RaffertyWeiss Media

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health. We're a research organization, and my office disseminates the information resulting from the research.

What is your position?

I am the director of communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss Media?

We needed video production done for informational videos on tai chi and the science of yoga. We worked with RaffertyWeiss on a few videos.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They provided creative direction, production, and editing.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss Media?

They came to us through another contractor that we working with.

What is the status of this engagement?

All of the projects have been completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We got very good feedback in general. People thought that the videos were nicely done, and very professional.

How did RaffertyWeiss Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They're great to work with, nice people, and very responsive. Overall, RaffertyWeiss did well with project management.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss Media from other providers?

There have been a few times where we've asked RaffertyWeiss to help us on a very short turnaround. They've been able to make that work, which has been very helpful.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss Media could have improved or done differently?

I can't think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I used to work for the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area from 2006 to 2009.

What is your position?

I was the Communications Director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss Media?

We needed video production for a campaign film.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We hired them to create the campaign film, local DC campaign film, and the national campaign film. The purpose of the film was to build awareness to potential federal donors about the combined federal campaign and the good that it does for non-profits. They provided the treatment for the film, script, actual production, all the way through post-production.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss Media?

When I used to work at United Way of America, we hired both Chris and Patrick (RaffertyWeiss Founders), so I've been aware of them for over 20 years.

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

The campaign films were between $60,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They are all completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Each year, for the 2006-2009 campaign, giving increased and with each increase, it created a record amount. Their work definitely helped the overall giving.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss Media from other providers?

Their ability to relate to not only to the client but the talent and crew was wonderful. RaffertyWeiss was with us the whole way and developed a partnership of understanding. Their people skills were outstanding.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss Media could have improved or done differently?

No, I've no complaints. They're fantastic to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I run the advertising practice of Weber Shandwick called Sawmill.

What is your position?

I’m the General Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss Media?

One of the challenges we faced was that we wanted really high-quality video production. We had tight deadlines and a client who didn’t want to pay a lot of money, that being the federal government. We reached out to Patrick and Chris (co-founders of RaffertyWeiss). We had a triple bid, and because their bid was very competitive, and they were able to shoot locally so the clients could come, we chose them.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They are a full-service production company. Patrick and Chris have the production capabilities to be the directors and do the entire production for a television shoot in terms of location scouting, working with talent agencies, editing, and music mixing. Their creative ability allowed us to tell the story we needed to tell.

We were also working for the DC Health Link, and that’s the one where we had literally no time or money for. We won the award in August, and for the first year, all the exchanges had to go live October 1st. We had less than two months to produce our television ads.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss Media?

We met through a friend although we didn’t work together for about two years. We stayed in touch until the opportunity presented itself. It turned out they were great for one of our projects - the CMS [Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services] Medicare assignment. For the next project with DC Health Link, we produced three full television spots. They suggested that we delve deeper into the life of each person in the video. That creative personal investment into the project was something we really appreciated.

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

It was $150,000 to $500,000, with a couple projects that we worked on.

What is the status of this engagement?

We just completed a project with them for two spots about hepatitis C for the Centers for Disease Control. Both of them were really well-done.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We had successful open enrollments for Medicare, and the DC Health Link. I don’t have any results back from the CDC because we just shot them, except that the client was really happy.

How did RaffertyWeiss Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a great job. They’re calm under pressure and aren’t afraid to have frank conversations about any cost increase. They managed the projects really well. No client likes surprises, and they did their best to minimize them, which we realize sometimes happen on shoots. On the spots for the DC Health Link, they acted in a greater creative role. They were acting as de facto creative directors for those productions and did a wonderful job.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss Media from other providers?

I have worked for several big clients with RaffertyWeiss. RaffertyWeiss has the experience to handle big projects and is generally great to work with. They listen and understand the project which is crucial. They are creative, solutions-oriented, and clearly know their business. They're willing to have conversations about possible cost increases and whether you (the client) want to move forward. Their collaborative efforts made everything run smooth.

RaffertyWeiss Media’s creative contributions were enormous. It goes far beyond just their ability to produce a wonderful high-quality product; their creative input has made the end result that much better. They’re not aloof or petulant creative guys; they’re personable and great at what they do.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss Media could have improved or done differently?

No, not anything that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I used to work for a large communications firm.

What is your position?

I was a senior partner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss Media?

My previous employer has worked with RaffertyWeiss Media a couple of times. The projects ranged in size and cost. Generally, the videos that we needed to produce were some form of an informational video for a range of audiences.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

The first project was for a union issue. A local union in the DC, Maryland, and the Virginia region, was considering a potential worker walkout. One company’s Chief Executive Officer [CEO] wanted to make a video. I called RaffertyWeiss at the very last minute and said, “We need to record the CEO so that he can send a message to the employees in case they are considering walking out, that way he can get his message out there.” They came over a weekend; we did a couple of takes, and they turned out fantastic.

