The O Group

Please describe your organization.

My company is Magnum, and we are charged with bringing a brand called Magnum Cream Liqueur to the United States. We've been in existence since 2014 and are responsible for positioning and sales – virtually everything related to bringing Magnum to the United States.

What is your position?

I am the brand director.

What business challenge were you trying to address with The O Group?

Magnum was a well-known brand in the rest of the world before it came to America. We honestly were not ready for prime time, not ready for the American consumer. The American consumer is probably the most sophisticated in the world, particularly in the area of alcohol and, specifically, luxury alcohol. Given the sophistication of the American consumer, any brand that wants to enter the US market faces a unique set of challenges. I needed help in positioning and presenting the Magnum proposition in a way that would be both compelling and relevant to the American consumer.

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

I'm looking for what I call look and feel – what the brand looks like, what it feels like. I'm not sure if "positioning" is the best term, but when I see a brand, it should have a certain je ne sais quoi about it. That is something I get – and I think the consumer, whether or not they're aware of it – will get as well. I would say that the scope of the work was an overall positioning of the brand, almost an aesthetic challenge.

It is important to note that while the target was the US, and The O Group needed to launch the brand successfully in the United States, the work that they did for me would impact the brand globally. The global website and the global look and feel now reflect the work that The O Group did, even though the focus was only on the U.S.

Did their work extend into packaging, labeling, advertising, and so forth?

The packaging and labeling already existed. The O Group just needed to polish and present the existing packaging and labeling. They, of course, handled advertising, even though that's not necessarily a major thrust of mine. But, having some print ads available was key to getting some events behind the brand.

How did you come to work with The O Group?

I've been in the wine and spirits business for 20 years. My longest stint during that time was many years ago when I was working for a company called Schieffelin & Somerset, a joint venture between Diageo and Moet Hennessy. That's where I was introduced to The O Group because they had done work with both the Moet Hennessy and Diageo brands. That was my first introduction to them. It's become a relationship that I've kept up in time as I worked on other projects for other companies.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I'd say we've spent somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 working with The O Group.

What was the timeline of this engagement?

My current relationship with The O Group began in 2014 and is ongoing. As the brand continues to expand, I have plans to engage with them in other aspects of my marketing. I'm definitely committed to continuing working with them.

Could you share any statistics, metrics or other feedback from your work with The O Group?

It's a bit difficult to measure at this point in the brand's life because it's still so new. I would say the ultimate goal at this time is establishing Magnum in America. From that standpoint, their work has served Magnum well.

What distinguishes The O Group from other providers?

It's definitely their holistic approach. No matter what the assignment is that they tend to look at a brand holistically. That means how the brand exists not only on an advertising page, but also how it exists in the trade, all the different outlets that Magnum would be in – places where brands that I've worked in the past have been. Actually, it's an approach that considers not just the scope of the particular project but goes beyond that, that looks at the overall branding.

The O Group created a brand that could appeal to every stakeholder in the process, whether that is a liquor storeowner, a distributor, or the ultimate customer. I appreciated their holistic attitude.

Is there anything The O Group could have improved or done differently?

They are one of the better agencies I've worked with – that's why I continued to work with them. I don't see much that I would change. If I had to change anything, I'd change my ability to work with them more often. I wouldn't say there is anything they need to change.

Please describe your organization.

We are importers, distributors, retailers, and designers of luxury tile and stone products. We’ve been in business for about 29 years.

What is your position?

I’m the vice president of marketing, as well as a partner in the company.

What business challenge were you trying to address with The O Group?

We've had a very successful marketing program for over ten years that was run by a well-respected agency here in New York, but it was time for us to update our brand.

We did have some specific challenges we were facing. We were trying to expand into commercial sales while also trying to refresh our brand in our more traditional market, which consists of residential sales. We are very recognized in the industry, but the common perception about our company was that our prices were too high, which is why it was crucial to reinforce our position as a high-end luxury brand. 

