Play Media

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Emerald Hill Srbija, one of the oldest real estate investors in our region of Serbia. We mostly invest in real estate buildings and business centers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Play Media?

When I joined the company a year ago, things were a little old-fashioned. We wanted to redesign the website and needed help with social media.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we focused on social media. We then brainstormed the website and, two months later, started developing it. Play Media designed an entirely new WordPress website and custom-made everything for us. They take care of our social media campaigns and our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts. They also have done some advertising depending on the marketing strategy that they suggest and deploy.

What is the team composition?

Initially, I negotiated with their CEO. We have a project manager for social media and a single point of contact for the different parts of the project, such as web design.

How did you come to work with Play Media?

I found them through the internet. We started with smaller businesses, and I have continued to work with them for the past five years. I decided to work with them again for this project due to my previous positive experience. No matter which company I am working at, I always work with Play Media because they are great.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend between $1,000–$5,000 per month depending on the number of hours they spend on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working on this project in May 2019, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have gotten a very high customer reach. Play Media created an excellent strategy for us. The company previously struggled with how we collected the leads and qualified the leads. Since working with them, especially in July and August, the results were amazing. We got way more leads than we did the previous year.

How did Play Media perform from a project management standpoint?

It depends on the phase of the project, but most of the time, we communicate through project management software because I can see the progress. We also have weekly meetings over calls. At the end of every month, they send me a report of what they achieved and provide me with the strategy for the upcoming month. If anything is urgent, we can make a call. Almost everything has met our timeline. The project has been transparent and gone smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Play Media is great at brainstorming—they really want to help their client develop a strategy. I truly trust them. 

They’re also very open in communication. Sometimes, there are a lot of things to discuss, and we can’t schedule everything. However, their approach is to communicate at the beginning, which has been very good. We don’t know as much about digital marketing as they do, and for me, that has been the best part of working with Play Media.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think there could be more live communication. For me, it is better to have a live meeting, so this could be a point to improve on.

There also could be more focus on social media strategies and more senior management focused in that area.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a naming platform disrupting the branding industry by bringing new ways for anyone, from startups to large enterprises, to develop and test names through technology using techniques like crowdsourcing and gamification.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Play Media?

We were looking specifically to increase our SEO rankings and capture more and higher rankings on individual keywords.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have an ongoing strategic relationship with Play Media that included an initial keyword analysis and competitor analysis. They also spent a lot of time working on the more technical side of our SEO performance, so looking at our site structure and making sure all the coding and the tagging and those things are done well.

They created an initial action plan for our dev team to make some updates on various aspects of the website, as well as working on ongoing month over month goals that were created in collaboration between us and them to address our changing business needs.

What is the team composition?

We have one primary contact, but there are about eight people from their team on the project in a variety of ways.

How did you come to work with Play Media?

One of my colleagues found them during the hiring process, but we conducted several rounds of interviews with providers in order to decide on the right resource team. Based on the experience as well as the price point, we decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $5,000–$10,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2019 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Over a five-month period, they were instrumental in helping us double our organic search traffic. A large aspect of our strategy was to increase our position on some keywords on individual pages, we were able to improve not only our performance on those keywords but also the number of keywords on those pages that we were targeting.

How did Play Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very prompt and very efficient. The way we manage the relationship is very outlined, and so they have very consistently hit our metrics within the deadlines that we establish. They introduced a project management tool to us early on in our collaboration, and it has worked so well that we’ve started using similar processes in other relationships.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m very impressed with their understanding of the technical aspects of SEO and how to prioritize those efforts. They do all of the keyword and page rank targeting, but they also set you up for success with things like the page structure on your website. Those changes had some of the first and biggest impacts for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think there could probably be a little more communication between the key project manager and the rest of the team, but most of the time everything works out smoothly anyway.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think the key is to be receptive to their input but to balance that with a good working knowledge of your own business and goals so that you can supply their team with what they need to be successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a microbrewery. I'm a co-owner with two other owners. We bought the company from the previous owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Play Media?

