Story Machine

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Marketing and Direct Sales of Monarch Institute

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Monarch Institute provides quality education and training in various fields through online courses and support.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Story Machine to accomplish?

• Promote our brand using UGC content

SOLUTION

How did you find Story Machine?

Worked with them many years ago

Why did you select Story Machine over others?

• Company values aligned
• Reliable and trustworthy

How many teammates from Story Machine were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Objective: 

• Create short form UGC style videos to increase brand visibility and awareness among the target audience.

Target Audience:

• Industry professionals seeking career development.
• Young adult learners aiming to fill skills gaps and advance their careers.
• CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) communities seeking education, training, and employment opportunities, born overseas.
• Adult learners, qualified or under-qualified, looking to learn new skills or enhance job prospects.

Outcomes: 

• 9 x UGC style videos, 30 - 60 seconds that show the comsumer what it's like to study with Monarch Institute.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Engaging videos that we can use for content for the campaign that goes for 8 weeks.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Story Machine's project management was exemplary, demonstrating speed, organisation, and going above and beyond to ensure timely and high-quality delivery. They consistently met deadlines and responded effectively to our needs, ensuring the project's success.

What was your primary form of communication with Story Machine?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The team adhered to the timeline without compromising quality, offering valuable suggestions that enhanced our result.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Story Machine could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Communications Manager

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Story Machine, and what were your goals?

We partnered with Story Machine to produce video and stills content for our local media campaign across social and digital platforms. The team developed the creative concept and managed the entire production process.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Our events agency referred us to Story Machine.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail, including the project steps and all stages of production.

We connected with Ezra and his team to share our concept and objectives and the team reverted back with their response to brief and vision. We had to make several adjustments to the plan due to COVID-related restrictions along the way, and the team were able to adapt and respond quickly.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

Ezra, Ash, Arthur and Kiera. All team members were highly receptive and open to our feedback, and were able to pivot quickly to changes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The local content we produced in partnership with Story Machine was well-received by both our consumers and internal stakeholders.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Project management and communication was to a high standard throughout the entire project. We were collectively working to a tight timeline, and so it was helpful that the team made themselves available to us and communication was always clear.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We were impressed with the team's creativity, vision, and the high quality of the content they produced.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

A deeper understanding of our brand DNA and identity to ensure local content is aligned with global brand image.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder and director of Avant. We are a sponsorship, activation, and events company located in Sydney, Australia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Story Machine?

We needed help with video production.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had created a partnership with two very large organizations. As part of our agency, we also have an activation arm, and we were bringing the sponsorship to light via an online event, and a number of shorter online events — one lasted for an hour and there were three 30-minute events. Story Machine did our promo videos, and they also did one of the pre-recordings for a 30-minute event.

Story Machine was deeply involved in the creative direction, organizing the scripts and interviewing talents to recording, directing, producing, and editing. They did the filming, and they also did some of the titles in terms of graphics.

 
What is the team composition?

We worked with Ezra (Founder & Managing Director), Ben (Director), and the rest of their production team.

How did you come to work with Story Machine?

They were recommended to me by the head of marketing at one of our organizations who worked with them before. We went through a procurement process and met with two or three different agencies to see how they would treat the brief.

One of the main reasons we hired them was because of their ability to deliver despite the ongoing pandemic. The two organizations we partnered with followed strict protocols around health and safety and Story Machine was able to reassure us that the filming was going to be done safely.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from June–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The online event was a huge success. We had thousands of people register for the online event and 60% of them were part of our target audience. There was also the fact that our content really resonated with our target market, which led to so many registrations. There were a lot of other factors feeding into that, including the initial calling card that Story Machine created.

How did Story Machine perform from a project management standpoint?

They did an excellent job with the first project despite being under an aggressive timeline. They were maybe a little less sharp in the second project, but to be fair, Ezra basically ran the first project and then handed the second one to a junior account manager. Still, everything we needed was delivered.

The product that was delivered was excellent in terms of quality, especially for the first project. Their editing and delivery process was fantastic, as well as the tech they used. They also have a very clear pathway for deadlines and processes in terms of giving feedback.

Their team used Excel to track tasks, and we communicated mainly via email and Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were most impressed with their ability to listen to the brief and then elevate it through their storytelling and video production skills. In a nutshell, they executed the brief seamlessly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a little bit missing in the frontend production. They were very good at the payment and contracting side of things, but in terms of the scheduling, they could improve a little bit. These were just small hiccups and barely affected the outcome — their team still did a very good job overall.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Giving them the complete brief worked really well because they were great at answering it. Their feedback process was excellent, too. As a client, you should stick to their feedback guidelines and schedule so the project will run really smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the global SMB marketing lead at Afterpay, an international payments platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Story Machine?

We wanted to highlight our merchants’ journey and the diversity of our platform through a promotional video.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Story Machine devised scripts and storyboards based on our case studies. They interviewed our merchants across three locations and compiled all the clips for post-processing. They applied creative edits and audio mixing and collated everything into a full-length promotional video. 

