The Booth

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative content director for a PR and creative agency in the commercial, government relations, and public affairs space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with By The Booth?

We were creating a corporate brand video for one of our clients. We’ve never created one before brought in By The Booth for their creative support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We created a live-action video that accurately represents the roles of financial advisors in people’s lives. We came up with the concept and created a storyboard that was approved by the client. By The Booth added their own style within the framework of what we already set up. Working collaboratively, we came up with a solution that we were all happy with.

We shot 5–6 different scenes with several actors. Our concept was to film over the shoulder of each advisor while not showing their face. The camera would switch which shoulder they were peering over depending whether they were in the workplace or in a personal situation to demonstrate that advisors are really friends with their clients.

What is the team composition?

We worked closely with two of their team members throughout the project. At the shoot, they had a team of 15–20 people who were both freelancers and full-time employees.

How did you come to work with By The Booth?

Our creative operations director was familiar with them and recommended their team. We received cost estimates from 3–5 different agencies and narrowed it down from there. Each company came up with their own treatment for the piece, but By The Booth did a great job presenting their concept. They showed their thinking from start to finish and I just got a good vibe from them.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost $75,000–$80,000, though we may have had overages.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2019 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main video is all done and we’re just making a few adjustments that the client requested. Their work has made me smile and we’ve had a great experience so far.

How did By The Booth perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always on top of everything and managed their side of things very well. They even took on some tasks that would normally be our responsibility. They’ve been very understanding and an excellent partner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a collaborative mindset, which made the project run very smoothly. We appreciated that they worked with our original ideas because that’s how our team operates too. We like to bounce ideas off one another, so it was easy to work with By The Booth. The work is paramount and we always put the end product first.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any negative feedback for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Bring your A-game, because they always bring theirs. I don’t believe in just depending on your partner to bring all the expertise and tools. Know your own material so you can work together.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner in a graphic design firm, Hambly and Woolley, Inc. We work on a variety of projects from web to print to digital strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with By the Booth?

One of our clients had an important upcoming relaunch. We had been working on the new materials for two years and needed to present them at their annual forum. We hired By the Booth to create a video that would reveal the new logo we created.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

By the Booth created an original animated video, which looked at the brand and strategy that we spent two years creating. We had a few initial meetings to convey our client’s message to their team. We provided them with the flat assets and graphics. Their team then provided us with their storyboards, we approved it, and they got to work on the video. 

They encapsulated the brand personality in the video which was one-and-a-half minutes long. They used the elements of the brand as graphic images to convey our process and how these solutions were created. 

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Garus (Owner & Creative Director, By The Booth) and his producer. 

How did you come to work with By the Booth?

By the Booth came as a referral and we’d worked with them on a couple of successful projects. This project was going to be challenging because of the tight two-week turnaround time, but they were willing to do it in that timeframe, so we chose them.  

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran for two weeks in October 2019. We’re looking for other ways to leverage the assets and recut the video in the future, so we’ll likely use them again for that if the need arises.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The video was a massive part of the success of our client’s relaunch. At the event, people were clamoring to get the video and share it online and with friends. The video was embraced and praised, so now there is a big demand for the new assets we developed for the client. We’re sharing it our on own social media channels and in our monthly newsletter, too, because of how well it came out. 

How did By the Booth perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent to work with. Their team was responsive, flexible, and on top of things. I have nothing but good things to say about how they managed the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were creative, adding an extra layer of interest and narrative expression that was really useful. We weren’t sure how this video would turn out, but they brought important creativity that made our video stand out from standard corporate work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Given we only had two weeks to work on this, I couldn’t be happier with the work they did for us. I honestly don’t think they could have done anything better. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Garus is a very personable teammate; he listens and brings a high level of professionalism, so I recommend utilizing that. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We work for a healthcare-centric advertising agency. Our respective roles are the senior art director and the account supervisor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with By The Booth?

One of our clients wanted to make a TV commercial for $17,000, so we needed to find a talented video production company who could help us deliver high-quality work with a modest budget.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

By The Booth was originally brought in to produce a TV commercial, but the project eventually shifted to developing a promotional video exclusively for digital media. During our first engagement, we pitched video ideas while their team evaluated their practicality given our low budget. Shortly after production began, our client’s budget increased significantly. By The Booth returned to the planning stage to develop a new concept that took advantage of the increased funding. After outlining the scope, they moved on to create a storyboard and execute their work in the production phase. The budget was reduced in the middle of production, so they recreated our original location shots using animation and maintained our characters in live action.

What is the team composition?