When we bought the company, we entered with our own capital. We hoped to increase our production capacity, so we invested in new machines. Once we increased our capacity, we needed to work on our sales side. We wanted to increase our visibility, and we chose Play Media to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They gave suggestions for everything we do. They recommended the designer who did our labels, t-shirts, and other materials. They also developed our website and our social media accounts, and they helped with our SEO. They understand our market, so we listen to their ideas and suggestions. We don't know a lot about marketing, and we feel we chose the right team to help us.

What is the team composition?

We work with one person. He collects all the information and sends it along to his team.

How did you come to work with Play Media?

We considered three agencies but ultimately selected Play Media for the package they offered. Their services—coupled with the cost—made them the best company we considered. 

How much have you invested with them?

I'd estimate we've spent between $30,000–$50,000, maybe a little more.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project at the end of 2016, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've expanded our visibility, and we included some things that weren't in the original offer. We now have much more followers, and the website is easy to read and easy to find. We appear more frequently in web searches, our local community is more aware of us, and we're expanding our brand awareness abroad. I'm very satisfied with their work.

How did Play Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Most of our communication is through email, especially if anything requires some explanation. If we need something promptly, we can pick up the phone and they work quickly. They either complete tasks right away or they send us an expected delivery date and time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re young, ambitious, and smart. Everyone within the company takes part, and their team is excellent. People copy elements of our website, which is a testament to how good the site is.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wouldn't change anything about their work. They're excellent, and I hope they maintain this level of quality in the future.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend them all the time, but I don't have any specific advice for people who plan to hire them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing analyst for Vive Health, an ecommerce company. We sell health & wellness and medical supplies

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Play Media?

We have hired play media to help us with our marketing strategy along with managing the technical side of our SEO

What were your goals for this project?

Help grow the website and improve rankings

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We connected with Owner of company a couple years back through Upwork and continued our relationship from there.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Met with company on a monthly basis to develop a marketing strategy along with process for managing the technical, back end aspects of our website development.

What was the team composition?

There are many team members but I am not sure on exactly how many. I have worked with about 5 different members on a consistent basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Since we have began working with the Play Media team our technical SEO and website structure has improved greatly and increasing our site performance.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow has been extremely effective. Communication on projects has been thorough and team members have been reliable.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Play Media is great with communication and responsiveness. Workflow can tend to ebb and flow. Every time we reach out to the owner, he is quick to address our needs and delegate to his team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

At this time I cannot say if there are any major improvements. Possibly a bit higher level help in the web development department. Some tasks have proven to be a little challenging.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an e-commerce platform selling bags and luggage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Play Media?

We hired Play Media to help us get more organic, relevant traffic.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Play Media runs our SEO efforts, both on-site and off-site. Their team performed a technical analysis to start and identified technical issues with the site. We took a few months to make changes to improve the ranking of the platform on search engines. 

From there, they’ve been providing content for the site and blog. They create category page descriptions and other materials. We also tried doing Google Ads for a short time, but my budget didn’t allow for us to expand that. For the off-site efforts, they manage outreach to bloggers and newspapers, providing them with SEO-friendly content. 

What is the team composition?

Sandra (Project Manager, Play Media) is my main point of contact. I can speak to the owner and other team members if needed, as well. 

How did you come to work with Play Media?

I found them using Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $20,000 at this point. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our project began in September 2018 and is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our traffic is higher, with our revenue increasing even further. Our revenue has jumped by 150%, even though traffic is has improved by 30%. This shows Play Media has successfully targeted more relevant, valuable traffic for us. 

How did Play Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great; I’ve had no problems with their response time. Even if I message their team when it’s during the night for them, I never have to wait more than a few hours for a response. If we need something to be changed or updated, they’re flexible and able to assign it to the right team member. We use Infinity as a project management software, so all of our tasks and to-dos are in one place. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their high levels of professionalism and communication are what stand out to me. They get their work done quickly, too. They give me great answers, so communication is key to our engagement. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any complaints. Even if something needs to be changed or isn’t working, they notice immediately and fix it for us. Once we discuss our ideas, they’ll adjust their strategy to match what we need. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be on top of the work and make sure you continue to talk.