Lunar Media

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of web operations for Salvy the Florist, a local Massachusetts florist. However, we have three locations, an online platform, and deliver nationally.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Lunar Media?

We were building a new website and needed to address branding. We turned to Lunar Media to create graphics for the new site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We wanted to be represented in a contemporary fashion, so Gina (Owner, Luna Media) created sets of graphics that could flex across holidays, seasons, and sales. This included banners, slots on the web that advertise our products, sliders that are spliced on our website to introduce features sales. Since our business is very seasonal and holiday focused, we make a lot of changes to the site and it has been a big project. They’re familiar with the platform we’re working on and have made a few basic scripting changes.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Gina.

How did you come to work with Lunar Media?

I researched graphic firms in Chicago and Boston and spoke to several different firms before making my decision. I selected Lunar Media because I liked their portfolio and were in Chicago, which made meeting with them easier. Gina clearly grasped our project and I felt like she would be a very creative and imaginative partner. Her ability to communicate how she was going to approach and manage the project really stood out. I also really liked her personality and her rates were reasonable.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $30,000–$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2018 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s difficult to measure exactly how much the graphics impact sales, but I would definitely attribute a percentage of our sales to the graphics they created for us. The website we built has exceeded our expectations and sales continue to surpass what we anticipated.

Gina was able to take difficult product sets or ideas and translate them into very powerful graphics. She has an eye for detail, but the end results were beautiful and simple graphics. It requires a lot of skill to deliver something so precise.

Her specialty, in my opinion, is either backgrounds or the textual treatments of graphics. For example, she's able to craft by have a message I want to get across to the user in a concise way so we can be posted on our site.

How did Lunar Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very well organized. We track everything in a master document and folder in Google Docs. I generate a list of graphics I’d like them to produce, and then we discuss timelines. Once a graphic is finished, I review them and request any changes. We text and talk on a weekly basis and they always meet their deadlines.

If something happens and I need a new graphic, they’re very responsive and are able to turn out new designs in a moment’s notice. Most designers aren’t able to do that. They’re also able to take constructive criticism and modify their work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Gina had a clear understanding of what we wanted to accomplish and was able to create a graphical interface that meshed well with the overall company goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they implemented all of our feedback and we’re really satisfied with what they delivered.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen closely to the way they approach the project and the graphical solutions they suggest. It’s easy for companies to reproduce exactly what you ask from them, but Lunar Media has vision and understands what your company truly needs.

BACKGROUND

Could you give a brief description of your company and your role?

It’s an architectural firm, and I’m the sole proprietor, owner, and architect.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

When you approached Lunar Media, what was the business challenge that you were trying to address?

I needed a website.

Did you have any specific business goals that you wanted to achieve?

I wanted it to be aesthetically pleasing, and I wanted it to be easy to navigate.  

SOLUTION

Did Lunar Media provide training and ongoing support services, in addition to the design and development?

Gina [Hutchings, owner of Lunar Media] did. She provided me with a WordPress pamphlet that she had put together. She tried to teach me some things, but I was too overwhelmed and busy at the time. So, she said that I could reach out to her whenever I wanted.

How long did the project take?

It took probably six to eight months.

When was the website completed?

March of 2013.

Why did you select Lunar Media to work with in the first place?

I was referred to her by another business that I worked with before.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Are there any metrics that you can share that indicate the success of the project?

I can’t. I don’t know how many people look at my site.

Do you feel like your business has grown as a result of having the website?

Yes.

Do you have any feedback that you can share from customers about the website?

They said it was beautiful. They loved the graphics in it and how it’s organized.

How would you describe Lunar Media’s performance?

I thought she was very easy to work with. She was willing to look at the ideas that I was interested in. It was somewhat hard, but I think a lot of it was just both of our schedules. The process took longer. I’d never done websites, so I didn’t know how long it would take.

Was there anything unique or special about working with Gina compared to some other vendors that you’ve worked with in the past?

I just thought that she was very personable, positive, joyful to work with, and willing to consider my ideas.

Is there anything that you think that Lunar Media could improve upon, or that you would do differently?

We had one little hiccup. It was just that I wanted something graphically that she was saying wasn’t out there. There’s another program for starting websites. I just found out about them a month ago. I don’t know how long it’s been around, but the graphics on that program are so much the direction that I wanted to go. But, I don’t really know if they were in existence when I first started talking to her. All I know now is I’m looking at it and going, this is totally what I wanted. She had to create what I wanted because it wasn’t out there at that time.

