Where they started: Shawna graduated from the Art Institute of Boston with a BFA in photography in 2009 and Adam began his career as a photographer around the same time. They started Ananya Photography together a little more than a year ago.
Where they were: A large percentage of who they were working with weren’t their ideal clients. They also felt the visual identity of their last site failed to deliver a message or show their true personalities.
Problem with where they were: There was a huge disconnect between how they appeared online and how they were in person. They needed something more personal, approachable and definitely something more in tune with their passions. Their message also needed to be absolutely clear about who they stood for.
Goal:
- They wanted to focus their message, target a specific client and learn to say no to opportunities that didn’t help them reach the goals they set for their business (and life).
- They wanted to start fresh. With their pending nuptials, they saw a real opportunity to focus on providing a personal experience and set the foundation of their business to match the lives that they wanted as a married couple.
How we got them there: We helped them focus their message to speak directly to their ideal client: couples with passports who believe life is meant to be explored. Then we created a plan of attack for saying no to clients who didn’t fit within their goal and yes to clients who did. Part of what we do during our Therapy phase is take our clients through the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment. This proved to be a turning point in Adam and Shawna’s business. They saw very quickly how they could work more efficiently and capitalize on their individual strengths. They set up a schedule that fit their individual needs and stay energized, productive and creatively fulfilled. Nothing makes us more excited than clients who own who they are. These two didn’t waste any time taking the bull by the horns and diving in!
Their new look: Adam and Shawna have incredibly unique personalities and a collective perspective on life that was previously missing from their old brand. The first time we met them it was obvious travel was paramount. They had story upon story of places they’ve been and adventures they’ve taken. They’re even getting hitched in a crazy awesome castle this fall in Italy!! They’re the kind of people that bring a little piece of their travels home with them and integrate it into their lives. Whether it’s a bottle of Chianti, good coffee, a new perspective or a fun piece of furniture, these two fully embrace the world they explore with so much passion and love. We wanted to bring who they are to the forefront and make it a more interactive experience for their clients. We decided to explore this option most with their home, about, travel log and blog pages.
These two are memorable for their full passports and emotional connection to people in love. We chose to run with a travel theme for their home page and use their website as a filter for ideal clients by highlighting their travels and explaining the experience a client would get if they hired them. This was a nicer way to explain to passerby’s that Adam & Shawna are interested in people who “get” the need to explore and jetset. The ABOUT page is also a great way for them show their individual personalities as well as their collective awesomeness. It really gives you a feeling that you’re getting two very unique perspectives that have come together to form a super team. We had such a great time getting to know these two and creating a brand that better reflects who they are! We think you’ll love them too. ==> visit their website
After many months of hard work we are insanely excited to release our new line of products to you! As we’ve talked to photographers around the globe we’ve repeatedly found that client research is an enormous challenge for you, which is unfortunate because we strongly believe that it is a necessary part of running a successful business. Many photographers run their business “in the dark” making decisions based on what they think/hope might work or what somebody else did. But there is a way to stop guessing and start knowing how to improve and grow your business… CLIENT RESEARCH.
The problem is that many of you don’t know how to do that, or have tried and become frustrated because research is a lot harder than it sounds. So… we’ve done the work for you! We’ve created some surveys that are specifically designed for photographers to get practical and useful feedback from their clients. We will also walk you through every step of the process from how to set it up and customize it, to how to analyze the results and what to do with the feedback. Here’s a quick video of Courtney introducing these awesome products:
We have three different surveys for you to choose from:
- “Why Me? For the Wedding Photographer“ is designed to gather information from wedding clients. It will tell you exactly why they hired you, why they do or don’t refer you, whether or not you could successfully raise your prices and which parts of their experience with you were valuable and which were not… along with many other helpful insights into your business. CLICK HERE to view this product at our store and learn about all the details.
- “Why Me? For the Portrait Photographer“ is designed to gather information from portrait clients. It is similar to the survey above (but ‘pitched’ in a different way) and will tell you many of the same things like why they hired you, how to increase referrals, whether or not you can successfully raise your prices and what differentiates you in the eyes of your clients… just to name a few. CLICK HERE to view this product at our store and learn about all the details.
- “Say What?” is designed to be used by all photographers, regardless of how established you are or what kind of photography you do. It will help you understand exactly what your brand (specifically your online presence) is communicating to the outside world. It will tell you if you’re coming across cheap or expensive, whether or not you have a strong message and if you’re communicating the things you hope you are. This is powerful because once you understand what you are currently communicating, you can start controlling your message so people will perceive you the way you WANT to be perceived. CLICK HERE to view this product at our store and learn about all the details.
