Hero Creative

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing manager for one of the largest property management firms that operates on a global scale. In my role, I support marketing strategies and efforts for a portfolio of diversified apartment properties across Northern California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hero Creative?

As their name implies, Hero Creative is a one-stop-shop for creative services. They’re the first people I go to when faced with a creative challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Hero Creative offers a suite of services, including photography, videography, website builds, creative strategy, and brand development. The list goes on and on. 

We’re able to fill in creative gaps with their team, depending on where the need is. For example, if we have a client that is trying to develop their brand by isn’t quite complete yet, we can turn to Hero Creative to help push them over the finish line. Their team will pick up the pieces to create a more robust brand through their interpretation.

What is the team composition? 

There’s typically one point of contact. Having said that, I’ve developed a strong working relationship with the entire team.

How did you come to work with Hero Creative?

Hero Creative has a solid, well-known reputation within the apartment industry, so I learned about them through word-of-mouth referrals. After I got in touch with them, they came to our office to introduce us to their team.

The pitching process involved going into specific projects that they’d worked on in our local market with high-profile clients. From there, we had a conversation about how to best engage them and at what phase of the timeline.

How much have you invested with them?

It’s in the ballpark of $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been working with them since August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Hero Creative is able to come in at any stage of a project, diving in headfirst to help us fulfill our fiduciary duties to our clients.

There was one branding video that we needed to bring to life from inception to finished product. All I needed to do was pick up the phone and call Hero Creative, and then they were with me every step of the way. 

They took charge by facilitating a brainstorming session, which kept all of the constituents on the same page. That was crucial for such a high production video project where we needed to get stakeholder buy-in to move forward with ideas. They carried the torch all the way through, from selecting and presenting talent options to location scouting. 

We finished the video ahead of schedule while staying on budget, and our client used that video for various channels to get the most out of their ROI.

How did Hero Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate on a weekly basis. It doesn’t need to be a formal scheduled meeting all the time — if I need to get in contact with them or hear an update, I have no problem calling them over the phone. They always try to make themselves available.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Even though I hired them for the job, I really just let them run the show because they’re the subject matter expert. Their team takes control of their projects, working directly with my clients and taking the workload off of me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this point in time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more leeway that you provide Hero Creative, the better the outcome. They perform best when they’re not put in a box. Some of our most successful projects have been when a client gave them a budget/goal and let Hero Creative come up with unique ideas that fit the bill.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a large apartment management company that handles apartment communities all over the world. I’m the senior marketing manager for the Seattle, Washington, and Idaho region. There, I’m overseeing the marketing strategy for about 140 apartment communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hero Creative?

We wanted to market our apartment communities effectively online. Most people these days turn to the internet to start their search for homes. We use them for creative services to ensure our buildings are showing in the best possible light.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re our creative partner, producing photography, videos, social media content, and website content that promotes our apartment communities. The photographs are intended to pair with listing and show our buildings in the best possible light. Their videos range in tone and length. Sometimes, they create two-minute marketing videos. However, they also provide us with shorter 10–20-second clips that can be used for video ads or social media content.  

We’ve been working together for 8–10 years, so they’ve been involved in our marketing efforts across tons of projects. When we need their assistance on a new project, we just reach out with our requirements. Because we’ve been working together over several years, we allow them the creative freedom to make suggestions in their photo and video work.

They’ll help us conceptualize new projects, write scripts, storyboard, offer voiceovers, and more. During production, they’ll explain their lighting, camera angles, and what the end product will look like. Even in lower-budget videos, they’re sure to pay attention to details. For instance, the shots are always well paced with any music we include, making everything flow nicely.  

What is the team composition?

We work with 3–4 of their teammates. 

How did you come to work with Hero Creative?

We look for referrals when selecting partners because of our niche industry. Their founder had worked in the real estate space before and knew some mutual connections. When we started working with them, we gave them a few small test projects to see that they were capable of. They’ve done great, so we’ve grown the relationship from there. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $200,000 on their services over the course of our work together.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since August 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team is extremely talented. They’ve positively impacted our business’s ability to attract new residents through web and social media content. Our communities are displayed more professionally, which has helped us earn new residents. We’ve always been very pleased with their work and think they’re kind, easy people to work with.   

