Edgewise.Media

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of brand and content marketing at Hiscox Insurance, a small business insurance company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Edgewise.Media?

We needed help in starting a podcast. We already had a podcast, but we wanted to create a second season.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Edgewise.Media does everything for us. They’re responsible for editing the podcast and creating social assets for us. Sanjay (Co-Founder & Host) hosts the podcast. They also source out small business owners to interview. We do provide them with some contacts of our own, but they handle all of the interviews.

What is the team composition?

We work with Adam (Co-Founder), Clara (Producer), and Sanjay.

How did you come to work with Edgewise.Media?

I found Edgewise.Media through a referral. I reached out to Adam to see if he would be interested in putting together a proposal, and they did.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We know that each week when a new podcast episode comes out, we see a spike of people downloading the episode. The main priority for us is not so much brand awareness with this, but more about us having a vehicle that we could have our customers interviewed on. In that sense, this engagement has been very successful.

The quality of the podcast is also fantastic. Sanjay is a wonderful host. People really admire him, and that even helps when he asks people to be on the show. Because of his reputation there, it's easier for him to get people to do this.

How did Edgewise.Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Edgewise.Media has performed extremely well in terms of project management. They use Dropbox to share all of the files with us. We typically communicate through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with Edgewise.Media’s project management, collaboration, and openness to try new things. They really go above and beyond the scope of their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Keep open communication with them. Make sure that you are meeting with them. They do a good job in setting out a schedule, so it's really just a matter of keeping up with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the senior director of media & brand at Money Management International (MMI), one of the oldest and largest nonprofit credit counseling agencies in the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Edgewise.Media?

For several years MMI desired to produce a podcast, but lacked the internal resources to get the project off the ground. We hired Edgewise.Media to help us conceptualize, host and produce the podcast and create related assets.

SOLUTION

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

We selected this vendor based upon a relationship established through mutual participation in a local leadership development and community education program.

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

After an initial meeting to discuss purpose, theme, title and timeline, I provided Edgewise.Media with a group former debt management clients of MMI's to interview about their relationship with money and experience while working with us. I also provided SMEs for two journalistic episodes. From there, Edgewise.Media handled all the scheduling, interviews, and production. The podcast episodes were then provided to us the week prior to publishing, with MMI's content and social teams posting the provided assets to our website and social channels. The assets included videograms, images, and short videos.

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

I work with both the producer and the host on this project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our outcomes are mostly qualitative at this point, but the podcast has opened another channel to share the impact of our work with internal and external stakeholders. The podcast has also made it easy to pitch journalists with our clients and programs to gain media coverage and opened up a new channel for potential grant funding or growth of existing partnerships. It's a great storytelling addition to our SEO and PR efforts.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Once we had a plan in place, the workflow was smooth, communication was open and frequent, and deadlines were met with ease.

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

The Edgewise.Media team went above and beyond to make sure our launch was a success. Their use of scheduling and asset sharing software really made them easy to work with.

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

The only thing I can come up with here is that perhaps the asset tracker could have been more organized. Occasionally assets used different naming conventions, were placed in a different spot within the tracker, and once or twice an asset was missing. Minor inconveniences, particularly given the extra work they put into the project, including creating an introductory video for the podcast.