Covalent

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of marketing at Delaware North. We’re a global hospitality company that manages several different verticals, including gaming, which I focused on.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Covalent?

Nationwide, the greyhound racing industry is dying, which has left hundreds, if not thousands, of racing greyhounds to need to be adopted. We were looking for a production company that would be able to tell a cohesive and comprehensive story to promote greyhound adoption. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Covalent was aboard the project from concept to completion. We brainstormed ideas, deliverables, the storyboard, everything. We went back and forth about the most appropriate way to tell the story, and the team provided a lot of input. Eventually, we landed on more of a testimonial-style video.

We located a family that had adopted a greyhound, and the Covalent team traveled to them in a hurricane to shoot footage. They managed the entire shoot by themselves, keeping me updated throughout the process. 

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with Nick (Partner) and Jeff (Partner & Executive Producer), but overall there were about six people involved between the crew, writers, and producers. 

How did you come to work with Covalent?

We did some basic research online, looking for a company with bigger production capabilities. My marketing manager is the one who found them, and we gave them a call. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $35,000, which included everything from the video production and editing itself to the travel and other deliverables.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project took place from June–October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The production ended up winning a Telly. We’re so proud of it because it was such a passion project for us. We never expected them to drive in the middle of a hurricane and make it happen, but they did. 

One of the things I really appreciated about Covalent was the collaboration. It wasn’t like we handed them a concept and asked them to make it; they actually engaged in detailed discussion with us. The team was outstanding. They were communicative, consultive, collaborative, and able to take and implement feedback really well.

How did Covalent perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. If ever there was a deadline missed, it was completely our fault. Not only did they never miss a deadline, they even delivered some pieces as they were being completed, so we got to see things as they were unfolding. Covalent was incredibly prompt and very professional in their gentle nudges to keep the project moving along. 

We kept in touch mostly by phone, but every conversation was followed up with an email to ensure we were aligned the whole way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Covalent took on the project as if it was their own and was as passionate about it as we were. That engagement really translated into what they produced for us, and ultimately, it’s going to help a lot of dogs find really good homes. At the end of the day, that’s what we all wanted.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any criticism in terms of their work or anything they delivered.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate to work with Covalent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the office manager for 412 Food Rescue. Our organization rescues food from any place where there’s access to food that can be delivered. We strictly work with volunteers who pick up food and take it to various nonprofits.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Covalent?

We wanted to create videos to make it easier for our volunteers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Covalent produced videos for us that showed what we do and how we do it. We set up a date and a time when their team could film our process. They filmed our trucks picking up food, taking it to a nonprofit, and then volunteers taking the food to wherever it needed to be.

What is the team composition?

I worked with probably 3–5 people from Covalent at different times.

How did you come to work with Covalent?

Covalent came highly recommended, and we saw some of their past videos.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on this project between March–July 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The video has had a tremendous impact. Volunteers are now able to watch our entire process from start to finish. They’re able to see how easy it is as well as the gratitude from the recipients.

How did Covalent perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication skills and turnaround times were amazing. It was easy to work with their team. It can be difficult to collaborate in these times, but Covalent made everything perfect.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism was definitely a key strength.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not to my knowledge.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a children’s entertainment company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Covalent?

We needed to make a pitch video that we could show on our crowdfunding page. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Covalent used clips we had and worked with us to produce a pitch video. They edited and tweaked the video. The team also made changes based on our feedback.

What is the team composition?

Nick (Co-Founder & Director) was our main contact, but there were 2–3 people working on the project.

How did you come to work with Covalent?

I had worked with them when they did a video for someone else. 

How much have you invested with them?

My company spent $2,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The video has gotten a really good response; people love it. It tells the story well. 

Covalent was proactive when they ran into technical difficulties. I’m very pleased with them.

How did Covalent perform from a project management standpoint?

They were responsive and easy to work with. We communicated via phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication was very good. The team understood what we were looking for, and they responded to our feedback well. It can sometimes be hard to agree on creative direction when working with film crews, but that wasn’t the case with Covalent. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust the team — they are good at grasping what a company needs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Chef Robert Irvine's FITCRUNCH is a nutrition brand with protein bars and other protein snacks. I'm the VP of Marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Covalent?

Research shows that social media users are highly interested in learning something and also being entertained. We hired Covalent to create a series of relatable gym humor videos to help increase our social media engagement and entertain our followers.

What were your goals for this project?

Increase engagement, video views, gain new followers

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I was introduced to Covalent through a colleague in the Pittsburgh, PA area. Knew of them for a few years and saw them do some great work for other companies.