All three of these surveys come with an 11 page survey guide and detailed video tutorial to help you customize the survey, get it in front of the right people, analyze the results when they come in and then use the information you gather. It also includes a ZIP file of the survey itself so all you have to do is upload it into PollDaddy and the questions will be there waiting for you. Don’t worry, Courtney will walk you through every single step of the entire research process (through both the Survey Guide (PDF) and the lengthy Video Tutorials). Hop on over to our store to check ‘em all out! Happy researching!
*As much as we are crazy stoked about these surveys we recommend only doing one survey at a time. You are absolutely welcome to purchase all three of our surveys (b/c each one has different questions and will yield different results), but for your sake (and your client’s sake) we recommend you spread them out over several months so that you don’t get overwhelmed by the whirlwind of changes you want to make to your business based on the feedback you get.
You heard it here first! The BDB team is looking to add another rad intern to our team!
Here’s what we’re looking for:
- A serious go-getter who knows their way around Illustrator and Photoshop like a fat kid in a candy store.
- An L.A. based designer equipped with their own laptop loaded with at least the above programs.
- Someone who is available twice a week for 3-4 hour chunks (or at least once a week for a full day) to work directly with Krysta in Los Angeles, CA.
B!G DEAL BRANDING is an ideal place for someone who loves to work hard, make a difference and crack a few jokes. This position is ideal for anyone looking to build their portfolio, gain relevant work experience and be a part of interesting projects for some of the raddest clients on earth. Plus, our team is straight up awesome – and we love hanging and working with awesome people – so hit us up if you’re awesome too ;)
To apply, email us at “hello [at] bigdealbranding.com” – Please send us a link (or attach a few images) so that we can view some of your work along with a small paragraph telling us why you’d be an awesome fit! *Please note: this is an unpaid position. PARTY ON!!!
Yep! You read it correctly … BDB needed a bit of a facelift itself. We aren’t exempt folks!
Here we are nearly 8 months into our new business and we realized a few things just were working for us:
- Our website wasn’t intuitive.
- Our web copy was fun and punchy, but it wasn’t clear.
- Viewers didn’t understand the rebrand process.
- There wasn’t a place for people to go who needed help but didn’t have enough cash for a rebrand.
So we decided to be as transparent as possible with you and do a case study on ourselves so you can see why keeping tabs on your brand is so important.
First of all, we didn’t stumble upon these revelations by accident. Courtney, our BDB Research Genius, was able to do a little digging with our ideal audience and found that our website was frustrating and didn’t leave people feeling clear about what it was that we offered.
That’s a problem.
So we revisited our own website and found that one of the first problems was our inconsistent navigation.
Whether you’re on the main site, blog or store you can now easily jump back and forth without getting lost.
In addition to our main navigation bar, we felt the auto-scrolling feature on our site was a bit confusing in and of itself. So we added arrows so viewers would know what to do as they navigate their way around the main site and even put a fun ticker on the left side of every page to let you know where you are (and it’s also a secondary navigation option too!).
The second fix was our web copy. We thought we were super clever when we decided to use titles like “Let’s Talk Shop” and “Meet & Greet” to get people to understand our philosophy and learn more ‘about us’. Turns out it may have been more like an inside joke than punchy web copy. So we made each title more clear, gave ourselves titles that were less Ninja-y, and tried to do a better job about being more concise while giving you helpful information.
The store and its contents were the other area of contention. First of all, we felt it was time to ask ourselves, “Do our products and services align with our brand? Are they helpful? Are they easy to use? Do they support our belief that a brand is more than a logo?” What we found is that there were gaps in what we were offering.
For one, there wasn’t a lower price point item for people to purchase that added real value to their business. Which is why we designed our Research products. It gives people a place to start without breaking the bank AND stays true to our desire to be helpful and give you all something you can’t get elsewhere. Our next options are our Brand Critiques. They’re affordable, more in-depth and offer tangible solutions. And then of, course, we have our signature B!G DEAL Rebrands.
We felt the pressure to offer more products to keep up with the Jones’s, but most ideas we came up with didn’t help us deliver our brand’s promise. And at the end of the day, you’ve gotta stay true to that core message! Visit the store to view all the awesome details about each one of our Products & Services.
