Dreambox

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager for a food and beverage company. We have over 240 locations nationwide and a few international stores as well. We’re also a publically-traded company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dreambox Creations?

I inherited the relationship with them after they were hired to manage our website. After we started working with them, we noticed that they could help us with digital marketing. So, we’ve been utilizing them for that since.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handle the website and make any sort of creative changes needed to keep it fresh and updated. The team also spearheads our email marketing and e-blast campaigns. Occasionally, they’ll create some digital assets for our social channels. That work includes assistance with paid ads, whether its for Facebook, Instagram, or any type of mobile channel.

They’ve been proactively offering up website redesign services, but we haven’t had the budget for that yet.

What is the team composition?

We have two points of contact on a day-to-day basis, but once in a while, there might be some more. Primarily, we speak with our account manager.

How did you come to work with Dreambox Creations?

They have several food and beverage clients in our space, especially in California. Everyone knows them over here, so it’s not a surprise that we would interact with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in the middle of 2014, and our teams still collaborate.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Dreambox Creations is able to keep their finger on the pulse of what’s going on in our industry, which is always changing. They're always willing to experiment, try new things, and give us suggestions based on their expertise. They were very proactive about that.

Our team never had to make many revisions to their work. We could trust them to nail it on the first or second try.

How did Dreambox Creations perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re best in class. Because they’re so proactive, I never have to remind them of deadlines. They get to things before me, which is difficult and impressive. For communication, we use BaseCamp. That helps us manage the many moving parts of our work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a true partner. It feels like they’re an extension of my team. They’re always collaborative and super helpful if we’re ever in a bind. Their team treats our staff like their own, offering up suggestions whenever they can.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend some time really immersing them in your brand. Once they understand how you operate, they can really dig into your needs. That makes them super helpful. Our five-year relationship is proof of that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the Marketing Manager for a fast-casual food chain, with 14 locations. We're in between a fast-food and full-service restaurant, in which customers order at the counter.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dreambox?

The previous owners of our company had been working with Dreambox, so we continued the relationship to help with branding, email marketing, social media, and redesigning our website with new features, etc. It was important to me to work with a partner who was familiar with our business and consistent for each digital touch point.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dreambox handled all web development, including a complete site redesign using Wordpress. We supplied some concepts, but their team took the lead in creating content, including photos and suggesting new features. In order to revamp the site, Dreambox integrated their work with third parties that require the use of separate systems (i.e., gift cards and the careers page).

Their team hardcoded our menus, allowing visitors to download separate menus organized by location, which helped with SEO. An extensive dashboard was built, allowing me to make updates as needed, which is helpful considering our menu changes 3 times a year.

A new catering tab, contact form, and FAQ section were also added, as well as a zip code search functionality to allow users to search for nearest locations. They really changed the look of the website and did a great job at focusing on the fact that we make a lot of our recipes from scratch.

Furthermore, Dreambox manages the content on our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and develops monthly content calendars. Their team also oversees our marketing email program and digital performance via Google Analytics and Google search results.

We're now looking into doing a loyalty program that Dreambox will help consult us on rolling out.

What is the team composition?

I mostly worked with 2 people on a daily basis.

How did you come to work with Dreambox?

We had been working with them when I came into this role, and we decided to roll over all the same partners the previous owners used for the first year. After working with them, I realized they were such great partners that I didn't even consider looking for other vendors.

I have some experience with advertising agencies, so I already knew quite a few players in the field, but these guys were too awesome to let go.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested in the range of $50,000—$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked with them over 2 years and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I like the look and feel of what they've done with our brand overall.

Before promoting our gift cards online, we were selling about $4,000 worth of cards annually. After Dreambox promoted our “double bonus program,” that number jumped to over $30,000.

The online advertising and social media work they do drives a lot of traffic to our website. They've really helped with sales from that perspective.

How did Dreambox perform from a project management standpoint?

They're great! If I need anything, I've never had to ask more than once; they're on top of it. They respond to texts and emails within a day, if not right away.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a department of 1 person, I really depend on Dreambox. They're great at letting me bounce ideas off of—I can call up any of the people I work with on a daily basis to ask questions. I'm consulting with their team now as we begin the process of opening up in a new market this year.