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

Once we selected Covalent they kicked things off with a call to understand what we wanted to accomplish and layout the SOW for the series of gym humor videos. So we landed on letting them be the one-stop-shop for the project from creating scripts, storyboard, filming and post production. We provided a few ideas for a series, but gave them a lot of creative freedom to take the ideas to the next level. They did some research on what video types and tones would work best with our audience and they provide 6 scripts for us to choose from with the goal of producing 3.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

They provided a full turnkey solution basically from start to finish. We gave little to no changes to the scripts that they pitched and the final product was amazing as is. They do a great job of listening and that shows through in the execution.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the videos has 2,050% more views than our average video posts and is our most viewed video in the 7 years of our company's history.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team members have a diverse background of expertise making the whole process comfortable, because there's a level of confidence and trust. Highly responsive, well priced services. Overall, pleasure working with Covalent.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to have a great vision was impressive. To listen to what we wanted and have the ability to bring it to life and also take it passed our expectations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Can't think of anything that could have been done better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing and communications for a payments technology company. We offer payment software installation for merchants and business owners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Covalent?

We hired them for a couple of different video projects, specifically marketing and content videos.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
We had three different video projects totaling about 15 videos. The first two videos were for a lead generation marketing package at a trade show. We were looking to target a variety of different partner contacts we had. The script started with them as far as discovery and writing out the scenes, but it became a collaborative experience. We pivoted the approach and worked together to finalize the script. The filming took place on location; Covalent came to our office with their crew and handled everything with the setup. 

The next set involved five animated videos. We continue to use them on our website and YouTube channel to market our solutions to different industries. The final set had eight tutorial videos that used screen capture. We did the script and screen capture recording on our own, and Covalent optimized the production value, slotting in call-outs and features that made videos look more professional.

For each project, we took on distribution through our channels while Covalent handled video production. The exception was for the first two videos that formed our trade show package: Covalent handled the distribution and packaging there.

What is the team composition?

I have correspondence with two members. Some projects have bigger teams, but whenever we start a project or talk to them, I speak with 1–2 people there.

How did you come to work with Covalent?

We’re both Pittsburgh-based. I believe our president knew someone else with whom he was really impressed with what they did.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s in the range of $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from February until December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of work across all videos was consistently high. Covalent elevated what we’ve been trying to do on our own, especially for the tutorial screen captures. This was something out of our wheelhouse that we lack knowledge about, and they did a good of guiding that and getting what we want.

How did Covalent perform from a project management standpoint?

It was nice that they were local; our collaboration kick-off discussions were in-person, which really helped with synergy. Other than that, we communicated over emails, the phone, and virtual meetings. They were always responsive. There was a lot going on, and Covalent kept us in line and organized to meet our deadlines

What did you find most impressive about them?

Covalent was open and receptive to feedback and ideas we had. For the first two videos, we knew what we wanted out of the videos, but we didn’t know what they would look like. Covalent toed the line between demonstrating our company’s fresh perspective while making us sound professional so that the partners we’re targeting take us seriously.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we first took on Covalent, we were still figuring out our identity and how to market ourselves. Sometimes we’d ask for something, but when we saw the finished product, we wanted something different. Maybe if we saw more examples or if Covalent asked us more qualifying questions, we could have better understood what we wanted. I’d said this is criticism for both us.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared with what you’re looking for. Do research on videos you like. I didn’t do enough research to solidify our information for them. Going forward, I would find comparisons about how I like a specific video or aspect within it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of digital media for Vista Higher Learning, a language learning company that provides educational materials.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Covalent?

I typically handle video production myself, but I knew it would be difficult to cast native German speakers in our location. I decided to take a different approach and find a company located in Germany, so we hired Covalent for video production.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them an existing script, had a discussion about how we wanted everything to be shot, and they took it from there. They handled the casting, as well. We were involved in the approval of the casting, set up, wardrobe, framing, etc. Their team conducted the video shoots and managed the post-production work. 

What is the team composition?

Two people from their team have worked with us, including an executive producer.

How did you come to work with Covalent?

I found them on Clutch after googling video production companies in Germany. I knew I wanted a small boutique company since the project was pretty small. After looking around, I went to Covalent’s website, thought they’d be the right fit, and reached out.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $28,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–April 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did what I needed them to do. I could trust them to handle the project, which was a great sign to me that they were the right vendor. 

How did Covalent perform from a project management standpoint?

From my perspective, they did really well. They kept us informed about every part of the process. The best thing was how communicative they were and how they truly paid attention to our needs.

