Helping organizations achieve inspiring results.
Noble Studios is a creative digital performance marketing agency. Our mission is to work with purpose and make a positive impact.
At Noble we live by the rallying cry of “Let’s be better every day!” We have a passion for continual growth and engage in the passionate pursuit of inspiring results. Everything we create, from brands to websites and marketing programs are designed for performance and impact. And we ensure this through custom-crafted solutions and iterative creative problem solving.
Since 2003, Noble Studios has developed an integrated approach to strategy, design and technology that has helped translate and transform some of the world’s most respected brands and digital-forward businesses. Presently, we are a team of about 60 Noblebots consisting of strategic planners, digital strategists, user experience graphic designers, copywriters, developers, project managers, account managers and seasoned executives.
We’re proud to say our agency is one of around 400 Google Analytics, Adwords, Tag Manager Certified Agency Partners in the world, and one of only 50 Google Premier Partners. Noble Studios has been named one of the fastest growing private companies in America by Inc. 500|5000 five years in a row, and has won well over 250 industry awards for our achievements in web design, marketing and advertising.
We work hard and smart at the same time. Are we data nerds? Maybe. Are we tireless, value-forging, relationship-driving, game-changers for any client seeking greater relevance, more robust ROI, and a leg up on the competition? Most definitely. We are Noble Studios.
headquarters
other locations
Focus
Portfolio
Autodesk, Google, Adobe, Bentley Systems, FICO, Jive Software, The Islands of Tahiti, Yosemite, Travel Nevada, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Visit Newport Beach, Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, Visit Reno-Tahoe, Visit Dana Point, Grand Sierra Resort, Renown Health, Genome Medical, Grail, Dr. Weil - Healthy Lifestyle Brands, The Braille Institute, Ashford University, Sierra Nevada College, Mitchell Stores, Envestnet Yodlee, Credo Mobile
Digital Strategy, Design and SEO/SEM for Credo Mobile
CREDO Mobile isn’t your run-of-the-mill mobile phone company. The organization uniquely integrates retail with progressive activism and philanthropy by donating a portion of revenue every month to progressive nonprofits. Over the last 30+ years, the organization has donated more than $87 million in support of issues like women’s rights, the environment and social justice.
Now, more than ever, people are being saturated with ads, and it’s becoming more and more difficult for organizations to stand out in all the clutter and noise. This is especially true for a company like CREDO Mobile, who’s message is emotional and complex. CREDO Mobile selected Noble Studios to harness their message and communicate it in a way that was quick, identifiable and powerful.
To achieve this, Noble developed a digital ad campaign that interweaved brand strategy, creative design and advanced audience targeting in a way that was all backed by data and analysis.
Content Support and Web Maintenance for Genome Medical
Noble Studios currently partners with Genome Medical for SEO/SEM, creative and partner reporting/analytics. In 2018 and part of 2019 we focused our efforts around capturing consumers interested in proactive genetic counseling, or who had taken a genetic test and needed more guidance around the results. We took a creative digital performance approach to drive engagement through multiple campaigns, including the most successful campaign which focused on information around the BRCA gene during Breast Cancer Awareness month. In 2019 and into 2020 our team will partner with Genome Medical to focus on a B2B focused strategy - developing a digital strategy to support targeting employers and health systems primed to benefit from Genome Medical genetic counseling solutions.
SPCA of Northern Nevada Brand and Website Redesign
As part of the agency’s Noble Deeds program, the SPCA was selected to receive over $100,000 of pro bono digital marketing services for its commitment to the responsible treatment of homeless pets in the Northern Nevada region.
Noble Studios leveraged its catalog of creative digital performance services to establish a new brand strategy, redesign their logo, launch their new website and develop a digital marketing strategy in an effort to get the word out about this life-saving organization.
The new website embodies SPCA-NN’s mission to connect humans and animals to bring joy, love and compassion to the local community. The agency spent the year working closely with the SPCA-NN team (and all of their furry friends) to communicate this goal through engaging design and inviting visuals.
Like many non-profit organizations, SPCA-NN’s old site had plenty of room for improvement in terms of the overall design and general navigation. To truly communicate the organization’s mission and connect people with homeless pets, Noble Studios provided new photography and video that helped transform the site into a sleek and oh-so-adorable modern experience.
To help SPCA-NN stand out from other regional branches of the SPCA, Noble Studios designed a new logo using a single stroke line that connects homeless pets with loving families, underlining SPCA-NN’s close connection with the community and the impact it has on both owners and animals.
