Community Lodge Association (abbreviated NCLA) is a non-profit tasked with raising $2.5 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment for the long-term care home in Meadow Lake, SK. My role at the time was VP.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bradbury Brand + Design Experts, and what were your goals?

We retained Bradbury Brand + Design Experts to create a brand and visual identity for the organization than we could use as materials to solicit funds and build a relationship with donors.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I searched through SquareOne in Saskatchewan for design firms that purported to offer the type of services we were looking for. I short-listed 3 firms to meet with, and easily recognized Catherine's company as the most suited for our NPO.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

They met with our Board of Directors and over the course of a weekend, ran us through their "Brand Imprint" process. This helped distill out a set of values we could put forward in public-facing assets, and would help to build a relationship with donors. Bradbury developed a number of tangible assets with the new visual identity, and also developed an online presence for the NPO.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with Catherine Bradbury herself directly, plus 3 other individuals whose official titles I cannot remember. They took on copyrighting tasks, graphic design, website design, and print materials design and procurement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I stepped down from NCLA over a year ago because of substantially increased workload at my own job. However, the branding and visual identity have been used in all of NCLA's public-facing campaign materials and advertising. NCLA is instantly recognizable from their brand, and our partners at Saskatchewan Health Authority followed our lead and decided to rename the new long-term care facility "NorthWest Community Lodge".

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Bradbury's style was very inclusive and driven by asking our Board a number of questions designed to invoke a response that would inform the outcome. They asked a number of questions and documented the answers on poster-boards. Then we had a collection of responses that revealed a trend, popular responses, and common themes that directed the discussion.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The outcome was not "cookie cutter" and did not resemble anything we had seen from other similar organizations. Bradbury, through their brand imprint process, was able to learn what values we held and wanted our NPO to represent. Being a small boutique company, I feel they respected our small NPO and understood our casual approach to what we did.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I don't have anything to compare the process to, but I do feel the outcome was more than we anticipated and helped us as a Board better articulate our values and mission.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Communications Strategist at SK Arts. We provide funding and support to the arts for the benefit of all people in Saskatchewan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Bradbury Brand + Design Experts?

We have been using Bradbury Brand + Design Experts for a number of projects, including our visual identity/brand refresh, our annual report (since 2012), our website design, and advertising campaigns.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We appreciate their clean, creative, eye-catching design style and attention to detail. They also do a lot of work in the arts community and understand our need for a look that isn't "corporate".

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We provided Bradbury with the theme of the report as well as an image for the cover and they created an initial design for the report, which included the cover and spreads for three "levels" of stories. We provided feedback on that and they refined the design. We then provided all of the text and photos for the stories and they laid out the entire report. Over the course of several weeks, we went back and forth, providing edits and revisions to proofs, until everything was perfect. The report was then printed.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Two -- the principal of the company and a graphic designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The design was eye-catching and served our brand well. Because our annual report is more like a magazine than a traditional report, people look forward to receiving it every year. The design is a big part of its success -- because it doesn't look corporate, people are more likely to pick it up and read it. The design makes it very accessible to artists and the general public.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was incredibly smooth. Edits were often done more quickly than laid out in the production schedule. Attention to detail was amazing. It's such a pleasure to work with Bradbuy on this project every year.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

It's a combination of their expertise, creativity, and attention to detail that impresses me the most. We are so thrilled to be working with them on a variety of projects. It seems with every project, they level up even further. How is that even possible, when they begin at a level of excellence?

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I have no suggestions for improvement. Keep up the good work!