Clum Creative

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a partner and VP of lead inbound growth strategy at Modgility, located in Westlake, Ohio. We help companies grow their businesses through inbound marketing and sales and we also provide custom software development services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ClumCreative?

Although we have a great team with extensive knowledge of content creation, we were lacking full access to video production capabilities. We were looking for a vendor that could produce high-quality videos, including client testimonials, for our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've worked with ClumCreative on a couple projects, including customer success/case study videos, in which they interviewed some of our previous clients. They also created a testimonial video for our software side of the business.

What is the team composition?

We mostly work with Mike (President, ClumCreative) and a few others.

How did you come to work with ClumCreative?

I knew Mike through LinkedIn and through another client he had worked with in the past. After some communication online, we met and discussed the testimonial videos and our partnership grew from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested $20,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since May 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The testimonial videos Clum created have made our website significantly more engaging. It's created more of an interactive experience that's improved our overall web performance. It's also been helpful in educating our prospects as they evaluate working with our agency.

How did ClumCreative perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is very knowledgeable and easy to work with. Mike approached our videos very strategically, helping us discover the questions that needed to be asked to create effective testimonials. They've proven their ability to communicate well both with our team as well as with the people featured in front of the camera. Anytime I've needed adjustments made, they've been very open and receptive to them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I'm most impressed by the quality of their work; they're very knowledgeable in their field. Just by looking through their website, you can see that they create high-quality video content and are excellent storytellers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing stands out to me. They've been really great to work with thus far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you're looking to produce high-quality videos designed to educate and engage your target audience, they're the guys for the job. I suggest having a good understanding of your goals and budget, so you can work together to accomplish your project within those set expectations. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

TT Electronics Integrated Manufacturing Services is one division of a global electronics company focused on manufacturing.

I am the global marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clum Creative?

We wanted to find a way to reach new prospects in a very wide, competitive field. We operate in a field with 4,000 competitors, so it’s hard to capture people’s attention in a space like that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We talked with Clum Creative about making a brand video for our division. They spent a lot of time listening to us about our business. They came up with a proposal for us that involved the creation of a brand video with a combination of original footage from some of our global facilities, some animation, and some storyboarding.

They came to our facility in the US and also traveled with me to our facility in China. They created a 3-minute-and-15-second brand video that was completely different from anything else in the industry. The video sits on our website and we’ve also included it in a direct mail campaign. We package the video as a card and when the user opens the card, the video immediately starts playing. Initially, I was working primarily with Mike [Founder, Clum Creative] but then over the course of the project, there were between 1 to 5 people involved in the project.

How did you come to work with Clum Creative?

They sent a cold email to our vice president and it caught his attention. We called them in and after the first meeting, and after seeing their work, we decided that they were very high-quality, modern, and emotive, which is what we were going for.

How much have you invested with Clum Creative?

The project cost was between $15,000 and $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the relationship in January 2016 and the project was completed in April 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a really long sales cycle of 18 to 24 months. We’re still seeing results, but right away after using the video we went from 5% response rate to 50% response rate with new prospects.

How did Clum Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Clum was very dedicated from the beginning all the way to the end. They pushed our team when we needed to be pushed but they were also flexible.

What did you find most impressive about Clum Creative?

There’s a ton of marketing agencies on the market but Mike consistently produces material that is incredible and outshines anything I’ve ever seen. His work seems a class above and for a really great value.

Are there any areas Clum Creative could improve?

Mike should keep growing and expanding his team because he’s got a great service and a great vision when it comes to making unique videos for clients.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior pastor of the St. Paul Lutheran Church & School. The church is located in Westlake, Ohio. We have 2,700 members, as well as a school with about 200 students. We have 3 pastors and multiple other staff, including teachers and a principal. We're always on the move, looking at what needs to be changed. We innovate constantly in order to successfully reach out and touch more people.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clum Creative?