Last but not least, our B!G DEAL REBRANDS. Dang. We really love doing full blown rebrands with our rad clients. It’s so personal, gives us a chance to meet super rad people and get down to the core of what makes a successful business. What we weren’t doing a great job of was communicating why these things were worth the cash. We didn’t talk about the experience (the intangibles). We didn’t talk about our payment process (way more digestible than the initial sticker shock). We thought it was more important to show you all the ‘stuff’ you’d get, which turns out, people were less concerned with. So we spruced up our store with more information AND created a super fun look-book that outlines the process in a more detailed (and more sexy) way!
And that’s that! We challenge you to keep asking the tough questions and honestly evaluate each touch point of your brand to make sure it’s consistent and saying exactly what you want it to say. You’ll be surprised what a few updates here and there can do to enhance to overall experience of your brand!
We had known for a long time that our brand needed a re-vamp of epic proportions, but taking it on, on our own, made our heads spin. The Big Deal Branding team broke everything down into pieces we could actually digest. We’re not saying it was easy – the therapy portion of our rebrand brought up hard questions we’d never realized needed answering. We came to BDB heavily interested in the visual side of things (website, logo, etc.), and we found out we needed SO much more than that. Most of our frustration was really coming from the fact that we didn’t have a clear vision or plan for where we wanted to go. The amount of intentional soul-searching and goal-setting they led us through has built a foundation for the future of our business and, honestly, our life! Making the goals for our business and the goals for our personal life align has been monumental for us. For the first time in awhile, we feel like we have a handle on the awesome things we want to do! Now we have the confidence to intentionally kick some serious arse!
What we love is BDB didn’t try to “make us into something marketable.” They helped us more fully discover who we already are, define our core message, and then they built our brand and visual identity off of that. The almost unanimous thing we hear in response to our website is, “It’s so you guys!” We finally feel like everything we’ve had inside is now fleshed out.
In addition to the business side of things, we’ve so enjoyed the friendships we’ve built with the whole BDB team. If we didn’t live 1,695 miles from them, we have a feeling we’d be laughing at inappropriate jokes and jumping off cliffs with them weekly.
So much love to you guys. It may sound dramatic, but you really did change our lives. Now we know where we’re going. And where we’re going is pretty awesome.”
- Carly & Amos (and Kita)
If you’re new around here and are pickin’ up what we’re puttin’ down, you may be wondering, “Where the crap do I start?” Our Brand Critiques are the perfect place. We have two ridiculously helpful options for you to choose from.
- [Regular] Brand Critiques: We feel it’s important to get honest and objective feedback about where your business currently stands so you aren’t operating in the dark. The one-hour Brand Critique gives you a chance to hear our team’s first impression of your brand and offers our humble suggestions for how to get you on the right track. Check out the detail in our store by clicking here.
- Extended Brand Critiques: For those of you who want something a bit more meaty, this ones for you. These bad boys allow us to dig much deeper into the issues you’re facing in your business and offer short and long-term solutions that you can implement immediately to take your brand to the next level. Click here to view alllllllll the details of our 3 hour Extended Brand Critique.
All-in-all, we created this opportunity to give you insight into how your client sees you for the first time and to offer tangible solutions you can apply immediately to get you closer to the perception you’re intending.
