Brain Bytes Creative

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

Since we've started working with Brain Bytes, we've seen a huge increase in our page speed as well as the number of leads that have come in. That's not just from a paid perspective. It's from a full digital scope, so it could be content and all the other items I've talked with you about. It's increased significantly enough that we brought it in front of our executive leadership team and that they were pleased with it.

I've had many agencies miss a deadline and not let me know until the next day. I had to follow up with them. Keep in mind, I'm paying them hourly based on the retainer that we decided. Brain Bytes does not do that. We decide together on what we think is a good deadline for things. In contrast, our contact person at Brain Bytes makes sure that he has all the resources possible to meet deadlines. If it looks like the deadlines are going to shift for whatever reason, we get notified way ahead of time. That seldom happens. They usually deliver on what they say they're going to deliver, when they say they're going to deliver on it. That's huge for me.

In the past, other agencies I've worked with would say they're creative. But, they were not. They would just re-churn the exact same thing that one of their other clients did. They would spin it to suit whatever company I work for, but it's the same thing. It's churning out something that's not unique. I like that the output from Brain Bytes is unique. They are always trying to up it and make it better. We're in the cybersecurity world, so that is very complex. They've been able to pick things up so quickly to help us in that space. I've been here about nine months now, and I am just now figuring it out. The fact that they've been able to come in after three months and perform well is a huge plus.

How did Brain Bytes Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

I'm very pleased with the project management. I always feel like things are very organized with Brain Bytes. There's a lot of that kind of communication with them, which is great because I've worked with other agencies that just suck. I hate when I feel like our agency is in this vacuum, and we're not able to communicate with them. I was very skeptical about working with an agency at all because of my horrible experience with another agency. Brain Bytes will be the fifth agency that I've worked with, and they are fantastic.

Brain Bytes has a sharing platform called Slack, which allows us to have constant communication during a project. We are able to ping each other and share all the things that we're doing on our end and on their end. This way, we know what they're working on. They're very good about reporting. There's a lot of transparency with this company, which I love. We also do weekly meetings, which are kind of like our stand ups. We know what projects we've been working on because we've been talking all week via Slack, and email. We often collaborate in Google Docs just to make sure we're focused on the program. In our weekly meetings, we'll bring up what we've decided to do for the current month and what we were planning for the previous month. We would also discuss the things that are within the scope of those programs, who was assigned to them and where they are. They're quick meetings because we talk all week long. We have an account manager from Brain Bytes, and we have someone who takes care of the minutes just so everybody is on the same page. Anytime we have a meeting and there are next steps from either side, that person emails us and lets us know what we need to do.

What did you find most impressive about Brain Bytes Creative?

I love working with the people from Brain Bytes. I feel like they have a nice mix of different generations, anywhere from millennials and up, which is great. It's a full scope of experience. The younger generation that works there is savvy, quick, and smart. Then, they've got the Generation X people who are really experienced. They know how to utilize and take advantage of the skills that the millennials are coming out of school with. It's very different than when I was in school. They know so much. It's good because it's a full-spectrum agency, which I love.

I also love that they are very accommodating. We can shift easily. They're very agile. We can say, "This isn't working," or, "There are changes in the company and we need to refocus this month." Not only are they accommodating, but they also provide strategy when we need to refocus. It's not like we're flying blind. They would say, "OK, we'll do whatever you need us to do. But, based on what you're saying, here's what we recommend. Here's what we think we can provide, where we could fit and help you succeed." It's a nice, tight relationship.

Even though we work with them a lot digitally, they do come into our office and allow us the opportunity to get face-to-face time. That cements our relationship with them. Trust is important when working with an agency, so you have to get going with them and have them earn it. We have to earn their trust as well. They have to know that we're going to pay them on time, give them the right information, and provide feedback. I think those qualities are what make them special.

Are there any areas Brain Bytes Creative could improve?

There are certain items that Brain Bytes could probably report better. But, that depends on the company, what the stakeholders and the executive leadership want to see and how they want to see it. Again, because they're agile, they'll figure it out as long as we're honest with them.

I think there are times when – I hate to say this because it's not even a problem – but Brain Bytes want to please us so much that they do whatever we say. When I worked with Brain Bytes in my previous company, this was not an issue because we had already established trust. There was much more, "Listen, there are things you are doing wrong. We can help you." Before, they were more candid because we had worked together for several months. Now, we've been collaborating for three months and we're just starting to get to that level of trust. I can't even say that there's a fault. I love working with them.