Another project had a much larger budget as it was for the Department of Homeland Security. It was a national-level exercise, which is basically FEMA’s [Federal Emergency Management Agency] practice drills to prepare for emergencies. It was a pretty significant production where we even had reporters come in.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss Media?

I knew Patrick personally. When I needed video production work, I thought about RaffertyWeiss’s work and decided to go with them.

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

They were between $50,000 and $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The projects are all completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The first project regarding union issues ended up not being shown because the workers didn’t walk out. From our client’s perspective, however, it was very well-received. The CEO was very pleased with the product, so it helped us from a client-relationship perspective.

The video for the Department of Homeland Security was posted to FEMA’s website. It was part of a huge national exercise that FEMA goes through every two or three years to make sure that they and communities are prepared for and able to react to a crisis or an emergency.

How did RaffertyWeiss Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They were incredible. I called him on a Wednesday, we shot on a Friday, and it was due on a Tuesday.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss Media from other providers?

RaffertyWeiss Media's responsiveness was fantastic. It’s their calm approach and competence with which they approach everything that I appreciated most. That being said, while they’re very competent, they aren’t arrogant. They’re very good at what they do, and they get things done. I was very confident in their ability to deliver.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss Media could have improved or done differently?

Not that I can think of. They were fantastic.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

C. Fox Communications is a mission-driven strategic communications agency. We work exclusively with nonprofits and purpose-driven organizations to help them move their missions forward through smart communication, public relations, and marketing.

What is your position?

I am the President of the agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss Media?

One of our clients was planning to launch a capital campaign to raise money. We had a designer lined up to do the case statement, so we wanted to make a visual version of that case statement, what we called a vision video. It was a very short turnaround, and we needed high-quality production, so we turned to RaffertyWeiss to solve that problem for us.

SOLUTION

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss Media?

I’ve known Patrick (one of the founders) for about ten years. He and I first met through a chamber event, and I have always thought about ways we could work with RaffertyWeiss. The right opportunity never presented itself until this time.

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

It was between $20,000 and $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It was one engagement, and it was completed successfully.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We don’t have anything specific like that, although the video was posted on our client’s website, so I could probably give you a sense for the traffic. For our project, we needed to persuade the state of Maryland to keep funding alive for capital building projects on a university campus. We used the vision video RaffertyWeiss created to help make the sale and ended up being successful in getting the governor to redirect funding to keep that building alive. Whether or not that was dependent on that video, I can’t say, but it was certainly a compelling message that helped the governor understand the value of what we were trying to do.

How did RaffertyWeiss Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed excellently.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss Media from other providers?

We are very particular in the kinds of vendors we work with. We want vendors who are just as focused on the client’s success as we are, and operate with that triple bottom-line philosophy that melds social, environmental, and financial aspects of business together. It’s very clear that RaffertyWeiss does the same. They care about running a successful business, but they really put the client first. RaffertyWeiss is very in tune with their client’s needs. They learn fast on the issue at hand and what matters to the client. They really became part of the team in a very short amount of time.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss Media could have improved or done differently?

No, I really don’t think there is. They were spot-on with the quality of the product, service, and time. Each time I asked them for something, they were very quick to respond. I was very happy with their service.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My former employer is an organization called United Way Worldwide. It's a global charity. It's actually the largest one in the world with presence in 43 countries and raises about $5 billion annually.

What is your position?

I was the Vice President of Major Donor Relations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss Media?

We needed to provide appropriate recognition for the donors who had achieved the highest honor or recognition that Worldwide provides. We thought a video would be a nice way to do that.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

I worked with RaffertyWeiss for three or four years. They produced several videos that we used during the award presentation.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss Media?

Patrick Rafferty (one of the founders) worked with me at United Way America many years ago.

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

It was a $10,000 project each time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

It was an emotional return on investment for the donor who was honored and won the award in the video, but it also inspired the others who were in the audience that night.

How did RaffertyWeiss Media perform from a project management standpoint?

RaffertyWeiss performed great because they always delivered on time.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss Media from other providers?

The fact that they were flexible was really big for us. We could count on RaffertyWeiss to fill in where we were lacking. They had great insight about what would be a good product. I trusted they would comply with the brand requirements of the organization, and that from a creative standpoint, they wouldn't do anything short of incredible work.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss Media could have improved or done differently?

It's a small thing but at the beginning of a project, sometimes it took a while to get a response. They fixed this, however, and by the end of the project, they were responding quickly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for a company called Concepts Incorporated. Concepts is a communications firm based in Bethesda, Maryland.

What is your position?

I am a Communications Consultant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss Media?

