Appetite Creative

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Start up but worldwide healthcare company

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appetite Creative , and what were your goals?

We need a website to explain and educate customers on the new paradigm.that our technology creates.it was required to transform the website from a product point of view tona customer need point of view

SOLUTION

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

My marketing assistan knew about you..we maje a selectiin between other two companies and appetite

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

The website needed to be built from.0. We have a kick off meeting in which we explain the characyeristics of the market the problems that we face and appettite team helped us very much on giving the right solution to oir need

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

We got a product developer a pprogrammer and a designer working toguether

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The result is exactly what we need but still it is not launched

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

We had weekly meetimgs and reminders about the list of to do and the different changes we wanted to make in the website

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

The people working for us

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

No...everything was perfect

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Creative Director of Nothing Matters (Lost At Sea)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Gaming company specialize in blockchain technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Appetite Creative to accomplish?

• Create a Block Chain game for Lost At Sea community

SOLUTION

How did you find Appetite Creative?

Online Search

Why did you select Appetite Creative over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Appetite Creative’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

Lost At Sea NFT tasked Appetite Creative with creating an online racing game where users would be able to wager on their skills. With all of that in mind a 2D/3D game was created consisting of 6 levels and four characters to race with. Over the course of the year it took to create Appetite was always able to adapt and push through to delivery.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Lost At Sea outcome was to create a Compete and Earn game on the Solana blockchain that allowed users to wager in SOL and we did just that. Working with Appetite allowed our vision to come to fruition! We worked together and pivoted through the dynamic environment of blockchain and web3 gaming, to create a fun and sticky game that has a bright future.

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

Working with Jenny and team was a real pleasure! Their response time was quick even though they were 8 hours ahead of our timezone. They delivered on time and were adaptable with our project. They also kept the project on budget and were amendable to our needs.

What was your primary form of communication with Appetite Creative?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email
• Messaging App

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

The most impressive aspect of Appetite Creative was their knowledge of blockchain technologies. They made it super easy on our team and delivered on the game we wanted. They are also very in tune with the user base, always putting on seminars to not only grow their recognition but also ours.

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

Appetite Creative delivered the product that we requested through a tough economic climate. We had to make some adjustments along the way which slowed the timeline from our original plan, but working with Jenny and team we worked together and made it happen!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Managing director of an organic food manufacturing company. Makes drinks, raw food and manufacture for the catering industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appetite Creative ?

Increase sales through a various avenues, mainly a leafleting campaigns.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Jenny and I were on a course previously and I came to her with an idea of a leaflet campaign. . She was very knowledgeable on the subject so I chose to to the whole project with Appetite Creative.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We wanted a QR code on our leaflet to increase conversion and to be able to track customer behaviour. Jenny walked me through the process and then undertook all of the design, came up with interactive ideas, imagery and artwork.

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

I worked directly with Jenny the Managing Director.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are really happy with the results, Jenny and the team went above and beyond. They were very knowledgeable and delivered the project ahead of time!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Jenny was always available or got straight back to me, communication was easy and milestones were always hit or the work was early. Jenny is fun to work with!

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

Jenny always did everything she said she was going to do, the quality of the outcome was great. Their broad experience to draw in that I anticipated had a huge positive impact on the conversion of our marketing. Couldn’t recommend enough!

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

None, I will be putting more work their way.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of a digital sports collectibles platform on the Solana blockchain.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appetite Creative , and what were your goals?

We hired Appetite Creative for the entire front- and back-end development of our web app on the Solana blockchain. This included a customer facing platform for user to interact with NFTs, and a set of custom administrative tools to manage the user experience. Plus, their creative team came up with entirety of our brand visualization (identity, colors, thematic elements, guidelines, etc.). Our goal was to execute on a set of requirements that we had refined quite thoroughly — so we started the project happy to find a team that understand what we were trying to accomplish, and asked questions that indicated they really knew their stuff.