We entered into an 8-month campaign with the theme "You welcomed me." The goal was to become the most welcoming church and school on the west side of Cleveland and beyond. At the same time, we wanted to raise $3.6 million. These funds were intended to provide for a welcoming ministry and improve our facilities, making them more welcoming as well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Clum Creative provided us with a 3-minute video. Within that frame, they were able to illustrate our "You welcomed me" message—our willingness to be a church and school of people. More than having an institutional message, we wanted to be a welcoming group. Clum Creative provided the script for the story. In itself, that was remarkable. The video illustrates a story of a young man visiting our church and the experiences he had. Ultimately, after seeing how welcoming the people were, he decided that he had found his church home.

We met Clum Creative's team in September for an initial discussion. The on-site production took place in October, after which came the editing phase. The November deadline was easily met, allowing us to show it to our group. They were working on other projects concurrently, but when Clum Creative's team was here, they focused on getting the necessary footage. There was also storyboarding involved, but I didn't come in contact with it myself.

How much have you invested with Clum Creative?

The cost of Clum Creative's work was between $5,000 and $10,000. For the work done, we didn't bat an eye on spending that amount. We felt that the finished product was well worth it.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was wrapped up by November 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After receiving the video results, it was clear that Clum Creative listened to us well from the beginning till the actual completion of the project. They captured every bit of the essence we were trying to communicate. People loved and applauded the video after seeing it. We premiered the video to a group of highly-committed people, in terms of both time and finances. There was a lot of buzz and excitement around the video. When we posted it on Facebook, it received thousands of views. The comments were all very positive. We haven't done this a lot as a church and school, but we are seriously considering doing this again for other videos.

How did Clum Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The project was accomplished in a swift fashion, but the end result reflected some careful and thoughtful production and editing. We never noticed anything but a professional grade of engagement from Clum Creative's side.

What did you find most impressive about Clum Creative?

I've been a pastor for over 35 years, in very large churches. I've worked with many agencies and consultants for past projects, including on-staff video production teams. No one has ever listened to me as well as Clum Creative's team has. My biggest takeaway from Clum Creative's work came while we were working on-site on putting things together. Their contact was interviewed me to get the best understanding of who we were and what we wanted. I was dumbfounded by how well Clum Creative had listened to what we were trying to achieve and what our goals were. They had summarized all of this in a question posed to me. Clum Creative handled everything professionally, to a degree that exceeded our expectations.

Are there any areas Clum Creative could improve?

No one in my staff could find a shortcoming in Clum Creative's delivery and planning. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Best Buy Painting is a residential painting company doing remodels or repaint since 2004. We’ve done a little bit of commercial work as well. We have 6 full-time employees now and continue to expand. I’m President and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clum Creative?

We needed a video to show customers our process of exterior painting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They made a one-minute video to show how we do the estimates, schedule the work, perform the work, do walkthroughs, and make sure our customers are satisfied before we leave their house. In 2017, they will provide us with another video showing our process for interior painting. We explained to Clum Creative what we needed, and they took it from there. The video was created using actual footage and interviews from customers. They were very accommodating because we needed to change the schedule several times because of the weather.

How did you come to work with Clum Creative?

I met Mike in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses program. I saw that he was very creative and devoted to his business, so I wanted to help become a part of the growth of his company. 

How much have you invested with Clum Creative?

The project was under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are continuing to work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t gone public with the video yet, but I did show it to our advisory board, and they loved it. They liked how it was produced and how they articulated what our process is. 

How did Clum Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The contract we signed was very detailed, and they were right on budget. Clum was very professional and well-managed. The communication was very good. They were prompt with the editing of the film. I was very impressed that there was only one thing that we needed to edit and they fixed that very quickly.

What distinguishes Clum Creative from other providers?

They are young and aggressive with their ideas which is key to video production. We didn’t want the video to look like everyone else.

Are there any areas Clum Creative could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Accellis Technology Group provides IT consulting services. They specialize in legal and financial firms. They provide a wide range of IT consulting services from managed services, application development, cyber security and risk assessments and legal software consulting. They would work with a law firm or a financial organization and figure out where they are in the current state of technology, where they want to be based on their growth and profitability, and where they want to grow into. After that, they would recommend solutions and systems to help them scale. I am marketing and operations manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clum Creative?