How did Hero Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Our level of communication depends on the size of the project. However, we speak with their team at least once every week about something, given the variety of projects we engage in together. Turnaround time is pretty quick, and they’re always able to jump on a call or address any adjustments or changes we’re hoping to make. 

They also keep an open line of communication, alerting us if things don’t go according to plan. For instance, they alerted us when they were having issues with equipment and presented a very realistic timeline in which we could expect the project to be completed. Timelines have never been an issue.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve developed a truly trusting relationship over the years. At this point, I count on them to devise concepts and suggestions that will drive the work in the right direction. They understand our business well, spending time learning our business in order to provide a next-level service to us. Their creativity is impressive, and their team is committed to meeting client expectations. They have a creative eye and a willingness to suggest things that haven’t been done before. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The value and quality of work we recieve are unmatched. They’re our go-to creative partner for a reason. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them weigh in with their ideas because their creativity and fresh perspective result in better products. Listening to their suggestions has always worked out for me.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founding principal of Arrive, which provides residential development consulting services to apartment and condominium developers, owners, and investors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hero Creative?

I was working on a new project with an apartment developer here in Seattle. We needed to bring in a marketing, branding, and social media firm, so we turned to Hero Creative. We also hired them for another project with another developer, at the same time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided a full suite of services for the two projects. For one development, they provided branding, property naming, web design, and social media management. The website was created from scratch, and they conducted SEO to maximize its performance.

For the other project, they focused strategically on the social media campaigns surrounding the property they were promoting. Mark (CEO) is a photographer, so he also provided some custom photography shots for us, as part of the overall branding initiative.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Mark, Lauren (VP), a web developer, and a couple of graphic designers.

How did you come to work with Hero Creative?

I met them through general networking and word of mouth. They’ve been recommended to me by others in the industry that I think very highly of. I developed a fast, friendly relationship with Mark and Lauren both, so we brought them in on a competitive RFP for both projects. They’ve since become my go-to marketing firms.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement lasted between April 2018 to August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure the success of our projects on our leasing velocity. We also examine how much qualified traffic is coming into the leasing center. The more we see higher amounts of qualified traffic — which turn into signed leases — then we know that the campaign is working. We’re constantly examining our analytics to see which directions we need to shift our attention to.

Hero Creative has done an excellent job of examining our performance, giving recommendations, and helping us pivot when necessary. Their creativity and adaptability are both phenomenal. Their collaborative skill is second to none, as well.

How did Hero Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re exceptional. They put together a schedule at the beginning of every single project, and we use that timeline as a beacon to guide us. They always send an agenda ahead of time and really push me and my clients to make decisions to stay within that schedule.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’d highly their flexibility and creativity.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, no. We always know what we’re getting from them, and at most times, they exceed our expectations by bringing different ideas to the table.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend clients to bring the marketing or branding company in, sooner rather than later. It’s important to educate the property developer on why branding or marketing is critical to the lead generation process — even in pre-construction.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of customer service at 1Up Floors, a multi-family flooring company. We are the folks that install flooring into apartment complexes focusing on carpet, vinyl, and luxury vinyl plank (LVP).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hero Creative?

Since we don’t market to the general public, it was important for us to create an online presence that looks different than all of our competitors. Most multi-family flooring companies have weak websites that are not meant to communicate anything. They’re almost like placeholders. We wanted to create something that was more interactive. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed and developed our website from the beginning of the business and have been managing it ever since. 

Originally, when they created our website, it was much more of asking them to update things for us, but that wasn’t scalable or sustainable. We were able to work with them to create modifications to our website so that now I can go in and make my own updates. They made the site user friendly and educated me on how it works. 

What is the team composition?

We work a lot with Mark (President), but we’ve worked with the larger team as well.

How did you come to work with Hero Creative?

