BrandHoot

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of workforce development and education at a chamber of commerce.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BrandHoot?

In the workforce development arena, there’s a need to try and connect employers and employees around jobs. We wanted to create a site that not only hosted jobs but would also provide cultural matches between employers and employees.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BrandHoot provided nearly a year of thorough market research, alternative platform analysis, competitive analysis, and community interviews. 

They began the process by creating drawings, wireframing, and a prototype template, leading to the website’s buildout. It operates like an online job board, where there’s employers from all over, job postings, and different features and parameters that you can sort by. It has connectivity to our chamber master software so that we can verify who’s a member and who isn’t when they sign up. Chamber members can post jobs for free.

What is the team composition?

BrandHoot had about 6 people working on the project off and on. I've dealt with the CEO quite a bit and meet regularly with two other teammates.

How did you come to work with BrandHoot?

We reached out to the community to try and find people who could build a site for us. BrandHoot came back with a fairly robust description of how they would accomplish it. It was very professional and well within our budget range. They did a great presentation on how they could successfully create the tool we were looking for.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000 and $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2015 and the website went live in March 2018. The collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had over 120 jobs posted by employers and there are several people applying for them. The website is already public, and people are very pleased with it. We’ve had some formal feedback from HR professionals saying they’d expect to pay to use the tool and that it’s of great quality.

How did BrandHoot perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent. They’re on top of things and work together as a team to solve all our problems quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don’t consider this just to be a job. They have a very personalized approach and really work as a partner to make things happen.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’re doing a really nice job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a graphics media specialist for an electricity company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BrandHoot?

Our website had been operating under the same design for a long time and was in need of an overhaul.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We developed specific designs internally, before engaging with BrandHoot. Already having ideas laid out in such detail provided us a very workable roadmap to complete the project, but also created some challenges. We both had to compromise on design aspects to produce a functional product in-line with the original vision.

One of the primary goals of the redesign was to improve the ease of use and interaction for the customer. To facilitate an intuitive file and link management system, they approached design from a structural space on the frontend. They also custom built the design for a member secure section of the website that’s centered on security and allowing priority-based restricted access. The site’s hosted on Squarespace.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with two designers. One worked on the Squarespace part of the design and the other built the custom aspects.

How did you come to work with BrandHoot?

We reached out to several businesses for the redesign and really liked what we heard from BrandHoot. We found Nate (Owner, BrandHoot) to be a talented and savvy business person. They’re located close to us and their bid was very competitive. Personally, I felt comfortable doing business with them because I could easily resolve potential issues with them being so close. They’re also a new company, so that’s appealing from a design perspective; I appreciate fresh ideas. Being affordable, proximal, and convenient made them a good fit for our company.

What is the status of this engagement?

This engagement took place August 2017–January 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s difficult to consider web traffic a qualifier of success for our website because we don’t sell products online. However, we’ve received positive feedback regarding the UX.

How did BrandHoot perform from a project management standpoint?

We were regularly in communication and continually strived to hit project goals. They made sure the project was driven in a positive manner. However, we experienced some issues regarding what was expected and when.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re responsive to the needs of a community that's growing and is poised to utilize their business. If they if they manage this right and treat people well, they should have no problem seeing a lot of success in the future. Additionally, I’ve had challenges in the past working with web developers and having to go through a chain of people to solve an issue. Working with BrandHoot, I can talk to the people who built the site right away.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes working with a board scope of ideas takes longer than anyone wants to acknowledge. It's better to be straightforward with time estimates and recognize the best course of action. They’re ambitious, but that can lead to spreading resources too thin. Managing that balance is essential to keep work coming in, but you need to ensure your employees aren’t overworked.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the Account Supervisor for a public affairs and public relations firm in Minneapolis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BrandHoot?

