Full Blast Creative

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own a mortgage company that lends money to people that don't qualify with a bank and are having a tough time finding financing. If they own a home, I often can get them a mortgage if they haven't been able to obtain one before. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Full Blast Creative?

I mainly hired Full Blast to build a functional website that is good at lead generation and allows me to track lead generation. I needed a website that has all the code in the background, so I can track all of my information and data properly. For instance, I wanted to know how long visitors are spending on my website, whether the leads are coming through an AdWord or a Google search, etc.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Full Blast was kind of a one-stop shop. They’re knowledgeable, and they do a little bit of everything. I wanted someone who could say, “OK. This is how you should run your Facebook, and we’ll manage it for you. We’ll get your AdWords campaign over here. We’re also building your SEO [search engine optimization], and we’ve got your website laid out.” I care more about pay-per-click that SEO though. Another thing I want them to start is buying YouTube advertising. I want that 15-second ad before you get to watch your video.

How did you come to work with Full Blast Creative?

After using smaller guys on a budget, I went and spoke with the bigger marketing agencies. They charged too much, and I was probably too small of a client for them. Then somehow, I found Full Blast, maybe through Google or even Clutch. They gave me a reasonable quote, and I could go into their office and see them, so I knew I wasn't working with some guy out of his basement who might disappear. They struck a good balance; I liked their personality and their quote.

How much have you invested with Full Blast Creative?

I think I spent $5,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

I think we started working together in April 2016, and we’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All I know is that I get a good return for my click value, which is all that I care about at the end of the day. I want to spend as little as I can because I'm a little guy trying to compete with really large financial organizations. With Full Blast, I don't have to spend much money to make my phone ring or get emails in my inbox.

How did Full Blast Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

I liked their whole project management style. I think the timing of our communication could have been better at times, but I don't want to blame them for that because it could have been my fault. Other than that, I'm really happy with their project management. I’m always happy when I make little changes to the project because the amount they charge me for the alterations is very little.

What did you find most impressive about Full Blast Creative?

I’m most impressed by Full Blast’s value and their knowledge. They know a little bit of everything, and they have a good little team. They have one person who focuses on AdWords, one who does programming, one who does the graphics layout, and one who runs Facebook and social media, and then they have a backup person they contract out to if they need to bring in additional help.

Are there any areas Full Blast Creative could improve?

No, there’s nothing they need to improve.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Full Blast Creative?

Future clients should ask Full Blast how they can make the client money, and then the client should get that full plan from them. I got that, and I appreciated it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a graduate students’ association in Canada. I’m the communications and marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Full Blast Creative?

We went through a rebranding of our association. We were looking for a website that would show off our new branding. We were looking for something that looked a little more modern.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They hit the mark right at the beginning. We were happy with what they presented to us right from the start. They presented a design of the website to us and we liked it. We asked them if we could have more of our colors within our brand on the website. They managed to do that and we were happy with it almost right away.

How did you come to work with Full Blast Creative?

Originally, we talked with a handful of other developers. We liked the fact that they were WordPress based. For this type of website, it gave us a little bit more tools to change the look of things on our end once they passed the site over to us. In the initial meeting, they were very well-spoken and very confident of their product. The sales pitch was very good.

How much have you invested with Full Blast Creative?

Under $10,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first thing users are saying is how it looks better - nice and clean. With this site, we decided we wanted to promote our events a lot more. Our events page is one of the most popular pages on the site compared to the previous site. There’s a lot more traffic to that page and I’m hearing people tell me that they enjoy using the site and enjoy going to the events page. They enjoy what service the events page offers.

What did you find most impressive about Full Blast Creative?

I found them very supportive and very easy to work with. They were very helpful. I didn’t really hear from the person who made the initial sales pitch afterward, so I didn’t realize what their role in this project would be. Initially, it seemed a little confusing in terms of who to go to and who to connect with. That was all minor really. I did feel like I could contact anybody and get an answer.

Are there any areas Full Blast Creative could improve?

Currently, we’re dealing with two different developers. It almost seems like if they have nothing to update you on. They’re not going to get you on the phone and update you on anything. I think it would be great if there was some way to have more communication in terms of what we’re working on rather than lulls in the communication. Again, it’s minor. I think it might be more indicative of the industry. They’re busy people too.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a nonprofit gymnastics club. I'm the president of the club.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Full Blast Creative?