Apart from their primary deliverable, Story Machine also crafted a product video for one of our offerings, including short clips highlighting the deals that come with our package.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Ezra (Founder & Managing Director) and Ash (Senior Creative Producer).

How did you come to work with Story Machine?

Another provider recommended Story Machine’s team to us. We went with them because we found their concepts creative and detailed.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from September 2021–January 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve yet to launch the videos on our platform, so I couldn’t speak of any quantitative metrics at this point. From our team’s perspective, Story Machine produced compelling and high-quality videos that well represented our merchants’ journey and vividly captured our creative requirements.

How did Story Machine perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via email and Zoom meetings. Story Machine diligently met our deadlines and coordinated well with our team to overcome time constraints due to merchant-related issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Story Machine was a professional and quality-oriented partner that took our business goals seriously. We worked with different agencies in the past, but they were the only team that creatively brought our vision to life.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could experiment more on their production style by making their videos seem more candid than scripted.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prepare a clear brief with defined objectives and allow Story Machine to work as creatively as possible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative director at Eucalyptus, a house of healthcare brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Story Machine?

We needed TV commercials (TVCs) produced, so we turned to Story Machine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Story Machine created two 30 second TVC commercials. They also edited those into 15-second cut-down versions. Their team did the full end-to-end production process from storyboarding, scouting talents, and casting to direction, editing, and sound mixing.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with the executive producer and the owner. There’s a wider range of people that were on the production team like the director of photography, on-set producer, director, and sound engineer.

How did you come to work with Story Machine?

I did a bunch of general research to find a production company that specialized in direct response efforts. I had initial calls with about eight companies and Story Machine had the best portfolio out of all of them. They were very competent at putting together a production plan and were able to work within our budget and timeline.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $250,000–$300,000 AUD (approximately $178,000–$214,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Each production lasted a month, and we worked together from June–October 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were different business metrics for each commercial based on which specific brand or project it was for, but across the board, the videos Story Machine produced were of good quality and high-level craftsmanship.

How did Story Machine perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management and communications were really strong throughout. They set really clear deadlines for each production. They integrated into our Slack channel and used Dropbox to share any and all files. We also used a program for getting reviews and feedback on the videos.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a really strong understanding of our requirements and the ability to create direct response efforts.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were pretty capable and really good to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear plan of what you want to achieve upfront. Work out the best way to engage Story Machine. For example, it really worked well for us that we brought the concept and the script to them and had their team flesh out those scripts and bring them to life.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the marketing & partnership manager across Food & Travel at News Corp. I manage the delivery of tent pole commercial campaigns & partnerships across the brands

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Story Machine, and what were your goals?

To help us bring our delicious produce awards content to life through narrative and story telling. Ensuring the content is always kept fresh and engaging year on year despite the campaign running for 16 years.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We've worked with Ezra and his team for years not only across NewsCorp but also through my time at Pacific Magazines. His team completely understand the commercial lense of a campaign, but can also give value from an editorial stand point. I have complete faith in the team and know they will always deliver.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail, including the project steps and all stages of production.

We'd reach out to ezra with a topline concept, and his team will help bring the concept to life. Through that, we together further bring it to life ensuring all key objectives and messages are met.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

Ezra, Arthur and Turei are incredible.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In 2020, the DPA video content generated a total of +247K video views organically amplified across social & digital. An incredible result.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Very easy to work with, always available to chat through. All documents from storyboard, scripts, timelines etc were really clear and easy to follow.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They really consider and deliver all types of content, despite having little knowledge about the general consumer. They know how to ask the right questions to bring out emotion and storytelling.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a publishing house. I'm the senior marketing manager, and I look after two health brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SIXTYFOUR FILMS?

I've hired them for a range of things. They work on event videos for us, and we've also done tv commercials and video content for digital and social.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The event videos have a formula that they follow. For the tv segments, they worked with me on ideation, scripting, storyboarding, locations, and casting. We've also hired them for photography, model casting, and scriptwriting for other projects. They are our go-to for full-service video production.

How did you come to work with SIXTYFOUR FILMS?

I used to work with one of their founders. He knew my brand really well, and I felt comfortable with the whole team. They're quick, agile, and efficient, and they're great problem solvers.

How much have you invested with them?

I've spent between $200,000-$300,000 over the course of our relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around 2014. We've done six or seven projects with them each year, and they're still the only video supplier I use.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I still use a commercial they made four and a half years ago. It's not at all dated, and those assets are still very fresh and timeless. That's rare. Every project receives positive client feedback, and we hardly have to make any changes. They deliver to a high standard right from the beginning.

How did SIXTYFOUR FILMS perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform fantastically. I often don't have a lot of time to brief them, and they know exactly what to do after a short meeting or phone call. It's great to know they understand exactly what we need. If they think there is something we should do, they take the initiative and go ahead with things that will help us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're collaborative, and we feel like one cohesive team. They take feedback, and they're happy to share ideas that might be better than ours. When we work together, it's very much a team environment. They don’t feel like a supplier; they really act as an extension of my brand.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have any feedback or improvements. They do everything I need them to do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their direction. They understand brands, and their vision is always on point.