Many of our clients are located throughout the country, so we often miss the opportunity to connect with people in person. We thought that Clum Creative could help us product a video could provide current and prospective prospects with a sense of who we are and what we do in a short amount of time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

My original thought was to a 2-minute video and a shorter 30-second video. When I contacted Clum, I had a budget in mind. We don’t invest heavily in video but I had known that it’s a costlier form of media to produce, especially if you want a quality product. When I contacted Clum Creative, I was immediately impressed by the level of professionalism and insight Mike brought to the table. Mike had offered to come onsite to review our needs, which was the only vendor to do so. We had talked over the phone about our APOs [Advanced Planner and Optimizer]. He came onsite with a budget in mind and had already had the timeline laid for shooting the video. After discussing in more detail, we decided we wanted to shoot an interview style video where we would showcase key employees to talk about the company and the culture at Accellis. We had talked through what kind of questions to ask and what points we wanted to touch on, like recent awards, services we offer, and areas that we’re growing. He had a good idea of how long it would take. I was impressed with how well he listened to me and what I wanted. He showed me some examples of what he did in the past and he took my feedback on what I did like and didn’t like about the videos.

Once the project started, he introduced me to his project management team, who also came onsite to perform more research about our company and prepared questions for the interviews. During our kick-off meeting, they asked us a lot of questions about who we were and some similar questions about what our purpose for the video was for which I thought was a great question. Then they went through and scheduled out the entire day; who they would speak with and how much time they’d need for each. For me having to schedule 15 people to be onsite for the whole day helped me prioritize and schedule out everybody and what they needed to do.

During the live shoot, I was impressed with the level of professionalism and courtesy their team extended. They worked hard all day. I don’t even think they took a lunch. During the interviews, they helped coach us through the questions and made everyone feel comfortable. Unfortunately, there were a couple of shots they couldn’t get so they offered to come back. They spent another half a day shooting.

How did you come to work with Clum Creative?

I found them through a Google search. They did a lot of things that other companies didn’t. First, they offered to come onsite to meet with me prior to preparing a quote. Then they went through a couple of sample videos that they had put together in the past and reviewed what I liked and didn’t like about each. They prepared a quote that covered everything we discussed in detail. They even went through some of the equipment they would be using during the shoot, including lighting and microphones. I could tell they were very detail and process oriented. Overall, I felt very confident that they could execute on my vision.

How much have you invested with Clum Creative?

$6,000 for the video which I thought more than fair based on other quotes I had received and the level of quality they offered.

What is the status of this engagement?

The projects are complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any measurable stats I can give you. I know that when we had promoted the video, right before I left, we got a lot of feedback on social media from people that had watched it and they said it was well-produced and they were impressed by it.

How did Clum Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They did wonderfully. I was blown away by the level of courtesy and professionalism offered by Clum's entire team from the beginning to end of the project. They communicated with me probably more often than they needed to but that helped instill more confidence in me. They asked me to call them whenever I needed something and every time I called, they answered. They were available, on time, and kept me up to date on the project’s status.

What did you find most impressive about Clum Creative?

I don’t know if there’s anything else I can offer here apart from everything mentioned above. I’m mostly impressed by their skill and professionalism, and I will recommend them any chance I get.

Are there any areas Clum Creative could improve?

I think Clum Creative is great at producing high-quality videos from a visual and audio perspective. The shots, the colors the music - everything flowed together. An opportunity for growth might be allowing for more thought, creativity and focus on the overall message or takeaway of each video. In other words, when somebody watches it, what do we want them to think or feel? The ability to capture their clients abstract goals into video will set them apart in the future.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder of Next Gen, a community and conference for young entrepreneurs. We’re a global organizational network that brings together the most talented millennial entrepreneurs across the country. We provide educational resources as well as connections to funding and manufacturing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clum Creative?

