Blue Carrot

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a web and app development firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Carrot?

We wanted to have an animation video made using hand-drawn artwork. We wanted it to be more high-quality than typical explainer videos and have a fluid appearance.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We requested that Blue Carrot put together the project for us, using a script and the voiceover talent we provided. The team helped with storyboarding and character artwork, assisted with animatic previews that outlined the video and handled project management from beginning to end.

The team went through revision phases and discovery process on colors, styles, and shapes. Throughout the project, they provided references of other materials and updates.

They put together an initial draft of the video, which we made a couple of revisions to. They also added special effects and background music to the video. In the end, they provided us with numerous copies of the video that had an intro and exit. They also gave us a shorter cut without the intro and outro.

What is the team composition?

All of our communication was with a project manager. Initially, we started the engagement with a consultant, but then from there, it was only the project manager. They also had their design team involved.

How did you come to work with Blue Carrot?

I did a good amount of research online for different animation companies. We looked at different video boards, Vimeo, Behance, and Upwork. I ended up reaching out to 10 different companies, and I felt that Blue Carrot had the best technical grasp of the project.

They also seemed to have the ability to meet our budget. But at the end of the day, it was the communication that showed that their team could accommodate our needs and deliver on what we were after.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–September 2020.

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

Blue Carrot was a pleasure to collaborate with. Their team did a good job with the most important aspect – getting it done. I had to make sure that our goals and visions were there, and their team could fulfill them. Our interaction with them certainly helped make the project successful.

How did Blue Carrot perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they were excellent. Blue Carrot provided communication regularly. If they were running a few days behind where they thought they might be, they would proactively reach out and let us know.

Outside of the initial kickoff call, everything was handled through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their internal collaboration worked very well. Their design talent matched our style. Before we started, they were able to demonstrate that to us. They operate the way you expect a small business to operate, and they communicate well as a team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. They did a great job with everything. There were small instances where QA could’ve been stronger, but that was very small.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about your requirements early on. Deliver all of the information in an organized manner. That will help make it a successful project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Currently, I’m the VP of digital media at a learning experience design company. We help institutions like universities or companies design and develop their online learning products.

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Carrot?

I brought them on to scale our operations and do motion graphics work at a previous company, though I’m utilizing their services again in my current organization.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide motion graphics services and animation for lecture videos. We provided them with our storyboards and engaged in an iterative process. Two to three rounds of review usually suffice, but they’re willing to go over that amount to ensure their client is happy.

What is the team composition?

I personally work with Kim and Alex but, throughout the project, they’ve provided one or two project managers that we normally communicate with.

How did you come to work with Blue Carrot?

I found them on Upwork. Based on their website, I knew what they were doing. Additionally, it was clear in my meeting with them that they understood how best to execute this project and meet our needs, which is usually an issue of scale and timeframe.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent over $100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together since October 2018, spanning both companies I’ve worked for.

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

The videos they’ve worked on have been big hits. We were making them for one of our clients, who ended up rehiring us. We still work for them today, which speaks well of Blue Carrot’s products.

How did Blue Carrot perform from a project management standpoint?

The project managers on my end will interact with the managers on their end. From what I’ve observed their resources are responsive, detail-oriented, and very thorough. I flew out to meet them in Ukraine once but we usually meet remotely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re flexible, versatile, and able to scale to meet our needs. I’m different from most clients in that I’m not looking for specific, one-off solutions. I’ve been able to develop a symbiotic relationship with them as they grow alongside my companies.

Additionally, they have a great eye for design. We don’t usually need high-end design in this kind of educational media but we still want it to be sophisticated and Blue Carrot delivers the extra layer of polish we need. They manage it on a small budget too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to some of their ideas. A lot of clients go in thinking they know what they want but, in reality, they don’t. Listen to Blue Carrot’s expertise.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm currently the sole member of my company. It is a website that anyone can use to consolidate their online presence and makes the process of interacting with people through different online channels much easier.

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Carrot?

I hired Blue Carrot to create a 60 second explainer video for my company.

What were your goals for this project?

I hope to create a video to use in my marketing strategy that increases conversion, facilitates the explanation of website, and entices people to learn more about the company.

How did you select this vendor?

I googled "explainer video production company" or similar and found a variety of companies, and out all of the ones I found, Blue Carrot responded the quickest, had the best onboarding, and even scheduled a 1:1 with me to help me better understand the process, timeline, and overall cost.

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

The video is a 60 second explainer video that goes over what Handle is (handlesite.com), what problems it solves, and what other benefits it provides. The process included an initial consult with the CEO of the company, outlining the project scope, the reasons why a video might and might not be a good idea for me, and then the timeline and key steps in the process. Afterwards, my project was assigned to a project manager (Roxy) who was my sole point of contact throughout the production process. Roxy took all of my feedback through scriptwriting, storyboarding, animation, voiceover and sound effects. The value that Roxy provided in giving me feedback and insights, as well as patience to make sure that everything was the way I envisioned it was priceless.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

As detailed an in earlier answer, the project manager Roxy took care of everything behind the scenes. She continuously asked me for feedback and seemed to work around the clock to make sure that all of my thoughts and concerns were addressed properly and in a timely fashion. I could not have asked for a better project manager and project management process.

