metajive

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the head of marketing for an event production company. We do a lot of events as well as provide labor and gear for concerts, TV shows, and corporate events.

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?
We wanted to make our digital presence more professional and inform everyone of what we do. We lost a couple of jobs from people who were confused by different companies that had the same name as us.

What was the scope of their involvement?
metajive provided us with engineering and design for our website. They handled everything from the nuts and bolts all the way to the paint. We started with the design wireframes. Once they were approved, metajive started all the engineering efforts, building our site on Laravel. Their team provided the finished product as a CMS that we can edit without having to call every time we need something changed on a website. 

What is the team composition?
We primarily worked with Dave (Founder & Creative Director). Our team also dealt with the initial person who pitched us as well as a project manager.

How did you come to work with metajive?
I have an acquaintance with somebody in independent sales. That individual presented a few different options that’d be good for us. We liked the designs that metajive had done in the past.

How much have you invested with them?
We invested around $80,000–$90,000.

What is the status of this engagement?
Our project was from March–September 2019.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 
The project was very successful. Everyone in the company was happy with it. I received a lot of feedback from regular people who expressed that the website was a huge improvement. We’re all happy, and metajive has even won a couple of awards for the design.

How did metajive perform from a project management standpoint?
Project management was good. Everything was on time. In fact, they had to sometimes push us more than we were pushing them. metajive delivered everything as promised. They followed through on their time commitments, and I never had to wonder or follow up about where something was. Most of our communication was through email. We also utilized Google Docs and Dropbox.

What did you find most impressive about them?
They were always responsive. We’d hear back from them within an hour of sending an email. If I ever reached out to some of their higher-up team members, they always responded right away. Someone would talk to me immediately if I needed anything.

Are there any areas they could improve?
No, nothing comes to mind. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?
I was very happy working with them, and I’m sure you will be too.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the senior digital producer at Mering, a full-service ad agency that did everything from highway billboards to full-blown website development and ad campaigns.  

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?

At the time, we were going through a rebrand and had changed our name. We needed a new website that reflected our brand change, so we hired metajive to handle web design and development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After holding an in-person and virtual discovery phase, they provided site maps, wireframes, mood boards, and three different design options for the site. After we selected one design, they used a PHP and a Twill CMS to develop a 6–8-page website. The platform features HubSpot and job board integrations as well.  

What is the team composition?

I worked with Pete (Senior Project Manager) and Christie (Digital Producer).

How did you come to work with metajive?

Our timeline was super tight. Instead of going through my normal Rolodex, I reached out to a company who paired us with metajive based on our needs. I chose them because of their catalog of work, could come to our office to work with us, and meet our deadline. On top of that, they negotiated with us on the price.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in August 2019 and we initially launched in October that year. Then they spent a few months tweaking things here and there.

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

I was very impressed that we launched on time. The website’s design is beautiful. Our creative team and management team were incredibly happy with metajive’s work. Right after we launched, our traffic and other KPIs went through the roof.

How did metajive perform from a project management standpoint?

They turned around the project very quickly and they provided a ton of attention to our project. Other big agencies wouldn’t have been able to give us the same level of contact.
Christie was great. She always responded to any requests within an hour and was quick to change orders. Dave (Owner) reached out to me a few times to make sure things were going smoothly.

They looped us into their project management tools, such as Trello, so we could collaborate well. As a result, they became an extension of our team. It made it really easy for us to work together and provide feedback. We generally communicated via email.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

The UX design is spectacular. Their design team is fantastic.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the time, I wished we could have improved our immediate communication by collaborating together on Slack. However, that wasn’t an option then and they are using Slack now. Obviously, that was out of their hands.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have one point of contact on your end and one person on theirs. Get to know them, because having a strong relationship will be key if you need to make quick changes.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of Citadel Defense Company. We’re a counter drone technology company specializing in the development and deployment of drone protection solutions for military, government, and commercial applications.

For what projects/services did your company hire metajive?

We’d been going through a period of rapid growth and increased press and public recognition, and we wanted to take advantage of that. It was critical to re-brand, design, and develop a new face and website for the company.

What were your goals for this project?