By The Booth assigned a video producer, director, and an animator to our account.

How did you come to work with By The Booth?

They had recently visited our office to pitch their business, so we were already aware of the services that they offer. We reached out to them immediately after the opportunity arose. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000 – $200,000 to make the video.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project commenced in November 2017 and concluded in March 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While it is too early to measure the impact that the promotional video has made on the company, we can confirm that the client is incredibly pleased with By The Booth’s work. They showed us that it is possible to deliver outstanding quality on a modest budget.

How did By The Booth perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team patiently worked with us through several budget fluctuations, delays, and changes in scope. Despite the many challenges that we faced with our client, By The Booth was always able to find a solution.

What did you find most impressive about them?

By The Booth is a large production company with a culture similar to that of a small family business. We had never worked on a project of this magnitude, so it was comforting to have their warm and inviting team available to guide us through the exhaustive project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We put them through extenuating circumstances, but their team was able to adapt to the constant changes without visible frustration.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Our project benefitted greatly from having a collaborative planning stage, so we suggest bringing By The Booth on board as soon as possible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior art director at a PR and communications firm that helps clients with everything from content marketing to crisis management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with By The Booth?

We were working on a project to promote Small Business Saturday in Canada through an integrated communications campaign. We wanted to spark a dialogue about how Canadians could support small businesses.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Part of the campaign was to produce a video that we would be able to cut down into full-length, 60 second, 30 second, and 15 second ads. Our creative team put together a script and By the Booth helped with wardrobe recommendations, casting, and setting up for shoot day. They even liaised with small business owners who were to appear in our video to make sure shoot day ran smoothly for everyone.

On the day of the shoot it rained, and By The Booth took care of everything. They made sure we were still able to film. When we finished, they did all of the post production, and we gave feedback until our final videos were completed.

What is the team composition?

We mainly communicated with two people: the producer and owner/creative director and By the Booth hired a larger team to help support on shooting day.

How did you come to work with By The Booth?

Some people on our team had worked with them before. They’ve now become our go-to video vendor for projects like this.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work lasted from July–August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The videos had very high production value which made it stand out amongst other ads. The video component of the campaign had over 1.5 million impressions resulting in a high CTA back to the website. The 60 second ad was the top performing creative. Overall, the engagement was highly successful.

How did By The Booth perform from a project management standpoint?

They scheduled the entire shoot and kept us on track to capture everything we needed. They also delivered the end product on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were real and authentic. They understood our business needs and worked to meet them. I’d definitely work with them again.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Engage with them from the beginning of your project. They offer a variety of services and skills to improve your end product and meet your goals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner at JAW Advertising, a full-service agency in Toronto.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with By The Booth?

We wanted to make a video for an insurance industry client to better explain their top-level courses and designation to industry members, as well as entertain them. Over the years, we’d been doing a lot of print work for them, but we though making a video would tell their story a little better.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We went to the By The Booth team and laid out the concepts that we were looking for, which ran the gamut from humorous to a man-on-the-street, informational type project. We had a few initial treatments and a few concepts written up that we used as a starting point and they talked about things they'd done in the past for other clients. From here, they made six–10 different ideas for how the videos could go, which involved a lot of figuring out what could work within budget parameters.

We brought them to our client and they ran through the various options and talked them out with the client, who ended up picking the one we hoped they would pick. They managed the production schedule from then on in—from the final storyboards and scripts through to casting and location and all the way through production and post.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a producer and the Owner, but mostly the latter.

How did you come to work with By The Booth?

We’re in the same neighborhood, so I’ve known about them and we’d talked once or twice. This particular job felt like it was time for us to work together. I gave them a call to see if they were interested and it worked out.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $25,000 CAD ($19,2015 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May until June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've been happy with the response to it so far but it's a little bit early; it's only been live for a month, so we'll know soon enough how people reacted to it. The client was happy with the quality of the spot and the way it turned out—the professionalism of it.

How did By The Booth perform from a project management standpoint?

By The Booth is good and they're small—which is great, so are we. We match up together nicely. They're on the ball and on top of things. We're both able to operate with a certain amount of flexibility, just because of the size of our organizations, and it all worked out really well. There were no real hurdles to overcome; everything went smoothly and everything was on time. From a partnership point of view, it was great. We felt like we were extended parts of each other's team and were supportive of each other versus getting in each other's way. It all worked out pretty well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The owner’s ability to think from a creative and end-audience point of view was important and unique. They saw the 360-degree picture of making sure the video could find an audience online. He’s a pretty laid-back character, which helps avoid a lot of tension, and we had a great producer. They’re a fun group that has a good handle on what everybody needs to do to finish the job. They took our needs into consideration and made sure everything was finished on time.

