ThreeSixtyEight

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I have a marketing consulting firm and I run it on my own. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

One of the larger projects was for a company called Wheelhouse. The client needed a presentation that had a video and PowerPoint.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did a presentation for Wheelhouse that included motion graphics and a PowerPoint presentation. ThreeSixtyEight wanted to do Prezi but we preferred to have it in PowerPoint. It had a voice over and we created a video out of this presentation. Wheelhouse can use it as a PowerPoint presentation, put it as a video on their website, or send it around to their potential clients. I believe that one of Wheelhouse’s presentations is on the ThreeSixtyEight website—it was on the Big Fish website. Wheelhouse asked us to create a new brand that would fit in with their overall image. We did 6 motion graphic videos. These were 15-second motion graphics that opened up to a presentation.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

I did my due diligence looking into 3 different companies that did presentation work. One was a very large, all-encompassing firm and the second was a mid-sized company. Through my own research, I found Big Fish Presentations [now a part of ThreeSixtyEight]. The thing that really made the choice easy for me was their sales and their client service. It was incredible. I’ve never had a company work that hard to understand what I needed and get back to me quickly. Their flexibility was thorough, not just when they wanted to win the business but from start to finish. We really thought ThreeSixtyEight was great at what they did based on their referrals and from samples of their work.

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

We kept adding on additional services. In total, we paid between $20,000 and $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project completion was May 1, 2014. I think it was a couple of months. We kicked it off in December so that means we started in January.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback was incredible. We created the first 6 videos, and then the feedback was so good that we created several more after this first project. It really differentiated Wheelhouse from competitors in the marketplace that were doing online education.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a project manager who kept us on schedule and within budget, which was really a big concern. As you know, when you work on a large project with several people’s input, sometimes it can go over budget. We stayed within the budget and the project manager made sure that we were always on time delivering our tasks.

We had a very strong collaboration with ThreeSixtyEight. We had a tight turnaround time as usual so I was working with ThreeSixtyEight daily. Once or twice a week, we would have an executive session with the Wheelhouse team to reveal what we had done for that week. I mostly left idea generation to them. We wanted them to run with it, not to hijack their creative process. Their process is to do a very in-depth interview with the whole team, including the senior people from Wheelhouse, to understand what we wanted. They wanted to understand the overarching theme, core target market, and the kind of branding we wanted to put out in the marketplace. They were able to get a strong sense of what Wheelhouse needed. They led that with due diligence, which was really helpful. I think it was a good strategy because it was very difficult to bring that all together.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

Their communication was incredible. They [ThreeSixtyEight] were always available on the weekend, in the evening, early morning. The ThreeSixtyEight team was constantly working on the project. They were extremely talented, creative and really dug down to understand what the client wanted. At the same time, they were flexible if it wasn’t exactly what we had imagined or if we changed direction. They kept us on point and moving in the direction that they thought was best for us. Part of the reason my clients hire them is because they are extremely experienced in this business. There was a general camaraderie among Wheelhouse, myself and ThreeSixtyEight. The chemistry was really good.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

I don’t have anything. ThreeSixtyEight doesn’t seem to have any growing pains with the merger.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Embassy, a marketing consultancy based in Austin, Texas. We provide brand creation, brand execution, and brand community services. Essentially, we create brands and we rebrand companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

When we were building out our agency, I knew that we were never going to have developers in-house. We would need to run any massive development project we got through an outside vendor. We conduct several full-scale grassroots campaigns annually. One of them is called 10 Days, a college clean water initiative that started a couple of years ago. Students give up every beverage except for water and the money they save goes to building clean water wells. This campaign happens on about 20 or 30 campuses annually. Our biggest challenge was figuring out how to make this complicated grassroots campaign scalable. We had to create a web app solution that helped us please our client and raise money. The app also had to work really well for the students. There’s no advertising, so it’s a campaign that relies solely on direct word of mouth for campus activation. That was the problem that we came to ThreeSixtyEight with. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve worked with web developers from ThreeSixtyEight for the last 5 years. They’ve been involved on the front-end level for our brand community. We knew how to run the campaign, so they helped us co-build the UX and user experience. They came to us with a solution, built the whole platform and maintained it for us. They were involved in the most recent iteration of our app, 10 Days 2.0. When we wanted to do a more complicated build, the planning process took 3 months. We met in New Orleans and spent a day auditing everything. From there, they took that game plan and created the platform over another 3 to 4 to months. I know they built it on Ruby on Rails.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

