Cintri

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Manager for an alcoholic beverage brand. We recently launched a brand of 100-calorie ready to drink cocktails and needed a video to help articulate who we are as a brand.

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

We hired Cintri to develop two videos for our brand- one focusing on our overall brand ethos, and the other focusing on highlighting our brand in the context of a key partnership in the realm of professional auto racing.

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

We wanted our production company to be one that was able to pull from a wide array of experiences, from action sports, to pop culture and everything in between. While we are by definition a beverage brand, we wanted to be able to bring our brand into key lifestyle contexts particularly through various outdoor activities.

Knowing Cintri's experience in that realm along with their knowledge of the culture that goes along with these activities, it was really a no-brainer for us to bring them on for this project. Cintri isn't here just "do things by the book" They keep creativity at the forefront of their mission and that really shines through in their work. Cintri's network of production staff, filmers, photographers, creatives and talent allowed for a lot of streamlining throughout the production process without any compromise in quality.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail, including the project steps and all stages of production.

Cintri took on our project(s) on very short notice. Their eagerness to work with us was a testament to how hard they want to work to create amazing content. What started as a quick phone call quickly turned into a 40-page treatment which then snowballed into an incredibly synergistic working relationship that allowed all parties to be candid, upfront and deliberate with the expectations of the final products.

From concepting, to scripting, to production, all the way through to final edits and animation, Cintri's capabilities as an agency are second to none, which allowed us to have them act as a one-stop-shop for every piece of creative that our project called for. Throughout the production process Cintri made sure that momentum never stopped building. In other words, when they needed to make sure that we kept moving as the client, they were sure to let us know.

It's this type of attitude that allows for a sense of togetherness, knowing that their team cares about the project just as much as your team does. Cintri often liaised between our brand and our key partners for which one of our videos was made. They took it upon themselves to reach out to our brand partners in need of feedback or clarification and understood the value of transparency across all parties involved in the project.

The majority of this project was shot in rugged outdoor settings. Cintri proceeded with production unhindered despite various accounts of inclement weather, set or prop failure and limited daylight. Mark (director) and Evan (producer) understood when it made sense to cut particular shots from our schedule, and made it clear as to why doing so made sense given the situation.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

My team worked directly with Evan and Mark throughout the entire process. Both Evan and Mark were heavily involved from start to finish, so knowing that either of them could pick up where we left off was reassuring for us as the client. Both of them worked to keep the project moving and made sure that our team was staying on top of deadlines for feedback.

After providing them with feedback, they acted quickly to get us updated deliverables and repeated the process until things were nothing short of perfect. Throughout the feedback process, both Mark and Evan pushed back on certain items in the event that they felt strongly enough to do so. This was one of the more valuable pieces of the working relationship we were able to cultivate with them.

While they take the satisfaction of their clients very seriously, they are not just there to be "yes men", and they understand that their experience in video production might supersede that of their clients' in which case their pushback on certain items may have the potential to positively affect the end product.

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

Cintri actually played a key role in helping us develop a relationship with a new brand partner to whom we are acting as a sponsor. Our first time working with Cintri was on a set with a high-profile professional auto racing team. Cintri's professionalism, charisma and ability to communicate on set was noted on multiple accounts by members of the team we were partnered with and validated our legitimacy as a sponsor.

We were then told that the athelete we were shooting with had never seemed to enjoy himself on set as much as he did with Cintri- A True testament to Mark and Evan's abilities as directors and producers. Other outcomes of success- We have been able to showcase final deliverables at a number of wholesaler meetings, in-store displays, music festivals and through various digital channels, providing great brand exposure, brand education and creating hundreds of thousands of impressions across the country.

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

Cintri comes to the table with a very organized and structured work style. With that being said, their ability to be flexible allows for things to change when needed. Detailed emails, openness to phone calls and organized file delivery are all things that Cintri sees to be the norm in how they operate.

When presenting deliverables, they would share video assets via Vimeo and still imagery through organized DropBox files. Once final deliverables were ready to be presented, they would share DropBox folders organized by videos and stills, file type, and video length, allowing for easy downloading and or sharing across mobile and desktop.

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

The unique characteristic about Cintri is their ability to become part of your team. It doesn't take long before they become an extension of your brand. These guys are much more than a creative agency just looking for another project. They take the time to learn everything about your brand before diving in. They take the time to understand your vision, and while they may have their own vision, they approach each project from a standpoint of trying to come to a mutual understanding instead of trying to sway the project to how they see it.

