handplayed

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Brand Manager of Payhawk

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Helping finance teams manage business spend through finance orchestration.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire handplayed to accomplish?

• Creating and filming a creative campaign for a brand ambassador
• Producing a video series about AI in business spend management
• Producing product edition promotional videos

SOLUTION

How did you find handplayed?

Referral

Why did you select handplayed over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from handplayed were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The Court of Resilience - A Tribute to Grigor Dimitrov

Creating an ad hoc brand campaign for Payhawks' brand ambassador Grigor Dimitrov. Producing the creative and preparing a film with ground and aerial shooting. 

Deliverables:
- Creative concept
- Brand film (multiple formats included)
- Key visuals

2. AI Office Hours series

Video production of a thought leadership series that included 6 people from Payhawk presenting on the topic of AI in business finance. The work included shooting, editing, sound recording, and typography animation. 

Deliverables:
- Six 90" to 120" videos

3. Payhawk Fall '25 Product Editon promo videos

Video production of three videos announcing Payhawk's new product edition. This includes one video of the CEO announcing the edition and two interview-style interviews of Payhawk employees presenting new features. The work included shooting, set design, editing, and sound recording.

Deliverables:
- 3 promo videos between 2- and 4-minute long

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

For all three projects, we saw increases in top-of-funnel metrics such as social media reach and website traffic. For example, The Court of Resilience project is approaching 1 million views on Instagram alone, combining both the video and key visual results.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Handplayed’s team was incredibly responsive, seamlessly working within the tight deadlines typical of fast-growing scaleups like Payhawk. They were also quick to act on urgent, last-minute changes.

What was your primary form of communication with handplayed?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

handplayed was highly agile and quick without sacrificing quality.

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

Nothing in particular. Just staying focused on the task at hand and everything else will always fall into place.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Training of Fadata

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Fadata provides the heart of the insurance industry with the next generation of core insurance platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire handplayed to accomplish?

• Produce high-quality training videos
• Create any additional marketing materials

SOLUTION

How did you find handplayed?

Referral

Why did you select handplayed over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from handplayed were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

For Fadata, Handplayed created a series of educational videos focused on INSIS, Fadata's core insurance system. Their work involved collaborating closely with subject matter experts to break down complex system functionalities into clear, engaging, and visually compelling content, making the material accessible to both technical and non-technical audiences. 

Handplayed handled all aspects of the production, from concept development and scriptwriting to editing, animation, and post-production, ensuring the final videos were both informative and professional.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The measurable outcomes from the project include the successful production of 7 comprehensive training courses, comprising a total of 80-100 high-quality instructional videos. These videos cover a wide range of topics related to Fadata's core insurance system, INSIS, and have significantly enhanced internal and client training capabilities. 

The videos have streamlined the learning process for new users, reduced the need for in-person training, and provided a scalable solution that ensures consistent knowledge transfer. Additionally, feedback from users has indicated improved understanding and faster onboarding times, demonstrating clear progress and success.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Handplayed's project management was highly efficient and responsive throughout the entire process. They consistently delivered items on time, even when faced with numerous change requests. Their team was extremely flexible, working closely with us to ensure that every detail met our expectations. 

Whenever we needed adjustments or had new ideas, they were quick to respond and implement changes, always maintaining a collaborative and solutions-focused approach. Their dedication and willingness to work tirelessly until we were completely satisfied with the final result made them a reliable and trusted partner on this project.

What was your primary form of communication with handplayed?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What impressed us most about Handplayed was their exceptional flexibility and collaborative approach. They consistently demonstrated creativity in their work while being open and adaptable to our evolving needs. Whether it was responding to last-minute changes or tackling complex tasks, their team was always ready to step in and help, ensuring we achieved the best possible outcome. 

Their professionalism, creativity, and a genuine willingness to go the extra mile made them stand out as a truly unique and valuable partner.

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

While Handplayed delivered high-quality results and consistently exceeded our expectations, one potential area for improvement could be in optimizing the timeline during periods of heavy revision. Although they were always responsive to our change requests, the number of iterations sometimes extended the overall project duration. 

Streamlining the feedback and revision process could help maintain their flexibility while speeding up delivery. However, this is a minor suggestion in light of their outstanding dedication and adaptability throughout the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Junior Brand Manager of a consumer products company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Manufacturer of home and personal care products, dairy food and snack food.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire handplayed to accomplish?

• TV communication concept and production

SOLUTION

How did you find handplayed?

