Distillation Studios

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a branch manager of Goldwater Mortgage Bank.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillation Studios?

We hired them to put together some fun, promotional videos.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We explained to them what we wanted to promote about our company and gave them an outline of our values. They put together some scripts and filmed in different locations. They edited the videos and put together the final deliverables. 

What is the team composition?

About 4–5 people worked on the project. 

How did you come to work with Distillation Studios?

They were recommended to us by someone who we use for marketing support. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a couple of thousand dollars with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from around October–December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did an awesome job. The videos captured our personalities well and they adjusted to our vibe. They put together exactly what we were looking for; the videos were awesome. 

How did Distillation Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very efficient. It was my first time doing a project like this, so I thought they did everything in a timely manner even when I needed to change things around or make adjustments. They were easygoing and communicative, providing whatever we needed. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They improvised very well whenever needed. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have communicated what to expect a little bit better. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very detailed about what you want. Allocate the entire day for production and filming. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of One 10 Media. We do various online marketing services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillation Studios?

We needed a video to put at the top of a cold traffic funnel. We had created a landing page for a project in the real estate space and wanted to drive traffic to it, so we wanted the video to go at the top of the page.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They came up with the storyboard and ideas based on what we were trying to do. They used some footage around the area, the brand, the owner, and other content to create a compelling video to convert traffic on the page. They compiled footage of different things to create the final product. 

What is the team composition?

Two people from their team worked on the video. Remy (Co-Founder) was who I was in contact with. 

How did you come to work with Distillation Studios?

We’d known each other for years and I was familiar with his work. It was an easy decision for me because I knew he was a hard worker and his price would be reasonable.

How much have you invested with them?

Over the course of our relationship, not just for this video, we spent around $10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I’d say we worked together from November 2019–March 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are so many elements that go into the success of the project, like the copy, the web page, etc. However, the funnel we built with the video they delivered was one of our most successful lead generation funnels that we’d built. The video had a big impact on that. 

How did Distillation Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really good. Remy was great at getting ahead of things and establishing good deadlines. He was able to rein everyone in and communicate well. Their project management was really good. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their cost was extremely reasonable. Sometimes, when we bid these things out, there is sometimes crazy variance but not with them. I know they were a fair team. They were a pretty small company, so hiring them meant the owners helped, too, and we didn’t get lost in a sea of people. They were good with ideas, hit their deadlines, and the finished product was fantastic. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing more we could have asked them to do better. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There can be a lot of moving parts in video, so the finished product could be anything. They are great with ideas and storyboarding, so be clear about your storyboard and the end results that you desire. Let them add their ideas based on their knowledge and let them take it from there.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-owner of Foote Printing, a commercial print company that does design, printing, and mailing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillation Studios?

We were doing some blogs and videos with another company to grab Google’s attention and get more business, but what we didn’t have was any overarching videos about our company. We hired Distillation Studios to create a commercial that covers our company’s services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted the commercial to tell our story and place it on our home page. They came in and wrote the scripts for us. They prepared everything and walked us through the process, including helping us memorize the lines and we went through each line at a time. They then pieced everything together so it sounded like one fluid shot. They created three videos for us in total. 

What is the team composition?

Three people from Distillation Studios worked with us. 

How did you come to work with Distillation Studios?

I’m friends with Remy (Co-Founder) and had seen some other things he did online. I thought his work was very professional and good, so they seemed like a perfect fit. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $2,000–$3,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2019–January 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were already getting a lot of hits on the site, but I do think we saw a slight uptick. Their work makes us look a little bit more professional. A lot of people really liked the videos and they share them even more than the other, less professional-looking videos we’ve created. Their work legitimized some of our pages and helped our ranking on Google. 

How did Distillation Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very capable. They broke the process down and walked us through each stage. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their price was affordable and the quality was higher than their competitors. We’ll work with them in the future when we want more videos. They were friendly working with some complete amateurs on camera. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I had no problem. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare to be on camera and get ready for it, because that slowed the process down for us. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Dreamhouse Marketing, we’re a branding and marketing agency. I do a lot of creative oversight for all of our branding projects as well as all the management of our marketing strategy and consulting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Distillation Studios?

Most of my clients are nonprofits, small businesses, and artists. In working with them on their branding and marketing, a lot of them need to have a better opportunity to tell their story. I specialize in doing that, but I didn’t have internal team members who could create videos to bring that visual and emotional component to the work I do. Distillation Studios allowed us to add a more dynamic element to our agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done many projects with Distillation Studios. I’ve used them on my own marketing and created branded content. This included top-of-the-funnel videos where we shared information and resources about effective marketing strategies. This was executed through a series of four videos presenting marketing tips and how-to information.

In another project, we created brand and testimonial videos for one of my clients that’s a mortgage bank firm. The videos shared how their firm does things differently as well as the personal stories that led them to want to help their communities. We shot with their families, in their homes, and in their communities. These beautifully emotional videos highlighted who these people were and how they do things in a unique way.

In these types of projects, I do preliminary branding work to gather the information that I then provide to Distillation Studios. Their team brought in video inspiration and thoughts that allowed my client to visualize and connect with the vision.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with four different members of their team. My work has primarily been with Brian (Co-Founder) and Remy (Co-Founder), but I’ve also worked with a few others during the video shoots.

How did you come to work with Distillation Studios?

I’ve known Brian as a friend for several years. As he started getting into videography, we talked about ways to collaborate. Once I saw his work, they were the obvious choice. Our values were aligned and we both wanted to create and have an authentic relationship and communication. I knew they’d be a good fit for my clients.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $18,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Marketing videos are at the top of the game so creating high-quality videos that capture my clients' stories has changed everything about the way we do marketing. The internal four-series videos looked like my brand in that they had a lot of personality and shared who we were. They also effectively communicated great skills and resources to people.

I’ve seen a 75%–125% increase in engagement on the content we share from my clients in comparison to the other videos and photos we share. Distillation Studios’ videos perform very well on social media. The websites we’ve used their content on have also had a lot more engagement and conversion.

I’ve seen a lot of brand awareness and brand clarity through the videos we’ve created together. A lot of their work has helped brands who have had an unclear idea of who they were. Distillation Studios helped these brands solidify who they were for themselves and their audience as far as what their messaging and offerings are.

I’ve continuously seen them communicate the messaging that my clients have. Anybody can shoot a video, but they accurately capture who these clients are as well as how beautiful and unique their stories are — and that’s what I really wanted. Their professional insight has been excellent.

How did Distillation Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication has always been great. There’s never been any ambiguity as to project status or deadlines. Distillation Studios always follows their timelines and has never been late. Their team sends drafts that provide the idea of the project and then ask for feedback. They’re receptive to feedback and incorporate it into the final product. There have been 3–4 times when I’ve been in a time crunch and they’ve pulled something together very quickly. They’re reliable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brian and Remy are great at communicating to a specific audience. They’re very receptive to our input.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Scheduling has been one of the challenges we’ve had because sometimes, they have other commitments or day jobs. Figuring out when to do the shoots has been a challenge but that’s the only real struggle we’ve had.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear vision and know what you want to communicate and why. If your organization can express your question and why you want to create this video to your audience, Brian and Remy will nail that for you. In order to maximize your engagement, follow the best practices for sharing videos.