Enso Animation Studio

Please describe your company and your position there.

The European Environmental Bureau is Europe’s largest network of environmental citizens' organisations. We bring together over 170 civil society organisations from more than 35 European countries. We stand for sustainable development, environmental justice & participatory democracy. Marie-Amelie Brun is Communications Officer in the EEB and is responsible for the multimedia products of the organisation.

For what projects/services did your company hire Enso Animation Studio, and what were your goals?

The EEB hired Enso Animation to make a video about the challenges linked to batteries': repair, reuse and recycling. We wanted to make a video that would be catchy and tell a story that would speak the greater number while keeping the policy demands of the EEB.

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

We already worked with Enso Animation in the past so we already knew that we could count on their professionalism and really good results.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail, including the project steps and all stages of production.

We started with the process with a meeting to talk about the general need and ideas that we had. We presented a script and the points that we needed to see appearing in the video. From that, Enso Animation proposed a story board to us and some designs that we agreed on. Once all the elements were agreed on, the animation process started and it was really easy to follow to have a nice overview of the process' development. The steps were very clear from the beginning which made the feedback options very straightforward and helped us being organised.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

We worked with Alfredo, Managing Director, and Erik, Creative Director​. The feedback process was very easy and clear with set dates to give input on the different elements.

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

The project was a success for us. We shared the video massively with our network and many of our members asked for translations in their language so that they could then share it on their platform. We met our policy objectives and managed to get an educational, funny video that we will be able to use in different scenario to improve the way batteries are used in the EU.

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

The Enso Animation team was great to work with. We had regular emails to follow up and they were very reactive when we had questions or feedback.

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

Enso Animation's timeliness was impeccable, we had a short deadline and they managed it super well. We could see that they were very organized and that they cared about our project.

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

Nothing, we were very pleased with the work we did together!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the co-founder & CEO of Arise Travel. We build software and infrastructure technology for the hotel industry.

For what projects/services did your company hire Enso Animation Studio, and what were your goals?

We wanted to have a video on our website (and potentially on social media) to introduce and explain at a high level what is our technology and how it will help hotels moving forward. The objective was to visually represent our solution that is quite complex to explain.

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

We compared multiple vendors and compared their past work. Enso animation was the best and within our budget.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail, including the project steps and all stages of production.

1. We sent a first version of the script to Enso animation that we then finalized with them.
2. Concept arts and visual style.
3. Artboards and graphic asset design
4. Choice of music and voice over
5. Animation
6. Sound design and SFX

Overall, the project took about 2 months.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

We worked with someone on finalizing the script. Then graphic designer and animation team was providing multiple updates per week to gather constant feedback and edit suggestions were done very quickly along the way. Same when testing multiple voice over and music option, as well as constant feedback on the animation.

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

The video looks very good. We have already received great feedback from potential future customers and partners.

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

Communication was very clear from the beginning. Each step had been clearly laid out before the start of the project and we knew what to expect every week.

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

Their capacity to quickly understand the message we are trying to convey through the video, even when sometime it is pretty complex, and turn it into a compelling easy to understand video.

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

Honestly I can't think of anything they could have done better. They delivered exactly what we had hoped for, on time and with great communication throughout.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the business director of a B2B company that caters to online marketplaces in the automotive industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with Enso Animation Studio?

We’ve found that, nowadays, a video would be way more engaging than any other type of presentation. We reached out to Enso Animation to produce internal workforce videos that could communicate our company’s values, products, missions, and vision.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked Enso Animation to create five animated videos and their team has done all the illustrations, text, music, and post-production through Adobe Premiere Pro. After a couple of iterations, we’ve been able to arrive at the final versions that we wanted.

What is the team composition?

My point of contact is the CEO.

How did you come to work with Enso Animation Studio?

My marketing team did some online research. At the time, we wanted to change our provider, and it was cost-effective to work with Enso Animation Studio since their pricing was decent. They were not the cheapest, but they were not the most expensive. We assessed the way they did the proposal, how fast they did it, and how open they were to feedback, and decided to go with them when we found it all to our liking.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2021 and the partnership is ongoing.

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

Enso Animation has worked very well with my team. They picked up on the briefing quite quickly and put their solutions on the table. We’ve seen more proposals in the pipeline come in for the products we were explaining in those videos. 

