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The Simons Group gives in-house feel to outsourced projects for MorrisAnderson
The problem: Marjorie Dunn, marketing and communications manager for MorrisAnderson and Associates, wanted a major redesign of some of the company’s marketing collateral, but she didn’t want to do it all via e-mail and fax. She was looking for the collaborative sort of relationship she had previously enjoyed with in-house creative teams.
The solution: The Simons Group’s creative staff provided top-flight redesigns from their downtown Chicago office, meaning Dunn could collaborate in person — just as she had with her in-house colleagues.
The story: When Marjorie Dunn became marketing and communications manager for MorrisAnderson last year, she was accustomed to working with an in-house creative team. It was easy to run down the hall to discuss design concepts or select artwork.
MorrisAnderson had a creative agency, but the firm was in the western suburbs of Chicago and it wasn’t easy or convenient for Dunn to meet with them.
“I wanted to do a major redesign of some of our materials, and I didn’t want to have to do that exclusively by e-mail and fax,” she says. “I wanted to be able to sit down in person, without having to be away from my office for an entire day.”
Of course, proximity was only one part of the equation. Dunn also needed a company she could work well with and that she could trust to translate her ideas into reality creatively, efficiently and effectively — even when the timing was tight.
“When I met with Lee Simons, we really clicked,” she says. “I knew I’d enjoy working with her and the rest of the staff, and I was right. They’ve done a phenomenal job in writing and redesigning our newsletter, and they’ve been extremely responsive and collaborative. They let me go through the little details with them, and for me that’s the ultimate. They’ve been able to make my ideas come to life — and to improve on them.”
Whether it’s creating letterhead and marketing collateral for a new division, developing print ads for trade publications or bringing a very unusual holiday card to fruition, Dunn knows she can rely on The Simons Group.
“It’s taken a lot of pressure off me, so I can concentrate more on strategy and market focus,” she says. “I can be involved in the creative process to the extent that I need and want to be, but I’m not mired in it. I have a creative team that I trust and respect.”
When time is tight, Dunn appreciates the relationship and the talent even more.
“I can turn things over to them and ask them to come up with something, and they do it very well, indeed,” she says. “And all of it is generally in a very short turnaround time. I’ve had some major rushes, but that wasn’t a problem. And even when it isn’t a rush, they come up with ideas very quickly.”
Creative materials, quick turnaround, responsive writers and designers and a convenient location. Taken together, Dunn says, that adds up to one thing:
“Now it’s like having an in-house team again. It’s taken a lot of the pressure off.”
For more information about how to make The Simons Group a member of your creative team, contact Lee Zoldan at lzoldan@thesimonsgroup.com.