Dogtown Media

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a faculty member and the Director of a research lab in a large university and conduct health communication research.

For what projects/services did your company hire Dogtown Media?

Dogtown helped develop an eHealth decision tool for cancer patients related to genetic testing. They provided design and programming of the tool. We were hoping to work with a company who could adapt to thinking about "customers" differently and working with us in the research considerations as well as usability of an education tool by a diverse patient population.

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

We looked in a variety of places to find companies who had either worked with other higher learning institutions on research projects or had some experience working in healthcare web design. We chose Dogtown because of their flexibility and buy-in to our vision of what the educational tool would be and how it would be used.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We had initial discovery meetings with Dogtown about what the vision for the project was and shared planning documents with them on what we believed the tool components should be. We were then assigned a team with a project manager, a programmer and later a designer to create wire frames and then a full prototype. They also contracted an animator and served as go-between with them to create educational animated videos that would be part of the tool. We met with them weekly to go over progress and share feedback during the design process and then after we had conducted user testing with the tool.

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

We worked with four people directly from Dogtown, including a VP, a project director, a programmer and a designer. After the project was complete we also worked with a IT person who helped us transfer the tool to our name. The animator was contracted by Dogtown to produce content, but we did not have direct access to that person. The project manager was that person's point of contact.

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

We are very happy with the look of the tool and felt Dogtown represented our vision above and beyond what we could have done. We have not started testing the tool with patients but user testing was very positive and we anticipate it will have a positive effect.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everyone was easy to communicate with and responsive to any questions or concerns we had. They were an effective team, met deadlines, and created a great end product.

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

We were impressed with everyone at Dogtown. They were adaptive, enthusiastic about the project, creative, and professional. They were an excellent partner in the project and we would have no hesitation in recommending them to other researchers developing web-based research education or behavioral modification tools.

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

We really had nothing that we felt was lacking in their services.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

GetBackd is a fintech business center based in Austin, Texas. We assist small businesses such as restaurants and construction companies with working capital. We basically support them with their short-term financial needs.

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

We wanted to create a separate website where we could tokenize and fractionalize some of our loans and other companies’ loans and sell them off. Overall, we wanted to have a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dogtown Media helped us developed our product’s MVP. As part of that, they created our platform’s initial design, UI, layout, and content, and we viewed their work on Figma. We had a lot of meetings where we discussed what we required from them, specifically on the direction we wanted to follow. After completing our platform, we re-engaged them again to help us in creating some designs for our main site and help us develop more products.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 5–6 people from Dogtown Media, including some of their people holding senior management positions. We also worked with their project lead, designers, and content lead.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

Dogtown Media was referred to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–September 2021.

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

I only received positive feedback from internal stakeholders. We didn’t launch the project yet, so we wouldn’t be able to share any market feedback yet. Overall, they exceeded our expectations.

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very professional, and we had weekly meetings with them. On top of that, they were very responsive, and they quickly implemented the changes we requested. However, I wasn’t sure what tools they used internally, but they always kept us updated with their progress by sending us videos or demos of their process. Overall, what we had was a continuous feedback cycle.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The originality of their work was impressive. The project wasn’t easy to do because everyone shared something unique and iconic during the partnership. In the end, we were pleasantly surprised that they produced a platform that was on point with what we wanted.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they had no areas to improve, otherwise, we wouldn’t have hired them again for new projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want because Dogtown Media could deliver almost anything. When you’re able to give clear instructions, you’ll get what you’re looking for in your project.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder and the executive producer of LaunchPad Media. We’re a design and web development agency based outside of Boston. We’ve been in business for over 15 years.

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

Our client — a psychiatric association — approached us to build a mobile app because we’d designed their website and a lot of their web-based collateral material. Although we’re very good web developers and designers, we’re not very good app developers. We partnered with Dogtown Media to deliver the application.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We collaborated with Dogtown on how the front-end design should look, and they took it forward in terms of functionalities and development. Their services were end to end. After kick-off calls to define the scope, they moved to simple wireframes, development, and quality control.

Sending personal information comes with strong safety considerations in the web and app development worlds because we don’t want bad actors to intercept anything. Our client wanted to devise a method of passing personal information to a doctor that would be completely protected from interception.