The owner of our company knew about them through work with other multi-family organizations. That’s when we decided to sit down with Mark, and we immediately hit it off and he proved his capacity through creating our website, keeping it up to date, and listening to us with the concerns that we had. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We get along with Mark and his team really well. They’re personable, yet professional. We gel really well with them. We can make jokes, but at the same time, I know that we’re in good hands. When we’re goofing off, we’re still going to get the things done. Our expectations are high and they have met those expectations while being fun to work with. 

How did Hero Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a really good support feature where you can just send in emails to support and an employee will be assigned the ticket. For website updates, they have form submission. Someone on their team will grab the ticket and make that update quite quickly. We can indicate whether something is urgent or not. If it’s urgent, they’ve always taken care of it right away.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to be flexible with their customers’ wants and needs is impressive. In addition, their sense of humor definitely sets them apart.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could do better. All of our needs have been met. All improvements that have been needed, they’ve created those and spoken to that need most of the time before we even bring it up.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you have ideas and needs, make a list. At the end of the day, let them come up with ideas too, and be a part of that conversation. Make sure it’s a two-sided conversation. They have so much insight on what it is they can do that you need to let them help you in your creative journey. If you do that, you’ll both win.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-owner of 1Up Floors. We describe ourselves as a multi-family floor covering company for the apartment industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hero Creative?

As a startup at the time, we needed outside assistance bringing the culture and brand I conceptualized to the marketplace.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We relied on Hero Creative to build our website and produce a commercial video to play on that site. They were responsible for all design and technical aspects of the website. Our only requirements were to have it interface with inventory management and customer ordering software that we had already purchased. Otherwise, it includes multiple pages and subpages, a blog, and the commercial is embedded. They currently host the website and provide maintenance as necessary when we need to change content.

The commercials that Hero Creative produced in the past were very polished and for large companies, but I relayed my desire for a less-polished version. I wanted to have a small-company feel, a more human feel. We decided that the video would include an interview with me and visuals of our warehouse and our staff. They arranged all aspects of shooting and editing. The video ended at just under 4 minutes long.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager and different points of contact for website content and commercial production.

How did you come to work with Hero Creative?

I’ve known Mark (Owner, Hero Creative) for several years, and I knew he had started his own media company a year before 1Up Floors started. What I didn’t know was that they were a full-service media company, so I thought they only produced commercials. I didn’t know of their website ability, but once I reached out and began discussing our needs, I knew they could help with the entire project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $10,000, which I think is a great deal for what we got.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have worked with them on an ongoing basis since 2014. The website and video projects took about a month and a half to complete, but much of that time was a delay on my part because I did not appropriately prepare all materials. We will soon be making a new commercial because our original is three or four years old.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve run other companies in the past, but I’ve never received as much positive feedback from a website or a commercial before. Still to this day, we receive compliments regarding the site’s ease of use and professionalism. We also have people call us and ask who made our commercial, so I refer people to Hero Creative quite regularly.

How did Hero Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

I did a poor job in the beginning of explaining my vision for the commercial, but once that was resolved with a more in-depth discussion with Mark, everything else progressed well. They stick to the timeline and their cost estimate very well. We usually communicate via emails and phone calls. They have a communication system through their website, but we’ve been working with them for so long that we know who we should call or email directly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a small enough team that each of the members can very clearly care about their customers. I've worked with marketing firms in the past where I have to reinvent the wheel every time I call because I’m speaking with a different person every time. Hero Creative’s team members are personally invested in the success of the projects their working on, and I don’t see that anywhere else.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, the whole experience has been virtually flawless.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s quite possible Hero Creative will come up with better ideas than you can, so it’s best to trust their creative process and put stock in their ideas.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder and co-owner of Pilot Ventures, a boutique real estate firm in Seattle. We specialize in brokering and managing apartment buildings under $50 million.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hero Creative?

After working at another company for ten years, my partner and I decided to launch our own firm. However, we didn’t have a name, brand, color scheme, or logo. Hero Creative helped us figure out our brand, image, and story. They also created branded deliverables such as a website built from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hero Creative helped create our brand from the ground up. We went through 4–5 exploratory meetings with them to figure out who our client would be. Next, we figured out a name, which involved a group brainstorming session where we narrowed 200 words down to five words and further refined it in later meetings. We then went through 100 logo designs together and developed the story behind our brand.