With that said, they understand when and where to take creative liberties. We often leaned on them as creatives to show us what they thought worked best for the end product, and in most if not every instance, they prevailed. Mark, Evan, and the crew they sourced for our project are much more than agency partners to us at this point. In short, the most unique thing about Cintri is the relationship we were able to cultivate with them.

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

While be there very few, Cintri understands their shortcomings or disadvantages as a younger agency of a relatively smaller scale. In that same vein, Cintri is constantly learning from their experiences both positive and negative. This project offered many unique challenges that stemmed from the infancy of our brand, and our own lack of knowledge of all of the moving pieces that go into a project like this, as well as the strict regulations surrounding the alcohol industry.

While nothing to note in specific, we urge Cintri to maintain their willingness to learn, and to strive for a a level of over-clarification when it comes to liaising between their client and a third party, or in licensing ancillary assets.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software company. We have a product for the manufacturing industry that will be the first of its kind in 30 years.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cintri?

Our product wasn’t the simplest thing to understand; even people in manufacturing didn’t get it. They often knew what it did in general, but they wouldn’t get the details. We needed a video to explain the core concepts.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cintri created a 60-second 3D animation video that transitioned between the visualization of the concepts applied in the software. Initially, they had to understand what we did from a consulting perspective. With the general idea of what we did, they were able to come up with ideas that allowed them to create visuals to explain the concept to people. 

Also, they helped us with the refinement of the message. When we started, we had about eight pages of script. They cut that down to 60 seconds of narrative and did the production, voiceover, and music behind it. Ultimately, they delivered the finished product.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Evan (Co-Founder) and Kevin (Animator). Evan’s role was predominantly focused on consulting and ensuring that the storyboarding, messaging, and production were taken care of. Kevin’s job was the technical delivery. He did all the technological development and visuals for the final video.

How did you come to work with Cintri?

I met Evan through someone that worked in the partner program for Mendix, a low-code platform owned by Siemens. That tertiary network connection introduced us, and Evan and I talked about the project for about a year before we were actually engaged.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged them in June 2020 and made a down payment. However, it was another eight months before we kicked off. The video was finished in January 2022 in four months, but it was a year after the engagement actually started.

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

The video had thousands of views online. Moreover, working with them was incredible. They were interested in getting it right. Other marketing firms we’d worked with were more interested in getting it done; they didn’t care if it was right or not as long as they were paid. Cintri was willing to invest in what they were doing; they put a lot more time into it. Otherwise, they probably would’ve done a simple video for a widget. Nonetheless, they were persistent and produced excellent work.

How did Cintri perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was perfect. They were on point at all times. Other marketing people don’t execute well from a project management perspective.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were way more thorough than any other marketing we’d ever encountered.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know. The only thing that would’ve made the engagement any better was having someone who understood our industry. However, that wasn’t reasonable.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just do what they tell you and give them what they need to do their job.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the brand manager of a lacrosse and hockey hardgoods equipment supplier. I focus on the lacrosse side of the business, handling our paid advertising, social media strategy, key partnerships with colleges and professional athletes, and more.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cintri?

We do a lot of product launches every year, and we constantly come up with updates to other products. When we have important product launches, we like to do big commercial campaigns that involve big video production projects. Some of the companies we were using for these commercials were getting a little stale regarding their creative input. Thus, we wanted to freshen things up and find a new company, so we hired Cintri.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cintri has helped us produce 30–50-second commercial spots in a 16:9 format to support our product launches. First, they provide us with photography services to get 20–25 selected images, ranging from images of our products to photos of our products being used by athletes. Using that variety of imagery and some footage they film, they create the spots, as well as 10–15-second shorter versions and teasers to build expectations and excitement on social media ahead of the launch. Additionally, Cintri adds animations to the videos, which was something we didn’t do a lot in the past.

Cintri’s first project was around editing a commercial that another company had filmed. This campaign announced the signing of a new professional lacrosse athlete. However, we didn’t like the video produced by the other company, so we brought Cintri in to see if they could salvage it.

After that project, Cintri helped us shoot another athlete video for our women’s brand. Now, we’re planning three more projects that should start in August 2022 and be delivered by October 2022.

What is the team composition?

I typically work with three main people from Cintri: Evan, Mark (Co-Founders), and Kevin (Animator). Evan is more involved in the administrative side and final editing, while Mark acts as the director on set, but he also collaborates in the final editing. Of course, Kevin is in charge of the animations and the 3D rendering.

How did you come to work with Cintri?

