The Proof is in the Portfolio: The Work that Came in Clutch in 2018

We’re not ones to toot our own horn, but we’ve just got to say: nothing feels better than ranking on Clutch.

If you’re not familiar, Clutch is a B2B rating and review platform that uses objective feedback from real clients, in addition to other qualifiers like quality of work, to determine company rankings both nationally and locally.

That’s why we love their rankings so much. It’s not just about the beauty of the work. It’s about how real clients truly felt about the value brought to their business. And this year, we’re thrilled to be ranked as the #2 Top Design Agency in Chicago and the #12 Top Creative Agency Nationwide.

There’s a lot of work that we’re proud of—too much to go on about at length here—but to celebrate our Clutch rankings, we’ve put together a list of some of the projects from the past year that made the biggest impact for our clients and helped contribute to our newly-appointed status.

The Chicago Flower & Garden Show: Flowertales

What do books and gardens have in common? The Chicago Flower & Garden Show. Beginning in 2018 and continued into 2019, we created one unified event that used gardening as a way of telling and experiencing stories: Flowertales. 2018’s show aesthetic was that of a fairytale garden, while 2019’s was grounded in the look of a vintage storybook. Both were carried through to tickets, social media, billboards to help drive attendance and, of course, the comprehensive show guide.

For the 2019 edition, a two-piece show guide and garden guide allowed us plenty of space to get creative and incorporate all the information necessary to have the best show-going experience. The pieces worked in conjunction to drive and direct show traffic and build on the show’s goal of inspiring, educating and motivating gardeners.

Fredman Design Group “In Pursuit of Magic” Campaign

Fredman Design Group is no stranger to exciting, soulful design—in fact, it’s their entire brand. As a team of interior designers and architects, Fredman wanted to get their unique take on design thinking out into the world in a highly creative way. So, in comes our own kind of design thinking.

The result is In Pursuit of Magic, an integrated campaign across social media and print, raising brand awareness by targeting consumers in Fredman’s ideal market with distinctly Fredman messaging. We love how the entire campaign turned out, but our favorite element was the quick-cut videos we concepted, shot and edited that built an excited and engaged audience for the brand’s social media channels.

Insights in Marketing “i’M Your Connection” Campaign

When a brand’s employees have personalities as captivating as the market research team at Insights in Marketing, those personalities are put to work as the focal point of a brand awareness campaign. Insights in Marketing had the distinct goal of getting in front of customers new and old in 2018, and we addressed them with i’M Your Connection, an integrated campaign spanning direct mail, video and email marketing that highlighted the expertise, capabilities and personalities that set the brand apart.

While the videos provided an opportunity to hear directly from team members and emails reinforced our efforts, the pièce de résistance was the direct mail brochures—an in-depth look at a specific team member, their interests, their passion for the industry and their history of success.

CT Mechanical Photoshoot & Sell Sheets

No-filter. Woman-owned. People pleasers. When it came to developing sell sheets for the new CT Mechanical brand, we knew we had to reflect the traits that made them a stand-out mechanical contractor. To capture those qualities authentically, we planned, staged and art directed a photoshoot at the CT Mechanical office, gathering images of problem-solving project managers, engineers, foremen and more.

From there, a series of sell sheets came together that touches on CTM’s specific services and embodies the new brand identity. The end result is nothing short of eye-catching, communicating through both copy and design that CTM makes service with a smile seem boring.

Trading Technologies Photoshoot & Brand Book

In the options trading industry, technology can change in the blink of an eye. That’s why after collaborating to create the Trading Technologies 2016 brand book, it was time again in 2018 to create a new piece that communicated both the innovation and the camaraderie of their team.

We pushed ourselves with a custom photoshoot planned, staged and art directed by our own team. The result was stunning imagery that showcased both the human and the technical sides of the brand, communicating their expertise and personality. Combined with on-brand messaging and high-quality printing methods, the end result is a brand book built on—and for—the cutting-edge.

This is just a taste of the work that fueled our creativity and filled our past year with brilliant design. While we can’t know for sure which projects caught eyes at Clutch and earned us our new rankings, we’re proud of every word and every design that got us here. We couldn’t have done it without each other, and we couldn’t have done it without our clients.

So, from all of us at BatesMeron, thank you to our clients for letting us build your brand and build it well. We can’t wait to create even more to be proud of together.