Blue Bear Creative

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Social Media Manager of Noodles and Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Made up of more than 450 fast casual noodle restaurants and thousands of passionate team members and named one of America's Favorite Restaurants by Newsweek, Noodles is well-known for its delicious noodles and industry-leading team member benefits

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Blue Bear Creative to accomplish?

• Social Media Strategy
• Social Media Content Creation
• Social Media Community Management

SOLUTION

How did you find Blue Bear Creative?

Referral

Why did you select Blue Bear Creative over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Blue Bear Creative were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The Blue Bear Creative team does it all for us from a social standpoint end to end. They have been instrumental partners that we consider an in house extension. From strategy calls, to storyboarding and concepting, and then executing and filming the content.... they can handle it all. Their team goes above and beyond (even as far as acting in the content!), to ensure creativity, innovation, and brand relevance are front of mind. They edit all the content, store it for us, post it, report on it, engage with our social communities online, handle swag deliveries, CM management, and so much more. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have a set of internal KPIs we hold them to and Blue bear also has a set of KPIs they hold themselves to, month over month to determine true social media growth, engagement, and stickiness in creating content that resonates and drives brand relevance further down the funnel.

Because of them we've seen an increase in impressions, engagements, link clicks, time watched, and overall increase in brand relevance/share of voice against our other competitors. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Their project management is fantastic. Our account lead, Ryne, goes above and beyond. He's organized, timely, and always willing to be a team player and pivot where necessary. He is a true partner to our brand.

What was your primary form of communication with Blue Bear Creative?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They are innovative, adaptable, proactive in their approach, and also a wonderful culture fit of truly wonderfully genuine people. We love working with Blue Bear!!

They are a social first agency who is actually changing the game in terms of how to think and react on social proactively as a brand in order to maintain relevance. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Blue Bear Creative could have done differently?

NA

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Social Media Manager of OLLY

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We make vitamins & supplements with real-deal benefits.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Blue Bear Creative to accomplish?

• TikTok account management
• Content creation
• Overall social strategy

SOLUTION

How did you find Blue Bear Creative?

Online Search

Why did you select Blue Bear Creative over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• RFP presentation

How many teammates from Blue Bear Creative were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Description of Work:

Implement and refine social media strategic approach, in collaboration with Client, to

better leverage platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc., in delivering against

brand goals and business objectives. Execute strategic approach through the ongoing

planning, concepting and production of brand creative content, in support of organic social

media efforts.

Monthly Services

Social Media:

a) Weekly Status Calls, up to 30 minutes in length

b) Editorial Calendar Planning, Implementation and Trafficking of all BBC,

Brkaway, and Client-created content

c) Reporting & Analytics

i. Monthly Social Media Reports, (“Monthly Reports”) & Quarterly

Business Reviews, (“QBRs”)

1. To be delivered in standard Agency-Client Report Template(s),

once per month, and once per quarter, respectively; Agency-

Client Report Template(s) shall be mutually agreed to in the

initial period of each report. Monthly Reports and QBRs shall

include written insights to inform future content periods. Client

may request small revisions, additional data points or

customization per Monthly Report or QBR

a. Should requested revisions or customizations to

individual reports, or to the agreed to Report Template,

require more than one (1) hour to complete, additional

changes may be subject to additional charges at standard

Agency rate of $130 per hour, upon receiving Client’s

prior written approval.

ii. Monthly IMM Meetings: Up to 90 Minutes per month

d) Channel-Agnostic Strategy & Best Practice Recommendations

i. Includes materials such as Content Performance Insights & Analysis

provided via Monthly Reports or QBRs, Trending Opportunities

Reports, ad hoc strategic POVs, etc. Client requested recommendations

exceeding 4 hours in total across research, creation or revision(s) per

month will be estimated at standard Agency rate of $130 per hour and

billed separately, upon Client approval.

