Serenity Studios

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an economic development agency for the City of Portland, Oregon. I am the Business Development Coordinator in the Economic Development department, on the Business & Industry team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Serenity Studios?

We worked with Serenity Studios to produce a video about a Portland coffee company who participates a program that we manage, the Portland Enterprise Zone program, to tell their business story, emphasizing their relationship with Portland, the City and Prosper Portland, and the positive impact that they make in their community by priortizing doing good over just making a profit.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal for this project was to convey the impact that a Portland business can have on its community by giving back and engaging with programs that benefit the public, as well as highlight some of the programs that exist in Portland for businesses.

SOLUTION

How did you select Serenity Studios?

Prosper Portland had worked with Serenity Studios on other video projects. 

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail.

We worked with the Serenity Studios team throughout pre-production, production and post production. The Serenity team was very helpful every step of the process, and we are very happy with the finished video.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Serenity Studios utilizes Vimeo for timestamped feedback on video edits, which makes providing notes for edits super easy for our team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was smooth and communication with the team was constant, with myself representing our team to streamline the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The customer service that we regularly received from Serenity's team was superb. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

One small note is around confirming when all notes are in for an edit. This is more to save the post production team time.

There may have been one round of revisions where we were still confirming all notes were in from our side before moving forward with the next edit (we generally have many eyes and opinions that need to go into every edit), and Serenity had already sent in another edit. 

Not a big deal, but it created more work for their post production team, as we had just a couple of additional notes prior to the next edit.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an academic medical center that includes medical school and research institution. I’m a marketing manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Serenity Studios?

We needed to update our bariatric surgery seminar. It’s an online recorded seminar for patients interested in the surgery. We hired Serenity Studios to help us make a new video.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They wrote the script and created the animations for the video. They also hired and filmed our live talent. 

What is the team composition? 

We worked with about six people. 

How did you come to work with Serenity Studios?

Any agency that we hire must go through an RFP process. We first found them a couple of years ago, and they’ve produced several videos for our department. They came highly recommended by our creative director. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent a bit more than $50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–October 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a great experience overall. Their team was able to tailor the solution to our audience.

How did Serenity Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They gave us a timeline, and they stuck to it. They kept the project on track, even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were thorough in following up and great at incorporating our feedback. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really listened. They were thoughtful and responsive. They incorporated all of the feedback from our bariatric surgery team and marketing team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had many meetings to review the script. I feel like that process could be a little more streamlined in the future. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about what your goal is. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and strategic communications for an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Serenity Studios?

We built a new research building that had about 50 feet of digital screens that were viewable from the street. We wanted help with digital storytelling through those screens.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with them to determine which messages we wanted to showcase. They did storyboards, and after we agreed on a direction, they produced the content. Their team made multiple sound-free videos that play on a loop. 

What is the team composition?

We had a core team of 4–5 people. 

How did you come to work with Serenity Studios?

I think they were recommended to us by the manufacturers of the screen. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We probably started working with them in early-2018, and the building opened in September 2018 which is when the screens were unveiled. They’ve provided some ongoing support to help troubleshoot issues that come up.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did very well in delivering the messages we wanted to get out. We’ve gotten positive feedback. I hope that in the future, we can work with them again to develop new stories. 

How did Serenity Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

There were no issues. They met our deadlines and stayed with our budget. It’s clear that they know what they’re doing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was helpful that they were local to us since they were familiar with the cancer center and with the local community. From a technical standpoint, they’re highly skilled. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager at Spinitar, an AV design and build integration firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Serenity Studios?

We wanted to produce more digital content, such as videos that help tell the story of our customers and work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Serenity Studios really helped us come up with the vision for what we wanted to create. They helped us storyboard and script a story for our audience. Once we were on project site, they took control of the situation, working to drive the ultimate goal of producing testimonial, case study, and about us videos.

In total, they made three videos for us, each about 2–3 minutes. They’re currently displayed on our website as well as various other video channels such as YouTube, Vimeo, and our blog and social media accounts. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with three people from their team: a director, producer, and production assistant.

How did you come to work with Serenity Studios?

Serenity Studios was referred to us by an industry friend.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$20,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our project took place from February–June 2019. We’ve been in communication since then and are starting to work on other projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, their work has given our future prospects the ability to see the quality of our work, and witness firsthand what our customers are saying about us. That in turn has generated more business. 