In addition to the new website, Noble Studios will work with SPCA-NN in 2020 to continue developing and building on their digital marketing strategy to increase awareness and encourage funding from the local community, as SPCA-NN is not affiliated with any other SPCA.
Dr. Weil | Healthy Lifestyle Brands
Problem
Over the past 20 years, Dr. Weil has attracted a loyal fan base by being a trusted source of health information however, the website had become outdated and consequently was not ranking well compared to other brands in the industry. They wanted to keep their loyal followers while setting the stage for greater success by expanding their user base.
Solution
The comprehensive site includes healthy lifestyle information, consulting services, and products that generate millions of pageviews each month. Responsive across all device types, the sites’ content seamlessly adapts to meet the needs of mobile users, while high-quality imagery and easier-to-scan pages make exploring the site a more engaging experience. The improved user experience and interface is now on par with the needs of their rapidly expanding younger audience, while retaining a familiar and positive experience for long-time users. The result is a site that is functional while remaining focused on increasing the page views needed for further monetization.
Results
- 31% Increase in Ad Revenue
- 27% Increase in Neweletter Signups
- Communicator Award of Excellence | Health Website
Mitchells Stores
Problem
Mitchell Stores is an independent luxury retailer operated by a second and third generation of Mitchell’s family members. Founded in 1958, the business has grown to offer eight locations across four brands on both the east and west coasts. When Noble started working with Mitchell’s, the client was suffering through a number of challenges with their ecommerce site as well as struggling acquiring net new customers.
Solution
Noble worked together with the Mitchell’s team to develop an integrated search strategy to acquire net new customers. To remain competitive, we understood that we needed to be as efficient as possible to maximize the paid media budget we did have against the larger corporations bidding alongside. We adopted complex bid adjustments to demographics based on data, device, and geography and layered in RLSA audience lists to capture that multi-touch user. In addition, we used day parting to ensure we were bidding at the most valuable times of the day. Finally, we launched a Google shopping campaign increasing their digital footprint to a national scale, drawing in the new customers not knowledgeable of their local store’s brands.
Results
- 54% Increase in Organic Traffic
- 76% Increase in Organic Revenue
- 17% Increase in Paid Search Revenue
Web Development & SEO for Event Planning Foundation, The Peel Compton Foundation
The Peel Compton Foundation partnered with Noble Studios to create a new website that showcases the foundation's facilities and activities while enabling the foundation to communicate consistently through their new digital experience.
Post-launch, we have spearheaded content creation and SEO. We have also contributed to other efforts including data management and third-party integrations.
Visit Reno-Tahoe
Problem: Reno Tahoe is a destination on the rise, however, marketing assets and brand perception lagged far behind the actual destination product. The Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority sought to rebrand itself to better attract young Millennials.
Solution: Noble was selected to lead the digital branding and website rebuild as part of an integrated team.The new website needed to capture the great contrast of the region. It’s evident in the name, this is where the country’s largest alpine lake meets the Biggest Little City in the World. The website included vibrant imagery and storytelling that showcases that duality. The design evokes a more editorial style immersive storytelling approach. The sprawling layouts focus on the unique aspects of the region and allow potential visitors to visualize themselves living the brand; seizing life, acting on instinct, and exploring possibility. The digital plan is a hub to all marketing efforts. A personalization strategy was adopted with the destination targeting multiple destinations at once by utilizing geographic information and tags embedded in advertising messages a personalized experience is offered on key pages. These unique and highly relevant CTAs have driven higher conversion rates and increased engagement metrics across the board.
Results
- 194% increase in referral to partner websites
- Millennials spend +13% more time on the site during their visits
- 18% improvement in site engagement due to personalization
Digital Strategy, Design, Web Development and SEOM/SEM for Fico
For years, FICO has done a stellar job in positioning itself as a leading analytics software company known for credit scoring. But it wanted to make headway in the B2B space.
The company faced stiff competition in the B2B enterprise analytics space with well-established companies such as IBM, SAS and Oracle heavily invested in digital marketing. Noble’s task was to develop and implement an integrated digital marketing plan with the goal of increasing the number of inquiries, improving inquiry quality, driving brand awareness, supporting the nurturing process and continuously refining its digital program within a measurement and optimization framework.
In other words, they needed a game-changer.
Noble provided digital strategy, content marketing, media buys, SEO, paid search management and conversion optimization for FICO’s global analytics campaign. We also optimized site architecture and content quality to maximize the organic search placement and user experience on FICO.com.