A friend of mine showed me one of the websites ThreeSixtyEight had made and I thought their front-end design was current and liked it. That was the original thing that drew me to them. When I first started working with them, I was on staff with a non-profit and hadn’t started Embassy yet. Through that relationship, I knew that I could trust ThreeSixtyEight to deliver exactly what you asked for on time.

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

We’ve paid about $50,000 to $100,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started 10 Days when I was a college student. I hired ThreeSixtyEight when I was on staff with a non-profit in 2012. For the reiteration of the 10 Days app, we started that process in March 2015. We completed the initial build of the site in October 2015. They’ve maintained it and we’ve added things on and tweaked things. They’re continuing to help us build and refine that platform today.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The web app won a national ADDY for ThreeSixtyEight. We also got some good statistics from the app. For every user that signed up to do the campaign, we raised about $60 which we are extremely happy with. Before, we used anecdotes to communicate the value of what we were doing. Now, we have hard data on the value of investing in college students and what they’re capable of doing for non-profits. We’re an agency that works with a bunch of subcontractors and ThreeSixtyEight is my favorite.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

Any agency or developer usually has ambitious deadlines. The 10 Days app was a super complicated build and we did it in a very short amount of time. ThreeSixtyEight missed a few check-in deadlines in different phases, but they have never missed delivering when they said they would. We have a really great working relationship.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

The thing that I love about the ThreeSixtyEight guys is that they’re true collaborators. They’re some of my really good friends now because we’ve worked together for so long. They are always really helpful in showing me how we can execute things. At the same time, they assertively suggest solutions of how we can do things in the most effective way. What’s really helpful about ThreeSixtyEight is that they don’t just stop at what you need. They help you understand the ways that you can tackle your problem and the best way to move forward. A lot of times, development work is hidden and you don’t know how it works. ThreeSixtyEight’s developers clearly explain what they’re doing and how that’s going to affect the user experience. Ultimately, they will leave it up to you to make the best choice. You rarely find this quality.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

There are always little things to work out, but for the most part it’s as we designed it.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with ThreeSixtyEight?

I run an agency so I know what’s possible on the development side. I usually know what I want in terms of functionality. This has been most helpful to ThreeSixtyEight when it comes to web development. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a nonprofit health system on the coast of South Carolina. We're the largest healthcare provider in our region, with 50 in-patient and out-patient locations.

I am the Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

We needed to produce a video when we changed the name of our organization, which is a significant undertaking.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have worked with ThreeSixtyEight on multiple projects over time, including a day-long announcement meeting with 100 of our managers. It acted as a build-up to a big reveal. ThreeSixtyEight produced an incredible video for us, which is how we unveiled our new name.

We also worked with ThreeSixtyEight on the more public-facing pieces of the brand announcement. The announcement was made in December 2014, while the name change occurred in April 2015. We produced two 60-second TV commercials with the help of ThreeSixtyEight. They took a lead on everything, from concept to scripting and storyboarding.

We live in a very beautiful part of the country, and ThreeSixtyEight took advantage of this for us, such as using drone footage. We have won a number of awards for the work done by ThreeSixtyEight.

Since then, ThreeSixtyEight has produced a 30-second television spot for us, and we're getting ready to work on another project.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

We had already been working with them when they were operating under their previous name, Big Fish Presentations.

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

Our budget has varied depending on the project, which is one of the things that I like about ThreeSixtyEight. We have done video work with budgets of less than $10,000, but we've also had more extensive projects that cost significantly more.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ThreeSixtyEight in early 2012.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of our biggest measures in terms of a name change is looking at brand awareness in the market. The television work done by ThreeSixtyEight was a key part of this.

