Efir Media

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO and founder of Belazor Technologies, Inc. Our company has 40 employees and provides wireless equipment installation and maintenance.

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

Efir Media proved to be high quality "turn-key" branding & web site agency. They have created an amazing brand for our company our whole team is extremely proud of. Wireless construction companies like ours never looked so good. We constantly get compliments about it both from clients and potential employees

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create a company style that would help us stand out among other companies on the market, to attract young professionals. Efir Media exceeded our expectations 5 fold! They were not afraid to go "too far" and had built company style we will be able to enjoy for years.

How did you select this vendor?

We found them on Behance. Checked their reviews and considering their pretty low prices* took the deal. *Low price to quality ratio.

Describe the project in detail.

Efir Media developed for us : 1) Logo 2) Fonts 3) Colors 4) Message and marketing strategy 5) Printing materials 6) Brand book 7) Email template 8) Portraits of our employees 9) Website 10) Back end for the website And some other minor deliverables

What was the team composition?

We were assigned Oleg as a project manager. He was communicating with us most of the time. Amazing professional, knowledgable, and details oriented. He was communicating our message to their team - designer, coder, and art director. It couldn't be any easier. In case Oleg wasn't available, Darren was always there to help. In general, we didn't have to deal with 5 different people which was very convenient.

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

We measure success by the number of new employment requests we started to get after publishing our website. We don't run statistics on it but our hr mentioned that our company is getting higher number of requests every month.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We didn't experience many complications while working on our project. They always have someone ready to answer our questions at any time because they have 3 offices in different parts of the world, which comes very handy. They also have project managers that speak different languages.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It was really easy to communicate with them. They make you feel like you are working with a good friend, but at the same time, they keep it very professional. If you have seen their portfolio their designs are mindblowing. This was the main reason why we decided to contact them in the first place. Also, they can communicate in Spanish, English and, I believe, Russian languages.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No adjustments needed as of right now

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an executive/leadership coach. My coaching practice was launched to help people engage with their stories. To have a better understanding of who they are, and how they respond to life and explore where they have been, where they are, and where they want to go.

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

I was launching a new website. I was starting from scratch.

What were your goals for this project?

To have a string website that engaged others and motivated them to explore growth.

How did you select this vendor?

I found an award they won on another website for their website.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They built my website from the ground up.

What was the team composition?

I wish I knew. I started with a project manager in October, who copied two others on all emails. That project manager was laid off one week before my website was supposed to be launched.

The new PM never explained that they did not know where the project left off. Instead, they attempted to throw some stuff together. It was terrible. It was actually offensive. They had gone to a personal blog and pulled information that had nothing to do with what I hired them for.

When they realized the 2nd PM had made some pretty significant errors, instead of apologizing, they said "As we mentioned, we are not able to finish your project." They then offered my 1/3 of my $2500 back, which means I lost $1700 because of their errors.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The website has yet to launch. I am approaching month five on what was supposed to be a two month process. The communication is highly unprofessional. With each email you begin to believe you have not communicated clearly, as the delays and work pace are significantly off track.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

This was the worst part of the process. I am on project manager #3. I have figured out that within their culture, they will do whatever it takes to hide/shift blame. They have a very difficult time actually finalizing projects and finishing. My website is so incredibly simple, and we are on week 22.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their company website. That is it.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes. Communicate honestly. Instead of putting together a wasted beta website, just say to your client "I am really sorry, but we do not have any of your old work and we have to start over." Instead of saying "If we get this done this fast, it will be incredible" when it is already 5 weeks overdue and has nothing to do with the client.

This review was updated by the client on July 15, 2020. The original star ratings were: Overall - 0.5, Quality - 0.5, Schedule - 1, Cost - 1, NPS - 1. New content is below:

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.  

I am an executive life coach. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Efir Media? 

A new website with video implemented. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

They were very involved. We had hiccups in the project being turned over to different project managers, but the end result was great. 

What is the team dynamic? 

I worked directly with Yury whose communication skills were top notch. I felt he was very honest and helpful. 

How did you come to work with Efir Media? 

I found their business website online through a blog that was sharing award winning designs for 2019. They were at the top of that list. 

How much have you invested with them? 

Five months. $6k

What is the status of this engagement? 

My project is complete and the end result was what I had hoped for.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?  

When you are working on a project that represents your business, you have to have open lines of communication and approach the building process as a partnership rather than a vendor. I felt Efir got that and delivered their vision on my brand.

How did Efir Media address the challenges that arose?

Honestly and effectively. My project manager heard and saw the details and came up with solutions and realistic timelines. 

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business. 

I have received a lot of positive feedback on the website, and it leads a lot of people to inquire about our work. 

How was project management handled? 

Once it was turned over to my final PM, it was stellar. Great communication, awareness of deadlines, etc. 

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength? 

The actual design of their work is outstanding. 

In what specific areas can they improve? 

I think it is best for each client to understand that some of the work is being done in Europe, so you may have a time lapse in communication, but my PM was located in the US. 