From a strategic standpoint, they've always given guidance and have been great to learn from. They're like an extension of our brand. I look at them as employees, because I don't have anyone else in that regard. Not only is their creative output beautiful, but I know they're there for me as a second sounding board. They're always willing to work with us in any way to help grow the brand and drive sales.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind at all.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Before I started working with them, our team had been throwing projects their way with a 1-day turnaround time, which isn't good for either party. It's important to be proactive in making strategic decisions together, while giving them enough range to produce creative and effective work. I like to give them the time to think creatively, so they're not always under the gun.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the branding director for a casual dining chain of 15 restaurants. The business was started in 1968 and will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018. We’re a privately-owned business located in Orange County, Inland Empire, and Los Angeles. 

My department used to be called the marketing department, but we changed the name to Brand Team because we handle all aspects of the brand: team members, website, digital ads, stores, handbook design, uniforms, plating, and so on. Because we’re a mid-sized company, our department has our hands in so many different areas of the brand. I answer directly to our CEO, and I work closely with her on brand decisions. I really value her insight since she started as a hostess for the company years ago.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dreambox?

A year and a half ago, I had just taken over the department and wanted to enhance the company’s online presence. We had no mobile version of the website, and it was outdated in general and didn’t represent our brand or tell our story.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dreambox first provided website development for our company. They nailed it, designing the page exclusively with hand illustrations. It completely represents our brand.

We had such a positive experience that we wanted to take it to the next level, creating digital ads. After a 1-year collaboration, we launched a demographics study with Dreambox to gather better ad buys and reach more guests. Our restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and we have a niche market for our pies. As we continue working with Dreambox, we’re trying to understand exactly who our guests are and who responds well to our “creating memories and tradition” motto.

Dreambox isn’t providing pay-per-click services, but they develop all our digital ads. One ad is for recruiting, and our internal branding department has some responsibility for the creative direction of that. We also host videos once a month for this task, which Dreambox also manages. They created our internal team member survey and are about to launch a customer survey.

How did you come to work with Dreambox?

I called contacts within the restaurant industry, who pointed me to Dreambox. I received another quote for the website from a different provider I was working with initially, but felt that they wanted too much money and didn’t understand who we were. Instead of high budget food photography, I wanted illustrations since our advertising and marketing materials have always included hand-drawn assets. The illustrations reinforce the handmade, from scratch aspect of our bakery and restaurant, while still staying true to our “roots” and telling our story through retro and quirky illustration and design. Dreambox not only understood our brand, they went above and beyond what we had hoped for, and they have expressed how much they enjoy doing hand-drawings for our ads. In short, we connected with Dreambox right away.

How much have you invested with Dreambox?

Our budget is $10,000 per digital ad. Recruiting ads cost $2,500, and we’ve spent another $5,000 for a different type of advertising. In total, we spend around $17,500 per month on Dreambox’s services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Dreambox in July of 2016, and the engagement is ongoing. I can always find something new for Dreambox to tackle because our brand is constantly evolving and they understand us so well. We’re about to launch our demographics survey.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Dreambox helped us make sure that every line of advertising truly represents who we are and that all the creatives are consistent. Because our department is involved in so many different aspects of the brand, consistency can be difficult to achieve. Dreambox has helped keep us on track because their team truly understands our brand.

We decided to host a job fair ourselves instead of attending a hiring fair through a third party like we had so many times in the past with little success. We had a full day of interviews with candidates because of Dreambox’s recruiting ads. I believe that we signed 5 people for our coaching and training program, unlike the 1–2 leads we’d maybe get from attending a job fair put on by a third party.

Conversions are linked to our online ordering. In 2017, we’re pushing family-style take-out and ran various ads during St. Patrick’s Day. We were able to increase our Feast purchases by 70%, which was impressive since we’ve never seen that volume for St. Patricks Day before. We were also up 12% during the Thanksgiving season, and, within a 2-day period, sold about 70,000 pies at 15 locations.

How did Dreambox perform from a project management standpoint?