Our account managers use the videos as selling tools, and feedback has been great. Everyone loves what Serenity Studios puts together.

How did Serenity Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

Serenity Studios is very well-organized and a good group of people. The team is professional and made the project run very smoothly.

When we gave them the overall idea of what we wanted to accomplish, they did a great job of taking the lead on our vision while staying receptive of our thoughts and incorporating them into the final product. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by how easy they are to work with — it sets them apart from other providers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know your vision and what you want to get out of your videos. If you’re able to communicate those thoughts to Serenity Studios, they’ll be able to take the lead on piecing everything else together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an instructor at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address Serenity Studios?   

We wanted to create an interactive display to feature new inductees to our Hall of Achievement. We hold a ceremony every year to recognize alumni and faculty members that have achieved some type of recognition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with the concept, design, and UX/UI. They converted our content from a static website to an interactive display in our department building. It’s a touch screen display that users can scroll through. 

What is the team composition?

Brian was our main point of contact. In total, there were 6–8 people that worked on the project. 

How did you come to work with Serenity Studios?   

I received a recommendation from the vendor that was developing the hardware solution for the display.  

How much have you invested in them?

I wasn’t involved with the contractual negotiations, so I’m not sure about precisely how much we invested. We spent less than $25,000 initially since that was our budget constraint from the university. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019. We completed the work that October.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They went above and beyond expectations. We’re really happy with what they delivered. 

How did Serenity Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked with our team to create a backend within the program we were using to develop the display to keep track of the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were easy to work with and were very responsive. We had to reschedule a few times, but they were accommodating and always delivered on time. They were great partners and very professional. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They always said yes to everything, but as a result, the work went beyond the original scope and was a bit over budget. They could’ve communicated better about when we were reaching our budget maximum. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

I would recommend them to anyone. They were nothing but helpful and professional. As long as you’re clear on the scope of the project and check in regularly, the project will run smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of communications of a public academic health center. There are about 18,000 employees, and we focus on health sciences, research, education, and clinical care. My role was leading the internal communications there.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Serenity Studios?

We were launching a new internal communications platform, which was a really big change for the organization. Essentially, all of our operational communications, as well as leadership messaging, was going to be on this new platform. It was a big shift in how the organization normally communicated and how employees received information.

We really wanted to signal that this was something big and new. The goal was to make sure we got off on the right foot by getting people excited about the new platform. That’s where Serenity Studios comes in. We wanted to not only get people’s attention but to also explain why we were doing this shift.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Serenity Studios created a multi-faceted internal marketing campaign for us. The bulk of the deliverables was motion graphics videos. Their team created a series of these videos to communicate our key messages. They handled all the graphic design as well as worked closely with me to come up with the concept and messaging to ensure we had a consistent message throughout the campaign.

Serenity Studios also created a variety of other design collateral including pull-up banners, posters, infographics, as well as other various print and digital material. A lot of the assets they created were shared through our old online internal channels but there was also digital signage.

Their team created a short, scripted video featuring leaders talking about the new platform. It was a spoof of the movie Spaceballs so it was funny and engaging. They wrote the script, did all the filming, and completed all the editing.

What is the team composition?

I met a lot of people, but there were five key individuals I worked with on a consistent basis. There was a project manager who was the go-to, but I worked with everyone pretty closely, including Brian (Founder & CEO).

How did you come to work with Serenity Studios?

I worked with Serenity Studios on another project they were doing for the university. Their team was working on a very large video wall for our cancer institute. As part of that video, they were going to use the digital signage platform that my team managed. I ended up interacting with Serenity Studios when we had a few meetings about how the digital signage was going to work.

I was really impressed with their work. The end product was excellent, and they were great to work with throughout the project. I know the cancer institute did more vetting in terms of looking at multiple vendors before selecting Serenity Studios. However, when it came to my project, I was already familiar with them and liked their work so I just reached out with the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from March–May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The end product was second to none. The level of professionalism Serenity Studios put into the product was stunning. That really helped us justify the cost of taking on this project in a way that was much bigger than anything we’d ever done before.

We had never hired out for an internal communications campaign as we did for this project. After seeing the work Serenity Studios had previously done, we recognized the level of polish they brought to their projects. The deliverables really stood apart from other things we were doing and really got people’s attention.

Serenity Studios helped us reach our objective of helping people understand why we were launching this new platform. This was super important considering the new platform was how people would receive information moving forward. Once we moved to the new platform and if people hadn't paid attention, they wouldn’t be getting the information they need.