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

Currently I still have not marketed the video due to other considerations within my company, but will soon and cannot wait to see the results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was extremely effective. I was kept informed throughout the entire process and knew exactly what was going on at every turn.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The cost/value. I thought that for what I paid for I got so much value. I was blown away at the amount of work that this company did for me and I will use any excuse to work with them in the future.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of anything in particular at the moment. All in all, I am very pleased with the result and the process.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Maerchenhotel Bellevue is a leading family friendly hotel located in the Swiss mountains. The hotel mandated Blue Carrot to produce an innovative software / video a customizable animation for its “little” guests, children from 3 to 10 years.

I was the project owner for the Maerchenhotel Bellevue account.

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Carrot?

The hotel intends to replace its current animated video. The key difference is that the new video shall include “custom” characters so that the guests (children between 3 - 10 years) can create own characters that are embedded in the video story.

Blue Carrot was mandated to create the concept, develop the story and implement the project both graphically and technically.

What were your goals for this project?

• Strengthen the hotels position as an innovative hotel with a unique offering, outperforming the competition
• Increase the new guest attrition by increasing the mouth-to-mouth propaganda of the hotel
• Increase the name recognition by attracting marketing multiplier (e.g. Swiss television) talking about the new innovation
• Increase the guest loyalty by generating “good memories”, for both the parents and the children

How did you select this vendor?

Blue Carrot was selected based on an RFI and a personal meeting discussing the project objectives.

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

• Agreement on the key objectives of the project
• Workshop to discuss storyline
• Implementation of MVP
• Feedback and improvement of MVP
• Full implementation

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Blue Carrot was supporting us with a key contact managing the project on the vendor's side. The project management ensured that the project members contributed on timely manner and with the expected quality.

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

The custom video produced by Blue Carrot is shown 1-2 times a week at the hotel. The audience is always very impressed on the quality of the product and the possibility to customize the story based on the input from the children

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The Blue Carrot team was very effective and reliable. On the other hand as well very flexible in case we hadn't been available due to other urgent priorities.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The creativity, the efficiency and the reliability. We are very happy with the result and are impressed by the quality of the work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a matchmaking and event company and I am the Founder/CEO

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Carrot?

For a product video, a video showing as example all the possibilities of our platform

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to rise customer and user awareness and simplify our complex product proposal into a simple and easy-to-understand 80-sec video

How did you select this vendor?

Personal contact from an event

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

First, a storyboard for the video was developed, reviewed, changed again several times until we had a good and tellable story. Then a sketchboard was developed, choosing style and illustrations.

Then the video was developed, music and speakers were chosen and then everything was put together and underwent another review process with several changes, until thew final product, the video, was ready.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

They used several nice and professional methods in order to show the results an every stage.

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

https://vimeo.com/344517194

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There were several loops necessary in order to achieve the goal of a great video

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ambition and care to detail are impressive. We're both perfectionists, so our teams go together very well.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really, the delivered a very good work

Please describe your company and your position there.

We have a software for EOS-- the Entrepreneurial Operating System-- that helps entrepreneurs to organize and manage to get the most out of their business.

I am on the Business Development team and part of my job is to work with entrepreneurial peer groups to get set up in free accounts of our software.

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Carrot?

We hired Blue Carrot to help us to complete a short explainer video that quickly expresses the value of using Traction Tools for those peer groups' Board meetings and how it works.

What were your goals for this project?

To have a quick explainer video that was interesting and concise enough to capture the attention of prospects enough that they would request a demonstration of our software.

How did you select this vendor?

After doing some comparing and contrasting of vendors on Video Brewery, we selected Blue Carrot for their range of animation styles and price.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We had a series of discovery meetings to flush out what precisely we wanted to discuss in the video, what value props we wanted to express in our limited timeframe and what exactly our software does. The team was really quick to catch on and from there was able to put together a script that we could make edits to.

After that, we were sent storyboards that went along with the script and chose our voiceover artist. Finally we received the video, made a few last minute edits, and voila!

What was the team composition?

I worked with a few onboarding people up front and then mostly collaborated with Christina who seemed to be managing all of the balls in the air on Blue Carrots end-- she did a fantastic job of follow up and communicating.

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

We are yet to launch the video but are really happy with the results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was really easy-- after a few up front meetings, we largely worked with Christina who was super prompt and diligent about follow up.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The communication was fantastic. Things turned around to us for approval very promptly, and they were just a flexible, nice company to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None I can think of!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner and manager of Thing in a Pot Productions, which creates videos for small businesses and nonprofit organizations to be used in marketing.

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Carrot?

I hired Blue Carrot to create an animation video for an ongoing client of my own.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to illustrate the grassroots origins of the company and highlight the company as family- and community-based from the very beginning. The video was to be used on the company's multiple websites.

How did you select this vendor?

We reviewed previous work, contacted and received quotes from several animation companies. Blue Carrot matched the style we were looking for and was within our budget.

