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CASE STUDY: CRANK Digital Marketing Authority

SUMMARY

You’ve heard the expression, “the shoemaker’s children have no shoes.” Well, we realized WE WERE THE SHOEMAKERS!

At CRANK Digital Marketing Authority, formerly known as Lowcountry Media Solutions, we were building and marketing beautiful, effective brands for every one of our clients, but we had neglected to give our own brand the same passion, care, and attention.

So, we changed that.

We knew we had outgrown our Lowcountry Media Solutions brand on all levels. Sure, we’re based in Charleston (Lowcountry!), but we serve clients nationally and internationally. Yes, we offer social media solutions, but our 15-plus years of expertise really encompasses much more than that with our digital and branding capabilities.

That meant it was time for a total re-brand, and we completed our shift to CRANK Digital Marketing Authority in January 2019.

OUR GOAL

To create a new, elevated (AND FUN!) brand to better reflect the evolution of our company’s mission, vision, and expertise. We are a women-owned small business with personality — and we’re proud of it! We wanted our brand to reflect that.

SERVICES PROVIDED

We underwent a full rebranding effort, including:

  • Name and Logo Redesign
  • Website Design
  • Blog content
  • Internal and External Collateral, including:
    • Capabilities Statement
    • Onboarding Documents
    • Proposal Templates
    • Contracts
    • Presentations, and more.

Logo.

Challenge

It’s not always easy to create an exciting brand for any company, much less one like us that works in the digital marketing space. There’s a lot of ubiquity out there — and “talking digital” is not always the most colorful subject matter. But, we really wanted to stand out while humanizing our brand and making our content approachable.

Solution

The whole idea behind the name CRANK was (a) it offered something memorable; (b) the word conveys energy and action; a sense of cranking up our clients’ business; and (c) it lets us have fun! We added a byline of “Digital Marketing Authority” so it’s what we do — and that we’re experts at it, too.  We even echo our brand in every single email we send with the line “CRANK up your day!”

CRANK Digital Marketing Authority

“We’re a fierce and fun women-owned small business, and we wanted our new brand to reflect that — superhero capes and all!”

-Cynthia Newman

CRANK Digital Marketing Authority

Website

Challenge

If you know, you know… website projects are ALWAYS a challenge. There are a lot of layers involved in creating or rebranding a website. But, the payoff is so worth every step of the hard work. Our former Lowcountry site was no longer serving our needs. It didn’t properly reflect our full range of expertise and services; it wasn’t mobile optimized; it was the wrong brand for us. We offer website design and internet marketing services, so we knew our brand needs to be a model citizen for those things, too!

 

Solution

We all want our websites to be pretty. Check. We get it. But, there’s a lot more that goes into an effective site that meets your goals. At CRANK, we completely customized our new site to not only be aesthetically elevated, but to also have the content and functionality to back it up. We’ve integrated our full range of services.We have blog content. Our case study pages showcase our work. Every page is SEO optimized. We have a fully managed security maintenance program. And, our site can grow with us because we work in an ever-changing field that requires constant updates and additions.

CRANK Digital Marketing Authority
CRANK Digital Marketing Authority
CRANK Digital Marketing Authority

“Dedication to quality is an upfront investment that pays off in spades over the long term — especially when it comes to your brand.”

-Cynthia Newman

CASE STUDY:
CAMENS Architectural Group

SUMMARY

Chief Architect Marc Camens established Camens Architectural Group in 1982 to design luxurious custom homes, with specializations in construction administration, interior design, and renovations. Their work now spans the U.S., Italy, and Switzerland, and also includes a limited amount of commercial architectural design. But their brand? It wasn’t living up to its potential for the high quality, forward-thinking perspectives, and international caliber of Camens’ work, nor was their brand marketing campaign performing for their bottom line. So, CRANK came in to not only reinvigorate their brand (while paying homage to its roots), but literally crank up their technical Search Engine Optimization and internet marketing strategies.

OUR GOAL

To elevate and modernize the existing Camens brand and internet presence while carefully and strategically integrating the company’s legacy roots.

SERVICES PROVIDED

  • Logo evolution
  • Website evolution   
  • Technical & Organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Internet, Social Media & Email Marketing

Logo.

Challenge

Although the Camens Architectural Group logo was looking a little dated, it was how longstanding, loyal customers identified the brand. It was their comfort zone — and literally the roots of the company (the logo prominently featured a famous tree on the Ocean Golf Course at Kiawah Island).