If there were any questions or challenges, they reached out immediately to find a solution. They involved me when they needed to, but mostly found a way to move forward without needing me every step of the way. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We typically have someone from our company attend shoots to monitor languages and give feedback. Since we didn’t have the budget to send a teammate to Berlin, they allowed one of our editors to attend the shoot virtually, which we’ve never done before and it turned out really well. 

Since my role is very demanding, it was great that I didn’t have to be very involved. I didn’t need to be very hands-on since they handled everything very well. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

During some of the pre-production meetings and calls, there were some misunderstandings about which link to use. I’d say more structure around conducting virtual meetings, like a Zoom account, would be good. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

NoWait is a wait list service for non-reservation restaurants. Consumers use NoWait to see wait times and avoid waiting my joining the wait list from their NoWait mobile phone app. Restaurants use NoWait to streamline seating of guests and eliminate the need for customers to stand around waiting. I was Director of Marketing at NoWait.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Covalent?

We hired Covalent to help us tell a success story to senior management at casual dining restaurant chains. For companies like Chili's, First Watch, Buffalo Wild Wing, etc., we asked Covalent to prepare a video that told the NoWait success story - a setup of problem and solution and how NoWait could help the target restaurant company.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to develop an enterprise marketing channel that would allow NoWait to start in-store trials of our service with casual dining restaurant chains.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected Covalent by reviewing their work, understanding their capabilities, and ultimately working with them to find a solution to our unique needs.

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

Covalent led the development of the project, starting with strategy and then moving into scripting, planning, and execution. Covalent setup various on-site shoots and an additional guerrilla marketing initiative to capture all the relevant content we needed. Then Covalent moved into editing and also incorporated motion graphics into our video. We asked for custom videos for each customer target, and Covalent executed this, delivering a specific video for each target as requested.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

We completed many rounds of editing of the videos and Covalent was very patient with our highly specific requests. Covalent was very patient with our process, making many updates and tweaks to the project as we needed them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received a 70% response rate on our initial campaign using the Covalent video and a 30% long-term close rate on sales. Recipients of the video campaign wrote us saying this was the best marketing campaign they had ever seen. It was a highly effective campaign and management and our board was highly impressed with the results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Covalent's team was superb in executing the work together. The team is highly communicative and easy to dialogue with. They were very flexible with our schedule and timeline, and they exceeded our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Covalent's biggest strength is definitely their creativity in making an overall project work. First, they had profound expertise in how to tell a story and execute this from a technical (video) standpoint.

Further, they are highly flexible in their overall way of working and were willing to meet our demands, regardless of how difficult we were to work with. And Covalent was fantastic at stretching our budget to do everything we wanted and maximizing the value for our budget. I couldn't say more about how much value we got from Covalent's work with us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing to report here. I was very satisfied with their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of development for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Covalent?

We hired them to do all of our videos for the agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Each year we work with them to create a new video for the agency that really tells what we're doing currently. They help us everywhere from forming that vision, to scheduling, to execution. They're usually live-action, but they did one animated video for us with all of our "Bigs" and "Littles" from the program.

What is the team composition?

It varies on the project, but in the past, it’s been 3-5 members on their end.

How did you come to work with Covalent?

They were one of the companies that we partnered with during a past startup initiative.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in 2014, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We premiere their video every year at our large gala event, The BIG Bash with over 550 guests in attendance.  We have a live donation ask with a goal to reach at least $30K. Their video is a huge part of making that ask at the event.

How did Covalent perform from a project management standpoint?

They have great vision. Their team is truly amazing at what they do. They listen, care and learn what we want and need. They always ensure that we are satisfied and happy with the final product.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a smaller agency, they've become part of our family. We couldn't do what we do without them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no. Not at all.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to provide them with as much content as possible. It's good to give them as much information on what you are looking to achieve. It really gives them the time to come up with a vision and create what you're looking for and better!  They go above and beyond!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

When I worked with Covalent, I was the director of marketing and eventually director of the Art Institutes, which is a system of over 50 schools across the country specializing in creative arts education. I oversaw all marketing functions, as well as all social media content and the website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Covalent?

The initial engagement we had with their team was to produce short videos for our website as part of an effort to create more social-media-friendly content that would amplify our programs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started by developing interesting visual and storytelling content and posting it to our platforms, and we grew our engagement from there. They ultimately ended up doing several projects for us, including covering our New York Fashion Week show across several seasons, tracking behind the scenes with our student designers, and even creating a short documentary piece about a specific student involved in one of those years.

The pieces they created helped to drive engagement with our own student body as well as with prospective students. It helped us to create a more robust and vibrant looking website, social media, and really improved our look across all of our digital channels.