We had three goals in working with metajive. Our primary goal was to deliver a credible, professional, and distinct experience to help customers, industry professionals, government officials, and media contacts understand the product we offer and its impact on customers. We also wanted to highlight how we’ve disrupted traditional aerospace and defense markets with our rapid design, development, and deployment of solutions through a unique web experience. The final goal was to design, develop, test, and deploy our website in under two months to meet critical market timing pressures.

How did you select this vendor?

I needed to work with a team that offered fast, flexible delivery, required little oversight, provided high value at an acceptable price point for a startup, and communicated updates frequently. Several of my industry contacts from large companies connected me with metajive’s CEO and COO. After our initial interaction and a project brief and timeline review, they agreed to work with us. Though it was a weekend, they immediately began working on our designs. None of the other four companies we considered displayed that kind of customer service or responsiveness. It was an easy decision that I would certainly make again.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

metajive was essential to reviewing content, designing and developing a responsive website, and creating relevant image assets. They began by designing multiple styles and layouts to choose from to set our initial direction. Their designers did a tremendous job matching relevant imagery to approved site content to develop a strong narrative for users as they tour the website.

What was the team composition?

We frequently interacted with their CEO and COO, and the daily operating team included a visual designer, a software engineer, and a part-time project manager.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The new site has energized our team and received strong support from our customers. Additionally, investors, government contractors, and purchasing agents have reported increased confidence in our company based on the maturity of the new site. Regarding metrics, web traffic, interest, and activity have all increased 400%. metajive developed the site faster than I thought possible, based on my 15 years of working with other agencies.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We interacted with them daily as they worked through fast sprints to launch the site in under two months. They provided frequent updates and reviews and turned around feedback quickly. Their leadership was engaged and always responsive to our requests. They were vocal with their opinions regarding design and development but voiced them in a professional, well-intended manner. The risks they took produced a much better product than simply following my instructions would have.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their willingness to leverage their expertise and push back against us respectfully with facts and suggestions was outstanding. They executed flawlessly under a tight deadline and displayed great energy. They took our short time frame as a challenge, and as a key stakeholder, that attitude is highly motivating. I love having people work for me who are passionate about what they do. Finally, whenever I called their office, the person who answered the phone gave me their undivided attention and always followed-up, regardless of their level of familiarity with my project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

First, they need to get their name out there to the startups, accelerators, innovation labs, and large corporations that could benefit from their speedy services. Second, they could provide better information regarding available services including photography and 3D-design so customers can incorporate them into their projects.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a VP at a marketing agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?

We needed a company to help us with a variety of design and web development projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've worked with them for years on many products and projects, all of which have been very successful. They did a lot of tech-related work on our recent project for an airline company: using HTML and JavaScript, they provided web development and design services.

What is the team composition?

We usually work with 2–6 members of their team, depending on the project.

How did you come to work with them?

We met through networking years ago.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with the in 2011 and the relationship is ongoing.

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

They've provided the highest quality design work we've ever seen and helped us leverage our team’s potential. They've been very dependable and delivered incredible results on tight deadlines.   

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Asana and Jira for project management. What sets them apart from other agencies is their transparency and how good they are at delivering against that. Also, they've always been honest and upfront about the pricing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design work has been top-notch. I continue to praise them and recommend them after years of successful delivery.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish they were bigger, so that I could use even more of them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations for Pereira & O’Dell, a full-service advertising agency that focuses on branded entertainment content and storytelling.

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?

For our 10th anniversary, we wanted to create a new logo, visual identity, and website, which had launched in 2011. The site ran on an outdated code that very few developers now work with. Consequently, even little updates were very expensive and difficult to execute.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They completed wireframe and design phases, and then overhauled the website to make the platform more flexible. We aimed to make future design updates separate from the backend’s functionality.

What is the team composition?

We interacted with seven people in total, working with five teammates throughout the project and about two additional tech resources around the launch. The team included the founder, creative lead, and multiple project managers.

How did you come to work with metajive?

We found them through a professional association. Our CFO was on the board and met the founder. Our interactive executive producer also met metajive’s team a few times. We decided to go ahead with the partnership based on their proposal and listening skills.

How much have you invested with them?

I can’t say because my colleague handled the budget. I only touched the project management piece.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in August 2017 and the site launched in April 2018. We’ve discussed adding modules or field tools, but haven’t made any formal decisions yet.