Solution

Rather than revolutionize the brand with something entirely new that had no resonance with the past, we decided on a brand evolution instead. We wanted to leverage the recognition that Camens already enjoyed and build on that. We worked collaboratively with Marc — a creative and artist in his own right — to go through an iterative process of tweaks and modernizations to his existing logo without losing the roots (the TREE!) of the company and its brand awareness.

Camens Logo Before & After
CAMENS Testimonial

“CRANK rebranded our logo to an up-to-date design that gets us noticed wherever it is seen.”

-CAG | Camens Architectural Group LLC

Camens website branding

Website

Challenge

The Camens Architectural Group website was a treasure trove of challenges and problems that we gladly hunted down. Here are the top five:

  1. The site was hosted on an internal local server so it was completely invisible to search engines, rendering it completely useless for attracting new clients online.
  2. Despite Marc’s STUNNING portfolio of work, much of his most recent work was missing leaving a gap in his firm’s work, aesthetic, and geographical progression.
  3. The website had very little copy. A website must always keep two audiences in mind – humans and search bots. We needed better words that would speak to Camens’ target audience so his business could be found online.
  4. As you can likely guess, the site wasn’t mobile optimized — a huge miss, knowing that not only does mobile search account for at least half of all web traffic, but also totally missing the mark on Google’s new “Mobile First” website ranking strategy.
  5. There was no blog — a must-have to help increase organic traffic through targeted Search Engine Optimization.

Solution

Whereas we evolved Camens’ logo, we REVOLUTIONIZED the visibility of their website, optimizing the branding, content flow and technical functionality to reflect Camens’ prestigious body of work and be super-effective. That meant a new server and hosting platform, improved user experience and navigation, mobile optimization, strategic and SEO-friendly text, a blog, and more.

Camens Charleston architects isle of palms
camens charleston architects what we do
Camens Charleston architects Kiawah SC

“Our architectural service inquiries have skyrocketed with CRANK streamlining our website searches and implementing SEO best practices and web content.”

-CAG | Camens Architectural Group LLC

CAMENS Testimonial

CASE STUDY: Pivot To Excellence

SUMMARY

The PIVOT TO EXCELLENCE Executive Symposia and Summit Series was a collaborative effort between CRANK Digital Marketing Authority and the Suncoast Chapter of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), which supports the entire US Army Family in the Tampa Bay Area and West Central Florida.

In partnership with AUSA, we produced six virtual events in the first two quarters of 2021, including:

  • Black Veteran Entrepreneurs Business Summit
  • Women Entrepreneurs & Executive Leadership
  • Southeastern Army Medical Symposium
  • Yom Kippur War History & Perspectives Pt 1
  • Yom Kippur War History & Perspectives Pt 2
  • Pan-Caribbean American Military Heritage Summit

Cynthia Newman, CRANK founder and CEO, was a featured panelist on two of these events: Women Entrepreneurs & Executive Leadership and the Southeastern Army Medical Symposium.

OUR GOAL

To create a dynamic webinar brand and webinar activation strategy that accommodates a wide range of partner goals, launching with the AUSA Suncoast Chapter.

SERVICES PROVIDED

  • Webinar Strategy, Management & Implementation
  • Branding – Name & Logo Design
  • Marketing Collateral including Web Pages, Social Media Channels & Email Templates
  • Panelist Communications Management
  • Participant Acquisition
  • YouTube Channel Branding
  • Video Postproduction
  • Post-Webinar Followup including slide decks, handouts, links and final video

Logo.

Challenge

We wanted to create a naming convention and visual brand identity for our new webinar initiative that represented the brand essence of CRANK while serving the current needs of AUSA — along with a diverse range of business categories in the future. No easy task!

Solution

We selected PIVOT TO EXCELLENCE as the brand name; it is broad enough to fit a range of webinar categories in the future while offering a high-impact identity. As for the design, we used the same font implemented in our CRANK brand logo and integrated additional visual consistency with a similar arrow treatment. The logo colorways and tagline are designed to be customized to the webinar partner or sponsor, so we implemented an army green and gold for AUSA to resonate with their brand.

… thank you for making our chapter and events like this look great. Thank you and your staff for all of the work, talent, knowledge, and skill that are put into creating an attractive and sharp invitation, links, etc like this.

-Member AUSA

Crank Marketing Group Pivot to Excellence Executive Symposia & Summit Series

Website

Challenge

We needed an evergreen hub to house webinar descriptions and registration details as well as post-webinar replay links.