1. To accommodate the ever-evolving social media landscape,

Strategy & Best Practices hours may be utilized according to

Client platforms of choice.

e) Organic Social Media Support (“Support”)

i. Includes Publishing and Scheduling, up to 2.5 hours per month, across

any “Level 1 Platform”, defined as a primary social media platform

designated as a priority herein, (includes Instagram and TikTok);

ii. At Client’s discretion, Support services may be reallocated on a monthby-

month basis toward a “Level 2 Platform”, defined as a contingency

social media platform should Client opt to cease activity on a Level 1

Platform, (includes YouTube Shorts, Other). Due to the increase in

complexity associated with publishing to YouTube Shorts, Support

services shall increase to 6 hours per Level 2 Platform month,

accompanied by a deduction of one Point from the same month’s total

Point Balance.

1. To reallocate Support services from Level 1 to Level 2, Client

must notify Agency no later than 5 business days prior to the

start of the next calendar month.

iii. Support services are to be completed Monday through Friday, during

Agency business hours of 8:30AM to 5:30PM Mountain Standard Time

iv. Support services exceeding 2.5 hours per month at Level 1, 6 hours per

month at Level 2, or instances in which Support services are required

during Agency-observed federal holidays, will be charged at an hourly

rate of $90 per hour.

1. On a bi-weekly basis, Agency will internally review the running

total of Support hours worked. If Support hours are projected to

exceed 2.5 hours in a given month, Agency will notify Client,

and Client may add incremental Support hours, if approved in

writing.

2. Timesheet Reports for Support Hours will be made available, if

requested by Client, up to a monthly basis.

Social Creative & Production:

f) Content Capture Days: All Agency-captured deliverables are to be produced

in up to 8 Full-Day Content Captures (9-hours or less per Full Day, inclusive of

travel time) throughout the 6-Month duration of the SOW, with a maximum of 4

Full-Day Content Captures per 3-Month period.

i. Additional Content Capture Time: Should the Client-approved shot

list necessitate additional Full-Day or Half-Day Content Captures to

produce, including, but not limited to, revisions to or reshoots of

concepts which have been captured according to Client-approved

direction, at Client’s discretion, Agency will either:

1. Present Client with a separate estimate for the incremental

charges associated with the additional Content Capture time

required.

2. Provide Client with good-faith recommendations as to the

available alternative executions, if such alternatives exist, or

modifications to the approved concept(s), along with any

incremental charges entailed, in order to forgo additional

Content Capture time.

ii. Included Hard Costs: Included within the fees for the Content Capture

Days listed herein, Agency will obtain production items, such as, props,

job materials, Client product, licensing and location fees, craft services,

talent, etc., necessary to execute approved creative concepts, as

determined by the Agency. Out-of-pocket costs incurred by Agency in

relation to same, (“OOP costs”), up to $400 per Full-Day Content

Capture, are considered “Included Production Costs”, and will not be

billed separately to Client, outside of monthly retainer fees.

Any OOP costs in excess of $400 per Full Day Content Capture, with a

maximum of $1,600 per 3-Month Period, shall be considered

“Incremental Production Costs”, and will be billed separately according

to the MSA. All Incremental Production Costs must be approved in

writing by Client prior the purchase.

g) Monthly Agency Deliverables shall be determined by Client concept

approvals, using the Agency’s Point System and defined Asset Tiers.

Explanations of the Asset Tiers with respective “Point Values” are outlined in

Attachment A. Each Month, Client will receive:

i. 19 Points, added to Client’s “Point Balance”, which may be used at

Client’s discretion;

1. Client may redeem Points for any combination of assets, so

long as the cumulative Point Values of said assets do not exceed

the greater of 19 Points for a given month, or the Client’s Point

Balance.

a. To offset increased Publishing hours without incurring

incremental charges, one full point shall be deducted

from Client’s Point Balance during Level 2 Platform

months, as specified in section e).

2. To accommodate tentpole moments and brand campaigns,

Client can transfer unused Points backward, or move Points

from future month upward, as needed, provided the Points are

moved between adjacent months or months that are within the

same Calendar Quarter.

a. For example, March’s Points may be transferred to

adjacent months, February or April; as well as January,

given the month is within the same Calendar Quarter.

