LGND // Creative Studio

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a private foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. We work with communities in education and entrepreneurship to increase opportunities that allow all people to learn, to take risks, and to own their success. I lead the communication and engagement work for the education portfolio, focused on the region of Kansas City, which lies within both Kansas and Missouri state.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire LGND?

The first time development of a digital data story to highlight the research our foundation had commissioned and tell our audience about an emerging body of work. We also wanted to ensure that some of the more controversial data points would be told through a narrative so that our audience could understand the bigger picture we were attempting to illustrate. In addition, we wanted the interface with the audience to be interactive and engage, fueling more curiosity from our audience.

What were your goals for this project?

* Tell the story of the data we commissioned in a narrative format. * Engage a new set of audience that were champions of rethinking education and reimagining HS education (measured by unique views, time on page, newsletter sign-ups from page traffic) * Elevate the data we had learned to be an influencer of local and national interest and action (media-inquires, national and local partnerships, attendance to local events)

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We did a discovery process with the vendor and they came back with a compelling proposal. We had previously heard good things about their work from other non-profits that had utilized their services.

Describe the project in detail.

LGND and myself worked extremely close on this project to get it executed. They guided the strategy, development, content creation and execution. They also were excellent at project management with a project that had lots of variables and many internal opinions that needed to be managed. From truly just a concept, the pulled out of me what the project needed to be a success. My team and I provided the overall scope, feedback throughout plus creative input, and managed multiple stakeholders that needed to review and provide input. However, LGND truly was able to take very little guidance and produce a truly sophisticated and visually compelling end product that everyone really enjoyed.

What was the team composition?

LGND had about 6 people that made up the project team, which included the project manager, our main point of contact. It also included a designer, UX technician, web developer, and videographer/animator plus leadership for high level conversations. The team fluctuated in size as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We used the end product to do a social media campaign that brought in new attention and audience. Overall, it has been well received by external stakeholders and audiences.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

One of the most effective elements of LGND as a vendor was their ability to project manage. They were able to truly support our often busy team in keep track of the projects progress, clearly identifying when items needed review or something from our end, elevate if new ideas or direction was going to change expected end dates, etc. With the vendor we used Slack to manage quick communication and a shared drive platform to keep documents.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their greatest strengths were their creativity that could be translated into actionable steps, their project management, and the level of quality in their end product.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only area of improvement is the need for a more racially/ethnically diverse team. They are really top notch at what they do but diverse teammates can add perspective that they otherwise might miss.