Dogtown developed a custom information transfer process between the patient and the clinician using QR codes. The end-user puts in their information, points of contact, and so on, and passes it directly to their doctor using QR codes. The clinician would then just hover their phone over the patient’s to receive the information. This way, there will be no possible interception over the cloud, from storage on a server, or anything similar. 

They developed native apps for iOS and Android. Native development will give the end-users the best UX possible. After an initial launch, the client came back with some revisions for us to integrate.

What is the team composition?

Day to day, we worked most closely with Andrew (Senior Product Manager), and 4–5 others. Marc (Co-Founder & CEO) was also involved, particularly in the review process.

Having worked with much bigger agencies than even ours, we’re often just handed off to someone fresh out of school with little experience. We appreciated how Dogtown assigned two senior people to the project, as well as support staff.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

After viewing their website and talking to the business development person, I found out that we shared a mutual client. Their proposal and workstyle were very agreeable, as were our teams themselves. 

How much have you invested with them?

The project had two phases, and the total cost fell between $125,000–$135,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We had the kickoff calls in early January 2020, and design and branding started in mid-January. The project wrapped up six months later.

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

We went through multiple reviews with the client’s staff regarding the app’s aesthetics and functionality, particularly focusing on its ability to transmit data safely. Dogtown met all internal approvals, and everybody was satisfied. We were dealing with users that could potentially be having mental health crises, so it was important for the functionalities to be clear, clean, and easy to use. People in some sort of distress should have to fumble around trying to navigate an app. From our and the client’s standpoint, the functionality is in a very good place.

The QR code transfer tool was the main challenge, and Dogtown proved themselves by developing something very successful. 

In terms of ongoing benchmarks, the client took the app to partner sites to be tested, and it received very good feedback. We’ve had to tweak some navigation items and verbiage, but that’s all.

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve worked with some very good groups and some very not good groups, and communication is always the key. If you’re falling behind on schedule, it’s okay as long as you communicate it and communicate the why. Surprises aren’t good in our business, and Dogtown did a very good job of mitigating them. 

Everyone stayed on top of the communication, but particularly Andrew. He set and reported benchmarks, and we were constantly on Basecamp and other tracking software. There was a lot of communication back and forth between our group, the client, and Dogtown. 

Even if something went off schedule by 2–3 days, it wasn’t a problem as long as we were receiving communications on what was coming and why. If that didn’t happen, then a lot of anxiety would have been introduced. From my perspective, Dogtown did a very good job staying on schedule and communicating what was going on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Personality, synergy, and being able to click with a group are really important. I’ve worked with groups much bigger and much smaller than ours, and success is really about forming a relationship. How we get along with that group matters a lot. If we’re not on the same page, it will make for a more difficult relationship, with changes and communication becoming hardships. Dogtown has a certain “it” quality. They got us and we got them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s no foolproof project out there, and twists and turns always arise. If the client sends an email with 5–6 points, I find that it’s important to address all of them, rather than say yes to one or two and ignore the rest. With any group, keeping up with the latest technologies and with the industry trends, and making sure that communication stays strong, is important. These are just recommendations, really. I’m not saying that Dogtown did anything wrong.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Early on in the process, even before the formality of the scope of work, we had some pre-kickoff calls to make sure that we were aligned. We got all the nitty-gritty nuances out of the way and understood each other early. If we had to revisit points or state everything over again three months later, it would have bogged everything down. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior management associate at Atrium Health. We’re a large, not-for-profit, regional healthcare system. In my role, I work very closely with our admin and C Suite team for cardiovascular services as a project manager of sorts.

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

We wanted to give our cardiologists, both within our system as well as any referring cardiologists, a tool for referrals and for diagnosing information. We have a wide range of cardiovascular services, and we have subspecialties. Our organization wanted to make sure that any kind of general cardiologist or physician can have a checklist in the palm of their hand when they see a patient who may be having some cardiovascular symptoms. The tool would have contact information to get them to refer to our organization.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dogtown Media created this solution as a mobile app for iOS and Android. They had built similar apps for other healthcare systems. We very much borrowed the concept, and they had perfected it. All we did was borrow that from what they’ve done before and updated it with our information. The app has our own subspeciality, referral criteria, branding, and design. Basically, it was a plug-and-play from what they had seamlessly created. That made the implementation easier.