We performed a market survey one year after the name change, in April 2016. We had achieved 74% brand awareness in the market over 12 months, in part because of ThreeSixtyEight's work. We still use those spots because they've aged very well.

We have been recognized with a number of industry awards – over 40 for our department as a whole – in 2016 alone. The ThreeSixtyEight project has been recognized with Telly Awards, Communicator Awards, Healthcare Marketing and Advertising Awards, and so on.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

ThreeSixtyEight's greatest strength is twofold, split between their creativity and their project management. I don't work with any other agencies and am not a big fan of them. We have an in-house model and produce everything in our department. The fact that I've worked with and trusted ThreeSixtyEight is outside of my norm. I am a control freak, but I let go when ThreeSixtyEight becomes involved because they are exceptionally detailed; they do the work well, from concept development to script writing and storyboarding. ThreeSixtyEight has come up with fresh ideas and always did the work on time and on budget. There's never been an issue.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

The reason for working with ThreeSixtyEight is that they've brought a fresh perspective. I call them the “un-agency” because I've never felt that I was getting a canned campaign out of them. They're a young and energetic team, looking at the world differently than I do, so they bring valuable ideas.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

No. We have a very good relationship, and ThreeSixtyEight has always met my expectations.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with ThreeSixtyEight?

The biggest thing for people in a role like mine is to let go. I could go to any agency and present them with my brand and goals, and they will provide some tacticians who will execute x, y, and z for me. However, ThreeSixtyEight does its best work when I don't do that; instead, I go to them with a goal to achieve but don’t limit them. ThreeSixtyEight would also admit that they're most successful with clients who allow them that flexibility.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at an organization called Greater New Orleans, Inc. We are the economic development organization that represents the ten parishes of Southeast Louisiana. At its core, our mission is to increase the economic viability of this region.  I am the Brand and Marketing Director for this organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

Luckily, it was a simplified challenge that we were looking to accomplish. We host a conference that focuses on resilience here in New Orleans. It’s a global conference and last year was our first year holding the conference. It was a rebrand of a different conference that was a little bit more focused on disaster management and disaster planning. That was being held by a partner organization of ours. They wanted to expand to a broader subject matter, and so we knew we needed to set the audience's expectations for what they were going to experience over the next few days of the conference. We felt the best way to do that would be to have a video at the opening session. We turned to ThreeSixtyEight to create the opening video for that conference. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In essence, what we needed them to do was become the video arm of our operations, which meant that while we were here, to help come up with the concept and really kind of manage expectations of what needed to be seen. They ran with everything else. First of all, this was an animated video, so they handled all the graphics and the animation, captured the voice over, handled the music, pretty much every step of the video production process was something that they handled. What was great and part of this speaks to the type of company they are is that it didn’t feel like a vendor-client relationship. It just felt like they were part of our team. 

Part of that may have been because we were working under an extremely accelerated timeline. This was something that we originally had a different angle on, we were working with a different vendor on it.  Not to focus on that but towards the last minute; we had to make a shift, and that’s when we turned to ThreeSixtyEight, and in about 2 ½ weeks we went from concept to completion, which to me is pretty impressive. Although, given the style of work that they do and how dedicated their team is, it’s really not that surprising that they were able to do that. It was probably a little uncomfortable for them, but it didn’t show to me. I’m sure behind closed doors, they were probably not thrilled by the timeline, but they got it done and no complaints. It was one of the better relationships we’ve been able to foster with a vendor.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

ThreeSixtyEight was previously two companies that came together to partner up the different services that they did independently, Big Fish Presentations and Hatchit. I had previously been in contact with Kenny who was the CEO [Chief Executive Officer] of Big Fish Productions. Through that relationship, I got to know what their bread and butter is, and it’s really about bringing ideas to life in a great, exciting, fresh way. An organization like ours doesn’t have constant needs for that type of product, but what we do need to know is that when we do have something like this pop up, we need to have the right company waiting in the wings. 

