States of Matter

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My name is James Gwertzman, and I am the CEO of Playfab. We are a backend services company which provides services for game studios.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with States of Matter?

We’ve had several projects with States of Matter, the primary one focusing on clarifying the brand and messaging of our company. We wanted to work with a design firm because, to me, that was how we could get a good sense of what our brand was.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

States of Matter has created a logo for our company, UI [user interface] designs which helped us visualize the product we were building, a booth for a trade show on two occasions, a marketing brochure, as well as a new design for our website. States of Matter has also helped us create an overall messaging brand framework for Playfab.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our very first project was in the summer of 2015, for our logo work. We subsequently engaged States of Matter on early UI work. In the fall of that year, we kicked off the branding and messaging work. In January 2016, we worked on the trade show booth design and marketing brochure. At the moment, there is no ongoing work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I have no hard KPIs [key performance indicator], but I can mention qualitative feedback from people who have visited our trade show booth and looked through our brochure. I was told that they were some of the best brochures they’d seen. It tells our story clearly, and it’s attractive. Likewise, the booth itself has received praise many of times.

Our website was terrible before, and now it looks good, but I don’t necessarily have numbers which would show that we’re making more money because of it.

A big part of being a small company is what we call “the big lie,” namely communicating a much larger footprint or impact than we necessarily have. A big part of broadcasting that larger footprint has been looking like a much more professional company. Things like the booth, the brochure, the logo, and our website are at the top-notch, professional level they should be at.

I feel that, instead of States of Matter pushing their own ideas in a disruptive manner, we were able to come up with an extremely organic result, which fit who we were very well. Much of the help in figuring that out was based on States of Matter’s input, so their ideas did go into the process but in a positive way. They were helping me uncover what the brand was, as opposed to steering it in a wrong direction.

How did States of Matter perform from a project management standpoint?

Stephanie [Producer, States of Matter], our project manager, has been in charge of the process and has always been extremely attentive to our schedule and budget, letting me know when something I was asking for had the potential of shifting our plan.

What did you find most impressive about States of Matter?

A part of why I like working with States of Matter so much is that they’re very smart and good at figuring out different elements, as opposed to making random choices. Their decisions never felt like toss-offs, but rather are rigorous around what’s the right answer for us.

We’re a very smart company, and we do well working with other smart people. By this, I am referring to the intellectual rigor that States of Matter can bring to the work. It’s never a choice based on what they’re feeling like on a certain day. This goes a long way into our relationship with States of Matter.

I’ve never seen States of Matter’s egos get involved in decisions. It’s always a collaborative process, even though they may push back sometimes.

Are there any areas States of Matter could improve?

States of Matter is an expensive company, but I keep coming back to them. Ultimately, this is the level of work I’m willing to pay for. I don’t blame them for the hours being put in, but I do have realizations over the amount of money we’re spending. It’s easily worth it, though.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with States of Matter?

Put your time into it. From working with States of Matter, I have discovered that the best results come from a high level of engagement with the client. I’ve heard them complain that certain clients don’t do that, which makes it hard to get the best results. Delegating the collaboration to the lower levels will not get the best results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company licenses embedded software to fix the challenges that are experienced with Wi-Fi. Our target markets are consumers and businesses that have hardware with Wi-Fi radios inside. I’m VP of marketing, products and business development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with States of Matter?

We needed a complete rebranding of the company. A number of years ago, the company started by targeting the Department of Defense and Public Safety. We built up a lot of expertise around Wi-Fi and wireless networking. But over the last three years, it's become apparent that the bigger opportunity is with commercial customers and, longer term, early adopter end users of connected products. We wanted to lock down our story, including a name change, new visual identification, and website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There were multiple projects, including brand strategy, naming, visual ID, and website with the associated collateral.

How did you come to work with States of Matter?

They were referred to me by a friend who worked with them and thought highly of them. I also knew of Henry’s work through his time at Hornall Anderson. They were a good fit because Britt did the Intel Inside campaign so she was familiar with B2B branding of an embedded system. All good advertising starts with a solid brand strategy so you have to do the foundational work first before you can come up with good advertising, which is why we went with a branding agency as opposed to a marketing agency.

How much have you invested with States of Matter?