Content and ads were targeted at specific personae and keywords for people searching and scouring the big data analytics industry at different stages in the buyer’s journey. Noble launched this program in eight countries across North America, Europe and Asia – each requiring a unique campaign structure with localized keywords and landing pages. To track global performance, we integrated Google Analytics data with its CRM system and developed a robust marketing dashboard, while providing ongoing insights and recommendations.
Website Design & Digital Marketing for Nonprofit Healthcare Leader, Renown
Nearly 8-year long relationship partnering on website design, mobile development, SEO, SEM, PPC, and social media strategy with Renown Health.
Reno Tahoe International Airport Digital Marketing Campaign
Noble partnered with RTAA in order to create and execute a new marketing campaign. Efforts involved full creative concept and design and implementation across multiple channels both digitally and traditionally.
AutoDesk
Problem
Excelling in innovative thought leadership, Autodesk Research needed a site that was not only reflective of the world-changing work its team was producing, but one that was also easier to manage. With this in mind, Noble Studios set out to create a new, responsive site that spoke to the brand’s strengths of research and technology.
Solution
Noble undertook a detailed discovery, which allowed us to fully understand the content ecosystem that the new site needed to be able to support, while at the same time identifying future technical improvements, such as back-end configuration and CMS. With the goal of creating an approachable database of information, Noble focused on a simple yet practical design that would speak to the confidence behind the Autodesk brand. With all the pieces in place, the result is a functionally beautiful solution that effectively houses content while still engaging users. Autodesk Research’s new site, while remaining intuitive, represents the brand as something it always was: A leader in design.
Results
- 28% Increase in Organic Traffic
- 23% Increase in Session Duration
- 3 Industry Awards; Communicator Award, Davey Award, Summit Creative Award
Yosemite Mariposa Convention Visitors Bureau
Problem
Noble Studios began its engagement with the Yosemite/Mariposa County Tourism Bureau in 2016 as the Destination Marketing Organization was merging its two sites: Yosemiteexperience.com and Yosemite.com. The goal was to consolidate traffic under a single domain while driving more traffic to the region. With a strong desire to increase visits to their business stakeholders, particularly during shoulder seasons, Yosemite Mariposa County brought Noble Studios on to help establish KPIs and a strategy for improving organic content performance.
Solution
Noble identified keywords competitors were ranking for that Yosemite.com was not. Noble began grouping these keywords into four distinct categories for better targeting: dining, lodging, things to do and general partner referrals. Noble’s plan involved creating new content to capture net new demand, along with the optimization of existing content that was already ranking on the second or third page of Google and was of high quality. BrightEdge’s in depth keyword tracking tool ensured Noble’s plan went off without a hitch. At the start of 2017, many of the Yosemite’s high priority keywords weren’t ranking in Google. Today, 91 percent of those keywords rank on either page 1 or 2 of Google’s SERPs, with 73 percent of them on page 1.
Results
- 25% Increase in Organic Traffic
- 41% Increase in New Users
- 235% Increase in Leads
- 2 Industry Awards
The Islands of Tahiti
Problem
Tahiti Tourisme partnered with Noble Studios to build out a new, global digital presence across 18 targeted regions of the world, including China. The new presence focused on building a consistent-brand experience across the regions, while also increasing conversions to lodging partners and specialists on the site. Tahiti Tourisme has the unique challenge of competing against places such as Fiji, Mexico, and Hawaii, targeting the luxury traveler.
Solution
During our discovery, Noble uncovered the true competition set and opportunities for growth. We then built out a scalable site architecture that could be easily updated and managed across all global regions. In addition to this, Noble also built out a strategic launch plan that will help build out the local search authority for each regional site, improving the search ranking success for each country site going forward. The new website includes the ability for each regional manager to translate and maintain the content, media, and languages of their regional site. In addition, 1300+ Tahiti business owners can individually manage their business’ details, publish vacation deals, and update image galleries across all regions with one update.
Results
- 15% Decrease in Bounce Rate
- 20% Increase in Pages Viewed Per Session
- Gold Marcomm Award
Yodlee SEO, Content Development, Digital Advertising and CRO
Noble continues to work with Yodlee on a number of digital marketing initiatives all aimed at gaining qualified leads for the company. Efforts include SEO, Content Development, Digital Advertising, and Conversion Rate Optimization
Zovio Conversion Rate Optimization Strategy & Personalization Project
Zovio partnered with Noble Studios to launch and manage the strategy and implementation of their CRO (conversion rate optimization) and personalization program. Working closely with the Zovio team, Noble has produced three consecutive years of dramatic improvement in the website's lead generation and conversion rates, while developing cutting edge analysis and experimentation.