When this popped up, I knew that I could go to them based on their reputation and based on the work they had done previously. I knew we were going to get the product that we needed. So, when I picked up the phone, I was quickly sent to the right person on their team to handle this, and we were able to execute easily. 

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

Between $10,000 and $12,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

It was since February 13, 2016, to March 1, 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I think first and foremost the thing that really stands out about the project that they did for us is that it won a Telly. Anyone who works anywhere near the creative industry understands the weight that winning an award like that brings. Not only does that say a lot about the quality of work that they do, I think it’s amazing that they were able to accomplish an award-winning video in that short timeline. I don’t even know if I can say the right words to capture how remarkable that is. Normally working in the creative and video field, time is what most agencies and companies lean on to produce greatness and instead, ThreeSixtyEight leaned on their talent, ability, and creativity to achieve greatness. It's rare in this field, and it’s why they’re successful and why we have no hesitation to use them moving forward. It’s remarkable. We’re impressed.  

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

It was great. We set up a schedule early on that was aggressive, but it spelled out what exactly to expect and when. That helped manage our expectations, but built into that schedule were also touch points. In other words, milestone one might have been that we were going to get story boards, for example. We built in that the next day, we would have a call to discuss it because that would give us a chance to discuss internally, and then we could touch base with ThreeSixtyEight the next day to give feedback. I think what they did really well was build a structure that kept things from slipping through the cracks and again, our expectations were being managed. From day one, we knew exactly where in the process we were and where we were heading next. They had no hesitation to divert from that if we needed a quick change or quick update. It’s not as if that schedule was concrete; it was very malleable. 

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

This again seems to be a little bit rare sometimes in the creative field; we're a very particular organization with a very particular vision of how we want to be seen, how we want to present things and not to focus too much on how other people do things. What we have struggled with is having people listen to our vision when working on a project like this. While we definitely value the expertise and skill set of people in the creative fields, at the end of the day we're paying money; we know what we want. That isn’t how the relationship normally goes. 

One thing that I thought was remarkable with ThreeSixtyEight, part of this may be just because we already did have a relationship with Kenny; they knew right off the bat that we weren’t looking for them to take over the creative direction of this and they just wanted to carry out our vision. That’s a big rarity to me because they were able just to execute what we wanted, it meant at the end of the day we had the best product imaginable. They were reacting to our words, asking the right follow-up questions, letting us make some of the creative decisions on imagery. They let us vet the voiceover actors. That’s why I keep going back to the fact that it felt like they were a member of our team.  This felt like more of a collaboration than a paid relationship in many ways and that, I think, made it special. 

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

Not that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a natural pet food manufacturer. I am a Digital Marketing Specialist as part of the marketing communications team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

I hadn’t been working with them on the original projects, but I believe it started with the production of presentation design for us for our national sales meeting.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Some were videos, and we also had them design custom templates for PowerPoint presentations and similar presentations. I can speak more from the digital videos we worked with them on this year. I worked with them very closely on a series of product and ingredient focused videos as part of our media spend to support our Wellness CORE brand. With a bit of direction and knowing our goals, they gave us a complete vision and the idea for the concept of the videos. We worked with them all the way from concept, storyboarding, looking through prop setups, script, etc. We weren’t using a voice over on these particular videos. I was able to attend the video shoots with them, and they had a full crew with several camera operators and an assistant director. Everything went smoothly with those. The turnaround was within our deadline, and we were really pleased with the final product. We used the videos for video streaming sites like Hulu. They were filmed in broadcast quality to accommodate Hulu standards. They were 15 and 30-second spots.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

I don’t have the full story on that. As far as my time working with them, they came highly recommended from other folks on the team here who have worked with them on some of those earlier projects. We’ve had a positive experience with them.