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

We got great feedback from our leadership; every senior person loved the new site. It’s also easy for me to upload work and news articles into the CMS. The old site made us compress images, but we’re now able to have high-resolution assets that properly reflect our work’s quality without hindering speed. The design process was also excellent. When they proposed two different options, our leadership had no changes and couldn’t decide between them.

How did metajive perform from a project management standpoint?

We had different project managers for the design and development phases. They gave me access to the CMS very early in the project, which expedited the collaborative backloading process–we had 10 years’ worth of content. We had daily check-ins and a great dialogue about their approach and prioritizations. The team met all guidelines and worked weekends to complete changes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their level of attention surprised us. The founder was very involved and even accompanied us on launch day. Such access to senior leadership is rare for non-consumer-facing sites like ours.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn’t necessarily get final approval during the handoff between the design and development stages. Using InVision made it hard to track versions and revisions. We didn’t realize a responsive site would affect things like font size. However, those were minor issues and the team fixed everything.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a youth entertainment company in action sports with live events and television shows. I’m project manager for an e-commerce website project.

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?

We needed to connect the backend of our platform, Shopify, with the third-party logistics [3PL] service provider that did our fulfillment center.

What was the scope of their involvement?

With JavaScript, they connected Shopify backed with our 3PL service provider. They also did video integration, web banner, and slide show.

What is the team dynamic?

They assigned 1 developer.

How did you come to work with metajive?

When I was a marketing manager at another company, I had used them to create all our microsites and projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2017 until August 2017.

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

The results have been great. It’s easy to navigate and update, and the whole UI is clean and simple. No one's had any issues with it.

How did metajive perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Trello for communication, and there was transparency in the whole project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I could talk to Dave [Founder/Creative Director, metajive] at any time. It was nice to have that open contact. If there was anything we weren’t sure on, we could reach him directly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it was a quick project with a fast turnaround. With the scope of work we asked of them, they did an excellent job.

Any tips for future clients of metajive?

Be transparent on your end so they know exactly what you’re looking for and what your challenges are. They’re great at problem-solving and being creative.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Perform Media is a full-service advertising technology provider for brands, using paid search, native, and display advertising. We’re a relatively new, privately funded company. I am the COO, in charge of everything but direct sales.

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?

They were engaged to do a few things for us, including logo and brand definition.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Metajive performed a full competitive analysis and consultation on what we wanted our logo, color scheme, and branding to look like. They then developed this into a brochure website, along with all the marketing collateral we'd need to get off the ground as a small business: PowerPoint templates, email signatures, business cards, executive photos, and social media elements. They handed over the design specs to our development team, who actually built the site.

We made the website design in Sketch, and metajive used Adobe products like Illustrator and Dreamweaver.

What is the team dynamic?

Like many design firms, metajive had a full network of fulltime employees and consultants. I interacted with a few of them, all of whom were professional and understood the goals of the project.

How did you come to work with them?

I’ve known Dave [Founder, metajive] for many years through a friend. When I started our company, Dave and I had a couple of initial meetings, and I had a good feeling about metajive as a business. They seemed to understand our needs and had done similar work in the past. For this kind of work, it was preferable to do it with someone we already had a relationship with, to ensure high quality.

How much have you invested with them?

The brand design, website development, and PowerPoint templates cost $50,000. The price was standard compared to other bids I got, but I would classify the quality as high-end.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with metajive in June 2017. We went live a week and a half ago.

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

We’re early stage and have just launched. The initial feedback is positive, in terms of site and logo design. The private equity firm that invested in us is looking to use metajive for its own branding.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

The project runtime was 10 weeks, and we came close to delivering on time, if not early, on a few things. They were good at giving us things as they finished, so we could, for example, reprioritize presentations we needed for pitching clients over website elements. The logo was also a priority, since we had to figure out the palette ahead of time.

They were responsive when I would call or text them, and there was no pushback when giving me help.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There was a good balance of them taking into account what I needed and being additive with their expertise. We don't want companies to overpower us with their knowledge, nor do we want to only tell them what to do and for them to do it even if it doesn’t make sense in terms of brand strategy or design. When figuring out what the brand identity and logo should look like, metajive thinks of things the client wouldn’t, especially early on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Metajive is a smaller shop, so we could tell when they were busy. This is true for any company and isn’t really a negative; we're continuing the relationship.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Weta Workshop Ltd. is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film. I am the online retail and systems manager of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?