Solution

Rather than build a separate microsite for PIVOT TO EXCELLENCE, we opted to house the information within our CRANK website for brand consistency and efficiency. (No need to reinvent the wheel in this case!) Our new Webinars page features graphics and descriptive text for each webinar along with the registration link — and YouTube link to the replay.

Famous Last Words

“On behalf of The Patton Foundation, I would like to personally commend you on your fine contribution to our PIVOT TO EXCELLENCE Women’s Entrepreneur & Executive Leadership Summit.  Your amazing qualifications and experience not only inspired our viewers, but will undoubtably activate generations to come of potential leaders who emulate and apply your wisdom and verve to challenging times such as the ones we now face.”

-The Patton Foundation

“Thank you for including me in this very important series. As I have mentioned several times, the Yom Kippur War of October 1973 had a profound effect on the U.S. Army – the Army I spent my entire career in. The lessons learned by both the IDF and the U.S. Army during and after 1973 made both armies the best in the world and have kept our nations safe.  Frankly, we are still learning important lessons from this conflict. Hopefully, I will be able to join you next year in Israel to return to the sites of these historic events.”

-General Guy Swan, AUSA National

CASE STUDY: SMILE! Advanced Dental Center

SUMMARY

With a team committed to excellence — and the best smiles possible — SMILE! Advanced Dental Center offers the highest caliber of experience, education, and technology. Providing everything from essential general dentistry and teeth whitening, to orthodontics, and cosmetic and restorative dental services, their superior treatment covers every smile through all stages of life.

The only thing this Summerville, SC-based dental practice was missing was their own “smile makeover” for their brand.

CRANK Digital Marketing Authority designed an entirely new, optimized website for SMILE! while upgrading their logo and branding. We also created a content marketing program, including blog and social media, to increase SEO and drive additional awareness for their practice in the Summerville area.

OUR GOAL

Our goal was to transform SMILE! Advanced Dental Center into a modern, relevant brand that reflects their superior level of dental services. That included creating a professional, aesthetically pleasing website that is functionally optimized for user experience and results to achieve SMILE!’s marketing goals.

SERVICES PROVIDED

  • Technical and Organic SEO
  • Internet Marketing
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Website Hosting & Security Maintenance
  • Website Development
  • Website Design + Copy
  • Internal + External Collateral

Logo.

Challenge

The former logo for this dental practice was an all-over gradient golden yellow, including the grinning swoosh graphic underneath it. Subconsciously, this color did not send the best message for a dental practice that prided itself on whitening smiles that are yellow and discolored!

Solution

We gave the logo a good dental cleaning and created a refreshed brand identity — no yellow smiles allowed! To evolve the brand while maintaining some unity with the former logo, we used the same font and reintroduced the yellow color as a sunny accent. Our favorite part is the more subtle swoosh in the letter “i”; it’s a more sophisticated nod to the smiley shape.

Website

Challenge

The SMILE! website needed more than just a bi-annual cleaning. We were in full makeover territory. Here are the top five reasons why.

  1. Aesthetically, the site was radically dated and lacked professionalism in style and imagery.
  2. Functionally, the site was not optimized for UX and dramatically failed to show up in search.
  3. The former URL — MakeSummervilleSmile.com — implemented keywords used by every other dentist in the region.
  4. The site also didn’t properly celebrate SMILE!’s top-notch services with copy. We needed better words.
  5. There was not a current blog or content strategy — a must-have to help increase (search engine optimization (SEO).

Solution

The importance of a website’s first impression cannot be overstated; it’s often the beginning of a relationship between you and your customers. To put SMILE!’s best beaming face forward, we designed a fresh, sparkling-clean website with all-new optimized text that utilized keywords, selected specifically to help SMILE! compete in a crowded market of local dental practices. We also scheduled a photo shoot and upgraded all the images on the site.

Changing the domain to Summerville.Dentist immediately put the site on a better SEO path as did moving it to an independent hosting platform for enhanced maintenance, security, and performance.

Like teeth, websites require ongoing brushing and flossing — not only in the routine maintenance category, but also for effective content marketing and SEO performance. To that end, we create a strategic editorial calendar every quarter for blogs and social posts, which are written by a professional copywriter.

Remodel Revolution

SUMMARY

Allegiance Strategic is a managed services organization that provides light industrial labor management via a state-of-the-art platform. Their old website was outdated and wasn’t conveying the cutting-edge service they provide. They wanted a simple, static website that wasn’t over-engineered.