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

We have spent between $10,000 and $20,000. They accommodate different budgets.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them for 3 to 4 years at this point. We just wrapped an additional video project with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have too much because we just launched the media spend with this creative. We haven’t had a chance to look through the impressions or video conversion rates yet. All signs do suggest that they’re going to do well. The digital agency who’s placing our media was pleased with the videos, and they suggested we spread them out to other platforms after they saw the content. They thought the themes and the overall concept of the videos are very timely so we felt they would perform strongly on social media – especially Facebook.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re [ThreeSixtyEight] always incredibly responsive. Sometimes we do require that back and forth because we have several channels of approvals we need to run through. They’ve always been really accommodating. They have a dedicated project manager on each of the projects who’s always in contact through email or phone. They also use an online platform to deliver work estimates and creative concepts. It’s always been helpful for reviewing different estimates and projects for us. I would say smooth project management in comparison to several other agencies that I’ve worked with.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

They have a fresh, passionate team and are all very creatively inclined. They’ve been able to pitch us ideas that are a little bit outside of the box that we wouldn’t have come up with on our own. They respond well to trends in the market and are very detail oriented. They’re perfectionists in the work they do.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

Nothing that I can think of. With all the projects I have worked with them, it’s been smooth with no major hiccups of any kind. It’s been easy to work with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the brand manager of Woolly Threads, a startup retail company. It was founded in 2014 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We work primarily through third party retailers but we also sell heavily online. We focus on a collegiate and Greek demographic. As we’ve developed through the years, we’ve branched out into different demographics. I do everything dealing with the brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

Our primary need was web development. We needed web development. We envisioned a unique, simple, clean, easy-to-use website. Our demographic is collegiate and we’re working with millennials, so it needed to be top-notch and interactive. The site had to continuously keep users engaged and really interested.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, ThreeSixtyEight did a lot of work for our branding. They created our logo. We would come up with abstract ideas and they would make them tangible. Our biggest contract with them is for our website and they continue to maintain it. They were entirely in charge of developing our website with the goal of making it unique. Our website is a custom site that uses Shopify.  They've helped with site maintenance a lot.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

One of the head guys, Kenny is the one who pitched to us. That being said, we work very closely with Jeremy.

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

I’m not sure. I haven’t dealt with any of the finances.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’re working with ThreeSixtyEight now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everything on the site is really easy to use. It has a very basic look, but that’s the look we were going for. They’ve helped create a brand experience and appearance on our website along with the look and feel of our logo. In addition, we have metrics from when the summer campaign was running. The numbers skyrocketed for the days we had people submitting entries and voting for winners. There was a huge increase in website visits.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

Our original project manager was always available to speak with. There’s a new person who’s assigned to our projects. We’ve only worked with her for a couple weeks but she’s been very helpful. She’s done a good job of seeing through all the work and making sure that everything is done in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

ThreeSixtyEight’s strength is in their communication and collaboration. They took what we had from our CEO and founder, who is our "big idea guy", and expanded on his ideas and made them tangible. Working with them is so beneficial because there’s a free-flow of ideas that they make tangible.

The key thing to note about their company is the breath of life that they bring to projects. Going to their office is such an experience. The ThreeSixtyEight team has such a young, fresh outlook on things. That’s what keeps pulling us in time and time again to work with them. For the most part, they will go in with an open mind, 100%. There’s never an idea that’s too big. That’s something that we value. That’s something we’ve enjoyed working with them on.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

One area would be the turnaround time. While the work always gets done and gets done really well, it does take a little time. That’s the nature of web development. Coding is not an easy task, we know that. But for a website as young as ours, working with the demographic that is as in motion as ours, we need to go fast. That’s something that’s not easy to do.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the chief marketing officer of Image Systems, a global company focusing on digitizing content. We accelerate business processes around the document life cycle; these processes are often highly labor-intensive and error-prone.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

We had several. We needed to completely refresh and redesign our website. We also needed help with content, SEO and initiatives to consolidate and simplify our brand. Lastly, we were looking for someone to design templates for our email campaigns and as well as other graphics. Other than content development, we don’t have the internal capacity to manage the website. We are a small organization so we need to outsource these tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged ThreeSixtyEight [formerly Hatchett] to modernize our website, create a responsive design, and help us with the overall web architecture. Our web design is based on WordPress. Aside from being responsible for the overall performance of the site, ThreeSixtyEight also handles branding initiatives, email campaign templates, SEO, and content.