Referral

Why did you select handplayed over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from handplayed were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Creative concept for a fabric softener brand – campaign for the updated main range “Extra Fresh”. TVC concept and script for 30” and 15” (TVC as major channel of communication) and ideas for digital channel execution:

• High brand association. 
• The communication is relevant to the target consumer, presented in a credible manner, ownable and unique, stands out from other fabric softener ads but is not confused with other categories. 
• The communication focuses on one key message (the intertwined product/brand benefit to the consumer: long-lasting feeling of freshness/cleanness of their laundry) – conveyed directly and indirectly

Main production objectives:

1. An image video introducing the new product as a quality and impressive premium softener.
2. High level of visual association with the brand and category. 
3. Introduction of a new communication platform that is clearly recognizable and directly associated with the brand.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

TVC 25-seconds and 20-seconds. Online 3x10s cuts.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Good communication. Yes. 

What was your primary form of communication with handplayed?

Virtual Meeting

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

The people of handplayed are impressive :)

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

Some work on time management.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Manager of Benefit Systems Bulgaria

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

MultiSport card is a sport benefit for employees which offer an access to more than 1000 sport facilities in the whole country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire handplayed to accomplish?

• Production of a video for a CSR campaign
• Production of series of videos telling personal stories about sport and motivation

SOLUTION

How did you find handplayed?

Referral

Why did you select handplayed over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from handplayed were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Scriptwriting 
• Location scouting 
• Music and sound effects selection 
• Filming and directing 
• Video editing 
• Color grading and sound mixing 
• Revisions 

Key deliverables: 

• A final high-resolution video file
• Optimized versions for social media

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• tight and fast process 
• delivered on time 
• fast and accurate feedback response 
• impactful videos based on target audience feedback 
• staying on budget and delivering high-quality video

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They deliver on time, although sometimes the deadlines are very demanding. Once they know the end goal, the process is really flawless with minimum need of interaction of our side. The are very flexible in terms of shooting locations limitations and very good at getting ordinary people to do their best on camera.

What was your primary form of communication with handplayed?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their professionalism, calmness during shooting day, and organized process are impressive.

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am a Manager of a financial services company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide an all-in-one spend management solution for global, fast growing businesses

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire handplayed to accomplish?

• Produce a short explainer video for a new product release and marketing campaign

SOLUTION

How did you find handplayed?

Not sure

Why did you select handplayed over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from handplayed were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Handplayed produced several short explainer videos for a new product release of ours. This included shorter cuts that explained the view points of our key personas. This involved helping polish the script, the creative production, selection of actors, music, translation of script, application of subtitles and more.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We had 114 video views 1 month after launch across7 regional webpages. This video has been used at several conferences since to promote Payhawk's offering. It was used internally to explain our new product launches and it had a great reception and lots of positive feedback.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes handplayed were very responsive to requests and generally very easy to communicate with. Items were delivered on time, and expectations were managed. There was a fair amount of extra, out of scope work delivered and this was never an issue.

What was your primary form of communication with handplayed?

Email or Messaging App

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

Easy to communicate with, responsive to my needs, high quality outputs. Took the time to get to know our business, key personas, context of the project, etc.

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

NA

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a co-founder of a content marketing business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Handplayed have been working with us on post-production of social media video content. Our goals are to create high quality, individually branded content, optimised for distribution on Facebook.

SOLUTION

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

We looked for companies via Upwork and tested many companies with similar offerings. We found Handplayed to be exceptional communicators with excellent results. Handplayed have consistently been able to meet deadlines.

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

We started by briefing post-production work to Handplayed, submitting regular numbers of videos to be edited each week. We have rapidly scaled the number of videos being edited with Handplayed. We like that they're very happy to communicate via email or whatsapp, delivering videos into our drive and performing corrections quickly.

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

We worked with Krasi as our project manager. She has very good attention to detail and is able to manage multiple briefs with ease. She has also been able to to co-ordinate rush jobs and weekend jobs consistently. We talk regularly via whatsapp and have also connected to give general feedback over the phone.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Handplayed have delivered multiple videos that have gone viral and generated revenue on Facebook. The best performing content has generated 25 million video views.

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

We mainly communicate via Whatsapp and email. Handplayed have been extremely responsive, even out of hours and feel like an extension of our team. Deadlines are consistently met.

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

Their edits are of exceptional quality and they have amazing platform-specific skills across social media.

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

We're very happy with handplayed's work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Creative Director at a small-to-medium advertising agency in Bulgaria.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire handplayed?

We needed to shoot an online video social network campaign for a local LGBTI+ youth organization called Bilitis that was supposed to launch in October.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I've worked with handplayed before and I approached them with the project because of the tight deadline that required a really strong "can do" attitude in order to make the whole campaign idea work within the time and budget frames.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

They approached the project very methodically and together we planned out the shooting and production schedules to make sure compromises with production were kept to a minimum despite the limitations. They managed to figure out location, casting and crew in a matter of days, despite a heavy workload.

What was the team composition?

