De Lu Studios

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software company with a marketing agency side.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with De Lu Studios?

I don’t employ full-time graphic designers, so I’ve engaged with De Lu Studios to work on some graphic design projects for my clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, De Lu Studios helped us redo our company’s site. Still, a couple of our clients wanted us to take over their full marketing efforts, so they’ve also helped us design a couple of WordPress sites for those clients and do some videos as well.

As for the sites that De Lu Studios has helped us with, most of them have been website redesigns, but one site was completely built from scratch because the client was moving onto WordPress. Regarding the videos, they’ve mostly created some product videos, but they’ve also helped us produce branding videos and a couple of funny videos to drive engagement around some events.

Now, De Lu Studios helps us with graphic design services. The deliverables have included web images, social media images for posts, PDF designs, and web page designs. They also add new pages and make changes to the sites when needed.

What is the team composition?

We work with Natalie and Scott (Owners). Natalie has been in charge of the website design and maintenance for our clients, while Scott has been in charge of creating the videos.

How did you come to work with De Lu Studios?

I was getting private yoga lessons from someone, and this person had De Lu Studios redo their site, which I really liked. At the time, I was looking for someone to revamp my site, so I contacted them.

How much have you invested with them?

Last year, we spent over $100,000, but the spending will be significantly lower this year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. We will continue to work together until the end of 2022, but I’m not sure about 2023 because our company is shifting and focusing on software development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Design-wise, Natalie is very strong at what she does. De Lu Studios provides very detailed graphic design work.

How did De Lu Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

DeLu always meets its deadlines and generally stays within the project's budget. We have a solid understanding of what their costs will be before presenting to the client and securing the bid. Most of the time, with our longer-term clients, we provide them with a retainer fee that is a percentage of the retainer fee our company receives, so we know what we can produce for the clients ahead of time. This has worked well for both parties- DeLu and mine.

For collaboration tools, we have used Click Up and Slack (client tools in use), and for our collaboration with De Lu, we have Discord channels for each client to help us communicate only messages specific to that client. This has worked very well between our teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Although their video production services are good, De Lu Studios’ design services are impressive. They have a great portfolio, and they’re very good at what they do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The De Lu team has strong marketing skills that complement one another and are constantly improving- both in customer service and skill set. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very upfront about your budget and what services you need, but be open to ideas from De Lu. They are a partner that wants to help you succeed and has the knowledge and skill set to make it happen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the creator and owner of Northeast Healing Arts, a company that offers continuing education couses for health practitioners, mainly targeting massage therapists. I also run a private practice using kinesiology techniques to help clients reduce pain.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire De Lu Studios, and what were your goals?

My goal was to create an effective online course for health practitioners to expand their skill set to include energy medicine techniques offering continuing education credits at the same time. I wanted the course to be unique, easy to follow, clean looking, and very professional.

SOLUTION

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

I initially found Natalie at De Lu because she previously worked for a corporate wellness company. It seemed like a great fit after I learned about their team's collaborative approach and the broad scope of services they were offering. It

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

The scope of the project included course creation (video production/filming, and an illustrated comprehensive manual) as well as branding and sales initiatives. De Lu has helped me develop a strong brand identity and created a beautiful custom website that reflects my values and speaks to my target market.

We now collaborate on an ongoing basis performing email marketing, Facebook marketing, and promoting my courses through industry specific means such as Continuing Education provider directories. Together we have created several educational products, books and posters.

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

Natalie H:

• Co-founder
• marketing specialist
• web designer

Scott M:

• Co-founder
• video marketing specialist and strategist

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before collaborating with De Lu, student attendance was around 30% capacity. After applying their outstanding branding strategies and targeted marketing campaigns, my classes are consistently being filled to 90% or 100% capacity. I'm getting a steady stream of leads and tons of positive feedback from students. I'm very pleased to say that my name is becoming far more well-known in my industry!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our workflow is very effective. Their responsiveness and collaborative approach is outstanding.

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

They honor my ideas/values and encourage me to continue developing my personal brand. They have a high level of integrity and professionalism. I'd also add that they are very personable and plesant to work with.

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

I honestly cannot think of anything that I am unhappy with. De Lu is an amazing company!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of the marketing team for a SaaS company that provides a platform for registered investment advisors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with De Lu Studios?

We needed help with video production and marketing collateral.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

De Lu Studios produces 1–2-minute long animated videos for us to showcase our mobile app in various ad campaigns and social media. Their work includes creating animations using our screens, adding music, and editing the audio.

For every video, the process is very simple. We first brainstorm what I want and discuss our ideas. Then, they come back with a storyboard that I can edit, and we go back and forth until it is ready; it is a very collaborative process. After that, De Lu Studios produces de video and make changes if needed. The whole process usually takes a couple of weeks.

In addition to the videos, De Lu Studios has created marketing collateral, including fact sheets, flyers, and banner ads. Currently, they’re working on a thought leadership paper as well. Every asset they provide is in line with the videos, so every deliverable has a look and feel in tune with our brand.

What is the team composition?

We work with two people from De Lu Studios. Scott (Co-Owner, Video Marketing & Strategy Specialist) creates and edits the video, and he collaborates in the visual aspect as well. On the other hand, Natalie (Co-Founder & Marketing Specialist) works on the collateral side and also contributes to the visual aspect of the videos, helping me storyboard them and put together their content.

How did you come to work with De Lu Studios?

Another company I worked with referred De Lu Studios to me, and I really liked their videos.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The videos produced by De Lu Studios have accomplished exactly what we want. For example, we’ve used them a lot for LinkedIn ads, and the metrics for the people viewing the videos have increased; they’re very successful videos.

Thanks to these videos, our content is more engaging and looks much more professional. We’re getting very positive feedback from our clients and LinkedIn followers, and people know who we are, which is what we were looking for.

How did De Lu Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

De Lu Studios has performed very well. They’re always very upfront regarding the budget, and they always meet our expectations and timelines. I’ve asked them to do a couple of tasks on very tight deadlines, and they’ve always come through.

I meet with them once a week to get updates and ensure the project keeps on track. Throughout the week, we communicate via email, but they can also jump on a quick call if needed; they’re very open to that. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

De Lu Studios’ deliverables are great; the videos, content, and graphics they create are all phenomenal. Still, their best asset (and a characteristic I didn’t expect from them) is that they’re very proactive. They always help me put together my plan and interact with me to provide their insight; they excel at doing that. Additionally, they’re wonderful and very easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

De Lu Studios is made up of highly talented experienced people. They need to ensure they present that professionalism when presenting to very senior-level people in organizations. Depending on the company, they may need to approach them in a different way. Other than that, there’s nothing they could improve on; they’re great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go in with your plan and listen to their insight on how to execute it in a better way. Working with De Lu Studios as a partnership is how they add their value to the project.