MINIM

Introduce your business and what you do there.

When I worked with MINIM, I was the director of training at sales and marketing company. 

What challenge were you trying to address with MINIM?

We engaged them in different types of programs with our clients. Our biggest challenge was to create training materials for one of our clients’ corporate, internal employees, which was quite different from our core business.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We partnered with them on multiple fronts during this project. Their team fine-tuned the script and visited our client’s headquarters. Their team found talent and prepped them for the camera. They filmed the video, which was 45 minutes to an hour in length. Their team then completed postproduction. 

We also did creative projects with them. Their team helped us to create another video training for consumers when a client came out with a new cell phone. The video showed all the product’s bells and whistles. In both cases, they worked with the clients to ensure their satisfaction.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 3–4 individuals. 

How did you come to work with MINIM?

The director of marketing worked with MINIM on internal videos for our company. I noticed the content’s quality and then met with them. I felt that they could easily translate corporate messages into training messages.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$75,000 on each project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on the big project around October 2018 and worked on the second project around March 2019.

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

It was easy to give them an overview of what our clients asked of us. It didn’t take them a long time to understand the task and then apply their experience with past clients to come up with a unique idea. Their team understood the small details right away, so I didn’t have to worry about that.

Our clients absolutely loved them. MINIM made a point to connect with our clients on a personal level. It was comfortable right off the bat. They understood our client’s brand and made sure the talent aligned.

How did MINIM perform from a project management standpoint?

They sent clear scopes and hit the projects’ timelines. When videos went into post-production, their team updated me on a regular basis. They called for advice when it was necessary. Their team was transparent on the frontends and backends of the projects. They were professional, appropriate, and detail-oriented.

What did you find most impressive about them?

MINIM will bend over backward to make sure that the client’s happy. They were personable and passionate about their work. Their team makes sure that people like them and their quality of work. That will always stick in my mind.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give MINIM your vision and then let them create. Don’t be too rigid and allow them to fill in the gaps.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My wife and I run Joel Bear Studios. I’m a freelance creative director and a commercial photographer, and my wife is my producer. We’re based out of Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California.

What challenge were you trying to address with MINIM?

I got brought on to handle creative direction for a music client. We went to Rich (Director) to handle our music videos.

What was the scope of their involvement?

MINIM helped produce and direct our music videos. I co-directed the two assets with Rich. We explained what we were looking to roll out, and he handled all production, such as location and background talent. Then, he was on set and directed both of the videos. We worked together to build all of that out. He also helped with scripting.

What is the team composition?

Rich was my point of contact for most of it. He ended up contracting out for crew, and we worked with that team as well. 

How did you come to work with MINIM?

Our brand director and designer was really good friends with Rich. I was running creative direction and marketing, so I was tasked with picking out a director. It came down to him and another director that I work with in Denver, and Rich ended up winning the bid.

How much have you invested with them?

It was $12,000, so roughly $6,000 per video.

What is the status of this engagement?

I worked with Rich on these projects from mid-February through the beginning of April 2019.

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

Everyone loved the videos. Our client thought the videos were amazing, and they assumed we hired a huge production crew. We were able to work with a small footprint, which is how I like to work. 

Rich is fantastic. He was really in the moment, which was nice, especially for a director; he was able to be 100% present. He was very prompt, readily available, and personable, so I felt like I could build trust with him, particularly on set. He gave a lot of really good feedback, especially on the treatment. He comes from a commercial background, so it was nice having that mindset going into it. He worked the treatment to be more cost-effective. I have nothing but great things to say about him — he's done a fantastic job for us.

How did MINIM perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was very hands-on and approachable. We built everything over email and text; he’d put together a deck and send it over, and we'd run through it on a quick call. 

Everything flowed really great, despite our very tight deadline. We hired Rich and had to film the next week, and then it had to be to coloring and post-production the week after that. Basically, the whole production had to be done in two weeks. Rich handled it like a boss. I was super impressed, and I’ll definitely use them on future projects. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Rich has a really good storytelling approach, which is really crucial, especially right now. He understands how to build a narrative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of off the top of my head. Everything was great.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be very upfront and explain what you want. I was able to be very candid with them. They don’t beat around the bush; if you explain what you need, they’ll let you know your options. That saved us a lot of time.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of DYG. We are a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in lead generation, Google Ads Management, and SEO campaigns.

For what projects/services did your company hire MINIM?

We told them to create sales and marketing videos.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create some high-level sales and marketing videos for a new campaign we were running. We needed a fresh perspective and a solid plan for the video narrative and overall feel.

How did you select this vendor?

They came highly recommended from some business colleagues and once I saw their previous work I was sold.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

MINIM’s team came prepared and ready to deliver. They brought a fresh perspective for the concepts of the videos we wanted to create and then scoped out a plan to navigate, create, and execute on both our goals and their ideas.

What was the team composition?

I worked with the owner of the company and with his direct video creative team during filming and post-production.

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

We were very happy with the finished result and had excellent feedback on the quality of the videos across the board.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I’ve worked with other video production companies before and had good results but the main thing I enjoyed with MINIM was that their team was very involved in the storyboarding and production process. We could tell that they wanted to create something with very high quality just as much as we did.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is always room for improvement but to be honest I had no complaints.