I like that they’re using Basecamp, especially because we’re working with multiple people from our department and have many lines of communication. I can oversee what’s inputted there at any time, look at sample ads, and know where we stand with our projects.

What did you find most impressive about Dreambox?

Dreambox’s project lead is an amazing and personable person. She understands our brand, and we have a lot of fun together. We feel that she is as passionate about our brand as we are.

Are there any areas Dreambox could improve?

As we grow together, I think that Dreambox will understand us even more. It’s important for them to know our history, but the story of a 50-year-old business can’t be grasped within a year.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

 It's a brand-new concept, and we have six restaurants around the country. We're building another six to eight this year, with the idea of 250 in the next five years. It was founded by myself and my partner, Mike Roberts, [the] former CEO of McDonalds.

The idea with our company is to take great-tasting, good-for-you food to the masses. We consider it a new level of fast casual. There are traditionally three levels: Fast food, fast casual, and white tablecloth. We'd like to think of ourselves as a lifestyle restaurant in between fast casual and fine dining. You order at the counter, but you’re served on china. You can reorder from your seat. It's a much more respite of a setting, with strong ambience.

What is your role and responsibilities?

My role is co-founder and chief branding officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Dreambox Creations?

They were brought to us by strong recommendations from people that knew of their expertise in the website arena, they have a cost-effective manner of building a website from the ground up.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Dreambox develops our website, creates content, and creates design and graphics that support the content. They set the leadership role for us. Our website's success has evolved into a whole digital strategy.

They have become our primary graphics agency in addition to the website. They’ve become our website developer and designers. They’ve become and grown into the digital media provider, from Facebook, Twitter, and others. They created a yearlong strategy and content schedule to keep it robust and talk about our unique selling proposition. I consider them to be much more than graphics and design. I consider them to be a very knowledgeable strategic partner in the industry of what works and doesn’t in terms of engaging the consumer.

What was your process for selecting Dreambox Creations with which to work?

I put out a RFP [request for proposal] for four or five firms, and I talked to several of them. We received a recommendation for Dreambox as well. Candidly, Dreambox came in because of their restaurant industry experience, which is significant. Also, they were the most cost effective of the groups, which was what we needed. They helped us build as a start-up and build as we grow quickly and exponentially.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

It's about 60 hours per month. It's significant. This is an ongoing engagement, and one I hope to grow significantly. With their passion and dedication, I give them my highest recommendation. I believe it would be a relationship we want to build and grow with, and have them play a more major role once I can get the resources commensurate with sales in our restaurants.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

Some weeks it's higher, but we have doubled our Facebook fans, our Twitter followers, our Web views since they joined us in spring 2013. They previously had a much more limited role, but I see tremendously increased participation and engagement from the consumer the more they get involved.

They work with our IT [information technology] person to build the ongoing online ordering. We are going to a loyalty program, and we're working on that as well.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

I’m going to nominate them for our supplier of the year for several reasons. The first is passion, and second, commitment. I can talk to them every hour of the day. Because of my job and the lack of internal resources, I consider him to be a strategic partner. Their commitment to helping us build as a startup has been phenomenal. What we ask of them and what they accomplish have been off the charts in terms of my expectations. I would say that they are betting on the future with us in some ways, but they never give you that opinion. They do such great work, quality work, and conscientious work that I can’t say enough about how they have joined us as a partner.

I know they have other clients, and they’re not bashful about telling us, and we can sequence that in. They’re professional communicators. They’ll set expectations, and they continue to pick up more and more of a role in our brand department in areas other than web and digital because they’re so good.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

Yes, to push back on us. They are so receptive, so polite, so customer service oriented that I try to limit management to a single line of demarcation for them. If anybody calls them, they treat them royally and try to help them. My recommendation was that they could draw more barriers for us because I think as a startup client, we'll take as much as somebody will give.

Also, they are so kind even when we fail in our responsibilities. For instance, when I'm on a conference call and it infuriates me when someone on my team doesn’t live up to what we said we would do, they jumps in and does it for us. I don’t want them to enable my group not to do what they’re supposed to do. Dreambox already does enough.

