Motivity Pictures

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of NeedU, a public benefit corporation focused on helping those in need. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Motivity Pictures?

We are a startup and we were trying to put together our story of why we started the company through a video. A video is a powerful tool and we wanted to have that on our website, so we engaged Motivity Pictures to help us build the video.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We made a couple of videos with them. The first video was an overview of me and the co-founders telling our story of the challenges that we had and how we used those challenges to create the company and help other people. The first output was a 5-minute version. Then, eventually, we cut it down for the website to a 2-minute version. 

We also engaged them to do some video work for an incubator accelerator program that we applied for. That output showed why we were a good applicant for the program. It was about 7–10 minutes.

They also gave us direction and helped us come up with creative ideas. They asked probing questions and gave advice on what typically resonates in a good video.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a few people from their team, including a primary video point of contact who did all the shooting. We also collaborated with their editor. Overall, they had a small team and we had direct contact with them. 

How did you come to work with Motivity Pictures?

They came as a reference through another point of contact. They also pop up pretty quickly when you Google them. We were told they were local and we did some research and saw them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $10,000 since we had some personal connections with the company. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership ran from September 2020–January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their editing team was fantastic and they were able to quickly turnaround things with limited direction. We talked about our story for 30 minutes and they were able to come up with an excellent 5-minute video. 

With their support, we were also recognized by a few publications such as the Grand Rapid Business Journal. They picked up our story and a local news channel also played our video. We didn’t know that was going to happen. Additionally, we were also on a video podcast. 

Overall, we had great feedback on the quality of our video, specifically in the application for the incubator program where we had the best video out of hundreds of applicants. The team was really able to translate our story really well and in a concise way.

How did Motivity Pictures perform from a project management standpoint?

They had a good project management workflow. The team was responsive and had realistic timelines. From an editing perspective, they could really submit things quickly. They typically send their outputs and I would go through them and leave comments on certain sections. Motivity Pictures was really flexible with that. 

They offered a really good value to us. It was not cheap, but I feel like we got a pretty good deal. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our personal experience with them was great. They always picked up the phone and we could always talk to them. They were not just there to press a playing video, but they helped us shape the best video. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t have a ton of experience with video, but in our case, we did a lot of things without a script. They just encouraged us to talk and tell our story, and they were there to capture everything. I could see that there might people that would want a script.

I’m sure that they could do it because they asked us if we could start shooting without a script. I don’t know if this was room for improvement or not, but it’s something that someone else might want to see. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I was extremely happy with our partnership. With Motivity Pictures, you truly have a company that wants to make your brand succeed. They’re going to challenge you and come up with creative ideas you might not think of. You can still bring your own ideas, but expect to receive amazing ideas from them. I believe they really invest in your brand and company through their video production process.