Flip180 Media

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I'm the founder and publisher of a media company, BleuLife Media. We produce print content six times a year and daily online. Our key areas are fashion, travel, and culture.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flip180 Media? 

Our small internal design team wasn't as efficient or creative as I wanted it to be. While we were initially wary of outsourcing the design, we ultimately decided that was the best option.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Flip180 Media now handles the entire design of our print magazine, from cover to cover. We give them guidance on the theme of the issue and work together to set up what goes on each page. Then we give them complete freedom to design based on those parameters. The process takes about six weeks to complete per issue. 

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Vee (Founder & CEO, Flip180 Media).

How did you come to work with Flip180 Media? 

Flip180 Media had actually reached out to me. I believe it was a LinkedIn solicitation. We did some research to vet them and look at samples of their work. Vee actually did a 20-page mock design for free, and it was amazing. That made the decision to go with them quite easy.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in June of 2018 and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In terms of internal measurement, our production process is much more streamlined. We’ve also had great B2B and B2C feedback of how consistent the design has been since using Flip180 Media. 

How did Flip180 Media perform from a project management standpoint? 

I definitely give Vee top marks. We mostly communicate over email, and we use Smartsheet to manage the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Most impressive is their timing and quick turnaround. Flip180 Media is always on time, which allows us to make our deadlines.

Are there any areas they could improve? 

They've been great, but people can always improve. They could maybe offer us more design options. Flip180 Media should also be more proactive in asking us for referrals to other media companies. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

What’s been successful for us is having a framework of what we want to see. Sometimes with design, you can get lost in the back and forth of revisions. We help eliminate some of that by starting with a distinct point of view that we ask them to execute for us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the editor-in-chief at Techgen Media Group. a publishing house with five magazines that all feed into the metals manufacturing industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flip180 Media?

All our magazines are digital, and we’d been working with another design firm to have an eReader for our products. However, their eReader platform was outdated and slow, and they were increasing their prices, so we began looking for a new partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Flip180 Media designed a new platform for our eReader. It’s proprietary, which means it gives us an advantage over competing magazines because we can offer our readers something different. Flip180 Media integrated new features and functionalities into the eReader, making it faster, allowing users to download PDFs of individual articles or the entire issue, and making navigability much smoother. The entire platform is clean and modern, and Flip180 Media took the lead on the design, although they referred to a few of our pre-existing magazines to incorporate some of those design tenets.

The platform is now live, and Flip180 Media currently maintains the site. They’ve cleaned up lots of background clutter and made the site much better. They also optimize it and our other sites, connecting them together to create a strong network of company sites.

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact who has a team of designers.

How did you come to work with Flip180 Media?

I’d worked with Flip180 Media before and had a great experience, so they were on our short list. We reached out to a few different companies but chose Flip180 Media because they were technologically savvy and had a strong design prowess.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered in November 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since partnering with them, our subscribership and average monthly web traffic has increased. Because they’re optimizing our different websites, our ranking on Google has increased as well. We get complimented on the site all the time.

How did Flip180 Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They have an amazing turnaround time and always respond quickly to requests. They take accountability seriously and listen to our design suggestions. We mainly communicate via email and phone calls, but we’ve also used digital meetings with screen sharing when needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service is phenomenal, and the team is incredibly friendly and fun to work with. We work well as a team, and they’re more than just a service provider—they’re a trusted partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re proactive and will solve issues on their own, but I sometimes wish they would consult me before implementing a solution that we didn’t want. However, that’s incredibly rare, and we still have a successful and seamless relationship.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Trust them and let them take the lead. They’ll do what’s in your best interest, and you’ll see some great results.