metajive

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of Essential Care Insurance Brokerage

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Essential Care is a full-service Medicare FMO that focuses on recruiting, training, and developing licensed insurance professionals to provide superior service to communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• They created a website for my business.

SOLUTION

How did you find metajive?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select metajive over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from metajive were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

They used Tilda to build the website, and it featured comment capabilities. The navigation is very user-friendly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Even people who don’t use the internet often can easily navigate the site. The final site meets all of our criteria and functions well. Metajive is very creative and has been able to build whatever we need on the website.

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

It was a very smooth process. Metajive and I skyped often, which helped communication. I could call them whenever I wanted to add features or make changes and it was never a problem. They always picked up immediately and were able to make the changes I requested.

What was your primary form of communication with metajive?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They paid attention to detail and delivered everything we needed.

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

They don’t need to improve anything. They’re a great team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Unihoms

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Unihoms, a smart home automation company. We’re manufacturers of smart home solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• We needed help to develop our e-commerce website.

SOLUTION

How did you find metajive?

Online Search

Why did you select metajive over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from metajive were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Metajive built our e-commerce website. They designed and developed the website from scratch, which is divided into two parts: B2B and B2C. The B2B side is a home page to attract distributors and sign up for potential strategic partnerships. The B2C side is an online store with direct contact with the end-user to purchase our smart home products.

They also helped me install payment gateways such as Stripe and used WooCommerce and Elementor. Additionally, they gave me recommendations for SEO.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website’s benchmarks were good, and its speed was great. The structure of the website was essential to the site mapping because it helps in the search engines. No matter how many revisions I needed, Metajive provided me with endless support — some agencies won’t do that because it’s time-consuming.

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

We mainly used Google Docs for project management. Metajive always created a document for every objective that we had along the way. We used Trello and had a lot of Zoom calls as well. Additionally, we stayed in touch via WhatsApp for urgent matters.

What was your primary form of communication with metajive?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

metajive gave me a competitive rate. Their price was not the cheapest, but they offered value for our money.

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

They could improve on absolutely nothing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Development of Cayenne Creative

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Cayenne Creative Group is a full-service strategic branding, advertising and design firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• In order to collaborate on website development projects for our end clients, we were searching for a team. We designed the website and required assistance from a partner to put it into action.

SOLUTION

How did you find metajive?

Referral

Why did you select metajive over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from metajive were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Typically, we exchange design files with Metajive at the beginning of each project. After a few days of reviewing our design files, the team provides an estimated development time and cost. We collaborate with Metajive all during the creation process. Typically, as we give evaluations to the end clients during the project, our initial requirements and designs grow or alter. 

The backend content management system (CMS) used by the majority of our websites is WordPress, and PHP is often hosted on a Linux server. Additionally, we've worked on Next and JavaScript frontend projects.Another particular technology we've utilized is JavaScript. All in all, WordPress, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS stylesheets, and Sass are the main languages that they work with. The group assembles all of the JavaScript assets using a build tool as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're wrapping up a real estate project for a last client right now. The client first informed us that they didn't have a large budget, therefore we chose to utilize commercial software. We called Metajive and informed them that we had a limited budget for customization work but that we had an urgent requirement because this solution was not adjustable to meet the end client's expectations.

Furthermore, we were informed by the product's developer that our customisation requests could not be fulfilled by the program. The team stated it would be difficult but they believed they could achieve it when we brought Metajive. I can't think of a higher compliment for the team than the fact that they were able to satisfy a highly important client with an affordable solution. 

The tool's creator didn't think this project could be completed, but Metajive was eager to take it on. After this project, our end client was even more excited and recognized we had a strong development team. 

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

Throughout every project, we communicate often with Metajive to discuss any changes in scope, priorities, or timeliness as well as to check in on the accomplishment of previously given tasks. When end clients don't ask for adjustments, the development process goes incredibly smoothly. Even though we typically have stringent deadlines, Metajive consistently delivers on time. 

What was your primary form of communication with metajive?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

metajive challenges our choices and provides recommendations when we need assistance with unexpected problem-solving.

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

I would not ask for anything to be changed regarding the way Metajive is now delivered or approached. Still, it would be great to use them for numerous projects at once if they could increase their capacity in the future. We keep Metajive busy, and while they've never failed to fulfill our needs, as our business grows, so do our needs.

BACKGROUND

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.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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.

SOLUTION

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.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.

BACKGROUND

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.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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.

SOLUTION

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.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.

BACKGROUND

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.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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.

SOLUTION

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.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a VP at a marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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.

SOLUTION

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.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.

BACKGROUND

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.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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.

SOLUTION

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.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.

BACKGROUND

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.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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.

SOLUTION

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.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.

BACKGROUND

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.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with metajive?

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

SOLUTION

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.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.