I am quite happy with the outcome. Our message has been effectively delivered through good-quality videos. Viewers were super engaged, loved the graphics, and even remembered our mission and vision. They efficiently structured the script to make sure that our story was very well-told. 

How did Enso Animation Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

I am not sure which project management tools their team used, but we were employing G Suite internally, which also serves as our method of communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Though they are a boutique studio, they are very professional. Enso Animation has always been there for my team, coming up with solutions that my team wasn't able to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is nothing in particular that I can recall. It was our first project, and it went very well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Enso Animation is very professional and does a great job. They accommodate iterations and have interesting processes in place. From my experience, I would say go and try their services. They definitely deserve a shot.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior policy officer for waste at The European Environmental Bureau, a network of NGOs in Europe that work on environmental issues.

What challenge were you trying to address with Enso Animation Studio?

We work with European institutions and civil society at a policy level. We wanted to convey the six main principles of circular economy in a short video to reach politicians, civil society, academia, and businesses.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Enso created a one-minute video from beginning to end. They started with a storyboard, which they shared with us through Dropbox. Once we left comments and agreed on the designs, they went on to work.

The video had motion graphics and six short sentences. It also included a musical background so that people could watch it on their phones and get the idea without needing to focus too much.

After the video was finished, we took care of the publication. We embedded it in our articles, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn posts.

What is the team composition?

I had one point of contact from their team, but I believe this person had designers working on the video as well.

How did you come to work with Enso Animation Studio?

I looked for designers on LinkedIn and shortlisted 3–5 candidates. The others I looked at were more expensive, and their communication wasn’t that great. With Enso, it was quick and sharp, so we went with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September–October 2020.

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

I used the video during several of the events I participated in. Since it was a very short video, it served as a good introduction to my talks about circular economy.

The video was shared by non-English institutes even though it wasn’t translated. One of these institutions made a blog interview with me explaining all of the six principles covered in the video. That interview gave us good coverage and raised our organization’s profile, and mine as well.

How did Enso Animation Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Enso was very flexible in terms of project management. They set clear deadlines and always met them. Their work was quick and good. We were in the EU time zone, and Enso was in Latin America, but we worked over the details efficiently.

We gave them tasks, and they worked on them during our nighttime to have them ready the next day. We communicated via email. We could’ve used the phone, but it wasn’t ideal because of the time difference. Email worked well, and both our teams were very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Enso had quick reaction times, and they understood the complexity of the topic. Additionally, their designs were clear, without too much detail, which is what we wanted. I also appreciated their flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t see any important improvements. I’m not a designer, but their work was good for me.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t know. I’d simply recommend Enso. The fact that they’re in a different time zone worked well for us. They’re a small company, which I prefer to working with big companies. I like to support small and medium enterprises.

Please describe your company and your position there.

With 350+ publishers registered over the last 2 years, inboxAds is the fastest-growing email monetization solution on the market. I am the Head Of Product @ inboxAds, overseeing the product portfolio and the product teams.

For what projects/services did your company hire Enso Animation Studio?

We hired Enso Animation studios for complete end-to-end video production.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create a compelling product video, that tells our brand story in a fun, easy to understand and creative way.

How did you select Enso Animation Studio?

We had discussions with multiple vendors & Enso Animation Studio stood out right from the start. After being short-listed, they were the clear winner. Strong portfolio, previous relevant experience, fair pricing & a crystal-clear process to expect.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail.

We kicked off with a meeting to share information about the company, our product and what we wanted to achieve. We used a 4-stage process that included everything, from artboard to the creation of the final video. We worked with them from a concept and built everything together, including voiceovers, script recording, animation and everything else required.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

We worked with 2 contacts from Enso Animation, Alfredo and Erik. They were acting as SPOCs throughout the process and this made it look simple and efficient. We had feedback loops after each and every step and we moved forward only when we were happy with the result of each stage.

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

We've exceeded our campaign targets for releasing the video on Youtube, reaching more than 20k viewers in a single week.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their workflow process is flawless & it's everything we could have wished for. They presented the entire process upfront, each stage has been explained & we had checkpoints to validate that everything is aligned and we were ready to move forward. We used Dropbox & G Suite tools to manage the feedback sessions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The willingness to do more & craft everything perfectly. Even though we did not nail it perfectly from the beginning, they took the time to adjust & re-iterate until we were happy. It gave us the feeling that they wanted to create a superior video, not just deliver.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Our collaboration went very smoothly & as expected. I cannot recommend further improvements.