We worked with them on several occasions. The first time was for a campaign called the Campaign for Disability Employment. We were interested in producing a television PSA and had several firms bid for it. We loved what RaffertyWeiss responded with. We had a great meeting, going over our business requirements. We needed to create a PSA designed to change awareness and attitudes about workers with disabilities, and the employment of people with disabilities.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

RaffertyWeiss provided video production, concept development, and scripting. It was a full service, from casting to location scouting. They did everything: hair and make-up, pre-production, and post-production. That included the editing and preparation for distribution.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss Media?

My colleague Karen, who runs Concepts saw RaffertyWeiss on Twitter and noticed they had a PSA specialty. When we created the request for proposal, we sent it right out to them.

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

The projects were in the $100,000 to $200,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

My colleague is currently working with them, creating some videos for another project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The PSAs that we've produced with them have been very successful in terms of distribution. RaffertyWeiss didn't do the distribution but they did connect us with distribution providers. The PSAs getting picked up speaks to the quality of their production. One of them was in the top 1% of all PSAs airing, as measured by Nielsen – a rating measurement system.

How did RaffertyWeiss Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed very well. RaffertyWeiss takes care of everything and has a great team.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss Media from other providers?

The quality of production distinguishes RaffertyWeiss from other providers. There are many video production companies, so finding a production company that delivers quality results is rare. RaffertyWeiss is one of those rare exceptions. This ranges from the largest to the smallest videos.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss Media could have improved or done differently?

Not necessarily. All in all, it was a great experience. I would say that the one thing that might keep us from working with them more is cost. Because they're so high quality and because they work with the best and they have big teams, there's a higher cost. There have been a couple of occasions when we've needed to do a quick video and the budget is just too small, so we had to find a smaller company.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are St. John's College High School, a Catholic co-ed institution in the Lasallian tradition. We currently have about 1,100 students.

What is your position?

I am the President of the school.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss?

When we first met with RaffertyWeiss, we were in the process of rebranding the entire look, feel, and image of the institution.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They provided a number of different services. They were part of the design and production team for our admissions video. They wrote the script of questions, interviewed all the participants for the video, and filmed the video on campus. They then edited and delivered the final product. For the initial project, we did four days of full shooting, and then a reshoot day for stuff that we needed. The whole process took four to five months.

Subsequently, we've hired them for about eight other mini projects. They've now redone two projects so we can keep it fresh. Often these videos are a little bit older than the day you air them, but RaffertyWeiss has been able to come back and freshen up the videos.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss?

I knew one of the founders of RaffertyWeiss from an earlier part of my life. Our children were in the same school. I had seen a video they did for the Washington Jesuit Academy that blew me away. We were starting to search for a provider and stumbled upon their website, saw that video, and were very impressed.

Schools don't do things at the same level as corporations. RaffertyWeiss was able to blend the high-level quality of corporate expectations while maintaining the mission-driven understanding of a Catholic institution. We were really fortunate to get the best of both worlds.

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

It was about $50,000 since our contact with them from beginning to end.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re currently working with them. We launched the Entrepreneurial Center for Innovation and Leadership, so we contracted with them to capture all the activities that we've been doing throughout the course of the year. Additionally, we're going to ask them to put together a summation video, showing the highlights of what we've done with that program.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The number of hits we got to our admissions video was 30 or 40 times more, at least, if not more, than we ever had to our admissions video. It was a seven-minute video that pushed the bar a little bit for other schools, and forced them to put equal effort into their video production.

We also did an actual Save the Date video for our Gala. We were hosting a 100th Anniversary Gala for the Cadet Corps program at our school, and we wanted the video to be the best quality it could be. We had them do a two and a half minute Save the Date video that captured the essence of the tradition and honor of this program. I have an alumni base of 12,000 people; it was probably the most talked about thing that we've ever done.

How did RaffertyWeiss perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, RaffertyWeiss approaches work confidently, comfortably, and in a relaxed way. By doing that, they put everybody else at ease. The confidence that they came into this with, and the people their team consists of, really made the projects easy. They work well together. They have positive energy and treat people with respect.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss from other providers?

RaffertyWeiss is great at turning around last-minute work which has been a great advantage. They’re personally invested in everything that they’ve done. They were working with a number of different personalities at my school, from Principals to Directors of Admissions, to faculty, and students, and were able to make everyone feel at ease. Because of that, we were our best selves being shot. The questions they designed were very probing and really got the best out of us as well.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss could have improved or done differently?

There's nothing that stands out. I think he really approached everything really well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a small strategy firm called Purple Strategies.

What is your position?

I’m a founding partner at the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss?

