blend

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CMO for Heartland Bank LTD. Our business is in New Zealand and Australia. We mainly focus on small business lending, rural or agricultural finance, savings and deposits, motor vehicle loans, and reverse mortgages. Our team includes about 350 employees, and we are listed on the New Zealand stock exchange.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with blend?

We recently launched a new online platform where people can apply online for business finance. The process only takes a couple of minutes, and the system sends a decision right away. We wanted to create a TV commercial for the new product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

After we built the online platform, we contacted blend about making a new television commercial that could raise awareness about our product and company as a whole. We wanted it to be really high impact and different than traditional advertising most New Zealand banks use.

blend started off by learning about our business and brand. They conducted extensive interviews of myself, our CEO, and about six other people from the business loans, digital, and marketing teams to get a sense of who we are and what we do and stand for. Getting this outside perspective was interesting. From there, we spoke about the key messages the commercial should and the product’s points of differentiation to emphasize. 

After working independently, blend came back with numerous creative ideas. They presented 5-6 distinct written scripts. All of them were out of the box, exactly like we asked for. We reviewed the options internally and picked our favorite.

We had a tight four-week timeline before filming the commercial in the US. blend prepared everything and mobilized the director, cast, crew, and production team. Finishing filming it in one day was a big ask, but they gathered an amazing crew and made it happen. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with Matt (CEO, blend), Darcie (Chief Marketing Strategist, blend), and Charlie (Head of Production, blend).

How did you come to work with blend?

We found blend through a Google search for teams in California who could create this TV campaign. Based on their previous work, they made our shortlist. Two of my colleagues went out and met with the 4–5 different agencies. They felt blend stood out as the best option by far. The team had access to fantastic writers, directors, and producers who work as frequent partners, and secured commitments for our project. They enthusiastically and proactively got in touch with them and followed up. We really liked blend from the start, so we gave them the job. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with blend on this project from June–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The commercial has been airing here in New Zealand for about two weeks now. We’ve already had a significant increase of over 50% more website traffic and applications through our online platform.

How did blend perform from a project management standpoint?

blend was excellent from a project management standpoint. They organized everything seamlessly and kept in touch with me without being overbearing. Nothing I requested felt like a hassle, and they always delivered almost instantly. They seemed on top of everything the whole way through despite the extremely tight timeframe. They consulted with me skillfully and knew the right time to do so.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have been really impressed by everyone I worked with from blend. They were all lovely, which makes a big difference. Nothing was ever too much trouble for them. Even when we set somewhat unrealistic expectations, they did the job. When we came over to the US, they made everything seamless on the day of filming. blend is a small and tightknit team. 

The principals didn’t get the job and pass us onto someone else. The CEO was involved the entire time, which sets blend apart from other agencies. Darcie was fantastic at distilling the messaging we wanted to express. She pinpointed who we were and what we wanted to do really quickly. Other agencies we’ve worked with have taken much longer to wrap their head around those ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The team’s response speed dropped a bit once we met the deadline of filming, but that’s understandable. Overall, there is nothing I think they could have done better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

PUB Creative is a creative studio in Los Angeles that does brand marketing. I am the executive producer and CFO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blend?

We needed help with a website for a client.

SOLUTION

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Blend coded the front-end and made sure the artwork that we created was correct. They worked with the client and us on the database on the backend to make sure it was constructed properly to gather the right metrics. Blend continues to do maintenance work on the project. We’ve also used them for app work as well.

How did you come to work with Blend?

We did a search for a vendor that had the capabilities and Blend seemed to have the right speak and tone. When we met with Jesse, the relationship felt good for both of us. He’s been a reliable resource for us when we’ve needed help with development.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The project has cost more than $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in February 2011, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The engagement with them has been great. The client has also been happy with the work. Jesse is a key component of the work. He makes sure that we can get the metrics we need from the project. 

How did Blend perform from a project management standpoint?

Whenever there’s an issue, Jesse’s eager and willing to help us find a solution. He’s very solid on the timeline and makes sure I’m driving the client for the information he needs to keep on schedule.

What did you find most impressive about Blend?

Comparing Blend to other providers, I would say Jesse pays more attention to detail. The quality of work is better. The people Blend hires are solid. They can look at the big picture but also look at the more detailed side of things as well.

Are there any areas Blend could improve?

We haven’t had any issues working with them. He’s never missed a deadline.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a company that sells consumer goods. I’m a technical project manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blend?

Blend was maintaining a website my company acquired 2 years ago. We needed to make changes after the acquisition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They perform maintenance on the site. Part of the reason Blend is maintaining this site is because we don’t have developers that are familiar with PHP. Blend makes changes we need. They did some work on our car seat registration page and integrated to our SAP [System Applications Products] system by incorporating the feed and updating the catalog. Our consumer services group uses Salesforce.com, so Blend helped us integrate with Salesforce. We added address validation across the website. At my company, we use Paymentech, so we needed to link up with that system. They updated the whole checkout to consider our new credit card model.

How did you come to work with Blend?

We found them when our company bought the company that ran the site we had them help with. We were given a short timeline to get everything converted to Newell. They seemed very thorough. Alex has great knowledge of the website. He's helped by giving feedback on additional changes we can make.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re currently working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I'm very happy with their quality of work. 

How did Blend perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re organized, and they’ve been able to meet deadlines. Any delays have been because of our team.

What did you find most impressive about Blend?

We’ve had a great experience. They’ve been able to help us with any issues we’ve had.

Are there any areas Blend could improve?

There have been times when we’ve needed changes, and the question has come up whether it’s warranty or new scope. I think that would be the case with any firm.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Head of Marketing of a Fortune 500 Home Appliances company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire blend?

The project was to develop scripted advertising and product features videos for our line of major home appliances

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found several companies at the internet and Blend came with the best project scope and bid

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

The project was about developing and producing video content for our line of major appliances. It included since concept developing and copywriting to production, editing and finalizing videos and photos for the products

What was the team composition?

Producers, Executive Producers, Copywriters, Art Directors, Directors, Director of Photography, editors, sound producers, etc

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The content produced helped us to promote our products and increase sales

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. Communication flow was excellent and all our needs were met by Blend.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They combined excellent service quality with a reasonable cost.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

I wish we could have more budget to produce more videos.