Next Gen is a community and doesn’t provide a direct service or product. Our challenge was describing Next Gen to the outside world and having people understand the work that we do—bringing young people together and building resources around them. We were having a lot of trouble communicating our value to potential community members, investors, vendors, etc.

We wanted to create a promotional video that was much more than a commercial. We wanted a marketing team who makes videos, not a video production team that throws them online. We wanted someone who understands the psychology behind watching videos so that our audience can understand the work that we’re doing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We flew the Clum Creative team to New York to one of our annual conferences, the Next Gen Summit. Over the course of that 3-day conference, they conducted dozens of interviews with top community members, speakers, mentors, investors, and advisors. Clum Creative got tons of footage and information about the work that we’re doing. They did a lot of B-roll and live footage takes of the conference—community members interacting, deal flow happening, things like that. Then in the next 2 to 3 weeks, we identified who we wanted to feature in the video. We chose the sound bites really made sense to us and best described what we were doing.

At the end of the day, most of the work for us was done before we even flew them to New York. Clum interviewed my partner, Dylan and I. We went over what we were looking for and how we were looking to do it. Clum Creative asked us about the videos we enjoyed, what we didn’t like, and where we wanted to promote the video. By the time we flew them to New York, they already had a picture of what we were doing. We spoke to them 1 or 2 times after that. Over the next couple of weeks, they created the film. Mike shared with us a rough draft of the video which we absolutely loved. We gave our comments and within a day we had a finished product. It only took us 1 round of revisions to go over everything that we needed to change. They were done within 24 hours. Then, our final video was sent to us in a high-quality format that we could distribute on all our channels.

How did you come to work with Clum Creative?

We took a lot of time researching and talking to a lot of different video production companies. We had an intern on our team put together a list of 100 top video production agencies in the country. He watched their portfolio videos and saw which ones were made with a psychological impact in mind. Clum was one of the final choices that our intern presented to us. Looking at their portfolio, we found that all of their videos were doing exactly what we wanted. Instead of screaming at the audience, they used the psychology of consumers to communicate in really subtle ways. We really enjoyed that.

We had a preliminary conversation with Mike and invited him to join our online community so he could understand the work that we’re doing. He was so optimistic and eager to get involved with us. Long before we hired him, he wanted to learn about the work that we were doing. Once Mike learned about the work we were doing, he gave us so many great ideas long before we had even suggested hiring him. At that point, we had a couple of firms left to choose from, but Mike put us over the edge.

They were unequivocally the firm that we were going to go with. The reason we were so set on Clum is because they understood not only our goal; they also understood the psychology behind our goal. It wasn’t even a question of whether we were going to contract their firm and work with them. They were able to communicate to us what they needed to do in order to achieve that goal. They wanted to create that with visuals, sound, and with different motions.

How much have you invested with Clum Creative?

The entire contract was between $10,000 and $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They created that first video for us. We will likely contract them again for our next conference as well as any in-person events going forward. We plan to hire them again but that will not happen until our next conference. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In more tangible terms, our video has thousands of views, 10,000 plus. When we uploaded it to our personal Facebook pages as well as on YouTube, we got thousands of views. It gets incredible impressions each day and high engagement time for folks watching the video. But more impressive to us are the intangibles. We use that video on the front page of every website. It’s the first thing that people watch when they visit our website to learn about us. We also include it in every email we send as part of our email signature.

By far, it is the best piece of marketing collateral material we’ve ever had. When we’re trying to explain the work that we’re doing, all we do is send the video. It has allowed us incredible relationships and conversations with investors, CEOs, and mentors. The door was opened because they were that impressed with the video and were able to understand that work that we’re doing. While we do have those tangible stats—thousands of views, high engagement rates—the more important thing to us is that we put it on the front page of everything we do. It’s that important to us and it is that impressive to our strategic partners.

