BuzzMasters

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of The Business Centre Nipissing Parry Sound, one of 54 business centers in Ontario. We provide business support services to startups in their 2–5 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BuzzMasters?

As part of our mandate, we host many events throughout the year, and one of our big events is International Women’s Day.

Due to COVID-19, we were looking for an alternative way to celebrate women in the workplace. However, we didn’t want to do a virtual event because there were a lot of those going on. We came up with the idea of a women-in-business mini-documentary, and we needed someone to produce it for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They produced the mini-documentary for us. The project highlighted the supportive business network for women in the north, so it featured a key speaker who was the base of the documentary. We also featured a couple of business support organizations such as ourselves and seven northern female-owned businesses of several industries in the documentary. 

BuzzMasters did a few teasers before the actual event for marketing purposes. Once we had the launch event, they released the video.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Thomas (CEO), and we dealt with him to start the project. We also worked with Ryen (VP & Studio Head), and he became the key person I communicated with. He set everything up. Additionally, their production team included Aaron and Lauren (Production).

How did you come to work with BuzzMasters?

I’ve known BuzzMasters and their owners since they started their business; Thomas was one of my first clients when I started working at the small business center. They’ve done some other smaller projects in the past, and we bring them on as guest speakers when we do workshops, training for businesses, and special events. In addition to that, they’ve also done mentorship work for our youth entrepreneurship programs.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $10,000 with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in October 2020, and we launched the video at the beginning of March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project met our goals. The video they produced has been viewed about 6,000 times on Facebook, but I’m not sure about the other platforms.

The most important metric for us as a nonprofit is that the video will serve as support for future applications to get funding from our ministries. We just did two reports last week and the video was included; it’s a key piece and will help us with our center’s ongoing operations.

How did BuzzMasters perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. We used Monday.com, which was a new platform for me; however, it was cool to learn something from my end as well. The communication was open and transparent; it was easy to pick up the phone or send an email because they were always responsive.

Also, we gave them the list of the businesses we wanted them to interview, and they contacted them and set up the shoots; we didn’t have to do anything, and that was a great part as well. They had to do most of their filming following the COVID-19 regulations, which was tricky, but they had no problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing is that they’re a young crew, but they’re very in tune with the needs of the project. Everything they put out is very professional.

Also, I had a definite vision for this project, and Ryan was able to understand what I was getting at and made sure that he was in tune with that vision as well. That was a great aspect of working together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there is anything that they could improve. Their branding is excellent and consistent. They’re trying to get their name out there and take on bigger projects, so they’ve invested in new, high-tech equipment.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be open to the process they’re willing to share. They taught me a lot, and the process was very open. I learned about producing a higher-end video that could also translate into other productions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at an educational institute.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BuzzMasters?

We were looking to address the brand development, profile raising, and strategic positioning for some of our programs, services, and products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BuzzMasters helps us with a number of things. They boost the profile of our fundraising events, as well as the ones in the community. They collaborate with us on the development of our campaign videos. They then repurpose these videos on a number of platforms including Youtube, and our homegrown social media accounts like Snapchat and Instagram.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with the three principals of the team, as well as their crew of three. Initially, we worked with nearly all of their employees, but we only have one-on-ones with the principals.

How did you come to work with BuzzMasters?

We’ve known about them for quite some time. We’ve had the opportunity to work with Thomas (CEO), Ryen (Vice President & Studio Head), and Brandon (Director of Channel Services) on different projects in the past. Each of them had their own company before creating the BuzzMasters Collaborative. When they came together, it made sense to work with them because of the unique talents and attributes they bring to the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2017. Our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We track everything relative to our SEO and we saw an increase in traffic for our videos and pages. The video for our biggest fundraiser gained thousands of views. There’s obviously an awareness that’s built in the direct amount of traction that they tend to have, based on the approach they take and the work they’re doing.