They also worked with our third-party call scheduling tool to implement the new functionality. It’s not live at the moment; it’s in the process of being built. This feature will allow referring physicians who use the app to call whoever happens to be the cardiovascular doctor on call that day and talk to them about any questions. It’s a backend functionality with our scheduling system.

What is the team composition?

We work closely with Marc (CEO & Co-Founder), Rob (CTO & Co-Founder), and Brandy (UI/UX Designer), and another team member.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

One of our physician administrators identified and selected them. He had found out about Dogtown Media from another health system app and wanted to know more about who built it. I was brought on to the project afterward.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $50,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in February 2020. The app launched in August 2020. Now, we’re adding more robust functionalities to the app.

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

The doctors have been very happy with the app. Immediately after the launch, we started getting downloads right away. We could tell which areas of the site that people were staying on the longest based on the number of page views and time length. Those happened to be two very crucial issues that patients are going through where they need to be referred right away for a more emergent situation.

It’s happening a lot that doctors are looking to find out exactly where to direct these patients. However, all areas of the app are being utilized. It’s very conclusive in its functionality.  

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great with project management. Dogtown Media is extremely quick to respond. We’re in different time zones, but they’re always prompt. Brandy goes above and beyond to give us mockups anywhere during the design phase. All of their team members are great. We couldn’t ask for better. Our communication is mostly over email with the exception of calls earlier on in the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The fact that they’ve done this before for several other health systems is great. They know exactly how to tailor their product and what to ask the client. Their team has really perfected the art of this. They’re responsive and quick to make any improvements or changes. Dogtown Media is great to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. Any delays were caused on our end.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I definitely encourage you to do it. I highly recommend Dogtown Media. Trust them because they have your best interest at heart. They’ve done this before and know what they’re doing. Go with them, and they’ll provide you with a great product.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior office manager at a hospital innovation lab. We work directly with clinician departments on many tasks, but primarily within digital health. I manage a team of project managers and creative designers. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

We were working with a partner that wanted an app that would allow their providers to access their ECMO physicians and better understand the protocol for that type of medical technology.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dogtown Media essentially replicated a product that they’d made for a different healthcare organization. It’s a simple app for both iOS and Android that houses two PDFs and a direct push-to-dial button. They did the UX/UI and also built a Google Analytics dashboard.

What is the team composition? 

We interface with a project manager and the CEO.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

They’d built a similar app for a different organization and could do the build quickly and at a great price, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $10,000 so far but will have spent between $25,000–$50,000 by the end of the engagement.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered in September 2018, and the work is ongoing. 

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

We’re currently in the pilot stage, but users are impressed with the app and its simple design. There were quite a few bugs in the initial testing, but Dogtown Media quickly fixed them.

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They have great project management and hold weekly meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They built an intuitive and simple design, and the team works quickly to address bugs and solve problems.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At first, the Google Analytics dashboard was hard to understand and interpret, but they’re actively working on build a new one that’s easier to engage with.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Work directly with their CEO. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer at DriveWealth. We provide brokerage infrastructure for companies that want to build apps or websites that interact with the stockmarket. My role is working with partners to determine how to provide the optimal developer experience for teams to build products efficiently.

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

We needed a partner to build a full-stock solution that combines infrastructure and APIs to enable companies that aren’t in the brokerage space or want to revamp their investment experience to do so in a short timeframe. We provide APIs and other server mechanisms for performing brokerage operations like opening or funding accounts. We wanted to provide a frontend that customers could interact with. This would allow companies that didn’t have developer capacity to have a digital presence by buying into a product that would give them everything they need to go to market with an investment app right away.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dogtown Media developed a native investment app for both iOS and Android devices that could be white labeled and modified on a per-part basis. They managed the design, UX, and programming working from simple wireframes that outline the functionality we expected. We also provided some compliance support to ensure that data is shown in certain ways and disclosures are provided onscreen.