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours? 

Trust Efir to deliver in the end. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in operations for a private collection of cars.

What challenge were you trying to address with Efir Media?

We needed the website to showcase the cars in the collection. It was important for the pictures to be interactive as well.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The site was built from scratch. As I don’t have much experience with building websites, I relied on them for guidance and support. It was important for the site to be quick and user-friendly while being visually interesting. 

What is the team composition?

There were 4–5 people working on the site.

How did you come to work with Efir Media?

I found them on a web platform and really liked their previous work. Their style lined up with what I wanted. In our initial conversations, it seemed like they would be able to handle the scope of work effectively.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from July–October 2019.

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

I’m very happy with the way the final site turned out. We also received a ton of great feedback on social media. Viewers often praise the site and indicate that they’d ideally have something similar. It made a huge impression on our customers. They delivered a high-quality, beautiful result.

How did Efir Media perform from a project management standpoint?

I was able to interface with the lead designer over the course of the project. He had creative ideas and was able to guide me through the development without any trouble. While supervising the project, he was my main contact. However, I was able to speak with the team when needed, which I appreciated. They were always in touch whenever I needed them, regardless of our time difference. I always knew what was going on because of their updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a great team, and I highly recommend them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They should just keep up the good work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Engage with them sooner rather than later. They’re very thorough.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Brand Manager for an e-commerce company.

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

Efir was tasked to help us reimagine our old and boring website to be more engaging.

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

We sifted through dozens and dozens of freelance designers and design agencies in Behance, Upwork, and 99Designs. Efir Media's hands-on approach during the ask-for-quotation phase was what really made us choose them.

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

Details are covered in an NDA, but to sum it up, they redesigned our homepage, category page, and product pages.

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

Three in total. Hannah, our main designer, and Eugene and Oleg for account managers.

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

I am a designer myself, but the way Efir Media handled the process from Research to Wireframing, to Designs, to Hand-off is what really sets them apart from the rest. It is very easy to get lost with the process especially if we, ourselves, aren't really sure what we'd like to see in our website. They bridged that gap by doing competitor research. Also, they know the best practices in this industry, which is exactly why we wanted to hire an agency with such expertise.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was such a breeze working with them. I micromanaged some elements and layouts to 101% tailor-fit their design and I was pleasantly surprised how open-minded they are in adapting these changes.

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

Streamlined processes which made it very easy for us. Their patience as well and sticking with deadlines.

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

Everything worked well

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our AutoTech startup streamlines billions of data points into personalized, actionable insights, empowering professionals in the automotive world to make better business decisions for their vehicles. Using leading AI and ML technology, we predict vehicle failures before they happen in order to create a more efficient, safer, and cleaner future.

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

We were looking for a brand refresh as well as a fully redesigned website with SEO strategy. We have three core audiences; fleets, enterprises, and investors. The reason we needed to redesign the website was that it was only speaking to one of our audiences vs. all three. Our main goals for working with Efir Media, were to tighten up the company's story to really focus on the future/where we are going. We also needed to create compelling content that capture our customers and audience in lead generation forms. We also had to have this completed by end of August before pitching season came around so it was a tight deadline.

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

I started our search online for top web developers and brand agencies in Canada first  but upon realizing our challenge required some story telling experience, I expanded the search to include US agencies where I interviewed around 6 or 7 different agencies in total. Efir Media came up in a search for experience with a client in the automotive industry. In these calls, I went over the main pain points and our goals (as well as our desired timeline).

Deciding factors included cost of course, but also trustworthiness and previous portfolio examples (did the get what we wanted or had past experience with difficult stories). I wasn't looking for a simple web design, I wanted to see ones that stood out. The agency also had to be comfortable/confident with the very important deadline. I brought in the CEO and VP to meet with the top three picks but I knew that Efir Media was my top choice based on gut feeling that I could trust these guys with this high-impact project.

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

1. Kick-off discovery week (getting to know us and our product/goals)
2. Brand development - this took a bit longer than expected as we had to be a bit more clearer on what we wanted but what came out was a subtle change that really matured us into a powerful AutoTech startup
3. Website wireframe/site mapping (both 2 & 3 were all done in Figma - which allowed for easy back and forth commenting and quick visualization)
4. Content - We used Google Docs to go over all the content and storyline for our site. It was a little confusing as Figma would sometimes contain the old content but this part, Efir Media really nailed (dove in deep on the research and understanding of our space)
5. Website development and launch - Wordpress, Slack (as it required much more communication than previous stages), Hubspot for Lead Generation Forms
6. Collateral - We used Google Drive to share documents/pictures/etc. and it's where the rest of the images and assets are stored now

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

Don't quote me because they could've had more working in the backend but this is who we interacted with more regularly: We had two project managers (really one at any given time but unfortunately our original PM got sick), I believe two art developers, a copy editor (also handling our SEO) and two developers.

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

We aren't sure yet as it just launched last week - but the feedback and responses on our social have been very positive for our new look.

