Two passionate friends full of vision for local brands and businesses
We met up with Amanda and Kirsti, the dynamic duo behind RubyOnyx Marketing & Creative.
With Amanda’s impressive background in TV and print design and Kirsti’s marketing expertise, they’ve created something truly special with RubyOnyx Marketing & Creative, and we are so excited to hear all about it!
Amanda and Kirsti are all about nailing strong marketing strategies and understanding what makes a brand tick, all while racking up loads of happy clients. So good!
Check out our chat below:
1:: Hi Amanda and Kirsti, so fab to meet you today! Tell us a bit about yourselves:
Amanda: I started out in TV design. I was a Senior Designer for News & Current Affairs at ABC and promos at Channel 9, among other things. I loved working in television, but after a while, I wanted something different. So, I moved to Wollondilly, where I decided to give interior design a go as it has always been another passion of mine.
I worked with my brother on some big projects, like fitting out Wests Illawarra Leagues Club, but then COVID hit, and everything slowed down. I shifted to residential design for a bit but I missed graphic design.
Then I met Kirsti, who had a marketing business. I started helping her with freelance work, and we quickly realised we worked really well together, so we decided to take the next step and team up.
Kirsti: I have always been in marketing, working in private companies and agencies. I have worked with big names like Telstra, American Express, Intel, Lexmark, Vodafone, and MPower, plus plenty of small businesses and political candidates.
My dream was to start my own marketing agency. After having kids and wanting more flexibility, I knew the time was right. I began as a marketing consultant but soon realised I could offer even more to businesses. I started looking for freelance designers, and that is when I met Amanda. Together, RubyOnyx Marketing & Creative was born. Three years later, it turned out to be the best decision we both made.
2 :: And where did the name RubyOnyx come from?
Amanda: One night, we sat down to brainstorm names and found that most of the usual marketing names were already taken, so we were a bit stuck. We decided to think about our favourite colours – red and black. I pulled out my gem book to see which gems matched those colours and discovered ruby and onyx. Reading about their meanings, we found that they represent strength and positivity, which fits us perfectly. We are bold and strong, just like those colours.
3 :: Wow, we love that sense of identity you created!
Amanda: Yep, that sense of meaning drives everything we do. Our work is purposeful and makes sense because we really understand our clients and the significance of their work.
Kirsti: Every strategy we create has purpose and intent, and we are passionate about working closely with our clients to achieve that. While some might see social media as just a casual platform, we focus on using it to enhance and build a business’s brand identity and awareness. We ensure that everything is backed by a solid strategy and built on strong foundations.
4 :: And what is it like working together?
Kirsti: We each have our own areas of expertise, but there is also this unspoken connection where we can step in and support each other to get things done. It’s like we’re unicorns – ha! We work so well together because we get each other’s skills and what the other can bring to the table.
Amanda: I love seeing the strategies Kirsti creates. They are packed with in-depth industry research and hard work, providing a real roadmap for our clients. She also has a fantastic design eye, and with my writing skills, we can seamlessly crossover. We make a solid team, which is exactly what you need when running a small business.
5 :: What do you love most about working together?
Kirsti: I’m so proud of how far we’ve come. We officially launched RubyOnyx Marketing & Creative right at the height of the COVID pandemic, which might have seemed a bit unconventional, but we knew it was the right move. We worked incredibly hard, and it’s really paying off. We’re thriving and have made a solid name for ourselves. Watching our vision come to life has been amazing. We’ve come a long way, but we’re here for the long haul and can’t wait to keep going.
6 :: Tell us about some of the local businesses you’re working with?
Amanda: We absolutely love working with the Wollondilly Women in Business network. We handle all their marketing and recently gave their branding a complete overhaul. It looks fantastic now, and they’re thrilled with it, and so are we! We also enjoy working with the Wollondilly Business Chamber, which is growing at an incredible pace. It’s amazing to see their success!
Kirsti: We’re currently working with a local catering company called PB Catering rebuilding their website at the moment, and it looks so good. We’re so excited.
RubyOnyx Marketing & Creative is also part of the district team tasked with reinvigorating the nightlife in Picton as part of the NSW Government Uptown Grant Round 2 Program through Wollondilly Business Chamber. Our role has been to develop the brand and the marketing concepts as well as manage the strategy and implementation of marketing activities. We are supporting the local hospitality businesses by boosting their exposure in the community as well as readying them for the opening of the new Wollondilly Performing Arts Centre. Our community needs places to eat, drink and be entertained at night and we are hoping this is the start of many things to come!
7 :: Can’t wait to see it! What types of projects do you enjoy working on the most at RubyOnyx Marketing & Creative?
Amanda: We really enjoy handling everything from start to finish. We love tackling big projects, like rebranding, where we can sink our teeth into transforming something. Taking an outdated logo and turning it into something fresh and exciting that the client loves is something I find so rewarding.
Kirsti: Amanda’s brain is like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. A brief will go in and out will come the most unique and incredible ideas, it’s a wonder to see. But, it’s also because we spend a lot of time upfront getting to know what a business stands for and what they want to achieve. We dive into the strategy and really understand our clients. This means the end result is something they love, and we rarely need to make revisions because we’re so tuned in to their vision.
8 :: And your tagline is “Curators of Brands”, can you share what that means?
Kirsti: To curate means to manage and care for a collection, and that’s exactly what we do for a brand. While many people think a brand is just a logo, it’s much more. We’re involved in the entire process and bring our clients along every step of the way.
Amanda: We work with our clients, not for them. We find that this kind of relationship delivers the best results. We become almost like an extension of their team, it works so well.
Thanks so much, Amanda and Kirsti, for sharing your story with us! Here’s to even more big wins for RubyOnyx Marketing & Creative.
If you’re curious about what Amanda, Kirsti, and the amazing team at RubyOnyx Marketing & Creative can do for your brand, check out their website.
Let their creative magic help your business grow.
***
This article features friends and advertisers of The Fold Media.
We strongly believe in the businesses and information we share with you on The Fold and we fully endorse the content we create and share.
We’re excited to share the amazing stories and adventures of our local businesses, and it is our sincere hope is that it helps create more awareness for these local businesses, helps keep them top of mind when locals and visitors next need their products or service, and most of all, contributes to creating a strong and thriving local community and economy.
We are so grateful to the local businesses who choose to work with The Fold Media. Without their belief and support in what we do, we wouldn’t be able to keep doing what it is that we love to do. Which is to create and share information about people, places and businesses in our wonderful region. We want to help everyone #LoveLivingLocal and make the most of this wonderful place we are lucky enough to call home.
And to you, our readers? We want to say a big THANK YOU to you. Firstly for taking the time to read this article, but also for supporting local businesses in general, as well as our sponsors who help make The Fold Media possible.
Together, let’s continue to support our local business community, in turn supporting their team, and our wonderful community overall. So let’s all choose local, whenever we possibly can.