We set out on an ambitious plan. Our goal was to complete the design, rearchitect, refresh, and launch our website by January 2016. We put together a project team that developed the overarching ambitions and goals for the website. We identified what we needed to achieve and also looked at the website structure in relation to our product portfolio.

The content was a joint effort since we have content writers on our team. But we sought their expertise to help us streamline it. They provided us with guidance for the overarching messaging and made sure the website content was optimized in terms of meta tagging. They made sure the site had the appropriate links and was optimized for organic search results. To make sure they rank optimally, we also continuously evaluate the top keywords.

ThreeSixtyEight also provides us with continuous enhancements to the website design. They provide us with monthly reporting of KPIs on the website performance. These reports include unique inbound visitors, the performance of the site in terms of organic search results, what pages are being hit. We now have a general insight into the website performance.

They help us with the overall look and feel of our corporate presentation from a design perspective. We are continuously working with them for enhancements to our brand guidelines and visuals. Their work lets us significantly streamline our product brand architecture. For example, they’re helping us come up with a set of consistent icons for our products. In addition, they’re designing templates for our Marketo-based campaigns, case studies, and product collateral.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

We hired ThreeSixtyEight because they have significant experience in WordPress-based website design and architecture.

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

The monthly retainer is about $4,800 for a set of predefined services. Sometimes there’s a bit of overrun based on our requirements, but generally, we spend that amount.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started this project in earnest back in the fall of last year, in October. The engagement is ongoing and we have a monthly retainer with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The teams worked extremely well together. We put together an agile approach with weekly sprints. As a result, we managed to meet our goal. We released the website on time and on budget. Overall, we’re pleased with the results we’ve achieved so far.

We spent a lot of energy in making sure we’re top of mind with digital marketing and social media marketing initiatives. For example, we significantly improved the number of unique visits to the website from organic search results. Well over 55% of our inbound traffic comes from organic searches. That’s significantly up from the previous website.

We have also continuously improved our organic searches. We have 10 top keywords against which we measure our rankings and the performance of the website. We wanted to be on the first page of Google searches—third or fourth position or higher for 5 of our top keywords. Over the course of the last 6 months, we’ve accomplished that. In less than 6 months, we’ve managed to achieve top of mind recognition for the specific keywords around which we build our campaign. That’s based on the design of the website and our social media strategies. We’re focused on accounts payable automation, mobile capture, and areas we are ranked on the first page of Google. That was an important metric for us to achieve.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

We are a global company operating across multiple time zones. Over the course of the last 6 months, we released localized versions of our website in German and Japanese. That required the firm to work cross-functionally with our colleagues and suppliers worldwide. So far, ThreeSixtyEight has been very proactive and very flexible. They are very responsive and they are always available. If we have any urgent requirements, they are on the line right away. I cannot say enough about the proactive customer facing orientation of the firm. They are highly customer-centric, dedicated and committed. They meet the deadlines by and large, especially for the website design. There are always issues, but overall they’ve always met the project objectives. They are very sensitive to our priorities.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

They’re [ThreeSixtyEight] very personable. It’s a real pleasure to work with them. I consider them an extension of our organization. We all work very collaboratively. They’re very flexible and conscientious. There’s always transparency to what they’re doing. It’s a really great organization to work with.