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

Communication tools: email, occasional video calls, slack and Figma (for comments) I really only interacted directly with their copy editor and project manager so it kept communication tight. Although this did mean that there were some confusing times where one party was saying a certain deadline over another party (broken telephone). However, it was usually resolved within 24 hours after our PM gathered all the information.

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

Their ability to dive in and completely own their client's brand like their own. We were impressed with the quality of their art and design work, as well as their fast responses, no matter the hour.

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

Improvement on the technical side is very needed but I believe they are already in the process of advancing this area. Once they do so, they will be the powerhouse agency that takes the web by storm :)

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am co-founder of oNEONe neon workshop. Our company has 10 employees and creates neon signs and installations for interior, businesses, events, etc.

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

We are newcomers to the market. So we needed badly to stand out among competitors and make ourselves known. That is why we decided to hire Efir Media to create our brand identity.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a brand image, develop the strategy of brand management. We needed a unique, appealing style, and the Efir Media team fulfilled the task really great.

How did you select Efir Media?

I came across Efir Media on Behance. I was really impressed by their works and reviews on them. So it was not hard to choose them.

Describe the project in detail.

The team of Efir Media analyzed the market situation and target audience, formulated the essence of the brand, developed the brand management strategy, created visual and verbal identification means and a set of brand documents. They also carried out brand promotion, monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of their actions.

What was the team composition?

The team we worked with consisted of a project manager, marketing analyst and graphic designer.

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

Now, when we have our brand image, people recognize us. Our company has it's own beautiful face now, beautiful like the products we provide to our customers. And one more thing of great importance that took place is that the number of clients get bigger every week.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Efir Media is one of the most responsive teams I've ever dealed with. We were in touch 24/7. Really, very nice, professional and understanding people.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Most of all we were impressed how painstakingly Efir Media had studied the market and the history of our brand, the essence of what we do before getting down to work. Second of all, was the outcome itself. Our brand got it individuality, it is amazing!

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't think so. We are really satisfied with the results and the process of cooperation.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Director at a privately-owned independent insurance brokerage located in Newtown, PA.

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

We wanted a full rebrand/corporate design identity.

What were your goals for this project?

The team was tasked to implement a brand identity that unifies the organization while establishing a unique identity for each line of business.

How did you select this vendor?

One of our clients used Efir for their new website and I was really impressed with their design work. We interviewed several firms and we felt that Efir's vision for our project was the best.

Describe the project in detail.

Efir helped us develop a fresh and more unified brand identity that better reflects our culture and vision for the future. This consisted of new design elements, including logos, fonts, and color schemes.

What was the team composition?

The Efir team consisted of an account manager, project manager, and graphic designer. 

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

We're so excited about the brand identity Efir developed for us. The new design elements allow us to highlight each of our divisions under one unified brand identity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was great. Their team was always extremely responsive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

After they conducted a comprehensive audit of our current brand, as well as our competitors, it helped give us a better understanding of how we were being perceived in the market and the direction we wanted to go in to ensure our brand accurately reflects our culture and values.

I was also impressed with their attention to detail and their ability to listen and take direction, as well as provide guidance when it was necessary.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Marketing Specialist in my company

For what projects/services did your company hire ?

We wanted to refresh the website design and make it modern.

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

We really liked the Efir Media Upwork projects.

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

After our first meeting, Efir Media created the first draft of the design, then we exchanged emails and improved it a bit.

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

In total worked 1 person from our company.

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

Unfortunately we were forced to get a project suspended (was our fault) so we didn't have a chance to finish it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was really easy to cooperate & responsive.

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

Their response time was really short.

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

Maybe they could pay more attention to the details (like typos)

Please describe your company and your position there.

Sacral - Music artist/sound producer in electronic, hip-hop, techno genres.

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

We hire Efir media for web/app design for web-site and mobile application of our music project äSacral"

What were your goals for this project?

The modern web-design of web-site and mobile application .

How did you select Efir Media?

Google search

Describe the project in detail.

Mobile application and web-site for our music project "Sacral" in modern style with clever beautiful animation;

What was the team composition?

We meeting with art-director and then project manager communicated with PA from our side;

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

Efir media do great job, we got more than we expected! Wow, web-site with colorful animation and videos for our tracks!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything works very well, we received updates from the project manager weekly!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their creativity solutions and very clear management are impressive!

Are there any areas for improvement?

May be.. but we are completely satisfied with everything!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm founder of a small web studio.

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

Company site design

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create interesting extraordinary design in some specific style.

How did you select Efir Media?

I've found them on Behance. We think their works are absolutely fantastic.

Describe the project in detail.

That's a complicated web design for our company, it includes special animation as the main theme and lots of UI elements for all portal.

What was the team composition?

A couple of designers and a manager

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

see the project video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBEMOJz5dJQ

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was very handful and depended on me

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Design examples looked like a final results including video and audio.

Are there any areas for improvement?

improvements are always possible