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Big Imprint

Websites and Marketing for Growing Businesses and Non-Profits

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New Website for Iowa Manufacturer Young Bros. Stamp Works

We built a new website for Iowa manufacturer Young Bros. Stamp Works. Here’s the story:

The Problem

Ren had a problem.

She had an excellent product. Her company, Young Bros. Stamp Works, was creating quality metal stamps and selling to retailers all over the country. She had some printed brochures with pretty pictures describing their products. She had a website. It was an old ThomasNet® website that was a bit clunky and hard to navigate.

What she didn’t have was an easy, simple way for distributors to see their full product line.

Ren needed a new website. She knew that even though Young Bros. doesn’t sell directly to consumers, it’s critical that her website showcases the product for her buyers.

The Solution

Here’s what we did for Young Bros. Stamp Works:

  • Web design
  • Web development
  • Product photography
  • Product demonstration video
  • Ongoing website hosting and support

New website for Iowa manufacturer - Young Bros.

See more about the Young Bros. Stamp Works project →

Ren’s new website builds credibility with high-quality design. It increases exposure and helps their distributors by showing their products in an easy, straightforward way. It gives prospective employees a taste of the fun-loving culture of the company (look for the cheese)!

Most of all, the new website is something that Ren and her Iowa-based manufacturing team can be proud of.

We’re working with manufacturers every day to help them with their websites and online marketing.

We have packages and pricing specifically for manufacturing/industrial websites.

Contact us for a price list→

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Our Web Design Company’s Values

Web Design Iowa City - Our Company Values

This summer I took some time to reflect on the values that we hold as a web design company and updated the language. I love thinking about this stuff and as our company grows and ages I have gotten a clearer picture of the values that I want to exemplify as a company and as a brand.

This year I specifically wanted to go deeper than the standard list of noble words that are found in most web design company values. Can we go beyond the typical “honesty, integrity, quality” list that seems to make up about 99% of most companies’ stated values? What about our values makes us unique as a company?

After working on this off and on for a while during the summer, I think we’ve captured much of the essence of Big Imprint in the following six words. Four of the words talk about us and our approach, two of them talk about the work we produce.

Six words that describe us and our work

 

Friendly

Our approach is down-to-earth and just plain friendly. We love our clients, we love seeing you succeed, and we’re here to help.

 

Thoughtful

We take an inquisitive, methodical approach to every project to ensure that we find the best solution possible. Keeping our clients’ best interests at heart is a way of life for us.

 

Forthcoming

We value transparent, candid communication and contracts. Expect us to be straightforward and upfront regarding all aspects of your project, from start to finish.

 

Responsive

Some web companies are nearly unreachable. We prioritize availability to our clients and see good communication as a key to reliability and trustworthiness.

 

Robust

We love quality. We are passionate about details. From concept to launch, our website and marketing projects are thoroughly tested and built to last.

 

Intuitive

Technology can be frustratingly complex. We aim to keep things as painless as possible. Our goal is that your experience will be simple and enjoyable.

 

This is a work in progress, bound to be adjusted as we grow and mature as a web design company. It’s all part of the process. And it’s fun to put words to the growth process as we walk along.

—Ethan

 

Visit Our Recently Updated Portfolio

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Introducing the Business Toolbox — Our Recommended Software Tools

EntreFEST in Iowa City - presentation by Ethan of BIg ImprintIowa City EntreFEST presentation imageEthan recently had the opportunity to present a session at the EntreFEST conference in Iowa City about software tools for business. EntreFEST is a two-day conference for small businesses, startups, entrepreneurs of every shade. The event features workshops and nationally-recognized keynote speakers, and is an excellent networking opportunity.

Ethan’s talk featured a collection of tools that we have found useful in operating our business.

To everyone who was there, thank you for joining us!

See the tools →

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Our Web Design Company Joins the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce

We are happy to announce our new membership in the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce.

It’s great to be a part of a community of nearly 1,000 other businesses in the Iowa City area where we can share our website design and marketing services and learn from others.

 

proud_member_ica_chamber_logo

We currently serve many businesses in Iowa City, the Corridor, and surrounding cities. Chamber membership will allow this partnership with the local professional community to grow. We look forward to a broader relationship with more businesses as well as improved knowledge of the resources and opportunities that are in our community.