How did BuzzMasters perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform well. We communicated through phone calls, texts, and our project management software. We used to do face to face meetings before the pandemic happened as well. What I saw from them is the ability to reach the people they need to engage with and identify which platform works best for their clients.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One thing is they’re really grassroots and relationship-driven—you just know that the leaders and principals are highly-engaged in the work. You can’t always get that from other firms. They really focus on the needs of their clients.

I believe their most distinguishing factor is you can get a hold of them whenever you need them—they’re not just getting the work and shoving it off to somebody in the wings.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. They were responsive and worked with us to refocus. Our partnership is always a learning opportunity which I think is a positive.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve provided this feedback directly to them before and that is to keep the focus on their partners and project outcome, as opposed to the deadline. You can turn yourself inside out trying to hit a deadline but it could undermine your ability to engage along the process.

It’s all about communication and perspective, but that’s always going to come with time as they continue their entrepreneurial journey.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of philanthropy, marketing, and communications for a nonprofit organization. We provide services in the area of childcare, employment and immigration services, camping and overnight camping, as well as health, fitness, and aquatics.

My role encompasses all of our funds development for fundraising, business development, marketing analysis, and strategic work for the organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BuzzMasters?

We wanted to get into video content because we saw some of our metrics around engagement and how well it was performing. We decided that in our next cycle of campaigns, we wanted to focus on a storytelling campaign. This would be a philanthropic opportunity to tell our story, which in turn helps the margins of the charity if we get more donors coming forward.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They contacted us and offered to do a pro bono video of our signature legacy golf tournament. They took a lot of pictures and produced a promo video. After this, we continued our work and they produced storytelling videos that we use as part of our annual general meetings (AGM).

What is the team composition?

We work with about 4–5 people. I am in direct contact with Thomas (CEO) and Ryen (VP & Studio Head).

How did you come to work with BuzzMasters?

Whenever I can, I like to procure Northern Ontario companies; it’s important to me to support local. We chose BuzzMasters because they really understood our brand and have used our facilities, their quality of work is professional, and they produce great content.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $10,000–$15,000 CAD (approximately $8,000–$12,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The video for the golf tournament had 2,600 views, reached 568 people, and engaged 200 people. For our storytelling campaign, the video got 500 views, reached over 1,500 people, and had 145 engagements. For full transparency, these are decent metrics but they’re not exceptional. In comparison, our organic content has outperformed this content by three times.

With that said, to have a professional video of our tournament and another of a story is exactly what we need. This is vital when funders are looking at us and we’re doing corporate presentations.

Thomas is organized, detail-oriented, and professional. It’s clear that he cares about his clients and the quality of work his team produces.

How did BuzzMasters perform from a project management standpoint?

From the production side, there’s room for improvement when it comes to communication and hitting deadlines. As a charity, we understand that some of that is on us for not following up. However, as a client, my expectation is that the agency should be on top of their deadlines.

It was never that they didn’t meet deadlines. We were 24 hours from our AGM and at the 11th hour wondering where the video was. Our team asked to have it a week before the AGM so we could understand what it looked like but we received it at 9 p.m. the night before. We had a really good conversation about that and realized there was some miscommunication.

After that incident, I’ve seen a huge improvement in project management and communication. They’re a young company so I understand that there are going to be some growing pains. They’re at the middle of the road.

What did you find most impressive about them?

BuzzMasters really understood our brand and was very accommodating in helping us line up all our interviews. They expressed that if we were comfortable with them running things, then we didn’t have to be there on-site. It was nice that we could hand it right over to them to manage.

BuzzMasters is very willing to work within a client’s budget and is great at making sure the client is getting what they like within their budget. They really understand that we’re a charity and need content created so they do a great job of making sure that it fits within our means.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think it’d benefit them to provide their clients with a tactical plan. It should lay out everything they’re going to do prior to the client receiving their content as well as what BuzzMasters is responsible for and what the client needs to do. This would help avoid things getting lost in back-and-forth email communication.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend the time on discovery to make sure it’s thorough. Ask BuzzMasters for a tactical plan of timelines and work production to see what that’d look like.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of Innovation Initiatives Ontario North. We are one of 17 regional innovation centers in the province of Ontario, Canada.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BuzzMasters?

