3rd + Lamar

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a monthly magazine in Austin, Texas. I'm the events director and I handle all of our forward-facing activities such as events from court sessions, anything that we've got going on in the Austin market. 

What challenge were you trying to address with 3rd & Lamar?

Due to COVID-19, we had to put all live events on pause, even though we had an incredible lineup this year, which were all canceled indefinitely. However, we still wanted to reach our audience in a creative way and that’s when the idea of livestreams came to us.

We tested doing the livestreaming on our own and though we got great audience engagement from that, the quality wasn’t the best. In the end, we needed to find a partner that could have expertise in both video and audio production as well as knowledge on livestreaming.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The 3rd & Lamar team takes care of our livestreaming events. They handle the setup, recording, streaming, audio mixing, and everything else. After we livestream our events, they spearhead our post-production efforts and provide us with a condensed version of our events that we can usually use on our other advertising efforts.

3rd & Lamar usually features highlights of the performances and sometimes we use it to promote our upcoming events that are typically going to be held in the near future.

For a specific example, we have an event called Front Porch Sessions, which is a livestream concert. We take care of the promotion, book the venue, and they help us show it on our Facebook and YouTube channels.

What is the team composition?

I collaborate closely with Nick (CEO & Co-Founder) and Tony (Head of Production & Co-Founder). Tony handles all of the logistics on site. He checks how many cameras are going to be in the event and also takes care of the sound engineering side. On the day of the event, he also takes care of any issues that come up.

Meanwhile, Nick takes care of anything else about the partnership and overall logistics.

How did you come to work with 3rd & Lamar?

They reached out to us about working together. We did need a video team, but that was before COVID-19 happened. Since covering and shooting our events were not possible, those project ideas never came to fruition. Then, when we developed ideas for livestreaming events, that’s when we revisited our conversation and started chatting about a possible partnership. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent over $50,000 already on our engagement. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our partnership in June 2020 and it’s still ongoing. 

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

So far, we’ve seen 3rd & Lamar’s high-quality video productions and it’s all fantastic. Even though the streaming part is still a new area for us, they definitely meet all of our expectations and even exceed them. 

Our main focus is getting high-quality content in the streaming aspect and they’ve been doing that. They make sure we don’t experience any kind of buffering or lag time for the viewers. They also consistently ensure that we have our logo in every production.

How did 3rd & Lamar perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email, and that’s my preferred method. We also have phone calls and they're great. Overall, they are very communicative which is what we need since we deal with several artists and things can be different each time. 

They always give us everything we need and, timeline-wise, they have been excellent. They also do frequent sound checks and video checks that assure us of the quality we will show to our viewers.

We also provide them with a run of the show and then they send back some tweaks so that we can be ready to roll the next time. Above all, 3rd & Lamar are open to any questions we have.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing is that their work speaks for itself. They produce fantastic work. Most of all, they are really easy going, professional, and give us the things that we need. 

We also like that Tony gives flair to our events through his creativity. It’s exactly what we need since we are a magazine and we constantly need someone who thinks out of the box.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Perhaps, they could improve on the patience part, since we move at such a fast pace and it’s hard for us to get things back to them immediately. We usually have so many projects at a specific time so we need some consideration on that part. However, we appreciate their sense of urgency, as well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They follow our direction. They’ve got great ideas so we can definitely lean into their creativity and listen to their expertise. They’ve been doing it for a long time so they know what works. To summarize, I highly recommend trusting them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a digital media company and I am the COO.

What challenge were you trying to address with 3rd & Lamar?

Our team was looking to develop and execute upon an affiliate program.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since we’re a media company, we have a lot of content and assets that we’re able to monetize and wanted to develop a program to monetize everything that wasn’t already being sold. 3rd & Lamar was in charge of everything from identifying partners that offered cost per acquisition deals and communicating with them to negotiate the rate to setting up the programs on our site and developing best practices for us to maximize affiliate links within our content.

What was the team composition?

We just work directly with one member of their team, which makes the relationship really easy to manage.

How did you come to work with 3rd & Lamar?

They were referred to our CEO and I was impressed with their expertise when I met with them, so we decided to bring them on.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, the project has cost about $20,000 so far through a commission-based system.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around July 2019 and are continuing to partner together.

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

Qualitatively, they have been a huge help to us because we essentially had no functioning version of the program when we started working with them. The 3rd & Lamar team helped us to get something off the ground that we didn’t have the dedicated resources to be able to do, and that is something that will last and continue to provide us with revenue into the future.

How did 3rd & Lamar perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication around the project did get off to a little bit of a rough start, but since we’re a pretty small and scrappy company that may be more a testament to their skillset. We didn’t make their lives very easy at first, but they’ve done a great job of figuring out how to operate mostly autonomously get everything they need done without much other stakeholder input, which has been fantastic.

We used to do standing calls to make sure that everyone was on the same page and check in on the progress that we were making, but we’ve transitioned to mostly just using emails to communicate and our Asana for project management, which they integrated into smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our company had pretty much ruled out ever working with contractors again before 3rd & Lamar because of how poorly difficult the engagements always were to manage. Nick (CEO) was able to navigate our complex company structure and make himself valuable almost immediately. In my experience, his ability to gather information about how we operate and establish an operation that essentially runs itself at this point is very rare.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Occasionally, our leads will go a little bit stagnant before we start to put more effort into outreach again. A slightly more proactive approach could go a long way in terms of helping us iterate upon things a little faster.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them the ability to do their job without a lot of bottlenecks. Their team is excellent at establishing a goal and doing whatever they need to accomplish it, so the best thing you can do is give them the tools to do that and then get out of the way.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO at recruitAbility and recruitAbility.ai. We are a consulting, technical services, and recruitment firm focused in technology, specifically machine learning and AI (artificial intelligence)

For what projects/services did your company hire 3rd & Lamar?