ThreeSixtyEight provides a lot of multi-media expertise which we find helpful. They tapped into social media and they’ve gone through a couple of changes through acquisitions. Even through this transition, they’ve been very proactive in letting us know what’s happening, how they’re going to help us, and what implications this transition will have on us.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

They’ve hired some new people that will be working with us on managing our project. They’re going through a transition phase but they haven’t dropped the ball. Although we had a couple of hiccups with the changing of personnel, it’s been a smooth transition.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Kid Possible Summer Camp. We are based in Baton Rouge and we cater to boys and girls aged 6 to 12 years old.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

As a startup, we needed help with designing our logo and website this past summer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were doing design and developing the website on WordPress. I had picked out the brand colors and the feel that I wanted for the site. As far as the actual design went, they developed 5 different designs and I narrowed it down to 3. They went back and asked what I liked, then integrated my comments into the final design. For the site, I had an idea of what I wanted the site to look like. I wanted it to be interactive for kids. They took that concept and ran with it.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

When I was looking, I went to 3 different groups in Baton Rouge. My partner started his company and used Hatchett to develop that website. What sold me was the fact that they were totally game about working with a startup, which is always good. When I first talked to Jeremy and Drew on the phone, they asked what was I looking for. They listened to what I said and when we met, they actually had ideas of how to bring it to life. The other 2 groups were like, “This is what we do. You either take it or leave it.”

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

We paid $15,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s ongoing. We started working together in August of 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve gotten very positive feedback for the site. People think it’s really fun, interactive, professional and easy to use. As far as statistics, I don’t have any since this is the first year. The brand that they developed is very useable. I can use the designs over and over again by changing a couple of things. Often when you purchase a design, the firm holds onto the rights and you have to go back to them. With ThreeSixtyEight, once you purchase the design, it’s yours. That’s great. I feel like I can do anything with it.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

I was working with Drew primarily. My expectation for the website launch was it was going to run over a month or 2, and it did. As far as communicating changes or issues with the site, they did a good job of saying what was going on. They told me if what I wanted was doable or not. They did a good job of managing my expectations.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

My favorite part about them is that they [ThreeSixtyEight] embraced my industry and worked to fit in. I know they work with a wide range of clients in different industries. Summer Camp is very unique and it was fun to see them work with it. To this day, they’re able to get into the mindset of my industry with our other projects.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

The only thing that’s been confusing was their structure after the merger. It was not clear who I should be communicating with on certain projects. Previously with Hatchett, Drew was my contact. Now that they’ve merged, I know that there are other individuals but I don’t know their roles. I always have to ask if I’m talking to the right person. I think there could’ve been an introduction of some kind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Manda Fine Meats is a meat production company in Baton Rouge, LA. We make and sell a variety of different meats wholesale primarily in Baton Rouge. At our Baton Rouge facility, we focus on sausages and hog head cheese. We also sell deli meats and a variety of other products to stores and food service. I am Special Projects Director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

We wanted a new website. We hadn’t had a new one for over 10 years, and it looked like it. It needed a complete overhaul, not just in its appearance, but also we needed it to address what our customers wanted when they came to our website. It was missing certain information and features that we wanted to get out there.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Several members of our company sat down with two people - at that time it was

Several members of our company sat down with two people—at that time it was Hatchit before they merged and became ThreeSixtyEight. We told them what we wanted on a website, and they asked us a lot of clarifying questions and got a feel for what we needed. We were very broad with what we told them it had to look like. We just knew we wanted certain features. We gave them a lot of free reign in the design and love what they came up with. They gave us a few different options of mood boards and other examples. We told them what design pattern we liked the most, and they created the home page. Once we got the home page designed and settled, they translated that to the rest of the website, which went pretty smoothly.

We wanted a products page that was interactive. One big problem with the old website was it catered to our wholesale buyer rather than the individual end customers that buy our products in the stores. We wanted to make the website more available to our end customers. Our old website was a multipage list of everything we offer for retail and restaurants. It was written in a very technical way that only the wholesale buyers would understand. In addition to the wholesale list, the new design shows the products that we sell in the stores with images and descriptions, and people can filter through them and look at only deli meats, or just types of roast beef, or look at all the sausage options. So now it’s much more user-friendly for customers to go on and see what we offer.