My former boss made the transition from our previous providers to Cintri, and they came in to help with the hockey side of the business, so I’m not sure how he found them. However, they eventually moved over to the lacrosse side of our business.

How much have you invested with them?

Over our five projects with Cintri, we will spend around $110,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Cintri on the lacrosse side of our business in February 2022. Although the first projects were finished in March 2022, our collaboration is ongoing, and we’re very excited to see what Cintri can do in the future for our next projects.

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

The videos and imagery that Cintri has produced for us are spectacular and have had a very strong impact on our paid media channels. The click-through rate we’ve achieved is great, helping us engage more people with our content.

We really enjoyed the first small projects we did with Cintri. We wanted to salvage a commercial we didn’t like, and they did more than salvage it. Furthermore, the animations that they implemented were also spectacular. They did so much with so little that we escalated our partnership to larger collaborations to see what they were capable of with the whole arsenal at their disposal.

This campaign was very important for us because it marked our 30th anniversary. Thus, we launched throwback products, used a lot of old artwork, and designed new uniforms. Cintri played an important role in every part of the process, making the outcome very successful.

How did Cintri perform from a project management standpoint?

The first project took place in mid-March 2022, and Cintri demonstrated very quick turnaround times, handling the COVID-19 restrictions very professionally.  Even the athletes said that everything was highly organized and very structured.

Throughout our engagement, Cintri has been very communicative. They’re one of the first companies I’ve worked with that text me when something is urgent. I don’t mind getting a text message late at night or during the weekend, so I’ve encouraged them to keep that communication level.

Still, our engagement has been very calm, and we’ve never had any urgency that affected us. Every hurdle we’ve come across, we’ve collaboratively worked through it over email, conference calls, or text messages.

Ours has become almost a personal relationship. Cintri sends us pictures and animations they’re working on that we don’t ask for just because they’re very excited to show them and get us excited as well. Their personal approach makes me feel comfortable working with them; they constantly show us sneak peeks and ask for more feedback to deliver tailored work. Their goal is to give us the best product we can get.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cintri’s creativity is impressive. They’re never satisfied with the status quo, and they always find new and different ways to make their products look different from everyone else’s. As a brand trying to appeal to younger audiences that are always finding new trends, we really appreciate Cintri’s efforts to create different types of content on different platforms to avoid being repetitive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any constructive criticism for them. Still, I think that experimenting with different stylized photography would be a good next step for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as honest and open with them as possible. The more direct you are about your needs and expectations, the more capable they’ll be of help you produce what you want. Additionally, let them do their work. They’re the professionals, so let them have fun and guide you toward your goals.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the National High School Golf Association (NHSGA) manager at Nextgengolf at PGA of America. We’re all about providing competitive, team-based golf opportunities for high school, college-aged, and young adults throughout the United States. We’re a fully owned subsidiary of the PGA of America. In my role, I manage day-to-day marketing, sales, and social media efforts.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cintri?

One of our goals for 2020 was to tell our story and improve our marketing efforts, especially by video and visual. We brought Cintri on for video production services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled video production efforts for our biggest event, the High School Golf National Invitation Tournament. The first step was for them to get an understanding of the goal and target audience for a video. Then during the tournament, they did coverage that is now evergreen. We can use it for years and years to come.

Because of COVID-19, we provided them with footage and they took it from there. We use some of the shorter clips for social media and the 3–4-minute videos for our website.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three team members.

How did you come to work with Cintri?

I was introduced to Evan (Co-Founder) by a former colleague. We hit it off, and both our companies are based out of Boston.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $2,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was from April–October 2020. The tournament was in August, and we were doing pre-production discussions in the months prior.

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

We’ve seen an increase in site traffic and social media followers. We already have more players registered for next year’s event than we did for the entire season. Ultimately, we’ve already surpassed the number of players we had last year.

What’s more, Titlist is really interested in becoming our premier title sponsor, which is so huge. That would do a lot for our image, credibility, and brand as we go forward.

How did Cintri perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was fantastic. We had weekly calls and would often collaborate together. If there were any issues, they’d address them very quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was really impressed with their ability to adapt. They’ve never done anything specific to golf or the scope of what we do. However, they really understood what we were looking for and blew things out of the water by doing their homework and research on other marketing videos that high school or college golf organizations have used in the past. Even though it was something a little bit out of their real or comfort zone, they definitely went above and beyond.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re looking to showcase your brand or product in a cool, fresh, and fun way then look no further. Cintri is really passionate about what they do. They don’t quit until the job is done, and it is done very, very well too.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am responsible for Marketing within TimeSeries. TimeSeries has offices in The Netherlands, Germany, The United States and Canada. TimeSeries combines cutting edge technology (IoT, Big Data, Machine Learning) with the low-code platform Mendix. TimeSeries has developed multiple (low-code) smart application templates for different industries.