I worked at that organization for over 10 years and don’t think there was ever a moment where we had the level of penetration of the messaging created for this campaign. I really attribute that to working with Serenity Studios. Every single piece of digital or print collateral all had the same consistent message. Everyone knew exactly why we were doing this and it made a big difference in the success.

The response was amazing. I did a roadshow where I went to different meetings and would show one of the videos that Serenity Studios produced; It was a trailer-like video that’d lead off the meeting. There were multiple times where I received applause at the end.

It was mostly because of how impressed people were with the quality of the video and that the message really resonated with them. That messaging was something Serenity Studios helped us create and ensured was consistent throughout our campaign.

How did Serenity Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager was great. They were always very clear about the different deliverables and deadlines as well as what they needed from me and what I could expect from them. Serenity Studios always met deadlines and delivered according to expectations.

We held meetings throughout the process, and I was pretty engaged with everyone. It was always clear who I could talk to if I needed something. I had access to the whole team and liked that I was able to collaborate with everyone.

We didn’t use a project management tool, but I’m sure they implemented one internally to keep track of their work. Their team was always very communicative about what stage we were at in the project. This project was a last-minute idea but they were great at taking on requests. They took on the whole project and delivered it in a super short time considering all the deliverables.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The finished product really speaks for itself. The motion graphics videos are the most impressive; even though they did great work in other spaces including the video production. The quality of their work looks like something a person would expect to see from a national network and not from a local agency — that stood out the most.

The other thing is their level of customer service. Brian was always responsive and available 24/7. If I needed to text him or had any questions, he always had great tabs on what the team was doing. Often times, he’d directly reach out to me, and I really appreciated that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any areas for improvement. I really enjoyed working with them and would hire them again in my new role. Their pricing is very fair, but lots of times in my line of work there isn’t the luxury of having the full budget needed to do this type of work. I wish I could use them more.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them know what your budget is and let them work with you to get the most value out of what you need. They were great at working with us and our limited budget. In fact, they even found ways where they could add the most value.

My advice is to go for it; it’s worth it. Make sure you really lean into working with them. The video production services were something we could've gotten for a cheaper price, but it wouldn’t have been as good of an end product or experience.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Communications Director for the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a private nonprofit foundation serving the Pacific Northwest since 1975.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Serenity Studios?

We began our relationship with Serenity needing to design a series of interactive, digital displays in our new office space. Their work was so outstanding we soon asked them to take on our website redesign and then all of our digital branding and assets.

What were your goals for this project?

The digital displays needed to help convey the diversity of organizations the Trust partners with as well as provide a sense of our history and our current work process.

Our website was redesigned in 2016 and held a substantial amount of relevant material, yet struggled with navigation, layout and design. It needed to improve it's user experience. As we worked on the first two pieces, we recognized the value in having Serenity help us unify all of our smaller digital elements (social media graphics, advertisements, presentation templates) with our larger projects for a cohesive look and feel.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us by our AV partner.

Describe the project in detail.

Serenity began by designing mock ups of our digital displays, incorporating video, photo and copy elements with a touch interface that was far and beyond our wildest expectations.

They then worked closely with us on an incredibly short runway to deliver five, finished displays in time for our move in. Our website process took place over approximately one year, beginning with research and a deep dive understanding on the current site, the use cases still needed and our work process.

They then maintained a rigorous design schedule, keeping us informed as elements came together and integrating our feedback.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a team of about 5-6 total, including a developer, designers, a project manager and a graphics/video specialist.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The displays are a staple of our office and integral in helping tell our story when guests visit (we host several groups every week and these displays are excellent at helping introduce them to the Trust).

The website has received rave reviews from partners, noting it is cleaner and easier to navigate with a beautiful, elegant design, We are also hearing routinely that our more cohesive design approach is incredibly well received by our audience.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Outstanding. They treated us as partners, they pushed us on ideas but were also flexible to our timing and feedback. I say without question, they are one of the best partners we have.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to take abstract ideas from our team (we are not designers but we know what we like) and turn them into reality. I was also extremely impressed with their openness to feedback and willingness to collaborate.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only challenge I can foresee is that they are a lean group and staff according to workload (which is the wise approach) but they may need a bit of time to staff up for a significantly large project. They did have to add team members for our project and the ramp up process on our end was seamless.