However, March Points may not be transferred to May.

ii. Additional Points can be purchased for $2,500 per 5 Points.

Additional Points include all Creative, Concepting, Account/Project

Management, and Post-Production hours required to execute the

incremental 5 Points-worth of asset(s);

1. Incremental Content Capture time is not included in the

purchase of Additional Points and will be estimated separately.

b) Channel-Agnostic Approach: To accommodate the ever-evolving social media

landscape, Client can utilize Points, as well as all other creative or postproduction

hours herein, toward the creation of content intended for use across

any Client social media platform(s) of choice, so long as the concept(s) fit

within the Asset Tiers defined in Attachment A;

i. Should concepts requested by Client fall outside the predefined Asset

Tiers in Attachment A, prior to performing any creative or production

work, Agency will provide a separate estimate of incremental costs to

conduct one-off tests of novel or unique asset types, (“Novel Asset

Types”); in lieu of one-off project estimates, Agency may work with

Client to establish on a mutually agreeable definition for any Novel

Asset Types, including assigned Point Values, for use in future

months. Any changes or additions to Asset Tiers, Point Values or

definitions outlined in Attachment A must be agreed to in writing

outside of this agreement by both Client and Agency.

c) Copywriting for all Agency-created Organic Social posts, for up to (2) social

platforms per asset, (with up to 2 rounds of revisions per post). Additional

rounds of copy revisions or edits to creative assets may be subject to additional

fee.

i. Includes Copywriting for post captions, script writing for Tier III and

Tier IV video content, In-Creative Text, and keywords.

d) Creative Revisions: All creative is subject to up to two (2) pre-production

revisions and two (2) post-production revisions per content piece. Requested

post-production revisions that deviate from the approved concept or require

additional Content Capture time are considered “New Concepts” and will entail

incremental charges or deductions from the month’s remaining Point Balance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Feedback was applied when given

Always a willingness to step in, step up and be flexible

Blue Bear Creative was easy and pleasant to work with.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Projects were delivered on time and the team was able to get things in time for go-live date when we needed something quick. 

What was your primary form of communication with Blue Bear Creative?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The level of professionalism while still being humans. Easy to work with and communicate with. created great work that was on concept. Flexible always! Just reiterating what I've already shared. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Blue Bear Creative could have done differently?

In terms of creators, we did have some trouble creating content around specific demos (parents, older women), but I know BBC is creating a creator program to attack this issue. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Communications Manager at Noodles & Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Noodles & Company is a national fast-casual restaurant with 460+ locations serving globally-inspired noodle bowls and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Blue Bear Creative to accomplish?

• Increase brand awareness through organic social media management

SOLUTION

How did you find Blue Bear Creative?

Referral

Why did you select Blue Bear Creative over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Blue Bear Creative were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Blue Bear Creative worked with us on our strategic approach to all organic social media channels. To start, the team would put together campaign approaches to elevate the organic social media channels. They planned, captured, produced, and delivered 15+ pieces of content every month over the 9 year partnership. 

Content included, but was not limited to, static images, videography, photoshop, micro-influencer management, animation, and more. From there, they would post the content and monitor performance. Additionally, they would provide monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting with strategic recommendations. In needed situations, they also supported with content production for our foundation team and HR team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The Blue Bear team came in and assisted us when our social media pages first got their start. They have been around for most of that time and have been essential in the growth we have seen over that time. Their team has established our strong foundation for which we could not build upon if it wasn't for them.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Blue Bear team did a great job of managing projects, staying in close communication, and ensuring deadlines were hit. They use a clear and understandable project management tool to accomplish the agreed upon goals.

What was your primary form of communication with Blue Bear Creative?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their small yet impactful team allows them to focus on delivering high-quality results for their clients. They are local to our business and spent time truly diving into to understanding our culture and acted as an extension of our team.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Blue Bear Creative could have done differently?