The primary project we needed help on is for one our clients, a nonprofit focused on long-term care and aging issues. We needed to provide them with a website that appealed to 2 disparate audiences simultaneously. We had been working with a previous vendor on the project, but felt they weren't providing exactly what we needed. We had a lot of changes to make. We would've preferred to completely rebuild the site, but it wasn't possible with our timeline.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BrandHoot picked up the website project where our previous vendor left off and made substantial changes. Their team was heavily involved in the design and development of any updates to the WordPress site, including some custom coding.

New features created include quizzes, an interactive map of Minnesota's aging population by county between 2015 and 2030, and new tabs featuring new content each week for an extended period of time. They also supported all of the backend services that we needed.

Under a renewed contract with them, they'll be implementing quarterly interactive web features in 2018.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with 4 people on this project.

How did you come to work with BrandHoot?

One of our clients had recommended them to us, so I got in touch with BrandHoot and asked their team how our website could be improved. Compared to other vendors we had been talking to, I liked BrandHoot's answer the best.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with BrandHoot in January 2017 and just renewed our contract for 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client loves the interactive features BrandHood custom coded, particularly the interactive maps. Their team was able to design and execute these features, while unifying the interests of 2 different audiences seamlessly.

Our team has also been very happy with their work and approach. They're creative, approachable, and easy to work with, which is not always the case in this industry. I feel comfortable asking them anything.

Not only were they able to get everything done for our client's website, but they also listen and come up with great ideas. We freely bounce ideas around during our monthly phone calls, where everyone has a voice. They understand our vision and consistently perform well and on time.

How did BrandHoot perform from a project management standpoint?

BrandHoot is transparent in their approach to project management. They utilize Asana to share information on projects between project leads and our team. They've informed us immediately whenever a delay has come up, which has only happened once (not to their fault) to my memory.

They conduct monthly check-in calls with our team to go over site traffic and ways to improve visitor experience.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very creative and good at what they do. There are no barriers in communication with their team. They have a great culture and staff that are both approachable and easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we've been very happy with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take Nate Nordstrom [Founder, BrandHoot] up on his his offer to do monthly check-ins to walk through your website and see where you can make improvements. Whether you feel that you need it or not, it can make a big difference in the quality of visitor experience to your site.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Seasons Hospice is a nonprofit, community-based hospice in Rochester, Minnesota, serving Rochester and communities within a 40-mile radius since 1996. We provide hospice services care and support to terminally ill individuals at the end of life as well as providing grief support for their loved ones through our Center for Grief Education and Support (CGES). CGES also offers bereavement support to the general public with over 50% of our clients having no prior affiliation with Seasons Hospice. I am the director of development and communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BrandHoot?

Our website was terribly outdated; five or six years had passed since we made any substantial updates. The site was archaic and difficult to navigate, text heavy, and our donations page was buried within the website, making it hard to find.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BrandHoot was responsible for a complete overhaul of our website, which included a total redesign. We changed platforms from WordPress to Squarespace. Our goal was to make our website more engaging and interactive for visitors to the site. We maintained some core information related to our services but also included new text. We added a new Healthcare Provider page to provide providers with the ability to refer patients through our website.

Brandhoot incorporated new photographs onto the site that were provided by Seasons Hospice, utilizing the services of a professional photographer. In order to keep costs down, I wrote the new text, while using as much of the previous text that was still relevant. While the Seasons Hospice team had input into the general website design, the concept was theirs alone and coding was completely their responsibility.

We have an online donation feature using the third-party DonorPro software by Salsa Labs. For non-donation related inquiries, BrandHoot built forms on our website which enable visitors who need information or make referrals to do so online. We also added more interactive capabilities within CGES.

One of the most heavily trafficked pages on our website is our Careers section, and our HR department worked closely with Brandhoot to redesign and improve the functionality of this section. Additionally, Seasons Hospice has over 200 volunteers, and volunteer recruitment is an ongoing priority for the organization. The Volunteer pages on our website were also vastly improved, with an updated online application.

