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We’re Grateful for Our Amazing Clients

Here in the U.S., it’s Thanksgiving. Which means it’s a perfect time to pause and reflect on what we’re grateful for. We’re grateful for strong coffee. We’re grateful for stronger cocktails. We’re grateful for the passionate, creative, curious people who come to Emotive Brand every day to make brands matter more to people. And of course, we’re incredibly grateful for our growing list of clients that give us their time, expertise, and trust to help them transform their brands. We couldn’t do it without them.

As we sign off for the rest of the week, we wanted to do a quick roundup of some of the innovative work our clients are doing around the world. Every day, they are innovating, creating, breaking, putting back together, and pushing the limits of their categories. Here’s what’s going on:

Central Valley is a Top 100 U.S. building supply company that proudly serves pro builders and vineyard operators in Northern California. Recently, they were featured in a glowing article titled, “First-name basis: In the heart of Wine Country, Central Valley focuses on community.” The piece highlights Central Valley’s brand, culture, and rapid growth. See our case study here.

Lyra is transforming mental health care by creating a frictionless experience for members, providers, and employers. After rebranding with us, they were able to raise $45M to create a smart network for treating mental health problems. “I think we are able to successfully communicate to employees what Lyra does in a way that doesn’t seem intimidating or stigmatized,” CEO David Ebersman said. See our case study here.

Harness is the industry’s first Continuous Delivery-as-a-Service platform. So, it should come as no surprise that they were able to win the Barclay 2018 Open Innovation Challenge.  Mark Ashton-Rigby, Group Chief Information Officer at Barclays, said, “At Barclays, we’re passionate about increasing the impact of technology. We understand that the Harness value proposition to simplify Continuous Delivery-as-a-Service has the potential to dramatically accelerate and simplify the production and delivery of our applications.” See our case study here.

Citrix is a software company that’s creating people-centric solutions for a better way to work. Always on the hunt for the best technologies, they recently purchased Sapho for $200M to expand their digital workspace tech. This technology will be integrated with Citrix Workspace. The Workspace platform enables organizations to integrate and manage their apps, desktops, data, and devices. This gives employees secure and contextual access to the relevant systems and tools.

Marqeta, the open-API platform pioneering the future of modern card issuing, was recently featured in a glowing article titled, “Marqeta Delivers Record Growth and Innovation in Alternative Lending Space.” Kathryn Petralia, president and co-founder of Kabbage, had this to say. “Marqeta is solving real problems for tech-enabled lenders, almost all of whom need modern card products to bridge the gap between lending and payments. As consumers look to optimize services they once received from banks, lenders simply need a more flexible, scalable, and compliant platform — no one has done more than Marqeta to provide that.” See our case study here.

And finally, ad tech company Drawbridge was able to draw $15M in fresh funding as it begins a new chapter. The money will be immediately invested into a product roadmap that diversifies their portfolio, including analytics, risk detection, authentication, and the data infrastructures needed to support them. “Profitability is not something we’re optimizing for,” said Drawbridge CEO Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, who noted a 250% year-over-year increase in the company’s annual revenue. “We’re focused on growth.”

When you work with us, we’re invested in your success long after the final deliverables are sent. We love nothing more than celebrating our amazing clients. From all of us here at Emotive Brand, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design firm in San Francisco.

The Power of Saying Thank You

’Tis the Season for Thank You

The Thanksgiving season is the perfect time to not only reflect on what we’re thankful for, but also, to consider the power of saying ‘thank you’. For businesses, it’s a time to think about how to show appreciation for employees, customers, partners, and stakeholders alike.

Caught Up in Business

For many reasons, ‘thank you’ isn’t said enough. It’s easy to get wrapped up in daily business obstacles, work dynamics, or simply, an overloaded email box. It’s natural to get sucked into our own business-as-usual worlds. But as a result, many people find themselves obsessing over what they could have more of – more time off, more money, more time in a day. Because of this, we often forget to be grateful for what we do have – and to reach out to the people who we really are thankful for.

Always Say Thank You

In our work, when we reach out to people and articulate the specific impact they have made on a project, it goes a long way. Being able to communicate thanks back and forth makes for a more trusting and respectful relationship – on both ends.

And at the end of the day, business relies on strong relationships. In any good relationship, we believe appreciation and admiration should be the norm. Even if it comes in the form of a casual note or a simple person-to-person interaction. Giving thanks, in our view, never has to be extravagant. When it’s genuine, it always rings true, and the work becomes stronger and more gratifying for everyone involved.

On top of that, mutual respect fosters the strong teamwork, innovation, and creativity needed to drive things forward. That’s why it’s important for people not only to give praise, but to be open to receiving praise. For some, this is difficult. It’s easy to toss a compliment off. But really listening and appreciating a ‘thank you’ communicates to your team or partner that you are listening and that you recognize that they appreciate you. It helps everyone do their job better in the future, knowing what people really appreciated in the past.

We believe being able to both give and receive thanks says a lot about how empathetic, genuine, trustworthy, and respectful the people who represent your brand and business are. This behavior, like any other, shines from the inside out.

Brands that Say Thank You

Many brands today are working on ways to better thank the people who matter to them – from being extra responsive on Twitter, sending personalized letters in the mail, matching a donation, offering free classes around birthdays, or integrating extra rewards programs. Brands in a genuinely thankful spirit show greater levels of engagement, loyalty, and brand love.

Saying ‘thank you’ can’t be a strategy. It has to be authentic and meaningful, and the motives of businesses who say ‘thank you’ in inauthentic ways are easily seen through by smart consumers, partners, and employees today. Brands that say ‘thank you’ in the right way come from a genuine and authentic place. They make sure their ‘thank you’ is personal and sincere.

We’re Thankful For…

There is much power in saying thank you, and this year we are thankful for so much. For our clients from which we learn new things each day. For our team who inspires each other and drives one another forward. For our wonderful neighborhood of Oakland. We are thankful for the challenges of 2016 and the successes. We are thankful for what 2017 will bring and the opportunity to continue to work hard for what we care about.

So take the time to say “thank you” this holiday, and each day after. We believe these two words can go a long way.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco design and brand strategy agency.