Smart Cuts Ltd.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a coffee expert working for Nespresso’s sensory department. I work on several coffee development projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Smart Cuts Ltd?

I contacted Smart Cuts Ltd because I was in charge of organizing an internal competition for all of Nespresso’s international employees.

Our biggest challenge was encouraging more of our employees to participate in the competition by showing them something different. Another challenge was that people don’t watch long videos, so we needed the video to be less than 60 seconds.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Smart Cuts Ltd helped us with our annual communication campaigns. They created a short video and some teasers to launch the event. The team also worked with us to create an image for the hours that we do at a national level. 

What is the team composition?

Lucas (Director) was our main point of contact. We also worked with the team’s cameramen and photographers.

How did you come to work with Smart Cuts Ltd?

A local agency that we work with gave me their name. We needed to work with a reduced budget since we previously hired a company with expensive video services. We hired Smart Cuts Ltd for their reasonable pricing that met the quality of their service.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost changed each year. We spent around 5,000 Swiss Francs (approximately $5,000 USD) for one video teaser.

What is the status of this engagement?

They helped us with our competition for 3–4 years. The project normally started around April or May, and then it wrapped up in October or November of that year. 

Our last engagement took place in 2019. We couldn’t organize our international competition in 2020 due to COVID-19.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our work together was successful. The global project was always evolving, and we reached 70% of Nespresso employees, which is huge. The video created by Smart Cuts Ltd worked well in terms of increasing engagement, particularly with our internal group on Facebook where we post everything. The video helped us get people more involved. We were quite happy with the video.

How did Smart Cuts Ltd perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really organized. Smart Cuts Ltd was keen on following deadlines and active in collecting useful information. They really helped us to manage and plan the project; we were not experts in that aspect. Overall, they communicated well and handled the project nicely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team was approachable, receptive, and easy to communicate with. It’s important for us to have this kind of communication with the people we work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They had really nice ideas. However, there were times when their ideas were too innovative for our own communication style and the strict guidelines that we had to follow within our company. They could work on refining their ideas in the future to fit the overall style or guidelines of the company they are engaged with. Over the last two years of our partnership, they better understood this.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Define your expectations at the beginning of your project with them. This will help them get a better picture of the kind of work you want from them and the guidelines that they have to follow.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was Global Lead, Strategic Communications and Issues Management at Nespresso's global HQ in Switzerland.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Smart Cuts Ltd.?

SmartCuts did several jobs for Nespresso global HQ, all were internal videos for employees. They ranged from interviews with the CEO to "A Coffee With..." videos featuring employees

What were your goals for this project?

To increase employee understanding of strategic goals and objectives, to increase employee engagement, to increase employee understanding of the range of products.

SOLUTION

How did you select Smart Cuts Ltd.?

Lucas Chambers and I worked together as journalists before he created Smart Cuts, so I knew the quality of his work. I searched for other companies in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and found none as experienced , easy to work with, and competitive as Smart Cuts.

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

Smart Cuts came to Nespresso offices as took great care and time in working with employees, getting them comfortable before the camera and getting the best out of them.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

They were continually in contact, walking me through all the steps of approval, and being very quickly and thoroughly responsive.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Extremely positive feedback from all level of employees, all the way to the CEO.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Extremely easy and effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Professionalism, easy manner, customer-service friendly, and great results were the things that impressed us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No.