Finally, Brandhoot changed our Calendar section from a cumbersome and unattractive Google calendar to a very engaging calendar with photo icons for each event based on Squarespace’s platform.

What is the team composition?

Their graphic designer, Dessa Harvey [Design and Brand Strategy, BrandHoot], was our main contact, although Nate Nordstrom [Founder and CEO, BrandHoot] was available anytime we needed a consultation.

​​​​​​How did you come to work with BrandHoot?

Brandhoot has a sterling reputation in Rochester, having worked for many major businesses in this community, including Mayo Clinic, our chamber of commerce, and others. I looked up their website, viewed previous clients’ sites and made some reference calls.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of their work was around $12,000 for strategy, design, and building of our website. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with BrandHoot in June and finished exactly on time in September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Based on our analysis, donations were the most effective way of measuring our website’s success. I made an assessment of the three-month period prior to the launch of our new website versus the three months following our launch in terms of the number of donations received. For the September to November period, we experienced an increase of 126% in online donations received and a 397% increase in dollars raised. It’s become a much more accessible, functional, user-friendly website. I know that the number of online requests for information and counseling, as well as employment inquiries has increased dramatically as well.

How did BrandHoot perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been stellar. Dessa was always professional, on time or ahead of the curve, responsive, creative, and smart. I can’t say enough positive things about her. The Seasons Hospice website committee met monthly with Brandhoot to review progress, make adaptations, and keep the project on target.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our business is a difficult one to market. We are providing services for people at probably the worst most difficult period of time in their lives as they are dealing with the eventual death of their loved one. Because of the highly sensitive nature of these circumstances, we need to communicate information about our services in a factual, educational manner, while conveying compassion. BrandHoot understood our challenge, which was very important to us. We found a team that was able to, first and foremost, create a warm, inviting feeling to our website, while conveying information in an effective, modern, and functional way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

SEO is an area we’re struggling with, still. Nate Nordstrom has done a lot of research and told us that if we have an updated, effective website, SEO should take care of itself. Our previous web developer did a lot of work with SEO, but Nate’s research suggested that this isn’t as necessary anymore. The platform we are now using has an analytics feature built in, but I haven’t had the time to dig into the Squarespace analytics yet. The jury is still out on the SEO aspect of the equation.

BACKGROUND

Please give a brief description of your company and your role.

I work at the Rochester Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). We work to market Rochester as an overnight destination for visitors. We want visitors to come to our city and stay in our hotel rooms. I’m the director of visitor and partner services. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

When you approached BrandHoot, what was the business challenge that you were trying to address?

We reached out to them because we were looking to enhance our Facebook page. We had actually heard about them through our local chamber of commerce. So, we reached out to Nate [Nordstrom, founder of BrandHoot] and asked him how we could work together and build a campaign on our Facebook page.

Did you have any specific business goals for that project? Any metrics that you were hoping to achieve?

We mainly wanted to increase our likes. It was in 2012, so I think that’s when Facebook likes were more important than engagement. So, we did a campaign for a few months where the CVB partnered with local businesses, such as restaurants and hotels, and they donated prizes to us, so we had a weekly prize giveaway for our fans on Facebook. To enter the contest, you had to like our page.

We didn’t reach our overall goal. I think we set a goal of an increase of 2,000 likes. I think we just threw out a number. It did increase the likes, but not to what we wanted. 

Did you feel like it was still a productive campaign?

Yes, definitely a productive campaign. It was just helpful to work with Nate because he taught us more than the single campaign. He taught us about how we could use our time wisely on our Facebook page.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of the project?

When we did the project, it was about three months. Then when the campaign ended, BrandHoot did a great job with the follow-up work. He sent us all the results and talked to us about what the results meant because we had to report that back to our board of directors. He did a great job of explaining what things meant.

Every once in a while, we’ll work with him on different things. For example, last week, he actually did a presentation for some of our partners, so some of our local restaurants and hotels. It was an overview on social media and Facebook. That was nice to have someone professionally come in and speak about social media and the importance of it in Rochester.

