Playbook Co.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief experience officer at KIND Media and Events, a lifestyle company focusing on the Canadian recreational legal cannabis space. Before joining my current role, I was the brand director of Flowr, a Canadian legal-licensed cannabis producer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Playbook Co.?

I’ve worked with Playbook in both my current and past roles. The Canadian legal cannabis market has so many marketing limitations, so companies in this space rely on experiential marketing. When I worked at Flowr, we had built a calendar of events where we wanted to assist and provide experiences, but we needed an experiential agency to support us on those events.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

On our first engagement, Playbook helped us with two main tasks. Firstly, they helped us build a consistent experience for our brand to help us present ourselves at events across the country. Secondly, they helped us build a custom Flowr event series to also present across the country.

To build our presentations and experiences for these events, Playbook used a variety of technology, mostly leveraging Microsoft’s and Adobe’s suites. They created our presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote and used Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop for the design work required. Additionally, they helped us create 3D renders and build physical assets. Currently, Playbook helps me with similar tasks in my current role at KIND Media & Events.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked mainly with three people from Playbook, including Jil (Founder), Chris (Partner), and Marijean (Senior Account Manager).

How did you come to work with Playbook Co.?

When I worked at a different company, we had an in-house sponsorship and event team where Jill worked. At one point, she left the company to start her own experiential agency, and she associated with Chris, who had also worked for that company in the past, to create Playbook. Given that we had already worked together, I knew that I could rely on them. Still, we went through an RFP process and hired them after that.

How much have you invested with them?

We had spent around $50,000 on the projects at Flowr by the time I left. However, they continue working together, so that amount has surely increased. Additionally, I’ve kept working with them in my current role too.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The experiential presentation that Playbook built for Flowr’s launch event last year still exists. They’ve presented it across the country, and it is typically one of the most visited cannabis booths at those events. Overall, the assets they develop for us achieve high engagement and social sharing.

How did Playbook Co. perform from a project management standpoint?

Playbook has performed really well; they’re a nimble team that can deliver high-quality products in a short period of time. For example, in September 2021, we had an event and needed to pull together a presentation really quickly. Still, Playbook was able to conceptualize an idea and build it within three weeks.

We use a status document to manage the project that they built in Excel and share via Google Sheets. Additionally, we communicate via text messages, phone calls, Zoom meetings, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Playbook’s team feels like an extension of our own. They have really polished and professional people who aren’t scared of doing the hard work. These events involve setting up and tearing down the booth and building and changing things on the go. The team that Jill and Chris have built can do all of those tasks, which is amazing.

Additionally, a lot of experiential agencies come up with the concept and execution, but they go to third parties for the fabrication process. However, Playbook does the fabrication work in-house.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Playbook excels at experiential marketing, but it would be great if they improved their graphic design skills as they continue to grow. I believe that it would be a great area of opportunity for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Set up ongoing status calls and have a clear budget from the get-go. The longer time you can provide them with to work on projects, the stronger their execution will be. Still, they’re very good at turning things around very quickly.