As the digital space progresses, I think they can expand into the influencer management space. This is something they do on a small scale at this time through the TikTok creator marketplace and their own creator marketplace, and brands will be looking for macro, national-level influencer management in the future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Rally Labs LLC. We specialize in over-the-counter drugs for younger consumers. Our main product is an FDA-recognized hangover remedy called Blowfish.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Bear Creative?

We needed to improve our social media and email marketing efforts as part of a larger rebranding initiative. We were trying to shift our focus from traditional in-store distribution strategy to e-commerce-based retail, creating more direct relationships with our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

We had several pretty lofty goals. In short, we wanted to decrease our new customer acquisition costs to measure less than our cash profit on each sale. To do this, we needed to establish a customer acquisition cost that was substantially lower than industry benchmarks.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were working with a creative agency for our rebranding and video needs, but they didn’t have much experience with direct social media marketing. They referred us to Blue Bear Creative.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Blue Bear Creative helped with designing and executing all of our social media and email marketing strategies, which represented the majority of our messaging efforts. Though the team didn’t work on any creative materials, they shared feedback and helpful suggestions. They continue to provide reports and update us on the campaign’s progress.

What was the team composition?

We’re in direct contact with two people; one focuses on strategy and the other handles implementation. Both resources are extremely smart.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can’t say enough about the positive impact Blue Bare Creative has had on our business. Comparing this year to last year, our online sales have increased by 300%. We also achieved our goal of reducing our customer acquisition cost. Now, our marketing efforts pay for themselves with each new first sale.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was a relatively straightforward project, so everything ran smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They’re a bright team with the confidence and experience to manage a transparent project. They were honest about what they could and couldn’t do. Overall, it was a productive collaboration.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They could hire a few new resources. They missed a few deadlines and postponed meetings at the last minute, but more depth would solve these issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the director of marketing at Purely Elizabeth, a natural products company with the #1 granola in the natural channel and also a line of oatmeals, oatmeal cups, and nutrition bars. I lead a five-person marketing team and report to our CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Bear Creative?

We hired Blue Bear Creative to product around 10 unique videos ranging from 15–90 seconds for various social media channels and our website. We asked them to produce a variety of video types, from a founder story to recipe videos to product feature videos.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to produce high-quality video at a low cost that conveyed the brand's product range, aesthetic, and values and that would perform well across social media channels, especially Facebook and Instagram.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I looked at a variety of options, ranging from freelancers to larger agencies. I selected Blue Bear Creative because they were nimble, had experience with larger productions, and were a relatively low cost.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail.

Blue Bear Creative helped finalize the creative vision for the videos, establishing visual guides and a production plan. They were on location for filming, working with us and an external video production team during the two days of shooting. They then managed the editing, feedback, and completion of the assets.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Blue Bear Creative used a simple grid on Google Sheets to manage the different cuts and edits. They always responded promptly to edits and feedback.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They completed all of the requested assets within budget and at the expected quality. They underestimated the time needed for feedback, which pushed back our original timeline, but we ended up with high-quality assets that we were pleased with.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their workflow was good, and they were highly responsive. When email became too complex to manage the edits and versions, they developed a shared document that was easy to use and track.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Blue Bear Creative's cost-to-quality ratio was incredibly impressive. We needed to be a bit more involved with them than with other agencies, but their costs are great and they deliver high-quality work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Communicating responsibilities on the days of shooting could've improved; it felt a bit disorganized, and my team ended up doing a lot of prep work that Blue Bear Creative had stated they'd do. Their quality and price are a great value, but a slight lack of professionalism on set was symptomatic of a younger, less polished agency.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the integrated marketing associate at a consumer packaged goods startup that produces dairy-free protein bars and energy bars. Our company has about 15 employees and we sell nationwide. I manage the relationship with our agency and execute brand partnerships.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Bear Creative?

We needed a partner to manage our monthly social media content and copy, mainly on Instagram and Facebook. 