The Hero Creative team also handled the tangibles of our brand. They built our website, writing code in the backend and developing a custom template for us. The team has also held different types of strategy sessions for us, discussing what specific marketing pieces should look like depending on whether they’re for prospecting business or for the general public. They’ve created our leave-behinds, letterheads, and business cards, and they even handled our headshots. I still have lunches with Mark (President and CEO, Hero Creative) to brainstorm advertising ideas, such as promo t-shirts, and to seek strategic insights.

What is the team composition?

Jacob (Director of Web Development, Hero Creative) handles our website-related work and most of our recurring projects. For headshots, advertising ideas, and strategic advice, I go to Mark and Lauren (Vice President, Hero Creative). For the initial brand creation, especially the initial logo design, we dealt with their entire team.

How did you come to work with Hero Creative?

My business partner met Mark at a real estate conference in early 2016, which was around the time when we knew we’d be starting our own company. We had phone calls with two other companies to complete our project, but something just clicked in that initial interview with Mark and Lauren. We decided to meet face-to-face, and we ultimately felt that they understood the message we wanted to convey and they offered the services we were looking for. They were a great match for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $25,000–$30,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2016 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Hero Creative helped us create a brand we could get behind. Despite being a new firm in the Seattle real estate world, we’ve heard a lot of positive feedback, both from national companies and larger local ones, and haven’t struggled to get clients. We seem like a familiar business to them. We’ve enjoyed their work approach so much that we’re still a recurring client of theirs. They oversee and update our web content and we revisit them twice a year for strategic guidance.

How did Hero Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve delivered impeccable service. We had very few hiccups, the biggest of which came from our end. Hero Creative patiently held our hand through the entire process. They helped us understand how to create a website, and they kept coming back to us with more logo iterations until we finally landed on a scheme that resonated with both of our teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Every person on the team cared about our project and took pride in their work in getting a brand off the ground. In the first 4-5 meetings, every member had input, demonstrating an interest and an opinion. The dialogue was open and positive, which made the collaboration effortless and fast. I almost want to go through the process again. Second, they follow up superbly well, in a way that shows they want to help and not to upsell us. I never felt like they were pushing us to invest in more of their marketing services.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Early on, it took them longer than we wanted to make site updates—whether we had caught an error, sold a property, or listing a new one. The real estate market moves fast, so we needed to bring updated information to our clients as quickly as possible, but it took up to three days to update our site. They’ve since built a data input system in the backend that allows us to enter the appropriate information and they’ll push it live in under 36 hours. We’re very happy with that.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Hero Creative knows what they’re doing. We were pushing them to include color in the logo, but they insisted on showing us drafts in greyscale. When we decided on a final version of a logo, fonts, and brand materials, we realized we could’ve saved everyone some trouble if we trusted the process from the get-go. The process was one of the most positive experiences I’ve had working with another business, especially a new partner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of marketing at a large independent hotel in downtown Seattle.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hero Creative?

The downtown area is saturated with prominent hotel brands. As an independent hotel, we wanted to bring in a partner to provide creative collateral and material that would make us stand out from those other brands.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hero Creative develops promotional material for our hotel and our rooftop restaurant. This includes social media graphics, meeting and event trifold posters, brochures, and the like. Our most recent project involves an infographic highlighting our close proximity to a local convention center. We provide some art direction, but we give them a lot of creative freedom to make those pieces for us. They present an initial concept of each piece, and we provide feedback and further guidance.

What is the team composition?

I interact with one project manager and one account manager.

How did you come to work with Hero Creative?

Hero Creative was on board prior to my arrival at the property, but from my understanding, our team conducted an RFP process to find a local agency. I believe they were originally tapped to do some photography for us, but we found that graphic design was a more pressing need, and they were able to fulfill that. We appreciate that they are a boutique agency that allows us to have more one-on-one time with the design team.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in 2016 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From a design standpoint, our collateral and our marketing materials stand out in comparison to our competitors'. Their work elevates the brand of our hotel and restaurant.