BACKGROUND

Could you give a brief description of your company?

The name of my company is The Vodicka Group, and we provide investment-consulting services to small business and individuals, institutional, and individual investments consulting services.

What is your role?

I’m the founder and the president. I lead the charge, and I work with the investors. I handle more the client-side of the business, working with clients and investors to make sure they’re happy. I also manage the portfolios. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

When you approached Lunar Media, what was the business challenge you were trying to address?

I had a website that did not accurately reflect the professional nature of my business and was not attracting as much attention as I wanted it to. The people who were visiting my website were not being converted into any kind of productive lead whether by joining the mailing list or submitting a contact form or sending me an email. I needed to take it to another level on design and functionality.

Did you have any specific goals for the project?

I wanted to increase my Web traffic significantly. I wanted to increase my mail list significantly. I wanted to convey a professional image. My website right now is awesome. [Gina Hutchings, Lunar Media’s owner] did a great job. But, the one I had before looked amateur. I wanted to convey an image of success to my clients and potential clients.

SOLUTION

Can you talk about the scope of the project?

Gina’s responsibilities were to handle everything on the design side; that’s pretty much A to Z on the actual website. She also worked on designing a new email campaign, which was huge. She also helped me with my mail collection strategies, collecting email addresses from people with my pop-ups and footers [on the website]. She also advised me on developing special reports to create incentives for people who’d sign up through mail lists.

She helped me on the marketing side of the business in terms of product and service development. We worked on a service called “portfolio phone” together. She helped me with the marketing on that and how to position the product and how to get people interested in that.

How long did it take?

Two to three months.

When was that completed?

March of 2013.

What was your process for selecting Lunar Media with which to work?

I contacted four or five Web agencies. It was basically to have a conversation with the people who ran the company and then chat with the actual individual contributors. I did a couple of in-person visits. I met the people who started the companies, and I met their teams. They were OK, and I met some interesting people.

In terms of vetting [Lunar Media], it was a personal conversation with Gina about how she runs her business, how she works with her clients and how she communicates. Then, I also checked out her portfolio and looked at the actual work she had done. I checked out her website, and I liked the design that I saw. I also saw that she was an artist. That’s what appealed to me on a broader level. The fact that Gina had this other component in her business that was aesthetically driven definitely appealed to me.

A friend of mine had actually used her. They told me she was great. So, she got an endorsement.

Gina had a real value proposition, too. Not only did she hit hard on the design and support front, but she also offered value. I felt like a lot of the larger agencies were outrageous, the amount of money they want me to pay.

Could you give a sense of the size of this initiative in dollar terms or personnel work hours?

The dollar value on the project was between $2,000 and $3,000. Her hourly rate was between $75 and $100. I think she billed out between 20 and 30 hours. Realistically, she may have done a little bit more work than that. She definitely has the value added. She was emotionally committed to the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How would you describe the results of the project?

I was beyond pumped when I saw what she did. I had a vision for the website that I had shared with her as much as possible. But, when I finally saw the mock-up demo of the website, I was very impressed. It exceeded all my expectations. This is exactly what I wanted.

Are there any metrics that you can share that indicate the effectiveness of the project?

As soon as there was an implementation on all these different strategies and her new redesign, I had a huge jump in traffic. I think that my monthly visitors went from maybe 500 or 1,000 to 2,000 or 3,000 almost instantly. My mail list started growing again. [Lunar Media] definitely delivered.

How would you describe Lunar Media’s performance?

It was fantastic. I was really happy with what they did. I’d recommend them in a second to anyone. She delivers on the quality of work. I think it was a great operation.

Was there anything unique or special about them compared to other companies with which you may have worked?

She had a real value proposition, which was important to me. In terms of communication, she was able to develop a relationship and create personal connection pretty quickly as opposed to larger places that [treat you like] you’re just a number and shuffle you through.

Looking back on the project, is there any area that Lunar Media could improve upon or that you might do differently?

No. Honestly, I don’t have anything negative to say about the situation whatsoever. Even if I had to dig deep, honestly, I can’t think of anything. I thought she did a great job. It was fast. The product turned out great.