We were looking for a digital marketing partner to manage our online presence and following on social media outlets. Projects including updated our website to improve SEO performance, launching a podcast, managing our newsletter and week blog posts. They help us develop and true content strategy focused on lead gen.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to create a lead gen funnel and generate revenue through our digital marketing efforts

How did you select this vendor?

Referral to one of the Owners. We knew each other from a previous relationship

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Updated 2 websites to improve SEO performance; launching a monthly podcast, managing our newsletter and week blog posts. They help us develop and true content strategy focused on lead gen. This includes all strategy, design, and execution

What was the team composition?

Account Manager and production specialists. The size of the team stayed the same

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

• Last week (Apr 12-18) ranked No. 2 all-time for most users to the site (443) • The e-newsletter last week had the 2nd-highest open rate all-time (36.2%) o The CTR was 1.3% (the 2nd-highest CTR all-time), but ideally it'd be closer to 3%.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communication and workflow. They're added to our company slack channel and we communicate that way

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They take a custom approach to working with their clients; understanding that every company's needs are different

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not so far; happy with the service and results

Please describe your company and your position there.

Bee Free Yoga offers donation-based Vinyasa Yoga instruction, as well as guided meditation, and written content. We went from in-class instruction to virtual classes with the help of 3rd & Lamar! I am the owner/instructor.

For what projects/services did your company hire 3rd & Lamar?

3rd & Lamar is in the process of filming 52 1-hr yoga classes and 52 audio guided meditation sessions.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted my classes to be available to students everywhere. By broadening my reach, I hope to positively affect the body, hearts and minds of students... enriching the quality of their days. Online classes offer flexibility to practice from home, or while traveling, on the student's own schedule. I also wanted to have an archive of the 52 sets of offerings that I have created over the past few years.

How did you select this vendor?

3rd & Lamar actually reached out to me to see if I was interested in live-stream or video-on-demand content, at a time when I had been planning to research this very topic! It was fortuitous and I'm so glad they reached out.

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

We meet every 4 or 5 days at my home studio, and film the one hour yoga class and record the audio for the 25 min meditation. Tony brings all the lighting and equipment. His set up and break down is efficient, and the whole thing takes about 2 1/2hrs start to finish.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Tony and Nick have been very responsive to my questions and communications. Their turn around time thus far has always been within the 5-7 day window they initially promised.

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

I am already reaching more students virtually than I was able to attract locally to my in-person classes! It is so nice to have a larger reach but not have to drive around town, and set up and break down classrooms.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We work very well together! During the editing process, if I have things I want adjusted, Tony works with me patiently until we get all the levels just to my liking! After the first couple of videos/audio recordings, he had a good grasp of my general preferences and the process is getting more streamlined with every week.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with the personal care and attention they give to my project, even though I am a small business. My recordings, I'm sure, are not as interesting as the varied and complex projects they often work on. It is a straightforward recording after all. However, they know that quality audio and video, so as not to distract from the content... the experience of the yoga, is equally important. So the attention to detail in the production makes the experience seamless!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think of!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO of an Austin-based non-profit that provides support to children in foster care and those caring for them.

For what projects/services did your company hire 3rd & Lamar?

3rd & Lamar stepped up to help us in big ways, leveraging their time and talents to capture elements of our mission that we needed help putting into video.

What were your goals for this project?

Short promo videos specific to holiday needs and general info for use in social media, website, and newsletters.

How did you select 3rd & Lamar?

We were referred by another business and 3rd & Lamar graciously gave their time to help us out.

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

After lots of great communication and strategizing ahead of time, they came prepared to spend the day capturing multiple scenes and interviews. During the editing process they continued with excellent communication and checking in to ensure they were on the right track with our expectations.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

They showed competency and also openness to our creative ideas and input. Our communication was mainly with Nick and Tony and they were both great to work with. There were several rounds of feedback and the workflow went smoothly.

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

We received great feedback on the videos they created for us and will be able to use them for years to come!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great! They were responsive, clear in communicating expectations, and fulfilled agreed upon timelines.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their willingness to contribute their time and talent to help a local cause, while maintaining the same high level of professionalism and quality that they would give to their highest paying clients.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very pleased with everything!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of QuickStart Inc. We offer e-learning services.

What challenge were you trying to address with 3rd & Lamar?

We needed help with top-of-the-funnel search marketing.

What was the scope of their involvement?

3rd & Lamar handles every channel of our paid media campaigns, including social media, search engines, and display. They launch campaigns related to coding certification boot camps.

What is the team composition?

We work with Heather (Co-Founder & Head of Agency, 3rd & Lamar).

How did you come to work with 3rd & Lamar?

I’d worked with Heather before.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $100,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together for 7–8 years. Our most recent campaign launched in August 2019.

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

It’s still an iterative process to improve the number of leads and drive down the cost per customer acquisition (CPA).

How did 3rd & Lamar perform from a project management standpoint?

3rd & Lamar is good at meeting deadlines and following project guidelines. We’ve started to use Asana and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have better domain knowledge than most in the industry.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Any advice for potential customers?

3rd & Lamar is competent with paid media.