Being a nonprofit, we don't have a large budget, but we've been discussing our website and social media upgrade for several years, and it was just not in the budget.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was a complete overhaul of the website. At this point, we aren't using them for social media, but they have connected our social media to our site. We would like to use them for social media but, right now, that is something I do for the club because of our budget.

How did you come to work with Full Blast Creative?

I looked at two or three other firms, and they weren't in our budget. Full Blast stood out when I looked at their references.

How much have you invested with Full Blast Creative?

It cost less than $10,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our new site has only been up and running for about a month [as of October 2016]. I can tell you I've received a lot of feedback about how great it is. We haven't done the back-end analytics yet to see if we're producing better results and more hits yet, but we intend to.

What did you find most impressive about Full Blast Creative?

They respond instantly. There were a few things I didn't understand about the launch. I was panicking because I could see the new site when I was in one location, and I was seeing the old site in another. I left a message, and they called me on a Friday night within two minutes. They explained that it is kind of a roll out across the grid. The response time was amazing every time I reached out.

Are there any areas Full Blast Creative could improve?

I don't know that I could come up with anything negative to say.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We own three companies: Jujube Business Builders, Jujube Insurance, and Jujube Real Estate. We work with existing companies to aid them with tax planning, website design, and insurance implementation. We also work with commercial properties. I am the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Full Blast Creative?

Our company wants to be more web-based and have greater traction on social media.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We used Full Blast Creative to spread the hub of our business worldwide through the web.

How did you come to work with Full Blast Creative?

Full Blast Creative was referred to us. We enjoyed working with them because they have a phenomenal work ethic and a very good relationship-building model. They are very personable and are amazing in the way they conducted their business.

How much have you invested with Full Blast Creative?

The project cost ranged from $10,000 to $50,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a very good working relationship with Full Blast Creative and we refer all of our clients to them. They’re always giving us great advice about how to build our website and make it the best that it can be.

How did Full Blast Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very consistent and they try hard to make sure we stay on track.

What did you find most impressive about Full Blast Creative?

They’re very personable and easy to communicate with. They’re on top of everything.

Are there any areas Full Blast Creative could improve?

We only wished that the process of ordering business cards or brochures would have been quicker, but that is out of their control.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The company is Real Referrals. It’s a digital app that we’ve created for real estate professionals to exchange referrals between marketplaces.

What is your position?

I’m the Vice President of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Full Blast Creative?

Our main goal was to acquire new users through multiple social media streams and online efforts. Full Blast was a consultant company that we’ve used for the last year and a half to help achieve some of our goals.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Full Blast provided a full marketing scope in regards to online media strategies, reaching out to different media outlets throughout North America. They helped with some of our content creation, as well as the creation of different ads and campaigns through LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

How did you come to work with Full Blast Creative?

I’m also a realtor, and I was using them as a marketing extension to my brand. I was extremely happy with their abilities and responsiveness to my demands. That just rolled over into Real Referrals. From there, we were very confident that they were a cost-effective solution for our goals. Some of our bigger goals were to bring down our cost per acquisition per user, and we knew we needed to do this through large social media outreach, as well as the public relations campaigns through different streams.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I would say under $20,000. It was quite a large scope of work that we’ve given to them. There was a mixture of cost per acquisition as well as content creation. Obviously, if they had their team more involved in creating articles and reaching out to different outlets, the price was higher.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re still working with them in a different capacity. We’ve revamped our business structure a little bit, so we’re basically just using them for piece-by-piece work right now. We do still have a really good relationship with them, and we plan on using them again as we ramp up our marketing expenditure.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We had some very big articles written through Inman Select and other various real estate publications across North America, which was great. I don’t really want to disclose how many users due to competitive intel, but they did increase our business by 60% based on where we were at from the previous year.

How did Full Blast Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The Full Blast Creative team was very professional. We had lots of online meetings with their team, as well as face-to-face meetings in Calgary. They’re on top of their game. They know what they’re doing. Even nowadays, if I contact any member of their team, they’re back in touch with me within half an hour. They’re very diligent on ensuring that my business is well taken care of, which is something I really appreciate.

What distinguishes Full Blast Creative from other providers?