How did Clum Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Mike was able to build a custom timeline based on what we needed. We ended up contracting them at the beginning of May of 2016. The footage was shot and filmed the first weekend of June 2016. It was ready to go by July of 2016. That is because Mike asked before we got started what our timeline was and we knew that we needed the video by mid-August. We gave him lots of time to work on it. But as he said to us many times, if we needed it within a week or 2, he would’ve been able to get it done. He was flexible with our schedule and adapted to what needed to get done.  

Mike kept in touch with us every step of the way, which was honestly refreshing. I’ve worked with a lot of development firms in the past who don’t answer your emails all the time, don’t take your calls. Mike was very responsive and kept us in the loop, long before we started with him and even once we got to him. We wanted to give Mike the flexibility to do the work that he wanted with the video and follow his strategic vision. But at the end of the day, what we really wanted to do was stay in touch. We wanted to have a picture of what they were working on. Mike kept in touch with us and answered every question promptly. He gave us constant updates on what they were working on, especially during the weekend when we had them in New York. They were constantly working and communicating what they were doing. Mike was there when we needed him, but he was not overly relying on our time. That’s because of the interviews that we had done before we started the project.

What did you find most impressive about Clum Creative?

Every video that will come out of Clum Creative has the same quality. It shows the belief that the Clum Creative team has that anything is possible when it comes to creating a video. They do not fall under the social pressure of “you have to create a certain type of video” and “at this cost it is this quality.” Every video that comes out of their firm is incredible. With every video, they look to create something new and different and special.

Are there any areas Clum Creative could improve?

No. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Perfect Power Wash is a full-service residential commercial power washing company. We are based out of Akron, Ohio. As the marketing manager, I handle all the marketing and advertising.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clum Creative?

We were looking to have a corporate branding video made, not to highlight our services but to differentiate us from other companies in the same industry. We wanted to show that we were different from folks that just have one service vehicle, folks that might not have professional equipment, and the folks that don’t have 16 years of experience backing them up like we do. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We contracted Clum Creative to do a branding video for us. It was pretty minimal work for us, but it turned out great. We had a 40-minute high-level meeting on what we wanted to talk about. We sat down and laid out our vision. Then, they came back to us with a really nice storyboard. We filled in some gaps, gave some ideas, and then we scheduled a shooting time. They spent a day at our headquarters to interview our staff and management team. They also went out in the field for a day. Clum Creative followed our in-field operations manager out to 2 homes and filmed him doing what we do. After that video, we contracted Clum Creative twice to do some still photography.

How did you come to work with Clum Creative?

I can’t tell you how we found Clum Creative. I joined the team after we had made contact with them as a vendor. That being said, Clum Creative really hit the mark for us.

How much have you invested with Clum Creative?

That is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started on the video in February 2016. We had hoped to do 3 more videos with Clum Creative before the end of this year. Unfortunately, our schedules were unable to mesh so we pushed that out to spring of next year. They’ll be on our short list for vendors for creative work. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clum Creative definitely met all our expectations. I can only give you internal feedback because that video and all the photography are slated for next year’s advertising. Internally, it was really well-received. I’ve been in video and media production since ’96 or ’97 and Clum Creative followed the textbook. They did exactly what you should do in terms of pre-production and post-production. In my view, they hit the nail squarely. They spoke the language they needed to speak. They came on site with the right equipment, had the right attitude, and had good visual creativity. On the first pass, they got as close as other top-tier vendors that I’ve worked with before. We didn’t give them a lot of creative direction but they were able to execute our vision. I think we went through 1 or 2 rounds of revisions they did really well.

How did Clum Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is above average. I deal with creatives all the time and often, those folks tend to be a little bit less organized. That comes with the territory, but they were better than most. They weren’t meticulously organized but they met their deadlines. They met all of our timelines internally.

What did you find most impressive about Clum Creative?

I was pleasantly surprised at the look they got. That’s something in my experience that’s not teachable - it’s something innate. It’s one of those things that you have or you don’t. I think they have it.

Are there any areas Clum Creative could improve?