They can produce some really high-quality products. From a production point of view their completely sound at both working with tight budgets and making sure that the end product doesn't suffer.

I liked the fact that they were small and nimble like we are and we didn’t get handed off. It was a good fit and we felt good, especially working with them for the first time. They gave us a lot of communication, from pre- all the way through to post. It was really just simple to work with them. I've worked with others where it's been a little bit hairy or a little bit screwed up and we had to put our foot. It was easy and professional with those guys, every step of the way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For me, it was a good experience all around. We fit together well so that I can't think of anything I wished they'd done differently. I think that we had a good partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

At the time of the project, I was the creative director with Marshall Fenn Communications, an integrated ad agency in Toronto.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with By The Booth?

We had a diverse portfolio of clients and needed to make a 2- or 3-minute video that could be used to explain to potential donors where their dollars would go when they donate to the hospital foundation, our client for this project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created a makeshift studio in the hospital we were working with, and they were mindful of not being too intrusive in the hospital. They helped with the story creation, video shooting, and all post-production tasks.

What is the team composition?

We generally had a crew of four, but on set it was six people. During post-production, the team size shrank again. They did a lot of work with not a lot of players.

How did you come to work with By The Booth?

They reached out to us initially at a time when we didn’t yet require their services, but they asked us to keep them in mind. A few months later, we started developing this project and returned to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $30,000-$50,000 Canadian dollars ($22,900-38,200 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November through December 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped create an emotional story to create an understanding for our potential donors. I don’t have exact figures, but we trended upwards in terms of the dollars raised through the events that followed the video’s premiere.

How did By The Booth perform from a project management standpoint?

We never felt under-managed because of the size of our project or our budget. They kept us on track, respected our project, and guided us through video elements of the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They found tasteful ways to contribute on the storytelling level without overpowering our own ideas. They are one of the most genuinely collaborative creative partners I’ve ever worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The timeline of agreeing to details and making the deal official could have gone faster.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the managing director of a brand design firm that works with organizations around the globe who are shaping the future of their respective industries. Our service offerings include launching new brands, naming positioning strategies, and visual identity systems. We also help clients who already exist to transform and elevate their brands or take on special projects. I have a broad role that involves business development, client relationships, and overall strategy. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with By The Booth?

Our latest project with By The Booth involved developing videos, graphics, overall theming, and all the rollout collateral for the Pride Toronto festival in June 2018. The first objective was to communicate the planned attractions to raise awareness, get people excited, and help them plan accordingly. Secondly, we needed to reinforce the festival theme by creating compelling graphics like backdrops for the stages at our venue.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our company had planned an overarching visual theme for the festival. We created a themed launch animation internally that went out on social media two weeks before this engagement. By The Booth built on these prepared assets to communicate a new set of information.

By The Booth created a programming video for public release on social media to announce the band lineup and reinforce the overall theme. Together, we met with the client to thoroughly understand their intentions. We discussed duration, scheduling, and where the material would come from or need to be found. By The Booth excelled at structuring all the incoming content into a storyboard. As they animated the video, they mixed in imagery to layer over the text information. Along with the short "quick hit," version, The longer version is a minute and a half long.

For the second aspect, By The Booth designed animations to appear on digital screens in venues throughout the festival. Building off the visual theme we'd developed, it’s less information heavy and focuses on celebrating our brand. Digital backdrops displayed these graphics while a band or DJ performed on stage. We ended up getting lots of different information about the stage dimensions and types of screens each one had. By The Booth had to create several versions of the animation on a quick turnaround. 

What is the team composition? 

I don't know how many people were working for us internally from By The Booth, but we had one primary point of contact. Pebble (Senior Producer, By The Booth) managed the whole process and worked with her in-house team to produce our deliverables. 

How did you come to work with By The Booth?

I've known Garus (Owner and Creative Director, By The Booth) for a long time. We've worked with the team on several videos, both for internal use and for other clients. Our partnership goes back quite many years, so we didn't even consider any other companies. 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from April–June 2018. We started working on the programming video in early April and launched it about a month before the festival in May. The second piece was due in late June, during the event itself. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

By The Booth created a compelling, exciting graphic presence to light up the stages. Their efforts generated substantial traction on social media. This year's theme genuinely resounded with a vast number of people, who shared our videos widely and left extensive comments. 

I don't have hard metrics, but our engagement was demonstrably successful from both a digital marketing and live event perspective. We had high visibility across social networks, and the animation physically looked great onscreen. There were many Pride festivals in North America, and ours had a notable amount of exposure. 