First, they’re extremely cost-effective compared to the majority of other marketing companies that we attempted to build a relationship with. The nice thing is that they run a virtual office. Even though they do have office space, they don’t have, like most marketing companies, an office space that’s overlooking a beautiful river, and they’re paying five times as much for their lease, and putting that back on their clients. That was a huge bonus for us. There are just a lot of smart marketing people within their business model. They do big business marketing, but they don’t have big business costs.

Is there anything Full Blast Creative could have improved or done differently?

No, we were quite happy. They did everything that they proposed. I think any company that uses them is going to be quite pleased with their capacity and how they’ll be able to help them out.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our company is Al Shamal Shriners. We are a nonprofit group, and we raise money to support 22 hospitals across North America.

What is your position?

I am the administration manager. We have patients mainly with orthopedic injuries, and we supply travel, meals, lodging, etc., to the patient and one guardian or parent, to whichever hospital best fits their needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Full Blast Creative?

We needed somebody that could keep our website current for us. That’s why we partnered with Full Blast Creative.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Full Blast Creative does all our website updating. If we have an event, I just email them the details, and they update our site to include those events. They also create the graphics that go along with that.

They’re currently in the process of rebuilding a new website for us that will be more user-friendly than our current one.

How did you come to work with Full Blast Creative?

We did an online search and Full Blast came up as a potential partner for this project. They seemed like a great fit for us.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It cost under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We’re very happy with Full Blast Creative. The designs that they come up with are always great. When people come to our site, we know that they always have the most recent and accurate information about us and the events that we are running. We’ve benefitted from that, as more people become aware of our event and attendance has increased.

How did Full Blast Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Full Blast Creative performed very well. They work very quickly and deliver a great result. Generally, if I email him something today, he’ll have the design and website update done within two days, which is very quick.

What distinguishes Full Blast Creative from other providers?

We appreciate how prompt they are and the service that we receive. We’ve never had an issue with bad service from them.

Is there anything Full Blast Creative could have improved or done differently?

No. Sometimes I think it would be easier if they were in the same city and not down the highway, but we haven’t had any issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our company is a builder of high-end, custom-designed homes located in Alberta, Canada.

What is your position?

I am the co-owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Full Blast Creative?

Essentially, I wanted to increase exposure for both my home construction business and for my son's motorcycle racing efforts. Even at the age of 15, he has extensive international racing experience, but needs greater international exposure.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They've done a little bit of everything. I had another company involved in the design originally and things went sideways very quickly. That's why I was introduced to these guys. They've done everything from design to development and maintenance of the site. I had some specific needs, and they've written some code to my specifications. That was unique.

Full Blast Creative has helped me through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. With my company, their work has mostly been targeted marketing, helping us target some of the specific clients that we're looking for.

How did you come to work with Full Blast Creative?

I had previously been using a small outfit, a one-man show and was experiencing frequent frustrations with timing. I was referred to Full Blast Creative through a friend, who suggested that I contact them. I discovered that they were excellent.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was less than $10,000 for each of the two sites individually.

What is the status of this engagement?

The relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics, metrics, or other feedback from your work with Full Blast Creative?

My son's motorcycle racing site is helping him become known very quickly throughout the world. Full Blast Creative helped me push it out to the countries that matter. He's been able to attract some serious sponsorship, so that's been a real big help.

With my site, they've been able to help me more locally. We don't do a big volume – maybe 15 to 20 homes a year – so it's difficult to measure how many people are coming to us because of the work that Full Blast Creative has been doing, but it has definitely helped with branding.

How did Full Blast Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They've performed well for both of us. Any time there's an issue, which does happen from time to time, they've been very quick to rectify it. Both their quality and their timeliness have been great. That's why I've stuck with them.

As I said, I was unhappy with my last guy, who missed some critical deadlines, and I made it clear what my mandate was to Full Blast Creative, and they've been great. They've been awesome to work with.

What distinguishes Full Blast Creative from other providers?

The ability to contact them for me was important because I had difficulties reaching my last person. We'd play phone tag for three or four days at a time. With Full Blast, a phone call comes back quickly.

Is there anything Full Blast Creative could have improved or done differently?

To be honest, I've been very happy with Full Blast Creative. I've recommended them to many different people. I had an interest in learning and managing some of the sites myself, and they brought me in and taught me some of the different aspects. They educated me on some of the different things I can do on my own.

I've been happy with everything that they've done. My projects are probably fairly small in the big scope of what can be done out there, but they've been supportive and on the spot for anything that I needed.