As 2015 comes to a close, we’re thankful for all the tremendous growth we’ve had this year. Here are ten highlights we’re excited to share from 2015. We’re looking forward to continuing to build our story with you in 2016!
1. Doubled our team. One of our most exciting developments since last year is that we’ve doubled our team–and we’re not even close to slowing down! We’re currently hiring for three new roles and are excited to add more exceptional people to our team to help us grow our vision.
2. Moved into our new Cincinnati office in Longworth Hall. We love our new office, and it definitely feels like “home” to us now. We enjoy the welcoming atmosphere that it provides and are so appreciative to have a space to call our own where our clients, friends and colleagues can gather together to foster more entrepreneurial relationships, connections and action.
3. Grew from the engagement and advice of our Board of Advisors. We’re very thankful for the contribution our Board of Advisors made to our business in 2015. The outside perspective they’ve brought to our growth challenges has been invaluable in helping us expand into new areas in smart ways.
4. Created a new approach for doing research with Gen Z. We challenged ourselves with a research project that focused on Generation Z and learned a lot about the differences between the way adults and children think in the process. Learning and creating with kids is fun, educational, and can be especially appropriate for certain categories and industries, so we’re grateful we got a chance to create this unique approach. (You can see more about what we learned during this project here.)
5. Re-invented the ideation and idea development process for an entire CPG category. We introduced an experienced team that was already well-versed in ideation to a completely new approach that drove them to breakthrough results. We love when a client team challenges us to help them come up with unique ideas. Through our process, we enabled them to move forward with an entirely new idea development strategy leveraging pitching and multiple external perspectives.
6. Multiplied our community involvement efforts. We love getting out in the #startupcincy community to share knowledge and learn from others about all things entrepreneurial. This year, we were excited to participate in NewCo, Design Week, multiple Cincy Startup Weekends, along with a handful of classroom speaking engagements.
7. Used our Brand Architecture Accelerator to identify trial inducing, market expanding opportunities for an iconic food brand. We had the exciting opportunity to explore and create brand architecture directions with a well-known client brand in a big, messy category. Ultimately, we were able to help them reach a solid decision to move forward with one direction in a fraction of the time of the traditional approach.
8. Partnered with an amazing group of insights leaders to bring fresh thinking to an industry desperate for change. Ann Thompson from our team had the opportunity to lead a panel discussion with insights leaders from Kellogg’s, P&G, Lyft and KnowledgeHound about what the corporate world can learn from startups and vice-versa. It was so exciting to speak to a standing room-only crowd! We’re looking forward to engaging in a similar panel discussion at FEI16 with a few new faces.
9. Took on a project that every other firm turned down. In the end, we not only learned a great deal about the thoughts, feelings and purchase decisions of lower income consumers, but we built relationships and heard stories that will impact and inspire our lives and the lives of our clients for years to come. And, we created principles and practices that will continue to serve engagements in the future.
10. Continued developing strong client relationships via repeat engagements. We’re thrilled to have worked on some pretty amazing projects this year that pushed our team to expand into new areas while delivering strong business results for our clients. What’s humbling and exciting at the same time is that those clients keep coming back with additional opportunities for us. It looks like our hustle and commitment to doing whatever it takes to deliver is paying off!
Thank you for being a part of our year! Stay connected with us into the new year and beyond on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. We hope your 2016 is filled with brilliant ideas!