Reviews
the project
Brand Identity & Digital Campaigns for Tourism Organization
“They expressed a real commitment to our success and were always looking out for our best interests.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the VP of sales and marketing at Ventura Visitors. We operate in the region between LA and San Francisco, along the coast of California. A lot of smaller DMOs, hotels, and attractions work together to market the region as a whole.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
We realized that, as members of the Central Coast Tourism Council, we weren’t effectively marketing to the east coast. Our mission was to increase our exposure and generate some sway in that region. We hired Noble Studios to serve as our marketing agency to fulfill it.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Noble Studios created a new brand identity for us. They did some research and realized that our tagline and logo weren’t resonating with the east coast market. They then generated creative content and assets for us to utilize on our digital platforms. These included landing pages and banner ads that target different audiences. They helped manage the backend of our website.
What is the team composition?
We had around 3 contacts.
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
We put forward an RFP, and the members of the Central Coast Tourism Council all did their due diligence in increasing its exposure. There was a small committee that filtered through the responding vendors who shortlisted three companies. Noble Studios was among them, and upon interviewing them, we got a great impression. They were creative and enthusiastic, so we decided to go with them.
How much have you invested with them?
I believe we spent around $175,000 for their media buys, as well as their management.
What is the status of this engagement?
We selected them in early 2019 and launched in October of that year.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We were ecstatic with the results they drove. We saw a surge in digital traffic, with New York being the number one source. Thanks to their work, web traffic from the east coast exceeded regional and instate traffic.
Additionally, in most check-ins, Noble Studios delivered above and beyond what we thought we would be receiving from them.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
They were excellent. They were always clear about a timeline and next steps. The team always made themselves available and responded quickly to questions or issues.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Having worked with a handful of agencies in my career, I felt that Noble Studios never came across as a typical agency. They were very available, responsive, and thorough in their deliverables. They expressed a real commitment to our success and were always looking out for our best interests.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, not really. They presented a wide array of ideas to us, which we appreciated because it indicated how creative they were getting to increase our brand exposure. While this isn’t something we can fault them for, it felt frustrating at times because we didn’t have the additional funds to execute all their ideas.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Just be very clear about how much money you’re willing to spend. Set those expectations, because otherwise, they might come up with excellent ideas that are too expensive to execute.
the project
Web Design & Digital Marketing for Tourism Bureau
“Their teammates are experienced and tenured, making for seamless transitions with regard to staffing.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
We’re a traditional destination marketing and management organization that oversees marketing for a business improvement district. We’re a non-government nonprofit organization, and I’m the executive director.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
We acquired a URL with massive organic search value, so we wanted to search out a creative design agency for SEM, SEO, and maintenance.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They started the engagement with a site audit, informing our board that the site was strong and showcasing areas for further improvement. They optimized the current site with new content, repurposing it at a much lower cost than we would have been able to do otherwise.
We’ve leaned on them for SEO and PPC work. Their understanding and involvement with the site allowed us to reduce and eliminate our other marketing partner, so we could move all of our digital marketing and display advertising work to them. They’re assisting us with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube. Additionally, our display advertising is programmatic and has been retargeted around on that.
What is the team composition?
We have four resources staffed to the project at any given time. That includes a client success manager, a PPC specialist, and a creative lead. There are also about two people working on the maintenance end of projects.
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
There was an RFP that went out prior to my involvement in the organization. We were considering several agencies at the time, but many of them felt that we’d have to create an entirely new site. Their team was confident that we could retain our current site, without the costly undertaking of building a completely new platform. We ended up shifting our investment to their team because of their interests and successes in representing our organization.
What is the status of this engagement?
We’ve been working with them since about November 2015.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Our site has seen exponential growth over the last few years. We’re looking for a new hosting company because of how much our traffic and volume have increased. Clicks to the site and overall traffic have continued to improve. Since I arrived at the company two years ago, our organic and paid page views have increased by 40%. It’s great to see that continued growth on a mature domain and site. It’s been a team effort to accomplish that growth.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
There’s great communication and are responsive when we run into issues. They’re a solutions-oriented team that keeps us focused on high-impact efforts. We appreciate that.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their teammates are experienced and tenured, making for seamless transitions with regard to staffing. There’s a true feeling of partnership and ownership when working with them. They feel like an extension of our team.
Are there any areas they could improve?