For what projects/services did your company hire Cintri?

We hired Cintri to create 3 videos: - Company culture video - 2 customer videos

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase traffic to our website and YouTube channel and to showcase our unique company culture and our solutions.

How did you select Cintri?

Evan (one of the founders) is working parttime for TimeSeries as an account executive, so we know him personally. The videos Cintri creates are top quality and fit our company, so the choice was not difficult.

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

Evan already knows the business very well, so the process around the content creation went very smoothly. We had a couple of calls about the different videos and he made the scripts.

Once those were finished, they started shooting the material and the end result is amazing. Nothing is too much to ask for Evan and his crew. We loved the collaboration.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

There was a 2-person filming crew on set and one animator to do the postproduction. We received several drafts and we could give our feedback and Cinri processed it accordingly and very quickly.

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

The videos have been watched numerous times and we always receive great feedback when we show the videos to prospects and existing customers. Also, our colleagues were very happy with the company culture video.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication was great and Cintri delivered the videos beyond our expectations.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their filming techniques and editing skills are amazing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are very satisfied with the end result and the way we got to the end result. No improvements from our side.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing communications manager for the New England PGA.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cintri?

We run golf tournaments from April–October every year, and we have three major championships. We worked with Cintri to create a video to promote one of our championships. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created 15-, 30-, and 60-second videos. At the beginning of the project, we had a discussion so they understood what we were looking for. Then they sent us some ideas for animation and effects for the video. Then we exchanged some photos and history of the event that they were able to incorporate into the final video.

Then they began shooting the videos. There were 4–5 people on site from 6 am–6 pm to capture video from our championship. They used drones and other video equipment to shoot golf footage throughout the day. Then they created a promotional video using the highlights from that day. They particularly focused on the golfers who went on to national qualifiers.

What is the team composition?

We had one main point of contact who was a co-founder. We talked to the other co-founder a few times as well. On the day of the championship, they brought 3–4 camera operators.

How did you come to work with Cintri?

They had worked with another golf organization earlier in the year, and they referred Cintri to us. They talked to someone else from our office, and I was brought in to grow the collaboration from there.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2020 and our championship was in September. We received the finished video in October 2020.

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

The final product is excellent. Everybody who watched the video was blown away. We will use Cintri’s content to promote that championship throughout the year. We expect that we’ll have more registrations for the tournament as a result. We definitely plan to work with Cintri again in the future.

How did Cintri perform from a project management standpoint?

They set up all of our meetings and bent over backward to accommodate our schedules. On top of that, they were always very prepared and every meeting was productive. Ultimately, the project continued to progress, which helped them deliver on time.

We had a lot of virtual meetings on Google Hangouts, but we scheduled meetings over email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The finished product was incredible. The quality of their work was fantastic. The videos included animation, special effects, slow motion drone shots, and even extreme zooms.  The video is much better than anything we would have been able to produce ourselves.

They were also very professional. Filming around the golf tournament was challenging, but they rose to the occasion. One of the cameras required two people to operate it, and one person used a remote control to operate another camera. Still, they never got in the way or interfered with the tournament.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were great all the way around.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I highly recommended them. I’d advise new clients to dream big and pitch what they want to achieve to them. They’re likely to be blown away by their work.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of an LLC and have two other partners for this startup. We design, manufacture, produce, and sell our product.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cintri?

We were trying to create two things: marketing materials or collateral that we could use to advertise with, and videos that show the benefits of purchasing and using our products.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first engaged with Cintri to help us conceptualize the videos we wanted. We knew we needed videos of different lengths so we discussed how long it should be and what it should contain. 

They brainstormed with us based on what we believed we wanted the videos to demonstrate at a minimum and helped guide us through a storyboard and a script. We did different iterations and modifications to the script until we got to a point where we felt like we had the right language and verbiage.

For the production of the videos, it was both animated and live-action. They provided us with different options for voiceover artists and sent us examples that we could listen to. The team did a number of animations within the video, even more than what we asked for, which was great. They then organized getting us an actor for the live-action part of the video.

The post-production part of the project had a lot of back and forth. They would send us an initial cut, and as a team, my partners and I would talk about what we liked and what we didn’t from the timing of the music to how long the scenes lasted. We’re aware of scenes that aren’t included in the first drafts, so we were able to ask for those in order to assess which scenes would make it in the final cut.