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We didn’t know exactly what we wanted the scope to be when we first started. Originally we just wanted The O Group to help us out with creating a brand strategy. Eventually the work evolved into a total rebrand, including updating our logo and collateral materials. 

One of their main areas of focus in the rebrand was conveying the authenticity of our brand. Our product is one that, people who know masonry and stonework, can discern as special and of a higher level than our competitors' product. It’s harder for people who are laymen in this business, or casual consumers, to really discern that qualitative difference. The O Group helped us a lot by coming up with some different and creative ways of differentiating our product on the showroom floor. The logo design has been a particular success because it's a physical object that we can include in all of our products.

How did you come to work with The O Group?

My mother found them; she’s the CEO and founder of the business. I don’t actually know how she found them. We interviewed probably seven or eight different ad firms, and we worked with one very closely about eight months before we hired The O Group. Our experience was good at first, and then it turned sour when we wanted to revise some of their suggestions. They were very defensive, not collaborative, and they felt as though we were impinging their artistic integrity. They chose not to move forward with us.

We found a very different attitude with The O Group. We found them to be very warm and welcoming. We got along with The O Group right away. We had really good collaborative sessions before we hired them. It was clear that they had a keen grasp on what it took to create a brand and not just a clever advertising campaign. This is what enticed us, in addition to the quality of their past work. They were able to present a very, very strong portfolio.

Also, in our past experiences with other agencies, what's always happened is that you see the high-level people during the sales process, but then once you’ve hired them, they disappear and you're left working with the junior account managers. That has not been our experience with The O Group at all, it’s been the opposite. We’ve had the same team from start to finish, and it’s the very top people there that we are in easy and regular contact with. It’s really been an excellent experience.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I would say in total we've spent a few hundred thousand dollars with them. An individual print advertising project, where they own the photo shoot, copy, etc. is probably in the $50,000 range. They've been a real pleasure to work with from a cost perspective, though. They're not the cheapest you can find, but they're not as expensive as some of the big-time NYC agencies.

What is the status of this engagement?

I think we started somewhere around January 2015, or a little after. The project is mostly wrapped up right now October 2015, having received most of our deliverables. 

What have been the results of this project? Can you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

In addition to the rebranding project, we've produced four new print advertisements. One has been delivered, and we’re waiting on the other three. The O Group is also going to be creating some digital assets for us from these ads, taken from the photo shoot. 

Throughout the project, The O Group has been super responsive and very quick to turn around materials and ideas. We’re a family business, and we can be challenging to work with, as we have a lot of very strong opinions that have to be in agreement for us to move forward. The O Group has handled that gracefully.

We’re very pleased with the results. We haven’t introduced the majority of their work yet, but we love our new logo. They provided us with a style and branding guides like nothing we ever had before. They are really helping us refine our artwork and the creativity that we produce. It’s exciting because, although it confines us, it gives us consistency and professionalism, something we haven’t had before. I think we’re producing at a much higher level internally as a result of those guidelines.

Our staff is excited about the new direction. All the people that we have shown previews to, are giving us very, very positive responses. I can’t give a specific metric, because this hasn’t gone live. However, subjectively, we’re really big fans of the work.

What distinguishes The O Group from other providers?

They’ve got great attitudes and they employ very good people as well. They’re super upbeat, and very smart. They seem to have a very positive work environment, and they roll with the punches really well. We can be hard to work with, but they worked with us with much grace. They were able to shepherd us through the project in an environment that I’m sure was very challenging for them. They never let it show. I think they’re just exceptional professionals, with a great creative team and excellent management.

Is there anything The O Group could have improved or done differently?

I don’t really have any criticism. I think they understood us well. They took their time understanding us, and they responded well when we would come back without approval of things they were giving to us, or when we would change directions on something. They handled it very well, so I can’t really say anything they could do better. In all, it’s been a very positive experience.