OUR GOAL

  • Re-brand
  • Build a streamlined custom website that would convey their benefits

SERVICES PROVIDED

  • Logo design
  • Branding
  • Content development
  • Website development

Logo.

Challenge

Clients were confused about how Allegiance Staffing differs from Allegiance Strategic, so our biggest challenge was to write content that would make the differences, and the competitive differentiators, clear. The client also didn’t want to have to update the content, so we needed to get wording right on the first shot.

Solution

We re-branded the website with a new logo and created a new WordPress site. The company doesn’t anticipate any content changes in the near future, so we built a website that would do it’s job and while they focused on other value-add activities in the business

“Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ulla mcorperminim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ulla mcorper”-REMODEL REVOLUTION RADIO

-HOLGER OBENAUS COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Website

Challenge

Clients were confused about how Allegiance Staffing differs from Allegiance Strategic, so our biggest challenge was to write content that would make the differences, and the competitive differentiators, clear. The client also didn’t want to have to update the content, so we needed to get wording right on the first shot.

Solution

We re-branded the website with a new logo and created a new WordPress site. The company doesn’t anticipate any content changes in the near future, so we built a website that would do it’s job and while they focused on other value-add activities in the business

Results

40%
SITE TRAFFIC INCREASE
15
MORE AVERAGE MONTHLY CONTACTS
3
AWARDS

Holger Obenaus Photography

SUMMARY

Allegiance Strategic is a managed services organization that provides light industrial labor management via a state-of-the-art platform. Their old website was outdated and wasn’t conveying the cutting-edge service they provide. They wanted a simple, static website that wasn’t over-engineered.

OUR GOAL

  • Re-brand
  • Build a streamlined custom website that would convey their benefits

SERVICES PROVIDED

  • Logo design
  • Branding
  • Content development
  • Website development

Logo.

Challenge

Clients were confused about how Allegiance Staffing differs from Allegiance Strategic, so our biggest challenge was to write content that would make the differences, and the competitive differentiators, clear. The client also didn’t want to have to update the content, so we needed to get wording right on the first shot.

Solution

We re-branded the website with a new logo and created a new WordPress site. The company doesn’t anticipate any content changes in the near future, so we built a website that would do it’s job and while they focused on other value-add activities in the business

“Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ulla mcorperminim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ulla mcorper”-REMODEL REVOLUTION RADIO

-HOLGER OBENAUS COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Website

Challenge

Clients were confused about how Allegiance Staffing differs from Allegiance Strategic, so our biggest challenge was to write content that would make the differences, and the competitive differentiators, clear. The client also didn’t want to have to update the content, so we needed to get wording right on the first shot.

Solution

We re-branded the website with a new logo and created a new WordPress site. The company doesn’t anticipate any content changes in the near future, so we built a website that would do it’s job and while they focused on other value-add activities in the business

Results

40%
SITE TRAFFIC INCREASE
15
MORE AVERAGE MONTHLY CONTACTS
3
AWARDS

mySamm Technology Solutions

SUMMARY

Allegiance Strategic is a managed services organization that provides light industrial labor management via a state-of-the-art platform. Their old website was outdated and wasn’t conveying the cutting-edge service they provide. They wanted a simple, static website that wasn’t over-engineered.

OUR GOAL

  • Re-brand
  • Build a streamlined custom website that would convey their benefits

SERVICES PROVIDED

  • Logo design
  • Branding
  • Content development
  • Website development

Logo.

Challenge

Clients were confused about how Allegiance Staffing differs from Allegiance Strategic, so our biggest challenge was to write content that would make the differences, and the competitive differentiators, clear. The client also didn’t want to have to update the content, so we needed to get wording right on the first shot.

Solution

We re-branded the website with a new logo and created a new WordPress site. The company doesn’t anticipate any content changes in the near future, so we built a website that would do it’s job and while they focused on other value-add activities in the business

“Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ulla mcorperminim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ulla mcorper”-REMODEL REVOLUTION RADIO

-HOLGER OBENAUS COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Website

Challenge

Clients were confused about how Allegiance Staffing differs from Allegiance Strategic, so our biggest challenge was to write content that would make the differences, and the competitive differentiators, clear. The client also didn’t want to have to update the content, so we needed to get wording right on the first shot.

Solution

We re-branded the website with a new logo and created a new WordPress site. The company doesn’t anticipate any content changes in the near future, so we built a website that would do it’s job and while they focused on other value-add activities in the business

Results

40%
SITE TRAFFIC INCREASE
15
MORE AVERAGE MONTHLY CONTACTS
3
AWARDS