SOLUTION

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

It was a challenge to find the right development partner, as we did not have an "enterprise"-level budget to work with. After a lot of online searches, I just happened to find Appetite Creative on some list... on some website.. and was drawn in by their blockchain-specific landing page. The experience shown on that page finally aligned with everything we were looking for, and I immediately felt a level of trust with this agency because of how they conveyed their services and expertise. Ultimately, the decision became very easy after a positive discovery call. Notably, I could tell the team had actually read through my requirements enough to ask some very specific questions about nuances of the logic, and I knew that if they gave that level of effort before I was a client, becoming their client would only be better. I was right.

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

We started with a deep dive into the brand's identity to define thematic elements, the logo, etc. Then, development on the app commenced. Because of the collaboration on requirements beforehand, the development process was seamless. Key deliverables include logo assets, brand guide book, and the completed (and hosted) web app — which utilized Solana smart contracts and browser wallet integration.

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

There are three core people with whom we've interacted directly. One: a creative lead who is also our project manager. Two: the agency's founder, who was integral to discovery and onboarding. Three: the tech director, who leads development efforts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Because this is a "zero-to-launch" project, we define success as launching a product that aligned with our vision. This goal has absolutely been met. Quantitative measures of growth will come with more time post-launch.

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

Our team is always kept in the loop about progress and status updates. The creative process was extremely collaborative, and our PM is always willing to discuss any aspect of the project at any time. They produce a project plan upfront, and then provide a sense of timing in an ad hoc manner along the way. We really appreciate that we only meet (over video call) when there is something to discuss, and handle all other updates/considerations over email.

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

We didn't expect to get such a package deal — the level of expertise from brand design to Solana development. By outsourcing most of this effort, we thought we would have to find experts piecemeal. But with Appetite Creative, I feel we're in great hands no matter the topic, and that's such a massive reassurance with an investment of this size.

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

We have no complaints whatsoever. Perhaps could use a bit higher frequency on providing a sense of project trajectory against the original plan (timeline, budget, etc.) along the way. But, there's never any reason to suspect anything is "off" without them telling us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a traffic manager at a TV broadcaster and a publisher with several apps and websites within its portfolio

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appetite Creative ?

We were looking for a partner to help us build responsive skin formats for our customers (desktop only).

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We did a benchmark of different partners. We were looking for a flexible partner who was willing to adapt a bit the standard skin format.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Once we get a confirmation from a client for a skin format. We provide Appetite with a few creative elements so they can start working on mockups. Once it's validated by the client, we can move forward and push it in production.

What was the team composition?

We've worked closely with several members of Appetite's team (Maria, Mitch, Jenny, Ioannis etc.)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Appetite provides exactly the service we need. A good follow up on every skin project, they're reactive and very helpful even in case of last minutes issues.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We basically only exchange info via emails which is perfect since we generally don't have many back and forth with the current process. We generally manage to get a skin produced exchanging about only 10 emails.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What's key for us is certainly how reactive the team is. We've worked in the past with other companies that were way less reactive, and that ended up in being deal breakers.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

Not really, as mentioned, we're perfectly happy with their services and we don't really have suggestions for any improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner and CEO of a travel agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appetite Creative?

We wanted to create a new website and were looking for the best company to help us with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The expectation was to have a new and modern website. I worked directly with the design manager, who did a good job; however, he isn’t working with them any longer. We finished the designs in May, and they said it would take one month to develop the rest. The CMS and booking system are not working. When it comes to the design, every time we request a change, the designs are totally different than the ones we spoke about, and there are pages that aren’t working.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with one designer and a project manager, and when things went badly, we were put in touch with Jenny (Founder & Managing Director).

How did you come to work with Appetite Creative?

We wanted to work with a highly ranked company. I'd met one of their employees and I really liked his ides, but he is no longer working for the company.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent around £52,000 (approximately $56,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed the contract with them in October of 2021. We're now sending them an email letting them know that we don’t want to continue with the project, as we cannot lose more time or money.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve? 

We signed the contract with them, and they were supposed to deliver in February, but that didn’t happen. The deadline was then pushed to May, and that didn’t happen either, and then a final deadline was set for July, which also didn’t happen. 

The project started to go downhill when the design was completed, and we were set to move on to the development stage. For the amount of money we were paying them, they only had a junior developer working on it. 

