Hello visual production

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a large chocolate company and am responsible for brand management for two of its well-known products in Poland. I’m responsible for TV commercials, digital advertising campaigns, and the overall strategy of the two categories.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hello visual production?

We needed to hire someone to produce DIY videos for our brand’s website. We had both children and adults on set, and working with children was the most difficult part of the project, especially since we can’t know how they’ll play and react. We ended up tasking Hello visual production with the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve collaborated with Hello visual production on two projects related to Christmas and Easter for a 360-degree campaign. They were brought in for the production of DIY videos for the website. It was a very innovative part of the project, connected to the family element, which is the most important thing for the brand.

I felt comfortable working with Hello visual production because they thought of everything. I didn’t have too much time to go through the details of the videos, and I had to approve the final work of the production house.

Our brief was very detailed since our brand is very specific and there are lots of dos and don’ts. We are working with products meant for kids, so the communication with the parents was very, very difficult. We couldn’t cross the line in terms of communication with children. This created a lot of challenges, but Hello visual production managed it.

I’m a person who’s very direct in collaborations, so I wanted to work with partners, not executors. Hello visual production acted as true partners.

They were open to dialogue and changes and they had their own vision. We had conversations together and they gave me arguments to convince me that their solutions could be better, which I really appreciated. It led to great results.

We’ve just finalized the production for the Christmas campaign. We started it a month ago, and we had a little more time to work on it. We’re still finalizing the work, but it took more time because of the structure of our company. We have different levels of approval, so the project took longer. 

What is the team composition?

There were 5–7 people from Hello visual production involved for the bigger project. For the Easter video, there were fewer involved. I had one main point of contact, which was easier for me.

How did you come to work with Hello visual production?

I looked online and saw that they had good comments on their website. I decided to try them out since it wasn’t a very big project. Some parts of the project were done by other agencies, at different stages.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost for both projects was around €15,000 (approximately $16,627 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Hello visual production in February or March 2019 and had a final version of the video by the end of March. It was a very quick project. We’re now wrapping up a Christmas-related project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Hello visual production produced great visual work, creating something very appealing which captured the brand well. I prefer to have long-term collaborations with agencies, since setting up brand guidelines at the beginning of a project is very time-consuming.

If I’m satisfied, I just prefer to continue with the same provider. If I feel like it’s going to be a long collaboration with Hello visual production, and I’ll have a feedback session with them at the end of the project.

Time was an important factor for us, especially since we’re working on seasonal campaigns. It’s crucial to have everything on time, otherwise, it would be too late and we wouldn’t be able to use the material for the season, ending up in a waste of money. We had these time restrictions and Hello visual production worked with that. 

How did Hello visual production perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re open, they listen, and are keen on resolving problems. Every project has emergency situations where immediate action is needed to change something or go in a different direction. Hello visual production is honest and it was easy to have them as a partner because they knew what they were doing and we felt safe collaborating with them.

The project management side was very good, especially with our direct contact. She has an important mix of skills, being both an artist as well as an account manager. She understands every part of the project for which she’s responsible for and she’s good with clients, knowing how to build relationships and to listen. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They can organize everything quickly without compromising the quality of their work, which is very good. Hello visual production proposes different solutions. Timing and flexibility were the main factors in deciding to collaborate with them. 

There are a lot of good companies currently on the market that can supply a similar level of work, but they’re not as flexible, they don’t listen, and they’re not good partners. Hello visual production is a good partner and they make us feel comfortable with the collaboration, which is a very important part of my work. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They had someone responsible for business development in the beginning, and I felt a bit of confusion there as I wasn’t exactly sure what they were responsible for. After the account manager took over, project management was very good.

Additionally, they could improve in terms of documentation, since I’m a very demanding client. I was asking for detailed documents as well as a lot of things to be prepared in advance to be ready on the set with different options.

I think they were a bit surprised at the beginning by that but they complied with me and did it well. From my side, that was something that needed to be improved, and it was. One good thing about Hello visual production is that they’re learning and improving, which is very important. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They’re professionals and they know what they’re doing, but it’s good to ask about working methods in the beginning. Everyone is used to different ways of working, and it’s important to discuss this and be honest with Hello visual production.