They’re adaptive, especially during the pandemic. We appreciate their willingness to say no when we suggest something that isn’t in our best interest.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
They have several different areas of talent.
the project
Paid Media Strategy & Execution for B2B Software Company
"They’re willing to go the extra mile with us to make sure the partnership is strong and that the results are there."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I run our paid social media programs. We’re a B2B company that sells software to the infrastructure space. Our products help engineers, architects, and designers, design, build, and manage their assets within major infrastructure projects.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
There were two challenges. First, was we needed to scale our team. Second, we wanted to bring in an outside perspective to keep our in-house team appraised of what other companies and outside vendors are doing from a paid media perspective.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They do paid media management for three of our business areas. Specifically, their work revolves around media strategy, execution, and reporting for social ads, display ads, and SEM.
What is the team composition?
Three people are directly supporting us.
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
I’ve known the folks at Noble for a very long time, dating back to 2011 or 2012 when I worked with a previous company. I never worked with them directly there, but when I came to my company and decided that an agency was going to provide the best path to scaling our paid media activities, I thought of Noble and their industry experience. They went through a rigorous RFP process and came out on top.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent around $60,000–$90,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We’ve been working together since May 2019.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’ve been working with them for over one year and I’m very glad we went with them. Their work is very intertwined with ours as an organization so it would be tricky to attribute our success directly to them. But, on a recent collaboration, we dramatically increased the number of leads per week we received due to agile marketing, which Noble Studios has been a strong partner on.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re strong in this regard, but we also had to work with them from time to time to ensure we’re all aligned. There are a lot of moving pieces so we have to have seamless communication. Their management is phenomenal overall. One place we’re working with them on is streamlining communications around that project management to scale, as we increase our scope of work with them.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Three things come to mind. The first two are skill and expertise, no doubt. Those things can exist in many organizations but what really sets Noble apart is their commitment to client success. They’re willing to go the extra mile with us to make sure the partnership is strong and that the results are there.
Are there any areas they could improve?
The only issue is minor — and, to be clear, they’re already working with us on this. As I mentioned, we have to continue to refine our communication around project management as we scale our engagement.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
To have the most success, be open and honest and treat them like a part of your team. That broadly applies to any agency relationship, but with their strong talent and personable approach, it rings particularly true. A company that’s walled off or works in a once-removed relationship with an outside agency won’t have a ton of success, I don’t think.
the project
SEO, SEM & Content Marketing for Fintech Data Platform
"They provide a thorough, high-quality job every time."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the senior director of a fintech data aggregation platform.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
Noble Studios was brought on for random projects before I joined the company. The current role they provide is that they were brought on for SEO and SEM efforts for our website on a full yearly contract. There are different projects that come up that we give them, but that’s the main one.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They make sure everything is run correctly from a technological standpoint. They manage our Google Analytics and report every month on how our site is doing. They manage our SEO, tracking our site, proposing a list of up to 500 keywords that we’re interested in, and suggest content to drive that search engine traffic.
They also manage our SEM ads. They suggest what to create, write the copy, and then we take the actual copy in-house, approve it, and send it back to them to post. They also manage our blog writing efforts.
Also, they test our site for optimization and for conversion. Other projects they’ve done on the side are things like they redesigned our website last year on Drupal.
What is the team composition?
We deal with at least three people each week with Meghan (Client Success Manager) as our main point of contact.
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
I don’t know how they were initially brought on for projects because it was before my time, but they did such a great job so I brought them on for SEO and SEM work.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent upwards of $500,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We began work in July 2015 on other random projects, and the relationship is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They substantially improved our SEO performance, SEM performance, and conversions on our site from traffic to leads. These are the main metrics we look at when assessing their performance and they’ve continually surpassed their past performance year over year.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
Their communication and ability to meet our deadlines are great. Meghan has been fantastic at ensuring excellent communication and timeliness. They’ve also had excellent consistency without people moving in and out of our project.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They have a pod arrangement. We interact with three people, but they have a pod behind them who have other expertise that can help their work. Because of this system, whenever they come back with a recommendation it’s thorough and well thought out.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I don’t have any areas of improvement.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
You get what you pay for. The quote might be higher than you like but it’s because they provide a thorough, high-quality job every time.
the project
Digital Marketing Campaigns for Airport Authority
"I’ve highly recommended them to others in our area."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the vice president of marketing and public affairs for the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority. We’re the governing body of two airports.
What challenges were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
When we hired them, we’d recently brought in a lot of additional flights and air service. However, our client base wasn’t aware of the flights we’d added. We wanted to increase public awareness of the new airlines and flights.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They put together a series of digital marketing campaigns targeting customers in our geographic region. They ran ads on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. They ran multiple ads at once to determine which performed the best. The process was flexible, and they continued to adapt the campaigns based on performance.
What is the team composition?
