Slate and Main

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My organization is RBCU – Richfield Bloomington Credit Union. We've been around for almost 60 years. We're $200 million in assets. We have three locations, and we serve the communities of Richfield, Bloomington, and Edina in Minnesota.

What is your position?

I am the community and business development manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Slate and Main?

We wanted to add video to our outreach in marketing. We had no video marketing before we approached them. Slate and Main helped us with strategic planning and approach. We had some strong ideas about what we needed which was to start a video content library and start using that as PR and community outreach.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They did the editing, scripting, and casting. We started out by asking them to create a mission and history video. One of our employees was 96 at the time, and we wanted to capture some of the history of our company through her experience. We used that clip for onboarding and community awareness. Then, Slate and Main did some other work for us and, finally, they created a video that we may use as an advertisement. They did everything. They scripted it and hired actors. We did our own marketing.

How did you come to work with Slate and Main?

We reached out to them because they were recommended to us by our trade association – Minnesota Credit Union Network. We knew that they were tried and tested by our peers. When we started working with them, we realized we had a couple years of work to do. We wanted to build the relationship. They have surpassed our expectations. They have newer, younger talent, but also the older experienced maturity on staff, which is a terrific balance. We want both of those things as a financial institution. We want the high tech and great editing for a conservative message, which is a tricky job to do.

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

We spend around $5,000 per video.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are currently working with them. I see them as my video department.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Everybody loved the first piece because it was nostalgic. We didn't have any issues with that one. The second was more of a commercial format. We held viewings and open critiqued it. We came back to them and asked them to change certain things. They worked through some problems with us until everyone approved it. We have not tied their work it to ROI [return on investment]. These pieces are a portion of a larger project. They'll be embedded into other presentations as supporting media. We have worked with Slate and Main for three years now. They have helped us with strategic, decision, design, and messaging by designing several types of videos including one that won an industry-wide award from the Credit Union National Association.

How did Slate and Main perform from a project management standpoint?

Their representative Jake Levoir is perfect and super available. They always get back to me within two hours. We meet when we start a new project. They get back to us with a proposal and cost estimate. So far, it's been pretty custom. We feel like we get great attention.

What distinguishes Slate and Main from other providers?

Slate and Main's blend of experience and talent sets them apart. The age diversification is something I felt pretty confident with. There are people in their 50s who are knowledgeable, and there is the new creative energy, which is the 20-year-olds. It's a great marriage. The great range of experience and young talent fits our needs as a financial institution serving a young tech savvy market.

Is there anything Slate and Main could have improved or done differently?

I would be open to any criticism or feedback. They should challenge us. I depend on them to be our creative director as well. I need them to be the experts.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Emerge Education works with colleges and universities throughout the United States. We market their online programs and recruit online students on the school's behalf until they get in. At that point, the school takes them over and educates them.

What is your position?

I am the VP of marketing. I market the partner institutions online, digitally – sometimes using video and socially to generate leads and, hopefully, students for the schools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Slate and Main?

We're a newer company – two-years-old with 30 employees. We don't have video capabilities in-house and were looking for a way to use video to tell the story. We needed a video to tell a story about a culinary institution that offers online degrees.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

A question we kept getting was how do you get a cooking degree online. Slate and Main helped me tell the story of one of very successful alums and internationally recognized chefs to explain the value. We shot a video telling his story insofar as how he got his education and what it helped him do. We're in the middle of another project with them with another one of our partners – Concordia University of Chicago. We're using video to tell the story of potential students and why they got their MBA [Masters of Business Administration]. The videos touch on the emotional motivation for getting your MBA.

The first video they did everything for us and were very open to feedback. Once they get a draft, they show that to me. The reason I work with them is because their strength is in the footage that they capture. I had Slate and Main create the script for the current project we are working on. I want to generate leads on this project. I needed them to use video and script and find the models that will captivate people when we show them the video. That allows something to resonate with them in order to get them to act. The second time has been more like collaboration with an agency where I give them the details and they put it all together.

How did you come to work with Slate and Main?

I had a connection with a part of the team at Slate and Main. When we started our company, they kept communicating the advantage of video. At the time, we weren't in the spot to have the budget to do that. When we did, they were the obvious choice.

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

The first one was slightly less than $10,000. The second one is four videos, and it will be in the $30,000 range. That includes everything – a one-minute version and 15-second version.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are currently working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

All the feedback I have gotten from the first project was very positive. We haven't started using the new videos that we've gotten so I don't have any data yet. From everyone who has seen it, we've gotten great responses. We did see that the first video performed four times better than other advertising efforts were through social media. We were getting a lot of interest that way.

How did Slate and Main perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very good – very responsive. Any delays have been on our side. They seem to care greatly for the projects.

What distinguishes Slate and Main from other providers?

The shots Slate and Main gets are amazing, and they're generally just very professional. You could go to them and say you want a video, and they could have a half hour talk with you and come back with ideas on how to accomplish that. We didn't need ideas on how to advertise it, but they had ideas ready if we didn't.

Is there anything Slate and Main could have improved or done differently?

No. They do a good job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We sell a lot of different products to businesses, from office products to office furniture, breakroom and facility supplies, and printing and technology supplies.

I am the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Information Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Slate and Main?

We wanted to better articulate the products that we sell. We wanted to produce a two-minute explainer video of what we do and the way we approach it. We wanted to help our sales team out.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped with the original concept, scripting, and all the creative content generation. The video itself contained animation, and they also cast a model that we used. They did the editing and everything.

How did you come to work with Slate and Main?

I came across them through some mutual relationships. We talked with them over a period of time. When the time came for us to want to produce this type of video, they came to mind as the place to go. There’s a lot of companies that produce video, but what I saw different with Slate and Main was that they were more involved in the creative content generation side. They brought unique ideas to the table.

How much have you invested with Slate and Main?

The whole project was between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re about 85% done with this project. We’ve shot the video and we’ve been through rough edits. We’re just making some final tweaks to finish it off.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Slate and Main really captured what we were looking for in the generation of the concept and the script. We didn’t really know what we were looking for other than the need we were trying to solve. The concepts they came up with really resonated with us, and they got our company culture and how we want to be perceived. The feedback from the rest of the leadership team was very positive. Everyone is happy with the direction we’re going. I’ve shown the rough edit to a small select group of people who all gave positive feedback.

How did Slate and Main perform from a project management standpoint?

Really well. They’ve been engaged throughout the process and are moving at a good pace. Sometimes they’re waiting for us. They’ve kept with the schedule that we had outlined.

What did you find most impressive about Slate and Main?

They’re much more than a video production company. Slate and Main understood our business and came up with creative ideas to meet the challenges we had. They’re easy to work with and quickly addressed what we were looking for. Everything was just easy.

Are there any areas Slate and Main could improve?

Nothing that comes to mind.