None. They’ve got an open project with us. If they needed to improve, we would approach them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Dallas Riffle Media is a full-service marketing agency. I am the Creative Director and Founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clum Creative?

We were looking for a partner to provide our clients with high-quality video production and do so in an affordable manner. After meeting with Mike and the team, we were very impressed with how they work and their work. We did a couple of kick-off projects with them, and things have been going well ever since. We’re working well together, and it’s been a very seamless relationship.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The bulk of what we've had them do has been corporate overview videos - videos that detail the capabilities for a lot of our corporate clientele. We’ll come up with our loose outline and maybe a few questions we have for them. After that, I’ll sit down with Mike or someone else on the team and collaborate to see if we’ve got all the bases covered from a creative standpoint. Clum Creative comes in and they’ll check out the location. They will take some very detailed notes on where and how they’re going to shoot - what type of lighting, what type of equipment they need to rent. Then we’ll sit down and have an overview meeting before we go into a shoot and go over everything that needs to be covered. Once we do that, they show up, execute, and take care of everything in a professional manner. We’ve come to know what to expect with Clum which is efficiency, a great system to get things done, and a quality product.

How did you come to work with Clum Creative?

I first became acquainted with them when Mike happened to drop by an agency that I was leading previously, and we had a nice conversation. It was just a complete cold call. He just asked to stop in and show me some of his work. The work spoke for itself. That was the first thing that got me. From there we continued in our conversations, and once I opened my agency we had the opportunity to work with each other on a couple of projects, and it’s blossomed from there. If there’s something that’s a challenge they’ll do what they need to do to solve it. We’re very in-tune with Clum Creative. It has created a nice symbiotic relationship between the two companies.

How much have you invested with Clum Creative?

It’s normally between $5,000 and $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re currently working with them. We’re doing some projects for a large restaurant client of mine. Everything’s going very well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall speaking, the retention on the website has been much higher. People following through as CTAs [call-to-action] has benefitted. Email open rates - whenever we have a video on there, we tend to see the CTR [click-through-rate] bump on that. The inclusion of the videos is always a nice bonus if we can do that. The clients are thrilled. There hasn’t been one yet that we haven’t had anything less than stellar feedback from the clients. They love the work. That’s the first and foremost reason that we are partners. That’s why we continue to work with them.

How did Clum Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been good. That’s one area Clum has improved in as they’ve grown as a team. Over the past year, they’ve become more efficient as far as project management goes. They’ve improved their invoicing system and is now a streamlined effort. If we need a little more help on a project, it’s usually not an issue. We’re very focused on managing expectations. There haven’t been any missed deadlines or surprises.

What did you find most impressive about Clum Creative?

They’re open-minded, nimble and they’re open to learning. Clum has a certain energy about them that makes them fun to work with. They’re willing to do what it takes to make sure that you get what you need as a partner. That makes them stand above most other producers in the area. They care about the quality of the work. Everybody there falls in line with the original vision, and it still shows. They’ve been very consistent. We’ve grown and worked together so many times that it’s almost like we’re part of the same company sometimes.

Are there any areas Clum Creative could improve?

They’ve recognized the need to keep improving their project management. They’re aware of the things they need to work on and take feedback very well. Clum uses challenges as data points. It’s just a way of finding out what you need to improve on and they do look at it that way. They’re all very willing to listen, and if something’s not going the way it should be, they jump on it right away. They don’t run from problems; they run towards them. They take challenges as they come. If something isn’t going the way it should be I know we can approach it and solve it in a timely fashion because they’re not afraid of that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Managing Director and partner of BlueBridge Networks. We are a facility based operator who is in the business of keeping businesses in business through data center services. Our company provides traditional colocation, hosting, cloud computing, public/private cloud, managed security, and managed storage. BlueBridge Networks is also a licensed hardware/software reseller. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Clum Creative?