We needed to develop an e-commerce solution. Our previous one had several items which didn't work as we would’ve wanted them to.

What was the scope of their involvement?

metajive built a new online store for our company. It's a PHP-based website using the osCommerce platform. It also has a customized content management system tacked on, which metajive built for us. We were assigned a developer and a supervisor from metajive.

How did you come to work with metajive?

Working with local developers in New Zeeland is not a common practice. We had used a couple of local agencies and found that they weren't giving us the value we were looking for. Our previous general manager had worked with metajive in the past. We got in touch with them and had an initial chat. metajive convinced everyone here that they would be a right fit.

How much have you invested with metajive?

The cost of metajive's work was around $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with metajive in August 2015. The first part of our project is just about complete. We're doing some final testing at the moment. We plan to use metajive on an ongoing basis for a maintenance contract.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

metajive's work led to the biggest Black Friday sale we'd ever had, beating our previous year by 22%. It's a bit early to provide any more stats, but we've been very happy with the results.

How did metajive perform from a project management standpoint?

metajive worked with us during a challenging time in their company. One of the owners was on leave for much of our project, so the project management was handed over to the developers. It worked out well, and metajive is back on board again. We use Trello for project tracking.

What did you find most impressive about metajive?

metajive is proactive in a way unlike any other agency we've worked with. Instead of offering us 20 design solutions, metajive has selected ones which could bring business benefits to our company. This type of client management worked very well for us.

Are there any areas metajive could improve?

The documentation could have been done better, although we were happy with it at the time. In hindsight, it led to some misunderstandings, but nothing worse than with other companies we've used. This can be improved within any web development agency. If someone asked me to recommend metajive, I would do it at the drop of a hat.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a program manager and executive producer at AKQA San Francisco.

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?

We worked with them on a few things. Primarily, we went to them for online advertising and creative development solutions. They are SMEs [subject matter experts] when it comes to publishing and working with the latest HTML5 and small vector graphic art. We had a long form animation we needed to keep developing and keep within a specific file size. They helped us out.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had 2 developers and primarily worked with HTML5 on the most recent project. In the past, they had also done front-end and backend work for me. They developed in HTML5, PHP, and MYSQL. They also offer a proprietary CMS [content management system] which is great and at no cost for what you need, whether that’s just to manage content or to use it as a platform to review and approve things before going live.

They are awesome, and they provide a full service when it comes to a marketing campaign. We found them to be very useful.

How did you come to work with metajive?

A friend of mine worked with them first, and then we found them on Vendor DB. They were usually involved in a triple bet, and are quite competitive. They are good to work with.

How much have you invested with metajive?

We have invested between $200,000 and $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working over 5 years ago. All projects are complete, but we will be starting to work again in the next couple of weeks.

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

They always deliver and hit the dates. They are good partners; they work very well with clients and creatives, designers, or anyone on the team.

How did metajive perform from a project management standpoint?

They kept it simple and they had their templates ready to go. Not a lot of your budget is spent on project management; it's mostly spent on developers. Their PMs [project managers] and EPs [executive producers] definitely know what's going on at any time of the day. They are very much invested in the project and in getting it done.

I actually worked with a few PMs over there and they are all awesome. Not all of them are still there, but they hire good PMs and ETs.

What did you find most impressive about metajive?

One of their key strengths is that they understand media, design, and ROI [return on investment]. They don’t necessarily put their opinion in a lot, but if they are asked about whether something is worth the money or what’s the right way to do it, they usually provide their input, and that’s good to hear. They are a good mix of creativity, design, and functionality. They create stuff that people are going to interact with and use, as opposed to something that’s just pretty and doesn’t have a valid reason.

They come from a problem-solving standpoint, and they always add a lot of value. They come up with a faster way to get things done, and they always feel free and invested in adding their point of view, whether or not we listen to it or follow it. They are very helpful in that way.

Are there any areas metajive could improve?

I haven’t thought that critically about it.