We work with a team of 2–3 people regularly, but we’ve worked with as many as seven.
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
We put out an RFP for marketing firms in our region. We weren’t necessarily looking for a digital marketing firm, but Noble Studios swayed us with their presentation. They made it clear that they understood our airports and the digital space.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent $285,000 per year for the first two years. We froze our campaigns this year in light of COVID-19. However, we’re currently running a smaller $80,000 campaign to highlight our response to the pandemic and the safety precautions at the airport to make our customers feel safe.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in 2017, and our work is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We saw an increase in the number of passengers and an increase in bookings as a result of the campaign. We did surveys of our customers prior to working with them, and after we began our engagement. The knowledge of our services increased as a result of their work. Our web traffic also increased.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
Their performance is outstanding. The level of communication and the measurability they demonstrated is impressive. They tracked the campaigns and shared analytics regularly. Prior to COVID-19, we met in-person regularly. Now, we hold our meeting electronically.
They also gave a presentation on their work to our board members, and I think they did a fabulous job explaining the work clearly.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They’re very easy to work with. They understand that not everyone has a strong knowledge of digital marketing. They took the time to explain the importance of digital marketing to our team. Their communication was amazing. They feel like a partner.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I have no negative feedback. I’ve highly recommended them to others in our area.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Take advantage of their ability to educate your team, especially those who aren’t in the marketing department.
the project
Web, SEO, & Digital Marketing for Destination Marketing Firm
"I appreciate their work isn’t cookie-cutter designs — everything is unique and specially made for us."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Newport Beach & Company, a marketing agency. We handle all marketing for the city of Newport Beach, for tourism, restaurant association, television station, economic development, and city events.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
All of the things we manage has their own websites, social media channels, budgets, and goals. The websites have different needs, objectives, and audiences, so we hired Noble Studios to manage those websites for us and paid search efforts.
What was the scope of their involvement?
The primary services are website maintenance. They’re currently reskinning my website with a new brand identity system, but within the next year, they’ll be building a new site from scratch. They’re also building a different website for me now, handling the creation, launch, and maintenance.
Our main sites are run on WordPress, but they’ve done some fantastic work lately creating a web app to run on top of a site. It’s an AI-based web app that serves as a mobile concierge for the destination. In conjunction with Noble Studios, we’ve set up geofences around the destination and when anyone enters that location, the web app pops up. They created the backend system from scratch to answer questions based on past search history within our website.
We’re adding a chatbot to that system in the second phase of that project. The chat function is a third-party plug-in that Noble is installing within the AI system to make it more functional. We’ve worked on them on quite a few other functions for the websites.
They also manage our SEO and search engine marketing (SEM). They manage PPC efforts for all of the websites to drive traffic. For the paid search, they manage our paid advertising on Google Display and make sure it’s all in sync to drive traffic to the sites. They centralize all of the media buying and digital marketing for all of the websites under their company.
What is the team composition?
Jarrod (CEO & Co-Founder) is heavily involved in our account, participating in brainstorming sessions and creative portions. We also get support from their CCO and creative director. Day-to-day, Erin (Account Services Coordinator) works with us. An SEO/SEM specialist and backend maintenance person work with us, too. At any time, we have about five people working with us but it changes with the projects we have.
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
They were already working with the organization when I joined, so I’m not sure how we found them. But, when I’ve worked at other companies, I usually change to my preferred provider and I have never changed agencies since starting the work with Noble Studios. I’ve stuck with them even though I didn’t find them because they’re one of the best out there.
How much have you invested with them?
Though our budget has reduced due to COVID-19, we were spending up to $150,000 per year. Certain projects added costs on top of that rate. With everything involved, we’ve likely averaged close to $200,000 per year.
What is the status of this engagement?
They’ve been working with us since July 2013 and our engagement is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We presented the AI-based web app at an international conference this year and it’s fantastic. It’s a great, user-friendly app they built for us. The creative director has been great at taking my brand identity and putting it across the sites. In the beginning, we were seeing a really high bounce rate on the concierge app, but they were able to quickly change the navigation and ensure users got results quicker.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re fantastic. They anticipate my needs in advance which is really great especially during this time of COVID-19, which has impacted tourism. Our budgets are severely slashed and I have an existing retainer with them that they’re allowing me to use into the next year.
They’re very flexible with payment and project flow, allowing me to shift hours to other projects depending on the priority. They are a responsive team and are absolutely amazing people to work with. They are truly an extension of my team.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their bench strength of having wide-ranging clients is the first thing that stands out. They aren’t just pigeon-holed in one industry. They have a wide perspective, even within the tourism industry. This means we get a wide array of ideas and there isn’t any groupthink. I appreciate their work isn’t cookie-cutter designs — everything is unique and specially made for us.