How did By The Booth perform from a project management standpoint?

By The Booth was amazing at managing the project, even though it wasn't the most straightforward one. The content was coming in from different sources even during production. Since we were working with a community organization, they had to organize all the sponsor information. Based on the variance in screens, the technical information changed mid-project, and the timelines were tight. 

Despite shifting landscape and parameters and several last-minute curveballs, By The Booth kept everything beautifully organized. They were highly professional and got along splendidly with both our team and our client. We're delighted with both their performance and the outcomes. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Every time I've worked with By The Booth including for this most recent project, they've been extremely professional and entirely on top of it. They're seamless collaborators who are simultaneously inventive and fully open to taking direction. 

Using this impactful method makes the process better and helps them produce excellent work. For this last project, they worked quite quickly under circumstances that were less than ideal. The brief was moving the entire time. By The Booth was an excellent, creative, and collaborative project management partner for us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's not anything I can think of. To validate that, we've gone back to By The Booth several times for projects over the years. They've never let us down regarding responsiveness or services they've provided. The high caliber of their work ensures longevity in the design world for our organization.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any vendor or production partner, have as clear of a brief as possible from the start. Take the time to discuss your project together to elucidate your goals. Listen to their expert input on what's practical and feasible. Consider the team’s ideas for how to improve your project. Collaborations that entail two parties with different areas of specialization genuinely working together to deliver the best results. 

Rather than a vendor, we see them as part of our team. That extends to bringing them to meetings with our clients to ensure that's a three-way, open conversation, rather than keeping them in the background as a production partner. They're much more than that; they're both a creative and overall project partner. Trust By The Booth to produce great work, because they always do. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of a boutique law firm that's based in Toronto. We represent businesses in tax disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with By The Booth?

My company was about to launch a new piece of proprietary software. We needed an explainer video to describe a complex idea to the market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we first approached By The Booth, we had a loose idea for the 2D animated video we wanted. We worked with them using an iterative process to refine it as the visuals came in. 

Our industry is tightly regulated. I was well aware of the law society's specific requirements, and we strictly adhered to those guidelines. The video gives an overview of the concept we wanted to illustrate. 

What is the team composition? 

I only interacted with Garus (Owner and Creative Director, By The Booth). 

How did you come to work with By The Booth?

These types of projects are subjective in many ways, so we needed a team that was willing to put in the extra effort to create the best possible product. I found By the Booth through online research.

I considered other companies, but our initial interactions gave me the confidence that they could deliver. Based on our first few calls, they could clearly accomplish what I wanted to execute. The owner and his team were the right people to work with. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $12,000 CAD ($9,200 USD) on their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–June 2016. 
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don't have specific metrics to share, but my standards are very particular, and I’m incredibly pleased. By The Booth went the distance to make the final product as perfect as possible. It was a successful project from both of our perspectives. I recommend working with their team.

Unlike people who stop short, they ramped up their efforts for the critical final 10 percent. At a certain point, they could have decided it was good enough and wrapped up. Instead, they committed the time, effort, and energy to improving the video to the degree we all wanted.

How did By The Booth perform from a project management standpoint?

By The Booth was consistently on top of the project. They never let it lag, which happens in many circumstances. An active collaboration style complements their innate capability to fulfill technical requirements.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated their work ethic. Instead of just pushing material through to meet their team’s timeline or expectations, By The Booth was extremely diligent throughout. They made sure we were hitting our marks without doing any work insufficiently.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I encourage future clients to invest time in adequate preparation. Have an idea of what you want the video or the project to be. Pre-planning and brainstorming before engaging is always a good idea. At the same time, By The Booth’s generates excellent ideas drawing upon their unique perspective and expertise. Strike a balance between a fleshed-out concept and being openminded to suggestions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Creative Director/Producer of Stature Films

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We produce video for B2B clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Booth to accomplish?

• We wanted to enhance our video project with graphics that needed to be relevant in the marketplace and also affordable as part of our production budget

SOLUTION

How did you find The Booth?

Referral

Why did you select The Booth over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from The Booth were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Garus and his team built us custom animations to be bolted onto our videos. Our teams worked together seamlessly to deliver what the client needed. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client was thrilled with the result and have since renewed the campaign, allowing us to do more work with Booth.

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

Booth's project management is top notch. Excellent attention to detail.

What was your primary form of communication with The Booth?

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

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

The team at Booth are professional and care about doing great work. I highly appreciate their dedication to quality.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Booth could have done differently?

I don't believe so.