TESTIMONIALS:
 What a wake-up call! We needed a fresh perspective and *wow* did we get it! Having a brand critique from the team at Big Deal Branding was so insightful and I loved their gentle, caring approach. Their heart is truly in the right place: seeing their clients succeed. I’m so grateful for their work. It has set us on a much better path!” – Colorati (San Diego, CA)
Our brand critique with Big Deal Branding provided great insight and helped us to understand how brides currently view our brand. With just a couple of pre-critique questions, they were able to help us identify how to take our current brand and mold it to attract our ideal couples. We walked away from our session with some concrete suggestions about how to take our brand to the next level. In short, it was awesome!” – Belltower Photo (Lawrence, KS)
The brand critique was the fastest, most effective personality tune-up money can buy. It’s amazing how Big Deal Branding can take a concept like “branding” and turn it into a fine art. Big Deal Branding offered personalized suggestions for changes I could make in my business today. We also brain stormed how I needed to change the style and personality of my website to further define my audience and attract my ideal client. Loved every minute of the skype convo and can’t wait for the changes in my business for the months to come!” – Clockhouse Films (Birmingham, Alabama)
My experience with the Brand Critique kick started the process of taking my photography business to the next level. I am at a stage where the encouraging words from friends and family are nice, but not as helpful as the honest opinions of professionals. The Skype conference call added a personal dimension that allowed me to really connect with the team. Although the hour went by quickly, they got a sense of my personality and the goals I’ve set out for my business. Soon after, I received the notes from the critique that gave me something I can refer to as I navigate this process. I feel like I have a couple of knowledgeable friends “in the biz” who are going to encourage me and keep me accountable.” – Pixiebug Studio (Maui, Hawaii)
 We absolutely LOVED working with the Big Deal Branding team! From the very first time we met, we felt as though we were hanging out with friends. One of the first steps in the rebrand, which happened to be one of our favorites, was brand therapy. We learned about our top strengths and how they relate to life and business. From there we worked on our values and developed a core message. This process really gave us the confidence we needed at a pivotal time in our business and solidified a foundation to move forward. In phase two of the rebrand BDB created a brand that was absolutely perfect for us! The BDB team saw the big picture even when we couldn’t. They took everything they had learned about us and combined it with AMAZING design. From the logo to the website and our look-book, we are blown away with how everything came together and completely reflects us and our life together. We are SO HAPPY!!! BDB has changed everything for us. It’s a completely new game we’re playing and it’s all thanks to the BDB team. We love you guys!!!”
- Lindsey & Beto
Where they started: Lindsey started her photography business in August of 2007. Beto started shooting with Lindsey a year later and soon went with her on every shoot. They’ve been the awesome husband and wife team that they are now since 2009 despite the one-person business name.
Where they were: They had been doing business for 4 years but felt they weren’t communicating who they really were or attracting the right clients.
Problem with where they were: They needed to show they were a team and wanted to book more of the right kind of clients.
Goal:
- They needed to shift their business to reflect they were working together full-time.
- They needed to book more clients, which meant they needed to stand for someone specific.
- They wanted to spend more quality time with clients doing things they all enjoy.
- They really wanted clients to feel like they had a sense of belonging when they hired them.
How we got them there:We helped them focus their message to speak directly to their ideal client: couples who love building a life together around good food, yummy beverages and family. Then we created a plan of attack for saying no to clients who didn’t fit within their goal and yes to clients who did. We created a strategy to help Lindsey & Beto schedule and launch their new brand (with intention and excellence). We designed everything to fit Lindsey & Beto’s unique style and personalities, down to the detail of making their ideal client feel as though they were hanging out with them in their super cozy studio or around their dining room table.
Their new look: Now that they had a message and strategy in place, it was time to give them a face lift. Since they were no longer Lindsey Joy photography, they had to change their name and create a look and feel that was more reflective of their new message: “Love feels like home.” We came up with this tagline after hearing about all their cooking and brewing adventures together. They’d pull out all the stops whenever they’d host a party or get a hankering for a big breakfast for just the two of them. The attention to detail these two have is remarkable. They remember such small tidbits about everyone who comes through their door, that it makes spending time with them feel so personal. And it’s not just their attention to the small details, they actually create a space wherever they go that feels like home. You know, those little hand-made touches your mom and grandma have around the house that make you feel safe and welcome. That’s Lindsey and Beto and we wanted their website to feel like that without getting too busy or kitschy. ==> VISIT THEIR WEBSITE
Heyo! We know there’s a lot going on around here and it may be hard to keep things straight. So … we created a fancy little ‘look book’ for you to flip through at your leisure to find out how exactly our rebrands work and how easy it is to jump on board. We’d love to get to know you better and partner with your photography business to take it to the next level!
 First of all, let me say that the experience we had with B!G DEAL BRANDING was far beyond what we imagined it would be. We could not have asked for a better team to work with. They worked so hard to deliver the brand we were imagining in our heads, and it was PERFECT. I think the most important part for us was Phase 1 – developing our values, our core message, and our ideal bride. I have lots of friends that are photographers that have rebranded, and I have never heard of anyone going through those steps before they were rebranded. After we did that, they KILLED our design. We are so happy with everything they delivered, and so glad now that we can call them our good friends. Thank you B!G DEAL TEAM for helping us develop a brand that we absolutely love.”
- Sara & Rocky Photography, Dallas, TX
Where they started: Sara and Rocky Photography started in March of 2010. Their business began when Sara took a giant leap of faith and quit her job as an architect at a fancy pants firm in Dallas. They spent nearly a year and a half building their photography business before Rocky came on board full-time.