Our team at Big Imprint maintains a strong advocacy for economic growth and considers its services an extension of the businesses it serves. The Iowa City Chamber of Commerce is a perfect way for us to be involved in the network of growth and connection!

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Why I Like Working Here!

By Jennifer Merten, Designer

yourhome

I have to start by saying that I never thought my morning commute would be through the Heartland. Coming from Atlanta I am used to angry commuters and long commute times. This is one of the first things that struck me. My commute from Iowa City to Big Imprint in downtown West Liberty is a peaceful one filled with beautiful sky and endless landscape. Some days I get stuck behind farm equipment on the highway during harvest but that’s part of the charm of living in Iowa!

My day starts with coffee and banter with my co-workers. Yes, we work together but with the intimacy of our office setting I have gotten to know them well and they are my team and my family away from home.

Each day brings a new challenge. From web design, to product photography, to graphic design, to logos and branding — I am kept on my toes. We have a wide range of clients and I enjoy working with them and designing creative for their various needs.

Big Imprint is a great job to strike a good balance between home life and work life. Our agency owner, Ethan, understands the importance of this and allows us to modify our schedules when needed.

Like I said I never thought I would be designing websites and other creative in a small town in Iowa. But I am so glad I found Big Imprint and hope to grow as a person and designer while working here!

Interested in joining our team? See our openings →

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#TeamBigImprint on RAGBRAI

Web design in Iowa City Muscatine Cedar Rapids Iowa agency on RAGBRAI
Team Big Imprint at the Mississippi River! (With honorary member Gavin.)

“You’re with Big Imprint? I read about you in the paper!” My day was filled with comments like these as our RAGBRAI team rode into Muscatine and dipped their tires into the mighty Mississippi River.

Big Imprint was proud to sponsor a team for this year’s RAGBRAI. For the uninitiated, the acronym stands for the Register’s (as in the Des Moines Register) Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.

When four of my siblings approached me with the idea of riding under the Big Imprint banner, I couldn’t refuse. RAGBRAI is the quintessential Iowa experience, and being an Iowan-owned company with a deep affection for our state, it was a great fit for us to be involved.

We set three main goals as a company:

  1. To increase awareness of Big Imprint
  2. A bump on social media 
  3. Have fun!

What we did

Web design in Iowa City Muscatine Cedar Rapids Iowa agency on RAGBRAIOur designer Jennifer put together some smashing cycling jerseys for the team (we got a lot of compliments on these jerseys). We built a page on our website to showcase the journey, introduce the team members, and display the social media posts that the team would post along the way.

We chose two primary social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) and a simple hashtag to collect the social media posts from our office and from the team: #teambigimprint.

Starting about 90 days out, we started showing the behind-the-scenes work on the project and introducing the team and the co-sponsors (Anderwood Farm and Kari Pearls) on Facebook. As the day drew nearer, we scheduled a kickoff party at Big Imprint HQ.

Most importantly, we reached out to our media contacts in the area and sent them all a press release about our team.

During the ride, the team posted photos and videos on Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag. We followed along eagerly from the office and re-shared some of their posts from the company accounts.

My mom Kari and I joined the team for part of the last day into Muscatine and Leslie was waiting for us at the Muscatine riverfront to capture the team’s arrival on camera.

Results

 

Awareness of Big Imprint

The team had coverage in four newspapers and one TV news outlet: The Des Moines Register, Muscatine Journal, Voice of Muscatine, West Liberty Index, and KCCI in Des Moines.

We were especially excited to be featured on the front page of the Muscatine Journal. We do a lot of business in Muscatine and this exposure was excellent for us.

 

Social media uptick

We don’t do a lot on social media as a company, so from time to time it’s nice to have a fun event like this to post about. We primarily used Facebook and Instagram (since that’s what most of the team preferred) and we certainly saw an uptick in followers and engagement on both platforms.

Some stats from Facebook:

  • 7% increase in our total page likes
  • 494% increase in number of people who saw our posts during the event

Interesting note: true to form, video posts gave us by far the most engagement.

Web design in Iowa City Muscatine Cedar Rapids Iowa agency on RAGBRAI

 

Have fun!

Sponsoring a team turned out to be a lot of fun for all of us! We loved designing the branding, following along on social media during the ride, and just being a part of such a great Iowa experience.

That’s three for three! We met our goals. We’re so happy we did this! —Ethan

Web design in Iowa City Muscatine Cedar Rapids Iowa agency on RAGBRAI

 

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