Uvili LLC

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and creative director of a small, full service advertising and marketing agency in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of our clients are locally based but carry a national or regional presence and require consistent brand development and marketing to meet their target markets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Uvili LLC?

We began working with Fort Wayne Ballet in 2009, with the goal to help the nonprofit organization expand its awareness and brand into a nationally-recognized ballet company and academy.

The initial website was cumbersome and incomplete; and while updated and improved a little over subsequent years, it was very much time to initiate a more contemporary and complete website to be more informative and brand building.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed this website to better distinguish the various (and critical) components of Fort Wayne Ballet:

1. the professional company of dancers, corps, and trainee program;
2. the Auer Academy with its nationally recognized instructors and levels of education, as well as the ability to connect with students and parents in a timely manner;
3. the promotion of performances with convenient ticketing; and
4. the ability to actively connect with donors and sponsors, including events, giving levels and opportunities, and the benefits of supporting Fort Wayne Ballet.

SOLUTION

How did you select Uvili LLC?

Uvili proposed a process for website development that was clear and adaptable. With coordinating so many components from within Fort Wayne Ballet and its participating providers, the development process required a plan that allowed for easy gathering and assembly in order to produce a website that must offer so much information for multiple audiences.

The design allows Ballet staff to make internal updates without being too cumbersome or unforgiving.

Describe the project in detail.

The development process involved several meetings to identify the key components and how each of those needs to interact yet stand alone. One of the primary goals was to create a site that did not try to force the viewer to "drink from a firehose" with too much info all at once — but rather, prioritize the content to allow the information to logically direct the experience.

Photography and videography are obvious defining factors, and Uvili's design plays upon these elements to help affirm the viewer's journey. Content and "voice" completed the ensemble by working with Fort Wayne Ballet staff to generate the desired tone, text, and significance of each page.

What was the team composition?

By design, the team included several key individuals from Fort Wayne Ballet, including the Executive and Artistic directors and guidance from the Ballet's Development and Social Media directors, who provided most of the content, reviews, and updates.

Additional Ballet staff provided details as needed. William & Wagner Advertising provided a single contact point for content collection and development, along with three primary photographers/videographers. Plus the Uvili team, of course.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Response from the transformation has been remarkable. Having a website that focuses on function as well as the "fashion" side of Fort Wayne Ballet has enabled the organization to better connect with its patrons, parents, and participating donors.

The site continues to evolve — as all communications in the arts should — and Fort Wayne Ballet is moving confidently forward as it adds to its credentials, national and international recognition, and overall capabilities.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow with Uvili is very streamlined, thanks to the use of online access, shared folders, detailed project management, and ongoing communication. The client feels confident in sharing and addressing any concerns or help with updates, and tasks are handled quickly and efficiently along with explanation.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

First and foremost: Uvili understood Fort Wayne Ballet's vision of what their website needs to be visually as well as functionally. That shared vision is what made the process comfortable and achievable within the parameters of so many working pieces. Secondly, Uvili made the process understandable and approachable, even as the site continues to evolve and be updated.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There's always room for better communication, more streamlined processing, and faster responses but everyone is very pleased with not only the design and development, but also the ongoing support and followup in keeping Fort Wayne Ballet's website an active, informative performer.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Board of Directors, Webmaster, and Membership Secretary at IPBA (International Perfume Bottle Association)

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Uvili LLC, and what were your goals?

Our previous website was quite outdated, not easily modified, and no longer serving us well. We wanted to upgrade our image and to use the new website to both attract new members and to provide more educational resources for our members by expanding our "virtual museum".

SOLUTION

How did you select Uvili LLC and what were the deciding factors?

Uvili LLC presented us with a set of sample screens and proposed site map that were very elegant and absolutely gorgeous! They clearly understood the new image that we were trying to project, and their estimate was extremely reasonable.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Uvili LLC analyzed our previous website, set up the WordPress framework, and reproduced the content of many of the pages. Our Board members were responsible for providing updated content for many of the pages.

Uvili LLC provided many WordPress templates that we have been able to creatively use to add fresh content to our website. Of particular importance to us is our "Virtual Museum".

Uvili LLC designed templates for those entries that allow us to show an unlimited number of photographs of each item, allowing items to fit into multiple categories, and to highlight "trending" entries. they also imported the data and images from the Virtual Museum on the old website.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Victor was our project manager on the Uvili LLC side. He was very understanding of our special needs for membership enrollment, dues renewal notifications, contact forms, and of course the Virtual Museum. We never really had contact with other developers on their team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Our membership has been really excited about our elegant new website, and those who have visited it have given us rave reviews. We still in the process of overcoming the fact that the members almost never used our old website as it was ugly and not informative.

We have seen a modest increase in new members attracted by the website. It is clear to us that the economic downturn from Covid has impacted our membership renewals, so we might have gotten a bigger new member bump if it were not for the economic downturn.

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

The project management style was fairly relaxed, and most communication was done through email. We did share and update status documents using a Google drive to track status on defects and fixes. When warranted, we used Skype for face-to-face meetings.

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

We have been most impressed with the elegance of the website and the way that it portrays the elegance of the perfume bottle and vanity items that we collect. As Webmaster, I have been most impressed with my ability to easily add and update content. In just a few months, our Virtual Museum has increased it's number of items by 50% (from approximately 1,300 to 2,000 items).

We've added some manufacturer catalogs as research items with over 100 photos for a single item, and so far we have found no limits to its flexibility. Uvili LLC has a track record with us of responding very quickly to the few production issues that have arisen.

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

Before I retired, I worked for 25 years in software development, so I know how common it is for costs to exceed the initial estimate as scope creep takes its inevitable toll. In our case the costs increased by less that 10% - all attributable to scope creep.

However some Board members felt we could have been notified earlier when we were exceeding the initial estimate. But when all is said and done, I believe that we got great value for our money, and we will continue to use Uvili LLC for some enhancements and expanded capability that we have in mind.