We would bring in other members of their team for discussions to make sure the final product was ultimately what we wanted and were happy with.

So, the end result was Cintri produced three videos, each with different lengths. The longer video, which was 45 seconds, had two shorter cuts of 30 seconds and 15 seconds. We asked for some screenshots from the videos, which I thought could be used as helpful graphics for our website and for advertising purposes.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with Evan (Owner & Founder). We also worked with one of his colleagues who wasn’t directly involved but was in on the emails and at least one video call with us. There was one other person I never spoke with but I know was involved.

How did you come to work with Cintri?

A friend of mine was acquainted with Evan, and I was telling this friend that we really needed someone to make a video for us so he connected us. We interviewed Evan and talked to him about what we wanted, and he gave us a detailed proposal of what they would do and how much it would cost to produce the video.

We had previously posted our project to one of those freelance platforms before we had met Evan, so we had another reference to compare the project quote with. But ultimately, since Evan and our company were in the same city, and we liked what he would be able to do for us, we decided to work with him. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted from February 2020–June 2020.

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

We were very impressed with the quality of the video. To us, it feels like something that was produced in a Hollywood studio. We were also very happy with Evan who worked with us throughout the process to make any and all adjustments that we requested because we know it takes a lot of time to make the edits. 

We were happy with the animation that they provided. We only had one specific animation request and they gave us at least three in the final video without any extra charges. We liked how they gave us three versions of the videos as it gave us the flexibility to determine what we wanted to put on our website and what we wanted to use for our paid ads. In the end, we definitely got what we wanted and that’s great.

How did Cintri perform from a project management standpoint?

Email was our primary tool of communication which was good for all of us because we were able to keep up with the same email chain and group. The conversations were great and we even had a lot of video call sessions with Evan through Google Meet. He was more than happy to jump on video calls after hours too, oftentimes around eight or nine o’clock at night to keep us updated on the project or discuss any questions to keep the process going.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have gone through the process with other providers but I can definitely say that Evan certainly showed a personal interest in the project. We never felt like this was just a job for him to work on. He exemplified real interest and understanding and product. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they could’ve improved on. I really think they over-delivered on what they said they would do for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to do as much pre-planning as possible: write out and think through as well as you can the project, your requests, and the scope. The more detailed and forward-thinking you can be, the better it will be for everybody involved. Eliminate confusion and avoid wasting time just spitballing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a technology startup in San Jose, California. We build machines that inspect batteries, and I’m the founder and CEO of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Cintri?

We were trying to make a promotional video that will be featured on our website front page and sent to our customers. Cintri helped us make that video.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them the basic idea of what we wanted and the style we wanted it in, which was a sort of documentary-style video with some animation layered over it. They handled storyboarding and everything from there.

That included driving up to us and doing all of the filming, running the footage through post-production editing, and adding the animations to create the final product. The cool thing was they allowed us to preview the film right after they took it, so we had some idea of what it would look like from the start.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Evan (Owner, Cintri).

How did you come to work with Cintri?

We were introduced to Cintri at the Stanford Venture Group, which is their entrepreneurial organization. I posted to ask about documentary filmmakers, and somebody recommended them to us, so we reached out. They were the only people who were willing to work within our budget, so it was an easy choice.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we spent $2,300 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from August–September 2019.

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

We have not yet publicly launched our product, but I do have a lot of anecdotal feedback that everyone we sent the video to is very impressed. It’s very cool and very futuristic, so I’ve had a lot of people ask me who made it, including several of our clients and one investor.

He also gave me four different lengths of video, from 15 seconds to a minute long, each in horizontal and vertical orientation, and each of those in English and Chinese. All in all, we received 16 videos.  

How did Cintri perform from a project management standpoint?

They really handled everything from beginning to end. They sent us the footage after filming, and we had some back and forth about the exact details of the video in which he was very responsive. Evan made all of the changes we requested right away, and it was always very clear that he was in charge of every step of the process.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really appreciated how responsive they are. Evan is super responsive, and it’s not hard to see that it pays off from the quality of his work. His team has a lot of passion for this process, and you can really feel that when you look at the final product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For this kind of budget, this was way beyond my expectations. I really have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a vision for your video. Have three words that you would use to describe the feeling of the video. I think that was really important, because a video that short is not necessarily going to get into the technical details of your work, but it still needs to be able to communicate a purpose, and having a vision will go a long way in helping to execute that purpose effectively.