Jenny, who, we're in touch, wasn't truthful with us. Even now, if you go to the test website they're creating for us, some of the pages aren’t working, and the system itself isn’t working either. The design they implemented doesn't look similar to the one I designed.

They only have one person who has worked on our project 30% of the time, which is very frustrating. It is impossible for them to finish the website.

How did Appetite Creative address the challenges that arose? 

Anytime we contact Jenny about our issues, she always comes back with excuses without acknowledging the problem. They keep pushing the deadline back, but it's never come to be. They only take care of half of the things we request but they don’t review their work, and then they ask us to send them another list of what needs to be done. We've been paying a lot of money, and all of my employees have said that this is the least positive experience they've had with a vendor. 
 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

We're losing money every month, and we don’t want to continue with this project with them.  We were hoping to have our website ready for the beginning of 2022, but we still don’t have it, and we don’t expect that we will have it for the beginning of 2023 either. Even though we have lost a lot of money on this project, we want to discontinue working with them because at least we can build it ourselves from the beginning. We are hoping to get the designs from them, though.

This is a migration project, and we wanted to migrate during our slower season, but this can't happen because they have yet to finish the website. They advertise like they are number one, but their service is horrible, and we know we aren’t the only customers that have had this experience. 

​​​​​​How was project management handled?

During the design phase, I worked with the designer, and then it became chaotic when we moved on to the development phase. We had a serious call with them in June and requested a meeting where they were to let us know what they had been doing, and then we wanted to have weekly emails informing us of the progress of the project.

We asked them to add a password and a username to the site because we wanted to access the website. It's really important to us, as we do the testing. My internal developer just checked today, and half of the pages weren’t working.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

We wanted to have a premium website, and I checked with many other companies, but I liked Appetite because of the designer I spoke with. He was involved in the first meeting, I liked the way he spoke, and I liked his ideas. They were also highly ranked on Clutch.

In what specific areas can they improve?

It would have been good to have the designs implemented as we had chosen them. It would be good if they respected the agreed-upon timelines as well. The person who managed the project was fine and polite, but it is one thing to be fine and polite and another thing to actually deliver results.

Appetite can improve in every area, but they certainly need to be more professional, efficient, and accurate.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

It is impossible to know that they are not competent because they sell you on their promise to deliver. In the future, I would never hire a company like this. I think it would be more affordable for me to hire developers and designers and do it myself.

Company Responses

The service provider responded on October 3, 2022

This is factually incorrect. We pride ourselves on providing our clients with fantastic results and remain fully available to meet/call anytime or anywhere to ensure your 100% satisfaction.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The Sharing Board is an online (delivery only) delicatessen based in Epping, Essex, championing British cheeses, charcuterie and pies, in addition to a selection of yummy products from our neighbours across Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appetite Creative , and what were your goals?

We needed to completely overhaul our eCommerce store, to ensure it was mobile and tablet response, and more modern in general, whilst maintaining a high-end style and feel.

SOLUTION

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

Appetite Creative was recommended to us by a trusted partner, plus they have so many great revues on Clutch, which gave us comfort and confidence that they'd deliver exactly what we wanted. The team talked us through the project from start to finish, and hit each milestone as the project progressed.

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

Having started off with an initial discover call, Appetite then provide wireframes and illustrations for each page, as well as access to their project management platform so we could check-in and see progress. It also allowed us to flag any minor aesthetic bugs, which were resolved immediately.

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

There were approximately 5-6 people working on our project, such as a designer, developers, and also Appetite's MD Jenny, who would check-in throughout the entire process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've noticed an immediate improvement in traffic, with a much lower bounce rate in Google Analytics, which I think is due to the better user experience, especially with mobile and tablet.

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

The project management was fabulous. We were kept in the loop continuously, and the project was delivered approximately 2 weeks ahead of schedule.

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

Their speed, efficiency and accuracy, especially the latter when it came to interpreting our design requirements, and the look and feel of the site, which they really, really captured perfectly.

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

Appetite Creative were completely faultless. I've already recommended them to three other founders too!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital director at Motivate Media, a media production company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appetite Creative?