Investors can easily and quickly open an investment account and collect the necessary information to create their investment profile within just a few minutes. We power the account while investment advisors can control trading in the accounts and value client needs. We built it for a specific partner but now have plans to create a white-label version and use it with other clients that have similar needs.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with one project manager, their CTO, and two developers.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

We had interacted with them on previous projects and spoken with them about building out the white-label, client-experience app in the past. When we finally had a client that we thought would be interested, we decided to go ahead and partner with them.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September–December 2018.

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

We haven’t launched the app yet. We were able to circulate it with our internal developers for them to determine if there were any UI or compliance issues when presenting the data or anything that didn’t properly interact with our APIs. That made it easy for us to ensure that they were on the right track throughout the experience.

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked on two-week sprints and delivered a new build at the end of each one. They were very communicative about where they were along the way. Their project manager was open to getting developers from both sides into open discussions. Our conversations—mostly via Skype calls—typically involved our migration engineer, app developer, and me, as well as one or two of their developers. It was much more efficient than just speaking from one project manager to another about timelines and delivery. They use a bug tracking software that they gave us some visibility to, so we could see what was being worked on and what was completed. There are always bugs with every project, but the process of being able to work things out together was very helpful and made sure the finished product worked properly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would reiterate that the communication was vital to us. I definitely appreciated it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I only wish they were located closer to us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think the way that we handled getting a lot of people in the room at the same time was successful. Whether for regular meetings or to troubleshoot, being able to hash things out by talking directly to their developers allowed us to expedite the process.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP in charge of several kinds of medical services at a regional multi-hospital system.

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

We wanted to improve the user experience for referring physicians using our app on iOS and Android.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The goal of the app was to improve the patient referral process for physicians, so we wanted to make it more straightforward. Our app provides end users at smaller hospitals in the system with an efficient way to contact the transfer center and relocate patients who need additional care. We also wanted the app to provide physicians with useful resources like clinical guidelines and protocols.

We received the rights to model our product on one used by another hospital system, so we’ve used that as a guide and customized it to suit our needs. Dogtown Media’s team walked us through the process from design to implementation and ongoing support. They also provided guidance on the protocols developed by our in-house team to ensure that everything worked smoothly within the app. On top of that, they consulted with us to evaluate the workflows we needed to modify in order to improve UX.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and two developers.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

We received a referral from another hospital system that had used them to develop their app.

How much have you invested with them?

The project itself cost $6,000 and then we pay for ongoing support.

What is the status of this engagement?

The app development project lasted from April–November 2018.

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

We’ve only just started deploying the app to our users, but the review team found it very easy to navigate and were excited to begin rolling it out.

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was managed via email and web conferences. They’re very responsive. We had deadlines for when we had to provide content to them and they were great about touching base with us to make sure we stayed on task.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They responded well to questions and implemented changes quickly, even though we were working in different time zones.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any suggestions for improvements.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Not really. We don’t have a lot of experience with these kinds of projects.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a company that offers remote training services for sales teams via mobile devices.

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

We were implementing some consumer entertainment technology in the B2B space, applying our platform to sales and customer service training. We needed a partner to help reimagine the product, establish a new framework, and integrate some additional features.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a kickoff phase, providing Dogtown Media with our plans and wireframes. We explored the market and how our product would be received by the industry. They challenged a lot of our assumptions and improved our project outline. From there, we then built a prototype and put it in front of users to validate its efficacy.

We’re currently enhancing our product based on the feedback and will soon start product development. The platform has a web-based component that the trainers use, and it’s entirely mobile for the trainees. Users can engage with the platform on a daily basis to receive all the necessary and required training.

What is the team composition?

We work with about seven people: their CEO, a technical lead, product manager, and lead designer. A number of individuals have been involved in user testing too.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

Someone in our organization referred them. Their office is right across from ours, and we determined they could be a full-service solution for our project. They understood our challenges and had the required skill set, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent under $50,000 so far, but we expect to spend over $1 million by the end.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2018.

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

Dogtown Media analyzed key stakeholders’ concerns to make the platform as beneficial as possible. They’ve done exactly what we’ve asked so far.