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to build our social reach and differentiate the brand through engaging content, mainly on Instagram. We're a fairly small company, so having them manage our content production took the load off our back.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We did our own research and asked for some referrals before choosing Blue Bear Creative.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Our first step was agreeing on the amount, types, and price of the content they'd produce. They conduct bi-monthly on-site brainstorm sessions to come up with concepts, and we provide feedbck for reiteration on a daily basis. They also plan and implement our editorial calendar and manage monthly reporting and analytics. Our internal team posts the content natively, but Blue Bear Creative manages the ongoing strategy and best practice recommendations.

What was the team composition?

I work closely with the creative director, copywriter, and integrated producer. Additionally, they have an account supervisor who manages most of the communication, and a media manager who provides the monthly reporting and analytics.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Blue Bear Creative has produced cohesive content that's solidified our brand identity and voice. Each round of content has been a fresh slate of creative ideas, perspectives, and concepts that our consumers enjoy.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They're great at communicating any updates, changes, and questions on a daily basis to make sure things get done. However, we've struggled at times to get ahead in the planning process, which doesn't leave much time for reiteration or feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The creativity and breadth of the content they've produced is amazing—from gifs to images to short videos—they're extremely versatile. They patiently work with us to produce the best content possible.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We'd appreciate them providing more strategic insights and applying those recommendations to future content. They only seem to work on this when we request it, even though it's in their scope of work. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the social media specialist at Noodles & Company, a fast, casual restaurant brand with expertise in global flavors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Bear Creative?

We chose to back away from social media as just another channel to advertise. We wanted a more engaging way to communicate with guests outside of our restaurants.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They co-create content for our social media channels, predominantly Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We build monthly content that resonates with people in a funny, relatable way to improve reactions, likes, and shares. They also help manage our paid social media and determine strategies to meet our targets for any given asset. They help us choose content and copy to increase awareness—and drive sales and online interaction.

How did you come to work with Blue Bear Creative?

A team member worked with them at a different brand in our verticals and recommended them for the project. We looked at their channels and saw potential.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $150,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

They took over our social media strategy in April 2017, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our primary KPI [Key Performance Indicator] is engagement with our followers. We see growth in our organic reach, which has more than doubled on Facebook and Instagram. We’ve gone from an average of 10 comments to 31 comments per post on Instagram, and from 190 likes to 308 likes per average Facebook post. Since we’ve put paper support behind these areas, we’ve seen them flourish.

How did Blue Bear Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

This is an area of opportunity for them. They are an amazing collaborator—and a great creative partner—but project management is something they’re growing into. They’re extremely responsive and are happy to help wherever they can. Sometimes, we have to encourage them to be timely, but this hasn’t been a huge detriment.

We handle about 99% of our customer service in-house. We occasionally call on them to boost our personal bandwidth, but that’s rare.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to collaborate is incredible. They're an extension of our team and don’t feel like a distant, far away agency. They come in often and are willing to get their hands dirty with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project management piece is something I know they’re working on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and Founder of Chinook Seedery, a food manufacturing company and purveyor of all-natural premium sunflower seeds.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Bear Creative?

As a startup brand, our biggest challenge is that no one’s heard of us before. We needed to build brand awareness by getting the message out about what we do, what we stand for, and why we are unique to as many people as possible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They completely rebuilt the web site and transferred everything over to Shopify as e-commerce is an underutilized tool for us. Working with our existing logo and packaging, they developed a site that is visually appealing, functionally strong, and encapsulates the feel of a clean, “better-for-you” product.

They also worked extensively to refine our social media presence and messaging, and outline the differentiation of our products. They helped define our brand voice and explored how we could provide value to different types of consumers. Through these discussions, we identified the millennial consumer as one of our primary marketing targets, which further honed our messaging and brand image.

Now, they handle our website and social media, and pitch in on projects outside their initial scope, such as integrating apps with Shopify and online contests and promotions.

What is the team dynamic?