How did Hero Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Our working partnership has lasted about two years, and in that time, they’ve done a phenomenal job of communicating day-to-day happenings of the projects and who is on staff on certain days. We are kept well-informed at all times.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity is a tremendous asset. Their outside-the-box designs have taken our in-house designs from good to great. Not a lot of independent hotels get this opportunity to work with a creative agency. I feel very fortunate to have Hero Creative as a partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We usually have two or three projects in their hands at any given time, but it would be nice to receive some sort of weekly or monthly status report on each project.

Any advice for potential customers?

If you see the need for year-round creative, work with Hero Creative to allow a creative retainer. We were initially project-to-project, which proved to be more work for both sides. Once we implemented the retainer, the engagement ran much smoother for both sides.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of communications for the Alaska & Washington chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We’re a nonprofit that creates wish experiences for children that have critical illnesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hero Creative?

We initially needed someone to document our wish experiences—a visual storytelling partner that could offer professional photography and filming services. From there, we expanded our relationship to include professional services such as web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve contributed many digital and web services over the years, starting with helping us create a visual story of our recipients’ wish experiences. We’ve used their materials at special events and in email communications and pushed them out via our website and social media platforms. We recently asked them to take some modern-looking headshots of our new CEO that we could use in our official statements. 

They also built a WordPress blog to host our newsletter, which they converted into a multi-media experience. Before they came on, we would print out a physical newsletter and post a PDF of it to our website. Now, we can tell our stories in one way through the print newsletter (which we still run) and in another way through the website. Moreover, it's much less expensive to email a digital version to a large audience than it would have been to mail out physical copies. 

Currently, they’re developing a landing page system that allows us to track airplane mile donations. More than 80% of our wishes involve air travel, so we often run campaigns with corporations and groups to have their employees donate their unused air miles. Our original system was linked to the national Make-A-Wish infrastructure and we had precious little communication with the donors. This made it extremely difficult to track what organization certain donations came from—we wouldn’t receive information from the national organization until many months after the fact.

They provided us with a branded donation form and did work on our system’s backend that will help us better track their information. Their interface takes the national organization out of the process so we can interact directly with the donors.

What is the team composition?

While we’ve interacted with various people, and our projects have probably touched everyone at Hero Creative, we primarily work with Mark (CEO, Hero Creative) and Jacob (Director of Web Development, Hero Creative).

How did you come to work with Hero Creative?

They contacted us first, saying that they liked our work, were located close by, and wanted to sit down and get to know us better.

What is the status of this engagement?

They’ve been an ongoing partner since 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re a nonprofit and often don’t have the bodies, finances, or technical skills necessary to implement all of our great ideas. Hero augments and supplements us in the areas where we’re deficient and brings our ideas to fruition.

Regarding tangible results, their airline miles landing page system has empowered us to run more than a single campaign at a time. We weren’t able to delineate where miles donations were coming from under the old system so we could only partner with one organization at a time. That problem no longer exists, so we’ve not only been able to grow the program and be a better steward of those relationships but gain a better understanding of what techniques increase donations and which don’t. Additionally, the new system provides a much better experience for the donors themselves.

How did Hero Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve become an extension of our marketing and communications team. We present them with an issue, and they do a great job of hearing us out, thinking through the problem, and delivering a scope of work and timeline. There’s a free flow of ideas between us, which helps make it a true partnership. We’ve been with them for five years and haven’t had any issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment to and passion for us and our mission allows them to step outside a traditional third-party role. They take ownership of projects and growth, which is most evident in the work they do to expand our network, introducing us to their clients and helping us set up campaigns with them. I also have to reiterate how great their technical skills are; we couldn’t execute our projects without them.

Mark and Jacob have been excellent partners as well. They’re fun, creative, and down to earth—and they love devising innovative solutions to our challenges. Mark even participated in one of our wishes himself. He role-played in a series of mystery videos that a child could watch and solve on their iPad. He dressed up and played a villain that the child eventually convinced to become good. Hero's generous with their time and resources, and I’m extremely grateful to them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. I wish we could partner with them more, but they have other clients and only so much time to give. We’ve had a great experience with them.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Help them understand your business and provide them with as much information as possible. This will help them dive deep and develop solutions for you.