I've worked with Leda and Vlady, who were our main contacts, sharing production and team communication duties.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The overly positive response towards the campaign can be viewed on the Bilitis social media channels and the intensity of the emotional impact on local LGBTI+ youth is soon to be measured as soon as the campaign has been wrapped up. https://www.facebook.com/bilitisfoundation/posts/487470960074483 https://www.facebook.com/bilitisfoundation/posts/10158626504411078

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very. I believe there's always room for improvement in communication, however I didn't feel our communication wasn't a priority within their work schedules.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their flexibility and willingness to make a project work are remarkable!

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

Just a bit more attention to really minute details in post-production, but with the pressure of the tight schedules we were working with, those were negligible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the marketing manager of a BNPL provider based and operating in Bulgaria.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Handplayed to create a video for us that explains to users how we work in an attractive and interesting way. BNPL is not a well-known model in Bulgaria and we needed material to help us promote it and help the users to understand it without boring them.

SOLUTION

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

We organized a pitch and chose them based on their presentation and vision of the video.

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

The video shows a girl walking through space, trying clothes and having fun. She pays with the platform at the end of the video. Steps after they were chosen as the winner of the pitch:

1. Discussing the contract and getting legal clearance
2. Kick off meeting to discuss details
3. Working on story boards and visualizations
4. Shooting day
5. Post production with feedback and corrections

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

We communicated mainly with our producer Virginia and with the director Viktor when it came to creative decisions or corrections. They would send us suggestions or raw work and we would provide feedback and so forth.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a completed video so that's the progress? It's too early to share other results.

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

We spoke on mail and had online meetings. The communication was on point and on time. When the issues required more time and/or brainstorming, we had it. Everyone involved was highly responsive and understanding

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

Nothing because I have nothing to compare them to.

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

The post production was a bit challenging at times because it lacked design and aesthetic so we had to heavily involve our creative agency for supervision

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing expert at a financial institution. In the marketing department, we handle media positioning and implement and execute marketing plans and strategies for our corporate division.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with handplayed?

We hired them to create an animated video for our fleet management product. The product itself is very specific and aimed at corporate clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

handplayed created a one-and-a-half minute-long animated video for us. We wrote the script and already had a card designed for our product. We provided them with these materials, and they made the card movable and animated the scenes, handling editing and sound mixing. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with two teammates from handplayed: the main point of contact and the person who animated and edited the video. 

How did you come to work with handplayed?

They were recommended by a colleague from another financial institution that had worked with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent 6,000 Bulgarian lev (approximately $3,100 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project lasted from January–March 2022. We may work with them on another project very soon. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The video accomplished what we planned and was very well-received by all our colleagues, including the bank and the product owner. We also got very positive comments from clients. We uploaded the video on YouTube, promoted it in internal and external newsletters, and published it on our website. Working with handlplayed was a smooth process, and communication was very easy. We only had a few remarks through the process, and they handled changes and managed to meet our requirements. 

How did handplayed perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very strict with schedules. Sometimes, we were late from our side due to internal discussions. They also delivered within the budget, without any extra fees. I was really satisfied with their communication, which was through email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

handplayed’s pricing was less expensive than other providers, and their timeframe for executing the project was quicker. Moreover, working with them was easy; they were very understanding and responsive. They would always call me back and explain things when I called them. In general, they’re friendly, easygoing people.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have understood our business a bit better. They didn’t know our specific line of work since we’re B2B instead of B2C, which was a challenge. We have a lot of restrictions and requirements we need to follow, including strict brand guidelines. Although we were satisfied with their work, they could have improved it slightly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The most important thing is good communication with handplayed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the head of strategy of a company in the security technology space. We provide communication devices, connectivity and interactive services to a global customer base.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to have a short video, highlighting the benefits of one of our latest products. The goal was to be simple, communicative, and cost effective.

SOLUTION

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

Based on multiple positive references from contacts in our geographical area. We looked at (and liked) the agency's portfolio and wanted to have a most direct working relationship during the production process.

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

We started with filling in a design brief template provided by the agency, submitted a script on power point, which the agency transformed into a few short demo videos in order to decide on overall direction. Once choosing a concept and a path to delivery, we needed a few more feedback sessions to get to the final cut.

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

We worked with a project manager and a video editor/animator. After the initial version, they sent us a few more updates based on our feedback/their suggestions for improvement. The feedback process was smooth and easy with most of the delays coming from our part. Towards the end, we had a live working session which really helped smoothen any remaining details.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We shared the video on our social media channels and disseminated it among our distributors and media partners. Considering that this is one of the first videos we have ever produced, there is no feasible benchmark for success but all our partners are happily displaying it at their branches and channels and we are very satisfied with the result.

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

Both the project manager and the video editor/animator were very approachable and provided direct and concise feedback whenever needed. We had a feedback session at each stage of development with them submitting an updated version after each one usually within a week. We talked on MS Teams/Zoom and exchanged ideas and materials via email (or wetransfer in case of larger files).

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

Very approachable, patient and paying close attention to our needs and desires. They helped us stay focused and get to the finish line even when we were distracted with other projects on our end.

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

Nothing that comes to mind.