As our partnership grew, they became more of a strategic partner alongside me and our greater team. Initially, they were brought on to execute our existing strategy but from there, they were able to sit with us in the brainstorming and ideation process to help us outline our goals for what we wanted to achieve with each video deliverable.

What is the team composition?

Over the span of our work, we worked with 4–5 people on their team at any given time.

How did you come to work with Covalent?

They were referred to me personally by a colleague on my marketing team who knew about them in another context. We brought them in to discuss our needs and what their capabilities were, and we discovered that two of their employees had been graduates of the Art Institute, so that really built a strong foundation for our partnership going forward.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, I believe we spent roughly around $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2015, and the engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I developed KPIs against the content that we were developing with them. Partially, we were measuring success in terms of engagement rates on our social channels, including views, likes, follows, etc.

We were also looking at more qualitative measurements, such as our perceived leadership in the visual storytelling space through something tangible that told a story. For me, success was also making my bosses happy with the quality of the videos that we presented to them. They were always astounded by how well we were able to capture our students' stories in such a meaningful and significant way.

How did Covalent perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was excellent. Both of our teams were based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but the stories that we were covering were all across the country, so at a certain point it didn’t make sense for me to travel there to be with them during the shoots. We were able to develop so much trust in them that we had no problem letting them manage those projects and represent our organization entirely on their own.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think the best part of working with their team was having the ability to tap into their creativity. The organization as a whole was great, especially in their ability to manage projects and be trustworthy, but I think that they have a really incredible ability to know what is relevant in terms of video trends, as well as being incredibly collaborative at all points of the process.

Their team has a point of view, but they also have an amazing way of presenting it without feeling like they were pushing it onto me as a client. Working with them always felt like we were bouncing ideas off of each other and creating something together.

Knowing they would have the flexibility to change course when needed was invaluable in high-stress situations like the New York Fashion Week Shows because we always knew that they would do whatever was necessary to get the job done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only things I could think of would be in relation to them growing and becoming more full service as an agency, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. They’ve really found a niche that they’re good at and that they enjoy.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you have a very strict idea of what you want and just need someone to put a camera in place and turn it on, they may not be the best fit for you. Their true value comes from their ability to create something incredibly high-quality without a high-level of direction. Sometimes, they’ll produce something that you didn’t even think was possible, if you just give them the goals and the context, but then step back and let them do their thing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing and HR manager for B3 Solutions, a management consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Covalent?

We were looking to create an explainer video for a new software product we’ve produced.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They came out and did an evaluation of our needs and then provided us with some options for how the video could go, which included layouts and visual ideas. They presented 2–3 potential scripts for us and allowed us to pick from those. After we selected that, we went ahead and formalized the script with them. They provided us with a variety of different voice over options to use as a background voice, and then we started production.

They updated us weekly or twice a week. Their illustrators came up with the wireframes, showing us approximately what each scene would look like. Then, once we were ready to move into animation, they provided us with the scenes on a weekly basis, and then they would add the audio to it for us to approve.

What is the team composition?

We worked closely with two of the three main people at the company, though we met all three at the beginning. They handled any of the outsourcing for the voiceovers and additional illustrators and animators that were required.

How did you come to work with Covalent?

We were looking for a local company to make it convenient to meet with them in person so they could learn about us and exactly what our product does. A cousin of mine works as a graphic artist locally, and he provided a recommended. His company recently used them for a video branding product.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $10,000–$49,999 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2019 until January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve recently started using it in our social media for this new project, and we’ve gotten really positive feedback. There’s been a lot of discussion about it on our social platform with folks being able to interact and see exactly what the product does easily and quickly. Finally, the people selling the product seem to be happy with the explanation it provides.

How did Covalent perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent in every aspect. They were extremely organized, providing invoices for us using a unique invoicing structure so we could pay as we went. They were very accommodating and efficient.

Communication was excellent as well. If I gave them a call or an email, I got a response the same day with the explanation or needed adjustment. It mostly happened by e-mail, but we also had quite a few in-person meetings, especially when we were trying to get the scripts done. They came to the office to work in our conference room. After that, a lot of the communication was via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were excellent work with, quick, and the quality of work was extremely high. Everything they promised to deliver, they delivered, plus more.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really don’t. They were professional, and, for a group of younger guys (though not fresh out of college) they had everything together. I think they show a lot of promise and are probably going to be in business for many years to come.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They lead the process for you, and you don’t have to worry about it. They make it easy to produce something that seemed daunting in the beginning.