The challenges were both personal and professional. First, I needed a video for personal branding. Our company also required 2 or 3 videos to promote our cloud computing platforms and our managed storage or disaster recovery as service platforms. We needed to promote our platforms with IBM and NetApp respectively, so we collaborated with Michael Clum’s team to address these requirements.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wrote the bulk of our content and then Clum Creative helped us edit them to the right size. We crafted scripts for both the IBM, the NetApp projects and disaster recovery as a service. For the voice over recordings, our teams did the voices and Clum Creative edited them. They integrated the voices to the videos; an animated film combined with some live shots of our infrastructure. It had several versions for different purposes, anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. For example, a shorter version might be used for receiving an award. Of the 2 branding videos that Clum Creative produced, the 1-minute video was more personal to me. The other one was a testimonial for BlueBridge, which also showed the sense of reciprocity between the 2 companies.

How did you come to work with Clum Creative?

I didn’t find them, our director of client services and marketing did. She’s been in the field for several years, and she solicited many different bids. Someone recommended Clum Creative to us; I don’t remember who. We chose Clum Creative not only for financial reasons but because of how easy it was to do business with them. We wanted someone with the flexibility to integrate our approaches creatively and collaborate about our concept and messaging.

How much have you invested with Clum Creative?

That is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe it’s been 3 years since we began working with them. I think we have 5 projects with them to date, plus a couple of short-term projects. Clum Creative has just started working on a new project for us. It’s another product line for managed security and managed services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clum Creative helped us communicate who we are and what we do to the outside world. The videos from Clum Creative drove revenue and increased brand awareness. As I noted earlier, the videos with integrated animation and the still shots, were an excellent summary of what we do. They were terrific videos that were well received, not only by the metrics online but also by our customer base. Our vendors, who contributed to the project, thought that they had good value. Both IBM and NetApp were satisfied with the outcomes as well.

Our external, base customers receive multiple mailings throughout the year about a product line called DigiKnow. We noticed that these customers had about a 30% increase in the clicks of the video links. That meant our customers were actually clicking and watching the video, as opposed to clicking and reading articles. They were viewing the video 30% more than they were reading our written content articles. The rate for customer inquiry about those services was about 4%, and we’re happy if we get a 2% response. We were getting that much of an uptick: “Hey, I watched that video, and I’m interested in learning more about that.” On the SEO side, the links were showing up on page 1 or page 2 in all of their respective categories. They are the most often watched link on our URLs, which are my personal brand blog site and the BlueBridge site.

How did Clum Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was terrific. Deadlines and commitments were met or exceeded. Business and IT objectives were both executed, and I am a very satisfied customer.

What did you find most impressive about Clum Creative?

As someone who’s in his 50s, I enjoyed working with someone who’s in their 20s. I didn’t know Mike personally until he worked for us. I was happily surprised by his work ethic and his knowledge. I appreciate his enthusiasm to know who we are and what we do, which can be very complicated and simple at the same time. He understood our business and IT objectives, which made it easier to collaborate. He’s very instinctive, bright and creative. I’m very satisfied with his work and his ability to listen because you have to listen in order to learn what it is that a company does. Every company has their own unique myopic vertical. He was able to understand who we are and what we do. Then he helped us articulate that message in a way that people can get it and then make the phone ring. I’ve grown to really respect Mike’s ability, his hard work, and the product that they put out.

Are there any areas Clum Creative could improve?

I haven’t worked on enough projects to give that kind of feedback. My projects with him have been pretty succinct and collaborative, so I don’t have any constructive feedback at this time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief of Staff of Saras Micro Devices

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

high-performance computing (HPC), package-integrated, power delivery solutions for artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced networking devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Market our Product
• Appealing delivery

SOLUTION

How did you find Clum Creative?

Email campaign

Why did you select Clum Creative over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Quality of work

How many teammates from Clum Creative were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

An external facing video to descirbe our product using voice over, high graphic design and imagery.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

High quality video

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

Yes - they were extermely responisve and used collaborative software to assit in moving the project along and ensureing communication through-out the team

What was your primary form of communication with Clum Creative?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their ability to take our concept and make it a reality - it was a complicated concept and they dove right in to achieve great results