We have spent between $200,000 and $10 million. Although costly for a small company, their team delayed the need for internal hires.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first project started in early 2016, and the project was completed in December 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

This is foundational work, but we’ve received positive feedback from all of our customers and the people in our pipeline. The materials that we produced clarified our message significantly. We’ve only been in the marketplace with it for a couple of months so I don’t have any numbers. We’re starting to accelerate our pace of moving customers through the pipeline and into sales.

How did States of Matter perform from a project management standpoint?

They did well. They were on time. We took longer than we expected in providing feedback to them. The relationship was very collaborative. The first project there was a bit of feeling out how we’d best work together. Through that, we learned how to collaborate better and it got better as the projects continued.

What did you find most impressive about States of Matter?

They’re solid creatively. They’ve got a good imagination. They’re super collaborative and we came out with a quality product. Britt [Stromberg, Founder and Strategy Director] and Henry [Yiu, Founder and Creative Director] both believe in brand marketing and they stuck to their guns about the importance of doing things the right way and I think that’s shows in the end product. We became friends over the course of this work.

Are there any areas States of Matter could improve?

Early on, we asked them to be sure to make us aware of their process and what to expect at each step so that we weren’t surprised. We’re working with a number of internal employees who are new to marketing, and it was important for them to understand what they should expect at a certain point and what the goals were for each session. States of Matter improved as the process went forward and it worked out really well.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with States of Matter?

States of Matter is a great choice if you believe that marketing and branding move your business forward.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Validic

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Validic helps healthcare providers deliver proactive care using everyday health information from people's wearables and in-home health devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire States of Matter to accomplish?

• Logo Redesign
• Visual Identity
• Website UX and Design

SOLUTION

How did you find States of Matter?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site
• Other

Why did you select States of Matter over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from States of Matter were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Full scale refresh of our brand to help us stand out in a crowded market, ensure our unique message is clearly heard, and help the right clients find us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Logo, identity design, and website UX/design

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Excellent project management, easy to work with, clear communication on timelines, implications of scope expansion, helped us clarify our thinking.

What was your primary form of communication with States of Matter?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Henry in particular was great to work with. They clearly communicated design options and why certain things were the right fit. He also takes feedback extremely well.

Are there any areas for improvement or something States of Matter could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder of an aged tea company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire States of Matter?

To optimize and elevate our producf packaging

SOLUTION

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

Reviewed 4 proposals from design firms of varying sizes. Made a final decision based on price, tight scope, and prior experience.

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

After the initial discovery phase, the project had 2 phases: form factor and design phase. The form factor phase had 2 rounds of iterations. Once we decided on the direction, the design phase included design direction and refinement (3 rounds) and mechanical and color proofing.

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

Mainly worked with Henry, the principal & creative director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

More professional packaging design and system that is suitable for our branding

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had zoom meetings and frequent email exchanges for more detailed feedback.

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

I loved working directly with Henry. The design direction was exactly what I had in mind (but better!) And he’s a great person.

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

Our timeline was pushed back by a lot, but the delay was caused by working with printers on proofing the work. So it wasn’t directly SoM’s fault.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a wholesale coffee roasting company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire States of Matter?

We first hired States of Matter to help us update our branding and create a new design for our coffee package. We've since had them design a look for our delivery van and did signage for a popup cafe we did.

What were your goals for this project?

Create a functional package that was designed to represent our companies values and the product inside the package.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Online research into local design firms

Describe the project in detail.

We started with thoroughly vetting what our values are as a company and what our goals were for our product. Following was a thorough review of these topics, and then moving into design directions that represent our values. Then several rounds of different design options, then honing the chosen design until we had a final product. SoM also helped us communicate with our vendors to bring the design into being.

What was the team composition?

4 I believe, Henry primarily for communication and running meetings, he also had an office helper, a backend designer and a person that helped with scheduling and some hand holding for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The outcome was a package that represents our values and the product inside, while not looking like anything else in the market. Our online sales and brand awareness has been growing since.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Clear communication, clear scheduling, deadlines met and no problems.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their thoroughness, putting our values before superficial choices. They would gather all the information they needed from us, then run with it. They didn't bog us down in the process, they just got to work and got results

Are there any areas for improvement?

Very happy with their work