We needed someone to design creative solutions for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Appetite Creative has designed our creative banners and rich media solutions to use on behalf of advertisers, such as Apple and Microsoft. We use them on a case-by-case basis; they provide a pretty creative and technical process and upload everything on our website.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with the CEO and 3–4 other people.

How did you come to work with Appetite Creative?

I don’t remember how we were put in contact, but they had some good case studies. The team understood the brief, and they were very responsive. We decided to use them as a test, which went well.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2019, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We look for the quality of the creative, artistic, and design work, alongside its efficiency when it runs on the website. Also, there’s been an increase in engagement on our website. Overall, we’re happy with the engagement.

How did Appetite Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is excellent. They’re very quick; the team has exceeded expectations. We communicate via email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their speed of service and personalized touch are impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I’d have them improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate what you want and be clear with the brief. Moreover, work with them and give them freedom to design. They come up with good ideas.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a healthcare technology company, as well as an advisor for a company in the EdTech space. Both brands are B2C.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appetite Creativity?

For both projects I’ve worked with Appetite on, I was looking to acquire customers digitally. We realized that you can’t have a great marketing campaign without a great website, so we decided to invest in our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Appetite built everything from scratch, except for the copy and the website. The site is built on Shopify.

For upgrades on the EdTech site, they created the platform where the students would be managing their works in progress; it wasn’t just a front-facing website, but a backend platform as well.

What is the team composition?

We’re working with a project manager, and there are usually 1–2 people working on the design. There are also 1–2 people working on the code. Jenny (Managing Director) comes into meetings sometimes as well.

How did you come to work with Appetite Creativity?

A previous marketing vendor referred me to them. I thought Appetite’s team was the best fit because I really liked their tactics and design style.

When they first started working on my own website, they were okay in terms of price comparison. Now that they’ve done the upgrade, I do find them a bit more costly, but they’ve done much more for this upgrade than the first project.

I also like how their team works; they have a good time.

How much have you invested with them?

The website upgrade cost around £10,000– £15,000 (approximately $13,000–$20,000 USD), and the original development 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since November 2020. Currently, they’re working on platform upgrades.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the websites they created was a finalist for a design award — it was really well done. People comment on how beautiful it is every day.

How did Appetite Creativity perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fine. Using project management software would take them to the next level, providing a certain amount of nuance to their work, but that depends on who’s managing the project.

We mostly communicate over email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have really great designers and animators. They don’t overcomplicate coding delivery, and they’re fast. The design part took the longest; they have a robust ability to do coding and implement cool features.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be very helpful to have project management software, especially during the design phase. Moreover, clients should have access to it, rather than information being shared only via email, as it’s easy to lose track of important threads. Additionally, the price point was a bit of a challenge for me as a startup. Working with them will also be a. no-brainer in the future if the price point is closer to what it was for my first project with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Whenever you approve something, you cannot go back on the design. Looking back, I would have spent more time saying exactly what I liked and didn’t like in the beginning. Don’t give your approval on something until you’re completely happy with it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Pagesmith is a D2C platform for creating personalised poetry books, I'm the head of the business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appetite Creative?

Organic social strategy, content creation and community management, plus some project based assets for our paid campaigns.

SOLUTION

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

They came recommended/partnered with our performance agency.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Organic social strategy, ongoing content creation and community management, with the added challenge of building the social accounts from scratch. After initial information sharing of key messaging, a kick off call etc, they created an initial content strategy and monthly content plan that has been the basis of our social strategy since.

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

While there is predominantly one or two people we're in contact with on a day to day basis, there are also other people/functions supporting in the background, and I don't want to neglect their input and work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The entirety of the growth and engagement of our social channels is down to Appetite. It is still a work in progress, as we keep growing the company, but we're off to a great start.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We've had no issues with workflow, which means it's working effectively. We have clear communications and work collaboratively on the content plan.

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

With very limited original assets from us, they've created some pretty impressive visuals to showcase our product. That, together with the ability to be flexible and adapt strategy and execution along with clear communication has been a real boon for us, as a new brand and company where things can change quickly.

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

They've taken on our feedback about more engaging lifestyle focused content and tweaked the team and strategy to allow for this, which I was impressed to see.