FAQ
How many people work at Th!nk Tank?
The Th!nk Tank is comprised of two partners that represent two methods of thought: the Left Brain (strategy, budgeting, planning, targeting and analysis) side of the Th!nk Tank is manned by Amy Scott, the Right Brain (creative execution and concept) is handled by Jessica Bennett. We’re a partnership of collaboration. While we both have our own unique areas of focus, we work together to develop the most effective strategy and “big idea” for your organization. And we’re backed by an extensive network of experts, in both Louisiana and Texas, which we’ve been building for the last several years.
In your bio, it says that Amy and Jessica live in two different states. How does that work?
Amy Scott is located in West Monroe, Louisiana, while Jessica is located in Houston, Texas. We communicate via travel, phone conference, Skype, email, and online meeting software on a several times daily basis. We believe that having two points of view from two markets ultimately gives you an advantage since we’re bringing innovation, new ideas and energy from two very different corners of the region.
Do you have a physical location?
Yes and no. We don’t have a big fancy office building, if that’s what you’re asking. Because we don’t spend a ton of money on overhead, we’re able to offer you great work at an affordable price. Having a cool conference room doesn’t do anything for your bottom line. We like to meet in comfortable, casual locations with our partners (“partners” are what other agencies refer to as “clients”) to have a more relaxed environment conducive to focus and creative thinking. We prefer to work this way because it gets you away from a constantly ringing phone, a continually “binging” email system and other concentration-breaking distractions. Ultimately, choosing to meet this way will cut down on the time spent meeting and give us both more time to actually get the work done. Plus, the coffee’s on us.
You guys seem young, what kind of experience do you have?
“Young” and “experience” do not necessarily have a negative correlation. Plus, “young” is subjective. One of my best friends is in his 70’s. And he’s one of the youngest people I know. Jessica has worked with the largest retailers in the world (Costco, Target, Walmart, JC Penney, Sears, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Sam’s to name a few) over the last 8 years. Amy has worked with some of the largest local organizations over the last few years and prior to that, was the public relations coordinator for Louisiana Delta Community College. Combined, we have nearly 15 years experience in the realm of creative design, strategic marketing, public relations, branding, media buying, copywriting, concepting, budgeting & planning, marketing research, and social media. Our “youth” has given us the energy to focus on new marketing trends and educate ourselves on the power (and cost-effectiveness) of social and non-traditional media. We’re with it. Long story short, our knowledge and experience is nothing to sneeze at.
Do you only work with small business and non-profit organizations?
No. We don’t close our door to anyone or any organization, large or small. We prefer to work with the “small guys” because we’re also “small guys” and we understand how a small organization works. But we’ve also worked with the biggest of the big. Most importantly, we don’t charge for you to give us a shout to see if we’re the right fit for your organization. So if you’re interested, give us a call or shoot us an email. You really have nothing to lose save a few moments of your time.
How much do you charge?
Well, that depends on the project. Are we priced lower than the “big guys”? Absolutely. But because we don’t have a ton of overhead or ten employees touching a single job, we can afford to charge less. And we can also afford to turn projects around quickly. There’s a real benefit to partnering with a two-person shop, including personal attention. You’ll never speak to a receptionist when you call Th!nk Tank. Amy Scott answers the phone at Th!nk Tank. So, if you have a dilemma or a question, it’ll get handled right then and there. And because we don’t have specific business hours, you can call anytime. Our day doesn’t end at 5:00 pm, it ends when the work gets done.
If you need our help on a project, let us know. We’ll customize a proposal for you free-of-charge. It’s also worth noting that we don’t bill unexpectedly. You’ll NEVER receive an invoice for work you didn’t authorize in advance. We believe these kinds of sneak attacks only erode our relationship with our partners, so we don’t operate that way. And because we work primarily with small businesses and non-profit organizations, we’re flexible on our billing terms and will work with you to come up with the method most convenient for you, not us.
Do you accept RFPs?
Yes! A little competition is healthy. Go on, send us your RFP.
Do you take pro-bono projects for non-profit organizations?
Absolutely. Get in touch and let’s see what we can do for your organization.
How long do projects take?
It depends on the project. But we’ll go ahead and tell you that we bust it to get work out quickly. There isn’t a hierarchy of people fooling with projects at Th!nk Tank. The only people touching your project are the two owners of the firm. The benefit to you is that the cost stays low and the work gets done. Quickly. When we create a custom proposal for a new or potential partner, we include a timeline of actions required to complete a task. You’ll know from the get-go how long it will take based on the job at hand. And like everything else at Th!nk Tank, timelines are negotiable based on your immediate needs.
What services do you offer?
We offer the following services:
Brand Architecture
Strategic Marketing
Public & Community Relations
Event Planning & Coordination
Fundraising & Sustaining Campaigns
Direct Mail Campaigns
Packaging Design
Trade Show Marketing
Multi-Media Advertising
New Media & Guerilla Marketing
Website Design, Architecture & Hosting
Viral & Online Campaigns
If you aren’t sure that your needs fall into one of these categories, call us anyway. But know that if your project falls under the marketing umbrella, we can probably help.
What makes you different from the “big guys”?
We just work differently. Don’t get me wrong; the big guys do a heck of a job. But we’re not as buttoned up.
We’re not going to come in and suck up so you’ll choose us as your marketing partners. We believe that our partners are sophisticated, intelligent people that are impressed with results, not puffery. Quite frankly, we don’t want to insult your intelligence, so our approach is to be open and straight to the point. You won’t get a dog and pony show from us. Take our website, for example. We could have built a fancy, flashy site with 30 pages of “stuff” about us. But we’re not that interesting and you don’t have that much free time, so instead, we focus on what we can do for you.
Why don’t you have an online portfolio?
Looking at a broad-range portfolio of work completed for other organizations won’t help you one bit. We’ll present some of our most recent work when we prepare your initial proposal. But we won’t go on and on about what we have done for our other partners because that doesn’t affect your bottom line one iota. We’d rather present what we’re going to do for YOU.
We are working on a blog that will include topical, interesting content, tips and updates on marketing trends that you can use in your organization. And once it’s up, you can download the information for free as many times as you like. Better yet, bookmark us or add us to your RSS feed.
Have you won any awards?
Yes. But do our awards help you bring in more volunteers, customers, sales, or funds? No. Our awards, at the end of the day, do nothing for you. We dust off the acrylics every once in a while and occasionally pat ourselves on the back but we’ll do it on our own time. Good marketing is marketing that delivers results for a particular organization; it’s not marketing that some nondescript graphic designer labeled as “cool”.
Will you listen to us when we have an idea?
Of course we will. We know that you know your business, organization or industry better than we ever could. It’s imperative that we listen to you. But we’re not yes men. It would be a disservice to you to go along with an idea that we know in our guts isn’t going to work. Our expertise is in marketing. And we know this market. We’ll always listen. But we’ll also tell you when we believe, based on experience, that you’re heading down the wrong path. I believe that this sort of professional guidance is why you’re thinking of calling us (318-537-7532, in case you forgot).
Why should we partner with you?
Because we’ll do what’s right for your organization, not what’s the best for our pocketbooks. Don’t believe us? Contact us. You’ll know after meeting with us if we’re a good fit for you.
Still have questions? Call us. 318-537-7532. Don’t have time for a phone call? Send us an email: info@thinktankidea.com. We want to hear from you.