We needed help on some overflow work. We have some in-house production at our company, but RaffertyWeiss is top-notch at being able to figure out what it is you need done, maintaining a positive relationship with the client or talent that you’re dealing with, and can pretty much adapt to any way that you need to work. Whether it’s a more methodical, full-blown production in terms of a very expensive commercial, or if it’s a little bit more content based, they are able to accomplish it all. We’ve found their versatility to be a huge.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

RaffertyWeiss helped us with basic production and putting together an animated spot. They came up with the concept. I had a logo that we were trying to make into an ad, and RaffertyWeiss came up with an interesting concept. They helped me write and produce the videos. They did a couple of iterations for it and then showed it to the client, which ended up being a big success.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss?

I found out about RaffertyWeiss through Patrick, at a Country Club, we are both members at. I knew who he was because we worked with a common cameraman.

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

The majority of projects I’ve worked with RaffertyWeiss on have been between $10,000 and $50,000, and then some have been $50,000 and above. Every time that I’ve worked with them on the budgeting process, I’ve found that the production value was worth the amount of money paid. Whatever the budget was, the final product always looked top-notch, and I was never disappointed. They’re really good at working within budget parameters. They’ll let you know the differences and capabilities we’d have if we spent a little more money.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

With anything that RaffertyWeiss has worked on with me during in my political career, we have won. We won all the elections. In our public affairs work here at Purple, it’s a little harder to measure because it’s more of an advocacy role. In terms of client input, they are always happy with the result.

How did RaffertyWeiss perform from a project management standpoint?

Great. The relationship is very professional, there’s a schedule, and they worked with me ahead of time. Everything ran as smoothly as production can when we hit bumps in the road. When I get back to the editing room and start looking at the product, I’ve never been disappointed.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss from other providers?

In this business, there are companies who are really pretentious. Sometimes companies are pretentious and don’t really have talent. RaffertyWeiss is not only not pretentious, but a joy to work with, and really talented. Production is hard enough, but with RaffertyWeiss, you’re getting somebody with a team that’s easy to get along with and is top-notch in their talent and production values. That’s what I would say to any stranger that was thinking of hiring them.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss could have improved or done differently?

I honestly don’t think so. My experiences with them have been all really great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for The Woods Academy, a pre-school through Grade 8 independent co-ed Catholic school of about 310 students.

What is your position?

I am the Head of School.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with RaffertyWeiss Media?

We've worked with RaffertyWeiss on two different projects. The first was for a commercial that we were filming. We had done a bunch of research to try to reach a broader audience. We felt that the print media we were doing was fine but it really wasn't getting to all the people we wanted to get it to. We had just done a whole strategic branding initiative with great print and language around it, and were hoping to turn it into a 28-second spot. We reached out to RaffertyWeiss because we had worked with them on a previous project and remembered the great work that they had done for us there.

The second project was a video for our 40th anniversary. They came in for several days of filming and did a fantastic job tying together all the footage that they took. The video received a lot of great feedback from families at our Auction Gala who had just enrolled.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We sat down with them to describe the project and what we needed. We told them we had a print media campaign that we needed turned into a commercial. They came up with a concept of what they thought it would look like, did the filming, and dealt with the technical side of it along with planning and editing.

With our second project, it was the same thing. RaffertyWeiss put together a creative brief that we worked with them on. They filmed a lot of great interviews as well.

How did you come to work with RaffertyWeiss Media?

I got to know Pat (one of the founders of RaffertyWeiss) while I was working at my previous school, Washington Jesuit Academy. I got to know him during my time there and was really impressed with the work that he did.

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

For the two projects, we spent between $10,000 and $50,000 for each.

What is the status of this engagement?

They are both completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The commercial was also featured as part of our work with Comcast, which featured it online. This past year, in the '15/'16 school year, there were 654 click-throughs to our website from the video, a click-through rate of 0.75%. The video completion rate was 79.2%, which is a little bit higher than their benchmark. We were at or above their benchmarks with those two statistical points but had a number of impressions reaching a wider audience.

We enrolled a couple of students as a result of their family seeing our first commercial. The video paid-off because it was able to reach a much wider audience. We've run that commercial for two years now and feel like we've got a lot of good run out of it.

How did RaffertyWeiss Media perform from a project management standpoint?

RaffertyWeiss's project management was superb, partially because of how responsive they were. We started our conversation in September of 2015 and knew the timeline we wanted to accomplish the first project in. We not only stuck to that timeline, we finished with time to spare. They're responsive, professional, and well-managed from start to finish.

What distinguishes RaffertyWeiss Media from other providers?

RaffertyWeiss has a very high-quality level of work. We've worked with other folks in the past for video production, but they only offered certain services. RaffertyWeiss however, is a full-service operation. They were always listening to our feedback, even in the editing phase. Their ability to be creative helped me understand what we were trying to accomplish with these projects.

Is there anything RaffertyWeiss Media could have improved or done differently?

No, RaffertyWeiss exceeded all our expectations which is why we continue to work with them. I’m very excited about the additional videos that we're going to cut from the footage that we've got. They saw the value in doing the additional footage so we can use it for other purposes too.