They have strong relationships with clients so they are seamlessly integrated with us. They’re fantastic at communication, timeliness, and ability to pivot quickly.
Their digital strategy skill makes them the best at what they do. They’re extremely analytical and able to look at trends and issues to make a better product. The work is constantly maintained, updated, and improved because of them.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, there’s nothing to say against them. Even though they are based in a remote area, they come to us fairly often.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Don’t hold back on giving them information about what you’re up to. Don’t pigeon-hole them and make sure they understand what you’re doing on the PR and advertising side. The more they understand your business, the better they’ll be. If you silo them into one category, they won’t perform as well without all the information. Make sure they’re in line with the other agencies you work with.
the project
Branding Services for Community Reflection Startup
"They not only provide great creativity and insights, but they also communicate seamlessly internally."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the founder and CEO of Bethink. We’re a place where people go to meaningly reflect and have experiences that promote community thought and engagement on what they’re working on within.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
I knew it would be important to have solid footing in who we are, how we’re presented visually, and how we’re presented contextually from an overall brand and ethos perspective. We hired them to help with designing the brand identity and messaging content strategy that everything will be based on.
What was the scope of their involvement?
For this specific engagement, they’ve taken our loose vision and concept to come up with an overall brand guide. We’ve gone through many working and brainstorm sessions, going through several exercises to come up with purpose and vision statements. We’re working to come up with personal characteristics of the brand and eventually a brand book.
What is the team composition?
Primarily, I work with Jill (VP of Strategy & Insights) and BC (CCO & Managing Director).
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
I’ve worked with Noble Studios on and off for the last 10 years. Since I know they have an ability to listen and see the true vision of the brand, I’ve worked with them in the past on branding projects. This was the first time I’ve worked with them on creating a brand that didn’t exist, so I chose them based on past experience.
How much have you invested with them?
For our first engagement, we fell into the range of $10,000–$50,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We’ve worked together since August 2019. We wrapped up the brand book but have reengaged them for overall marketing and communications strategy.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
At this stage, since we’re a startup, they’ve created possibilities and opportunities for us. We have a clear internal and external communications strategy based on the characteristics and tone of the brand. Their work has given us the ability to speak to our brand’s purpose. They have a unique talent to help people achieve and realize their full brand potential.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
They are very responsive. They have a nice mix of having a structure while allowing for organic development. A nice thing is how pivots can happen as necessary while the structure remains and deliverables come within a firm timeline. We have a mix between in-person meetings and Zoom calls, with the usual email and occasional texts.
What did you find most impressive about them?
It’s the people on their team that make them stand out. Even though not everyone needs to be on the phone every time, their process allows for depth and richness that is communicated to the whole team at the right time. With their team, I don’t feel any gaps between their departments. They not only provide great creativity and insights, but they also communicate seamlessly internally.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Originally, the concept was so ill-defined in our mind while the purpose and vision was so strong. Because of this, at the beginning, they were a bit too concerned about how I intended to use it for ROI as opposed to just getting started. Their concern was great because they cared about how we’ll monetize it and I assured them we’d work through it, so we kept grounding one another in a good way.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
If you’re not committed to understanding the depth of your brand, they’re not for you. If you’re looking to phone it in and just want something basic, other teams can do it quicker and cheaper for you.
What makes Noble Studios stand out is the depth and richness they’ll give you. If you’re committed and willing to take the time, they’ll give you something incredibly useful. You get what you give. If you’re not willing to give, you shouldn’t waste their time.
the project
Branding for Logistics Company
“They’ve had great communication and their work is excellent.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CEO of a logistics group.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
Originally, we hired them to redesign our logo and help with our website redesign. As we began that work, we took a deeper look at our branding needs.
What was the scope of their involvement?
First, they came in and got our workers engaged in a focus group, which analyzed our brand, and engaged them to learn about our brand. From that information, they redesigned our logo and our website.
Then, they took a deeper dive on the frontend with the brand formation and made us “brand bible”, with details about our aesthetic. Now we’re in the final stages of completing the website.
What is the team composition?
We’ve worked with a dozen people, including designers, branding specialists, content creators, and web developers.