Where they were: They have a business they’re passionate about but, after taking a look at their last year, realized it was leaving very little room for them to actually have a life.
Problem with where they were: They were entirely too busy and didn’t find themselves working on enough projects with their ideal client.
Goal:
- They wanted to focus their message, target a specific client and learn to say no to opportunities that didn’t help them reach the goals they set for their business (and life).
- They wanted to develop a greater sense of community with their clients.
- They wanted to have a business that didn’t run their lives so they could spend more time ENJOYING life … not working to death.
How we got them there: We helped them focus their message to speak directly to their ideal client: couples who love life and love sharing it with other people. Then we created a plan of attack for saying no to clients who didn’t fit within their goal and yes to clients who did. We created a strategy to help Sara & Rocky schedule and launch their new brand (with intention and excellence). We designed everything to fit Sara & Rocky’s unique style and personalities, down to the detail of making their ideal client feel as though they were walking right into their cozy and fresh studio.
Their new look: Now that they had a message and strategy in place, it was time to give them a face lift. Sara & Rocky have such dynamic personalities that were previously missing from their old brand. We wanted to bring who they are to the forefront and make it a more interactive experience for their clients. We explored this option most with their About page. This was such a fun way to incorporate more of who they are and what makes them tick without being confined to words and a profile photo. These two are also major risk takers and go-getters so the idea of doing something non-traditional with their site was nothing short of exhilarating for them which is why the blog layout and about page are so unconventional. We kept it clean and approachable with a splash of boldness to ensure a greater filter for weeding out clients who may not be the best fit. –> VISIT THEIR WEBSITE
New business cards (printed on wood) & Twitter Skin:
Just wanted to quickly post that we had an awesome time hanging with all you rad Maui photographers. Hope to make it happen again next year :)
 When we decided to take our photography business from a hobby on the side to a full-time career, we knew we needed help coming up with a strategy and a brand to set us apart. Big Deal Branding exceeded our expectations. They got to know us, our business, our target market, and our goals and created a brand and strategy that was custom-made for us. Big Deal Branding goes so far beyond designing a couple cute generic logos. We could not have started our business without them.”
-Nate and Jenna Photography, Maui, Hawaii
Where they started: Jenna first started her photography biz in Oregon. When Jenna, and her husband Nate, relocated to Maui they started shooting more and more together (under the ‘Jenna Strubhar Photography’ brand). What began as a way to do something they loved ended up growing into a very busy business.
Where they were: They have a business they’re passionate about but aren’t working with the clients they loved most. They’ve also decided to publicly take their business to a two-person team of Jenna AND Nate, instead of just Jenna flying solo.
Problem with where they were: They were busy with projects that were no longer interesting to them. And the photography climate in Maui doesn’t afford them as much time with their client as they would like.
Goal:
- They want to focus on photographing more couples having destination weddings.
- They want to intentionally get to know the couples they work with.
- They want their clients to feel like an ‘insider’ when they are visiting and exploring the island with Nate & Jenna. They want to truly experience something with their clients, rather than just a typical quick sunset shoot on the beach. Nate & Jenna want to intentionally invest in each couple they meet with, and together talk about and encourage each other in valuing marriage and the commitment that it is.
How we got them there: We helped them focus their message to speak directly to their ideal client: couples in love… who are fun, colorful and adventurous. Then we created a plan of attack for saying no to clients who didn’t fit within their goal and yes to clients who did. We created a strategy to help Nate & Jenna schedule and launch their new brand (with intention and excellence). We also helped storyboard their new video that adorns their splash page and blog. We designed everything around the ability to showcase this video so that potential clients could quickly get a feel for what Nate & Jenna are all about (which is family, faith, their community and a solid marriage… everything is centered around healthy relationships for these two).
Their new look: Now that they had a message and strategy in place, it was time to give them a face lift. Since it was no longer just Jenna flying solo, they had to change their name and create a look & feel that was more reflective of their new message: “Photography for people in love – in a colorful, fun, and vibrant place (Maui, Hawaii) – not a bad gig at all ;) We didn’t want to give them the typical “island style” makeover, so we stayed away from palm trees, tiki torches and other cliche Hawaii things… it’s not the places and things that matter to Nate & Jenna, it’s the experience and the relationship that matter most. So we created a look & feel that translates those emotions to help their ideal client quickly recognize that Nate & Jenna are for them (and not just another aloha-shirt-wearing photographer in Hawaii). We kept it clean and professional, yet fun and approachable.
Visit their website
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