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative, either in a cost range or in a personnel work hour figure?

Probably cost about $2,000.

You mentioned that you heard about BrandHoot through the local chamber of commerce. Were there any other candidates that you were looking at?

We had worked with other local companies in the past. We just wanted to try something new. BrandHoot was offering a free 30-minute consultation, so we did that. We got to know who he was and what he did. From there, we came up with the idea to do this campaign. So we didn’t proactively have the campaign in mind before we approached Nate. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How would you describe the performance of BrandHoot over the course of the campaign?

Overall, it was good. BrandHoot had good communication, and were very professional with the delivery of the design. It was an effective campaign.

Is there anything unique or special about BrandHoot compared to other companies?

I think the biggest thing was their good communication, listening to what we had to say, and understanding who we were as a business.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that you think that they could improve upon or that you would do differently?

It was two years ago. Overall, Nate did a good job. He did a nice job explaining everything and following up. I know they have evolved a bit in two years. I know he’s hired a few more people. I would be interested in maybe working with him again on a specific campaign now that they’ve evolved more.

BACKGROUND

Please give a brief description of your company and your role.

Our company is Powers Ventures. I’m the owner. We have a restaurant, a catering company, and an event center. We also take care of the banquets for a major hotel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

When you first hired BrandHoot, what was the business challenge that you were trying to address?

When we first hired them, we were redoing our website at the restaurant [Canadian Honker]. After we finished that, we felt like they were by far the leader in this market, even though they were an extremely young company. The owner was pretty much the only staff person there. I think he had some part-time staff that he freelanced with. We were probably one of his first top 10 accounts he had.

SOLUTION

Can you describe the scope of the work that they've completed for you?

They’ve actually touched every one of our entities in one way or another. They have created websites and created our Facebook. We meet on a quarterly basis to go over how all these tools are working through the [analytics] reports, and for an overview of our social media.

We’ve been in business for 29 years. We’re not new to social media. But, on the same hand, we want to make sure that our Web pages, our Facebook, and other social media really portrays who we are. We think they do it the best.

What was your process for selecting them to work with in the first place? Were you looking at some other candidates as well?

Yes. We put an RFP [request for [proposal] out, and they were the one that came to the top.

What stood out about BrandHoot?

Their creativity, their design, their concept, and their knowledge of the Internet and how it works with an individual trying to get information about our company and our business.

Can you give a sense of the size of the work that they’ve completed for you, either in a cost range or in a personnel work hour figure?

We’ve spent probably between $80,000 and $100,000 with BrandHoot at this point because they’ve pretty much redesigned and redone every one of our websites. We have a new baking division that we just began the process of working on for the total social media package, also. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any feedback that you could share that indicates the success of their work?

Well, they’re definitely not the cheapest. They’re expensive, but when you get good work, it usually is. The majority of the people select the website based on price. We don’t. We selected on creativity, and we selected on understanding where social media is going, and we are prepared for where it is going. I think that’s really why they won all our bids.

So, you’ve been happy with the results of the work that they’ve done?

Yes. Very much so. Not just on my part. We hear it from customers, clients, and others. People really rave about the type of websites that we have, how easy they are to work with and understand, and the beauty of them.

Aside from their design expertise and the quality of their work, was there anything unique or special about BrandHoot in terms of their performance that you would want to convey to others?

Yes. Their personal touch. They’re not cranking these things out like a newspaper every day. They’re really concerned about their end product, and an understanding that it isn’t really an end product, that it’ll always be ongoing and evolving.

Looking back on the work that they’ve done so far, is there any area that you think BrandHoot could improve on or that you would do differently?

No. I think they’re fine. My biggest concern about them is their growth potential and how far and how big can they get because they’re a small company. I’m concerned that as you take on more work, you’ve got to find qualified and quality people working for you.