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

Blue Carrot was responsible for the creation of the video nearly in its entirety. We provided a script and initial ideas to them. They reviewed the script and sent suggested revisions. They then walked us through a process of storyboarding, style-frame, illustrations, and motion/sound design, with opportunities for me and my client to provide feedback at each step. The final video was 60 seconds long and formatted to be posted online.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Blue Carrot provided one person as a point of contact for all communication and feedback. Each step of the process was sent to us, and the project was on hold until we reviewed and provided our opinion or suggested revisions. Revisions were executed immediately before moving on to the next step.

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

My client was extremely happy with the final product, especially with the tone and message. The video was embedded on several company websites and had an impact that exceeded initial goals.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They communicated entirely through email, with regular responses and expectations set in advance. There was one point where there was a misunderstanding about dates, but that was an exception, certainly not the norm.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was very impressed by the quality of their work and the economy of their prices. They made an animated explainer video that was within the budget of small businesses and still visually engaging. They also had many options for price points, as well as examples that clearly demonstrated what was offered with each.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There might be a way for the amount of feedback necessary on my part to be streamlined. They sent samples for approval regularly, which was wonderful, but also time-consuming and wearying. Instead of six approval steps, it may be easier for clients to have two or three.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I run creative at GetUpside, a startup that personalizes brick-and-mortar commerce to help communities thrive. As we connect people with businesses, consumers get more purchasing power, merchants make more profit, and value is driven back to our communities.

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Carrot?

We have worked with Blue Carrot on 5+ videos to introduce GetUpside to our key personas -- both B2B and B2C.

What were your goals for this project?

For the most recent video, Blue Carrot's submission beat our existing creative in an A/B test on Google Play, driving more downloads of our consumer app.

How did you select this vendor?

Blue Carrot was referred to me by a colleague who worked with them previously. Just as my colleague explained, Blue Carrot has been professional, creative, communicative, and incredibly flexible and fast.

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

I have managed the creation of at least 5 sizzle videos with Blue Carrot. First, I submit a proposed script. Next, we collaborate to get that script parsed out and edited to fit the timeframe.

From there, Blue Carrot submits a storyboard and we iterate. Finally, Blue Carrot moves to animation and voice over recording (with approved talent).

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

I typically have one main point of contact per project, and find that communication by video call and/or email to be fast and clear.

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

For the most recent video, Blue Carrot's submission beat our existing creative in an A/B test on Google Play, driving more downloads of our consumer app.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

If anything, the bottleneck rests within my team. Blue Carrot runs like a well-oiled machine.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of work AND the speed at which Blue Carrot produces said work is impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a CEO at Sine Engineering Bureau. We do Brain, Body, Soul for connected devices. Brain: - Hardware Engineering; - Software Development. Body: - Industrial Design; - Mechanical Engineering. Soul: - Interaction Design; - Visual Design.

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Carrot?

Blue Carrot created a promo video for our company.

What were your goals for this project?

Explain who we are, our goals, vision, and mission.

How did you select this vendor?

That was a reference. My friend suggested to contact Blue Carrot.

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

We started with a meeting to get acquainted. Then ta brief were sent to us to describe our company values and goals. Based on this Blue Carrot team had developed the concept and script. Generally, the video production process was very structured and divided into stages. After each stage they always asked for my feedback on their job so we were on the same page during the process.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

I was in touch only with the account manager and producer who actually was leading the process and managed the rest of the artists, illustrators, animators, sound designers.

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

The video came out very inspiring, with the soul.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was great, as I said, we've been in touch all the time. Moreover, we were provided with the project plan before the start so have the defined dates when our feedback was needed, so we were able to organize our team to give the feedback in time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Quality of work is fantastic, they devote a significant amount of time to understand us and our needs. The process was very organized. I enjoyed working with them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I am totally satisfied with the service that Blue Carrot provides.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in the Ukraine office of a globally-based NGO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Carrot?

We needed animated video material for our educational platform.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us create animated video content for out platform. Our trainer teams wrote the script and then Maryna [Creative Producer, Blue Carrot] reviewed it. After discussing is, we decided it was best that she rewrote everything in order to make it better.

They produced 53 minutes of content. There are 11 animations or combinations of digital recordings and animations. They also helped us produce several pictures for our books.

How did you come to work with Blue Carrot?

We narrowed our search down to three companies, but realized that Blue Carrot was the best. They met deadlines and were easier to communicate with. I found them on Youtube and watched various examples of their work, and then decided to offer them the project.

How much have you invested with them?

This information is confidential. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2016–January 2017.

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

Everyone in the company was surprised in the quality of the videos, as well as with how Blue Carrot writes and delivers their ideas via all-educational material.

How did Blue Carrot perform from a project management standpoint?

They always met deadlines and were available on short notice for extra work. Their estimations of costs were always correct. It was easy to reach them. They’re really nice people, and it was always so pleasant to talk to them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re open minded and have a lot of artists they work with. They were really careful to find artists whose styles met our needs and tastes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was a wonderful experience compared to other companies. I’m not sure what they could do to be better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to be clear with what you expect from them. Give them some good examples from your perspective and share ideas. It’s important to share so that you can understand each other better in the beginning.