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a thorough methodology and are incredibly responsive. Their work is easy to track, and we mainly communicate via Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a small shop that’s motivated and offers a comprehensive list of services and capabilities. They’re accountable and willing to work by our side to make the best product possible. The entire team is professional and eager to solve our problems.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I'm happy with their work. Hopefully, the next phases will go as smoothly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of scientific affairs and research at a national health nonprofit that focuses on education advocacy for sleep health.

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

Our organization planned a study that required the use of a mobile application to assist and encourage communication between patients and physicians regarding sleep. We contracted with Dogtown Media to build a mobile application that would extract data from wearable devices to foster that communication.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We do not have a tech-literate team at our organization, so Dogtown Media was instrumental in the app’s creation. They developed a HIPAA-compliant web app, along with Android and iOS versions. We relied on Dogtown Media to design the user interface and coordinate an API integration with wearable devices. They also created the necessary algorithms to determine the data points we wanted.

The app includes a messaging feature that allows physicians to communicate directly with patients in the study. There are also options within the app for users to record when they are going to sleep and if they took medication to fall asleep.

In addition to the app development, Dogtown Media crafted one-pagers to better inform those that enrolled in the study.

What is the team composition?

I communicated mostly with the project lead. I am unsure of the total size of the design and development teams.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

Through an RFP process, we received three or four quality applications. Once we vetted each company, we felt the most comfortable with Dogtown Media.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $280,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from September 2017–April 2018. The app was completed in that time, and Dogtown Media remains accessible to provide any troubleshooting or updates as needed throughout the course of the study.

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

Everybody on the team and in the study has found the application easy to use and easy to understand. The design is high-quality. We have been happy with the product. It matches exactly what we wanted.

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

In addition to using Dogtown Media’s internal communication software, we held weekly calls to discuss progress and updates. They were readily available if we ever encountered an issue that needed fixing. They are good listeners, and they strove to make sure we received what we required for our study.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I haven’t worked with other providers, so I can’t make a comparative statement, but we’ve been very happy with them. Their project managers are helpful and communicative. They addressed all of our needs quickly. We’ve been totally satisfied in that regard.

Are there any areas they could improve?

My understanding from their side is that given all of the needs we had in terms of HIPAA compliance and API integration, that’s a heavier lift than a standard application, so the work comes at a higher price. I don’t have a point of reference for other firms, but Dogtown Media was slightly more expensive than what we anticipated.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to be aware of the communication needs from both sides. It’s difficult for them to work if they don’t have open lines of communication with the client.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO of Innovengine, a private incubator and fund for new technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with Dogtown Media?

I needed to find a vendor willing to take on a software development project that had never been done before.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Due to the privacy of the project, I can't share many technical details, but Dogtown Media basically developed a mobile platform from scratch, including software and hardware, based on a hunch I had of how to go about it. Within a few weeks, they were able to come up with a solution and develop a visual search and augmented reality software. Although it was considered technically impossible, their team was able to solve the problem and scale it up very quickly.

What is the team composition?

I mainly work with Sean (VP of Engineering, Dogtown Media) and Rob (CTO and Co-founder, Dogtown Media), but there's probably another 10–12 working on our project as well.

How did you come to work with Dogtown Media?

Another company I used to work with was very pleased with their experience with Dogtown Media and recommended them. I made it clear that I wanted to work with a vendor willing to do whatever it takes (i.e., hiring new talent if necessary) to pull it off, and they were willing to do it.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested between $500,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018 and finished the first project. We're now moving on to the next two phases of development.

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

Dogtown Media developed a solution for a project considered impossible to do in the tech world. They've taken every goal we've had and delivered above and beyond our expectations, beating our requirement of achieving a 50% accuracy rating on visual search capabilities with a software that is over 90% accurate.

How did Dogtown Media perform from a project management standpoint?

We have regular weekly meetings either in-person or over Zoom with their team to go over milestones. They never underdeliver or fall short of meeting our goals. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don't fail or turn down a challenge; their deliverables dramatically exceed expectations, and they do it quicker than anyone I've ever worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They're literally the best company I've ever worked with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They seem to thrive when challenged, so don't be afraid to come to them with something that's never been done. They're uniquely positioned in their industry to overcome more than most are capable of.