We had a variety of needs in digital and social media promotion. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done multiple projects with BuzzMasters. The most significant project we did was producing a regional client documentary. This in-depth documentary film featured 10 regional client companies and how we supported their projects. The documentary also provided an in-depth review of each company’s individual business.

The documentary not only profiled the regional companies but also showcased the significant amount of diversity and innovation within our region. It also served to illustrate to our stakeholders the kind of work that we do. They also worked on creating an entrepreneurship development program campaign for us. That included producing a video featuring one of our program’s activities. 

In August of 2020, we developed a new program as part of our Step Forward Entrepreneurs Program. The program provided specific funding for COVID-19-related issues. BuzzMasters created a marketing video for us, which we used on social media. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Thomas (CEO), and he had different members of his team working on the project at various times, from scripting to filming and staging. We work within a large region, so they had to do a fair bit of traveling to get all of the filming done. It was a team effort. Thomas had a really talented and gifted young group of people around him. I believe there are five people on his team now. 

How did you come to work with BuzzMasters?

BuzzMasters was actually our client that we helped to fund at an early stage for equipment purchases. From day one, they gave us that feeling that they were young people who were going places. We could tell that they were extremely competent and intelligent.

How much have you invested with them?

I think it was in the range of $20,000 CAD (approximately $15,700 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in June 2019, but we didn’t get running until June 2020. Then, we completed it that December. We’ve been working with them on other projects. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were really happy with their work, as were our funders and clients. The documentary was very helpful to us. They did an amazing job producing a 24-minute film that was widely lauded by our stakeholders, including people in the provincial cabinet who were able to see the film.

Such positive feedback really helped our reputation. The documentary allowed us to illustrate what we do but also reflect the depth of clients that we have in the region. 

With their help producing the video for our entrepreneurship development program campaign, we were able to sell out the program. In fact, we had oversubscription on the program. The video for our COVID-19 funding program was also very well done. We were able to let our companies know about this program, and it had extremely rapid uptake — in fact, we were supposed to have six months of funding, and we went through it in two months. BuzzMasters assisted us in promoting the program in a very appropriate and aggressive manner; they got the message out there.

How did BuzzMasters perform from a project management standpoint?

BuzzMasters took a team approach. When we start a new project, we meet to have a general discussion about what we want to do, and then we progress to how we want to accomplish that in terms of execution.

Thomas has a team in place that interacts with my team. They’re always open to communication on a personal basis. They have an open and effective communication style, because they listen, understand, and get it done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything they do is beyond our expectations. They’re a delight to work with.

They also care about the community and aren’t just there to make money — they want to make a difference. They’re capitalistic as well as social entrepreneurs, and we have a lot of respect for them. Everything they do is done well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The team could use newer technologies and equipment, but they are just starting out. They produced a movie-quality documentary without movie-quality equipment. By increasing the sophistication of the technology and the equipment that they are using, they will be even better. They could also grow their staff and provide even better strategies.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I wholeheartedly recommend that they talk to BuzzMasters. They’ve done extremely well on all of our projects and exceeded our expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director of Empire Living Centre

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Retirement Living Centre

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire BuzzMasters to accomplish?

• Produce resident testimonial videos for website
• Increase marketing
• Improve website

SOLUTION

How did you find BuzzMasters?

BNI Membership

Why did you select BuzzMasters over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from BuzzMasters were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Developed and scripted 6 videos.
• Produced videos.
• Came in and shot the videos.
• Edited and final videos provided along with still photos for website

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Delivered on timelines (adjusted at our end due to pandemic and access)
• scripted videos were right on point with what we asked for
• shot videos in short time line and produced excellent videos.

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

• They had excellent leadership.
• They were very supportive. 
• They were very responsive to our needs.
• Timelines were adjusted on our end due to pandemic and access to our facility however BuzzMasters was very understanding and supportive.

What was your primary form of communication with BuzzMasters?

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

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

Their skill level, production quality and easygoing nature with seniors. Excellent team

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

Nothing comes to mind - this was a top notch crew of people