We worked most closely with Alex [Founder and CEO, Blue Bear Creative], but also with two others on his team.

How did you come to work with Blue Bear Creative?

We interviewed several companies, but landed on Blue Bear after seeing their innovative past work. They have a deep understanding of millennial consumers, what they’re interested in, what they want to see on social media. They also have a niche focus on CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) companies and food companies specifically, which was very important to us. They know how to market to buyers and stores that may want to put our products on their shelves.

How much have you invested with them?

On average, we spend $3,000–$4,000 per month for social media management and other digital marketing initiatives. Building the website was a higher-cost project—roughly $12,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Blue Bear in late 2014, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In the first month after the new site launched, sales increased 35% over the previous month. Since then, we’ve averaged a 10%–15% increase every month. The new site is great at filtering potential consumers through the process of identifying what makes us different and leading them to the checkout page.  

How did Blue Bear Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve always been very responsive. I’ll email them an idea and usually will hear back within the hour. They get projects done quickly and hit deadlines. They are small enough to truly make their clients a priority.

We’ve used Google Drive extensively, as well as Asana for organizing tasks like social media scheduling and other critical, time-sensitive initiatives.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their understanding of visual elements presence in social media is their strongest suit. We always get positive feedback on how visually appealing our Instagram and Facebook ads are. We've got a really cool-looking page with engaging photos and Blue Bear is behind all of that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They don't have some of the benefits of a large marketing agency. For example, they can’t provide the viewpoints of 20 people on a project, which can be valuable. That's just a limitation of company size.

Advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have the right product for them. They are an innovative agency with a focus on millennials, so if you want to reach them, they’re absolutely the company for you. If you're looking to expand in a different demographic, however, another digital marketing agency may be a better fit.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Smashburger is a fast-casual burger chain with 350 locations. I was the social media coordinator when I worked there.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Bear Creative?

We wanted to target millennials in our social media efforts and we knew that Blue Bear Creative had a specialty in that area.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Bear Creative helped with everything, from brainstorming campaigns to content creation. They were responsible for shooting videos, taking pictures, editing pictures, creative graphics, writing copy, launching campaigns, building websites, etc. They’re a well-rounded social media company that can do a little bit of everything. They helped us with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. We had everything outlined in our initial contract that included how many pictures they would provide each month, how many Snapchat stories, and how often they would need to review our copy.

For Snapchat, we would brainstorm together and then they would build it out. After we approve it, they would shoot and then make it live. For the other platforms, they would send me all the copy and creative elements, then and I would post content online. The videos started out with Snapchat, then they moved to 30-second videos that were used on Instagram. We also did some animated and live videos that were 1 minute long; we used those for YouTube. We gave them direction on the videos. Blue Bear would write the storyboard, we would approve it, and then they shot the video. They were great at GIF-style videos.

How did you come to work with Blue Bear Creative?

We connected with them because they were an agency out of Colorado. We talked to a lot of social media companies.

How much have you invested with Blue Bear Creative?

We spent under $60,000 per year on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

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?

Within the first year, we had over 200% growth on our Instagram channel. We launched with them on Snapchat and did a couple of campaigns that helped us get over 10,000 followers. Our hashtag campaign had over 9,000 submissions. It was neat to see the transformation of our photos, copy, and videos and having a more cohesive social media across all channels. I was very happy working with them.

How did Blue Bear Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

I was in charge of project management and they followed the agenda I created. They were good at meeting deadlines without us having to push them. We had a short turnaround time, which Blue Bear was able to meet. If there was something we didn’t like about their work, they were always good at taking feedback and fixing it.

What did you find most impressive about Blue Bear Creative?

If there’s something that’s not in their wheelhouse, they find a way to make it happen. There’s nothing they can’t do from a social media and digital standpoint. They have a great background in PR and can help with fresh, millennial-focused ideas. We had a great experience working with them. I would love to work with them where I’m currently employed.

Are there any areas Friendemic could improve?

No.