Acadia

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

RLC Engineering is a consulting firm working with major utilities in the Northeast. We do system studies for them as well as engineering and design work for substations. I’m the business development coordinator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Acadia?

We needed a new website. Our website is more of a promotional site, but we also hope to develop new leads with it. It acts as a piece of information for our existing clients. There are not many engineering companies that do what we do. We won’t be having tons of people looking at our site, but it’s a good source on the web for our people to reference.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They redesigned our website and provided us with some video and photography work. We have some great videos that Jonathan did. One of the videos is about our company where he interviewed employees. For people that are searching for the work we do, they can watch this video and see the services that we provide and also see people that work here.

Secondly, Jonathan did a great job in developing the questions that he asked our employees. The employees responded to questions like why people should work at RLC and the benefits and challenges of working here. This is beneficial when we are going out to different universities to attract new recruits.

Acadia has produced four to six videos for us. The videos are in interview format or include music and pictures with a voiceover. Some videos also included footage outside of our building. When we did the video for attracting new recruits, we were given the questions ahead of time so that we could prepare our answers.

How did you come to work with Acadia?

We found them when we were looking for someone to do our website. Our owner knows Jonathan. I don’t know if he looked at other companies.

How much have you invested with them?

I’m not able to share that information.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2016, and the most recent video was completed in April 2017. Our website is also about ready to go live.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website hasn’t gone live yet, so we won’t know any impact on our business until after it’s launched. Everyone who has seen the site is very pleased. It’s been done very professionally. It’s definitely unique in terms of what the owner was thinking; it’s more personable. Engineering is more of a cold field, and Acadia made our company feel a lot warmer and more approachable. They did an excellent job. It’s very clean and well-done.

How did Acadia perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. They were very professional when they were here. We knew when they were coming and everyone was scheduled appropriately. Any video that they did inside didn’t affect anybody that was here. They did a great job working around everybody’s schedule at the office.

All our deadlines were met and communication was of the highest quality.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very creative, professional, and they put a fresh touch on RLC Engineering.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. From not having experience working with anyone else, I thought they did an excellent job. They were very professional and met their schedule. Their work is fresh and clean. They did a great job, and everyone here so far has been very pleased.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of True North, which is a national skincare company. We focus on creating skincare that offers natural ingredients with the feel of luxury.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Acadia?

I needed help establishing my brand message. I knew what I wanted conceptually, but needed help finding the words and being able to translate those thoughts into the connection I wanted with my customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I went to Acadia wanting a video that would help differentiate me from other small businesses in the market. I knew a video would be a way to do that. I originally thought it would be a traditional video showing my company and what we stand for. Acadia's team came back to me after our first meeting with two ideas. They showed me one, which was the traditional approach showing a woman going through her day using my products. It was nice, and if they had stopped there, I would have been happy. Then they presented another idea, which was very different and very conceptual. That’s where my ‘What is beauty?’ video was born. It came directly from their idea of interviewing women at various points in their lives and having a candid discussion about what beauty means. It challenged the notion that women have about the traditional definition of beauty and acknowledged how that definition has evolved.

Acadia's team outlined the idea, and I instantly fell in love with it. They recognized the risks with it because it’s not a traditional approach. That’s what I loved about it because I don’t want to be traditional. They recognized that in me as a customer. They realized they could take that chance with me, and I appreciated that.

When it came to filming, I pulled the women together. They’re customers of mine, and I think they were apprehensive about that. Acadia trusted me as their customer, and we partnered together beautifully on that. I provided profiles and pictures of the women, and he provided a series of questions they would be asked. The day of the shoot, he set everything up. He created an environment where the women were comfortable responding to the questions in a natural, confident, and organic way.

He also created an ‘About’ video, so I was able to get two videos from one shoot. I appreciate that he found a way to maximize my dollar.

How did you come to work with Acadia?

I’d worked with graphic designers before, and I realized I needed someone who specialized in brand marketing versus the visual part of the brand. I did a national search, and I talked to many companies. I wanted a company based in Maine, but that wasn’t the number-one criteria. I was delighted when I came across Acadia’s website and saw their video. I didn’t know anything about their company, but I knew that I needed to be a part of what they had to offer. It was so powerful. If they could pull that type of connection from me through their video, I knew they could do the same thing for my brand and my customers.

How much have you invested with Acadia?

The video itself was around $7,000, not including everything associated with the talent and their expenses. My understanding is that it was a little higher than normal, but I asked for some things that required additional funding. I wanted a specific setting, so we had to rent a building. We had to use a camera that accommodated the movement when the women were walking.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on the concept in July of 2016, and the video was shot in November. I’m still working with Acadia on other brand work, such as SEO [search engine optimization]. I’ll be ready to do another video by the fall of this year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I haven’t officially launched the video yet. We’re in the process of putting it on my site’s landing page. I have started sharing it on social media with friends, and those friends have started sharing it with others. I’m starting to get people to interact with me on social media because of the video.

My brand is very much about connecting with women and building a community. I’m finding that the connection coming from this is exactly in line with what I wanted. Women are talking and sharing about their struggles with beauty, so I’m getting the emotional piece that I was hoping to get from the video.

How did Acadia perform from a project management standpoint?

Acadia was excellent. I work a full-time job in addition to my business, so I have limited time available. They were great at keeping me on task, but not being overbearing. We had regular check-ins, and they were frequent enough to keep everything on time but weren’t burdensome for my schedule. I think they were fantastic in that area. They met all the deadlines. I’ve worked with others in this space, and Acadia is the best by far at keeping timelines.

What did you find most impressive about Acadia?

Acadia invested a lot of time upfront to get to know me. My brand is pretty personal. I’m selling an experience, a feeling, and connection. Acadia took the time to understand me and my story and how it relates to my brand. I think that has helped, specifically with the video. If they didn’t understand what I was trying to accomplish with this brand, he would never have come up with the great concept for the video.

Are there any areas Acadia could improve?

No. I think Acadia managed me well, which is one thing I pointed out in the beginning. I have ideas, but sometimes they don’t translate. They did a nice job of pointing out when something wouldn’t work. I wouldn’t continue doing business with Acadia if I wasn’t very happy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Anchor is a branding firm that offers strategy, design, web services, and digital marketing.

As COO, I oversee the internal aspect of the company and I’m also responsible for business development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Acadia?

We were trying to make our creative services tangible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Acadia produced a 90-second video by first producing the storyboard and the script. We used our team as the actors in the film. Acadia understood who we are and what we do very well, and the vision of what we were looking for. They added to our vision and put it in storyboard form. The final product was exactly what we were looking for.

How did you come to work with Acadia?

We had heard about Acadia and had seen some of their work. We liked how creative they were in their approach.

How much have you invested with Acadia?

The typical project costs between $10,000 and $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in August 2013 and we’ll be continuing to work with them in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m meeting with 7 to 10 potential clients a week as the business developer. In 9 out of 10 meetings the client talks about the impact that video had on their decision to work with us. People who watch the video say they got goose bumps. It has translated the exact emotions that we wanted to our target market. It’s opened the door for a lot of business.

How did Acadia perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve got a great relationship and they’re very clear about setting expectations. Acadia is very good at updating us on the progress of the project. They have met or exceeded every timeline.

What did you find most impressive about Acadia?

Their ability to connect with the heart issues of what we’re looking to convey in each project is second to none.

Are there any areas Acadia could improve?

I haven’t had any negative experiences working with Acadia.