They also added a product location finder that is very useful to customers and stores. You can type in your address and find stores near you that sell Manda products. That was a big enhancement and a useful tool for our customers. They revamped our recipes. We had this plain recipe page with an index card background, but it was not well organized and had no images. Our new recipe page you can filter by types of recipes or by-product used in the recipes. There are beautiful pictures that we’ve taken that draws the eye in.

We are currently doing more work with them to redesign some of our product labeling.

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

It has been in the range of $10,000 to $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was completed in March 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We weren’t tracking our analytics until we got the new website up and running, so we can’t speak to tracked changes in website hits. That being said, we've gotten great feedback. People think it looks beautiful, modern, and sleek. One thing that has been wonderful is that when we get questions through our social media, most of them can be answered by directing them to our website. We’ve cut down on phone calls with simple questions too because our site is now an easy resource to direct customers to. That’s been very useful.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

I thought they did a fine job. In the beginning, they laid out the whole process for us. At every step of the way, I knew what was going on. If something was taking a long time, I could go back to that outline. They kept me updated.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

It was enjoyable working with them. They were very genuine in all of their communication with us. We gave them a lot of leeway in the design, and they loved that. I was impressed with the creative things they [ThreeSixtyEight] came up with. They seemed up to date on the best practices and what would bring our website into the 21st century.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

The project did take a bit longer than projected, but it wasn’t entirely caused by ThreeSixtyEight. Some of that was on our end since it took us a while to gather up content that they needed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is CenturyLink. It’s a global Fortune 500 IT solution that’s headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. We are the number three telecommunications provider.

My position is within the newly formed employer brand and recruitment marketing team. Our focus is to recruit the best and brightest talent at CenturyLink in any of our office locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ThreeSixtyEight?

They serve as a creative execution for web development. We had somewhat of an archaic career site. While working with the career site host, we were able to change up our UI and UX experience. We were able to give ourselves a freshly branded feel using our corporate brand but also understanding that the employer brand is a little bit different from corporate and product brand. We are telling the story of the company. We had many meetings and conversations with ThreeSixtyEight to determine what that story was, who we are, the best way to tell it, and represent that visually.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were creating the wireframes for us and determined the experience the viewer would have and then passing it off to our host for implementation and development.

How did you come to work with ThreeSixtyEight?

It was before I joined the team. They had done a search and realized that our current vendors weren’t meeting our expectations and weren’t giving us what we needed as far as creativity and aesthetics.

They’ve done a lot of videos for us to keep that running consistent and fresh across the page. When we chose them, it was more about the quality of the work, the type of clients they had, the ease with which our conversations go with them, and how well we work together. The videos they produced were motion animated graphics. We have enjoyed that with them. It gives us a fresher feel and look.

How much have you invested with ThreeSixtyEight?

Average annual range is $50,000 to $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Hard stats would be too hard to quantify verbally, but feedback - we started from ground zero. We had a presence, and it was working but definitely didn’t have any flesh laying on top of those bones. When it comes to elevating us aesthetically to the type of company that we are actually, an $18 billion company, ThreeSixtyEight has allowed us to take hold of that look and feel and be A to Z who we say we are. For me, it’s more about being able to put that video out there and know that it’s best in its class and know that I’m holding my ground next to who might be in our space competitively.

How did ThreeSixtyEight perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s wonderful. I’m a super Type A perfectionist, and sometimes they out-perfect me. I tell them to nag me until they get what they need from me. They take it seriously. They meet deadlines, and if they can’t, we work to determine what’s more realistic.

What did you find most impressive about ThreeSixtyEight?

I think it’s passion, personality, and experience they bring to the table that distinguishes them [ThreeSixtyEight]. They are a lot of fun and enjoyable to work with them. It doesn’t feel like I’m working with a vendor. We’ve made friendships, and that’s what’s most important. We have the type of relationship that’s professional and get the work done but we also truly enjoy working with them on any project that we’ve ever brainstormed with them whether it comes to fruition or not.

Are there any areas ThreeSixtyEight could improve?

I think they’re a little overstretched. They’re hungry and ambitious, and they want it.