I am very fond of the agency and what they’ve done for us. It's truly out of the ordinary.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are a full-service restaurant with 33 national chains. We are growing fast and currently have about 2,000 employees. We specialize in pizza. 

Grimaldi’s is an institution that has garnered more awards than any other pizzeria in the country with more celebrity sightings than most five-star restaurants. Using only the freshest ingredients, a “secret recipe” pizza sauce, and handmade mozzarella cheese and dough, Grimaldi’s serves traditional pizza, as it began in Naples, Italy, in an upscale yet casual, family-oriented pizzeria. The intense heat of the oven evenly bakes the pies to create Grimaldi’s famous crispy and smoky thin crust that Zagat has voted best pizza year after year.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I'm the director of marketing, I am responsible for national brand development, advertising, external media, website, and promotions. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address?

All of the work had to do with website redesign. Here were the main challenges:

We needed new engaging graphic design, which conveys to the visitor a clear outline of site content and/or preferred promotions.

We needed an improved process for shopping carts and purchases. This includes standard gift card programs and eGift card program.

We required improved presentation of directory listings, tier-level menus, and links for navigation. It must be able to direct traffic to and from the main site.

We also needed expanded search criteria and guest selection of locations, for above. We wanted improved blog and career link sites, improved “Speakup” feedback form to ensure the security of content and proper retrieval of forms.

We also needed mobile application and tablet capabilities, hosting options, and continued maintenance. We needed improved formatting of the website. We also wanted comprehensive statistic reporting.

We also wanted interactive social media icons, integrated animation and/or video (whether used or not.). We also required setup for a potential online ordering option, improved integration of the "VIP” newsletter sign-up form.

The site should have an attractive mix of text, photographs, and graphics. Grimaldi’s staff, which are not trained in computer programming, should be able to create and post content and update the site easily, without requiring assistance from the Web design contractor. The system should be supported by all browser types, like Mozilla, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Chrome, and available on all platforms.

The website should be available to sites with low-bandwidth Internet access. The technical footprint should be light enough that users can view pages and documents without excessively long downloads. 

The website should not experience any long-term downtimes due to hosting issues. The site’s navigation structure should be developed so that certain items are accessible from anywhere on the website, such as search function, share this/stay connected links, and the Grimaldi’s Pizzeria main site homepage.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Dreambox Creations to work with?

We researched firms on the local and national level. We came up with three national firms and two in Arizona. The main traits that we looked into were price, performance, and timeliness. 

Immediately upon the initial call with Dreambox, we knew there was a strong rapport, experience, and partnership. They were open to our RFP [request for proposal] process and some of the tight time constraints we initially offered. This gave me a sense that they would be an excellent partner for our fast-paced group. Their designs and previous work set them apart from the pack but their ability to communicate through the project is really the reason why we have continued to offer them projects. 

When was the project completed?

It was completed in March of 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

Since the transition, we saw an immediate increase in technology uptime and ability to grow our audience. The feedback from the public, employees, and potential vendors was extraordinary. We continue to hear that our website is one of the best within our industry. 

Our teammates are happy to have a functioning, well-designed website that really reflects our unique brand. It allows us to tell our story to ensure future funding and enables us the flexibility to change on demand and increase profits. Elements such as our shopping card, gift card service, and menu have vastly improved since the launch.

Our customers are thrilled at the mobile capability, better shopping cart, and better design of the website. It navigates easily and offers new insight into our company.

How did Dreambox Creations perform?

Dreambox Creations did an excellent job working with us to redesign the website. They were clear on the deliverables and truly worked within our mandated schedule. They managed all work within our budget and gave suggestions for improvement. Unlike most firms, we have a face to our account and one who holds himself and his team very accountable. 

What else is unique or special about Dreambox Creations compared to other firms?

Dreambox Creations truly was a dream to work with. They consistently produced incredible results and always go beyond my expectations. I gave them some extreme expectations and deadlines, I am always amazed at the results and how quickly they are accomplished. I would recommend them to anyone that wants to develop their brand representation and needs an attention-grabbing, effective website. It has been a pleasure working with them, and I am thrilled to have them on board for our next project, which is having them host our email services. Truly, Dreambox is an exceptional company to work with.