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
I had hired them at a previous company I worked for. They were easy to work with and did an excellent job.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent around $150,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in August 2019, and our work is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The feedback has been excellent and we’ll do a formal brand launch next month. People really love the new look and feel already.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re on time and on budget. They’ve even done some add-ons that were outside of the original statement of work.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their relationship building really stands out. They’re also flexible and have been very upfront with what they can and can’t deliver. They’ve had great communication and their work is excellent.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, nothing comes to mind.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
It’s important to invite them into your business. Don’t put up any walls and let them pick up the culture of your organization. From that, they’ll do much better work.
the project
Web Development & Rebrand for Humane Society
“They put forth a high level of effort to understand our vision and values from the beginning.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
We’re an animal adoption center that also provides low-cost vaccine clinics and various other programs for the community. I’m the communications manager here.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
We were in need of a new website and a brand refresh.
What was the scope of their involvement?
For our brand, they helped us determine a new logo, updated colors, and typography. Our old site was clunky and dated. So, we were aiming for a more intuitive website that would be easier to navigate. They built the site from the ground up, incorporating a brand new CMS on the backend of the site.
Along the way, they also did thorough research on other adoption organizations to help us determine what direction we wanted to go with our brand. They used HTML5 on the frontend of the site. The site was made in WordPress, and they used WPBakery Page Builder.
Our old website linked to information on the current pet we had up for adoption. They made it so that users can see updates in real-time and changed the formatting of the listings. Additionally, they enabled social media sharing. We hit a few bumps in the road on the rollout, but overall we were really pleased with the new look.
What is the team composition?
In total, we worked with between 20–30 people. The teams changed frequently.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent $100,000 on the website and digital marketing services and an additional $10,000 for photography and other related expenses.
What is the status of this engagement?
The project lasted from May–September 2019.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We just launched recently, and there already seems to be an increase in site traffic and ease of navigation. The also set up conversions on the backend of the site with Google Analytics. It’s still difficult to tell how successful the new site will be in the end. Our users are happy with the new look and logo, so the response has been very positive.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
They were on top of deadlines, showing patience when we tended to lag behind. Our timeline got pushed back because we didn’t like the first round of logos they provided. They were understanding, responsive, and willing to work with us on everything. We were impressed with the attention to detail and diligence they exhibited. Our teams emailed regularly and had a bi-weekly progress call. Additionally, we had an in-person meeting monthly.
What did you find most impressive about them?
They put forth a high level of effort to understand our vision and values from the beginning. That’s why almost all of their ideas landed the first time around. They put in a ton of research upfront.
Are there any areas they could improve?
After launching, we discovered that our site wasn’t as ADA-compliant as it needed to be. That was an oversight on their part, but it was the only major issue we had.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Their work speaks for itself, so look through their portfolio for creative projects. Ask questions to get clarification on what they can provide for different budgets.
the project
SEO and SEM for Logistics Firm
"The depth of their team’s expertise means that they rarely came across something they weren’t familiar with."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the director of marketing for ITS Logistics. We’re a full-service third-party logistics company.
What challenge were you trying to address with Noble Studios?
We needed ongoing strategy for our search engine marketing (SEM) and SEO.
What was the scope of their involvement?
Noble Studios provided high-level strategy and helped create the framework content for our website to hopefully drive traffic and leads. Together, we created about 20 pages of content over about 12 months to attract traffic to our site, especially our distribution services. They created the high-level structure for the content while our in-house writers and subject matter experts wrote the actual pieces.
Noble Studios monitored the industry trends and algorithms to make sure our content would hit the right audience of potential customers looking for our services. Noble Studios also ran paid ads with the intent and goal.
What is the team composition?
We had 5–6 people on our team. Our main points of contact were Shyla (Client Success Manager, Noble Studios) and Tom (Digital Marketing Manager, Noble Studios). Shyla was our account manager, and Tom was our technical expert.
How did you come to work with Noble Studios?
They’re one of the more well-known companies in our area. They have an excellent reputation, a lot of good people, and a lot of expertise in-house. We had hired them four years to help us build a WordPress website. So, when I wanted to increase our SEO on our site, I went back to Noble Studios because they were absolutely the right fit for us.
How much have you invested with them?
We spent about $128,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
The project ran from January 2018 until December 2019.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The amount of content we were able to get out and the overall traffic we saw were amazing. We saw a 190% increase in page views, specifically on our distribution services division. Our conversion rate also improved by 18%.
How did Noble Studios perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re very organized and good with their information. We had a call every other week and more in-depth quarterly meetings face-to-face.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The depth of their team’s expertise means that they rarely came across something they weren’t familiar with. We always felt secure about working with them. Also, their overall vision came true in the results. Lastly, they were good people to work with. I didn’t come across anyone I didn’t like the whole time we were working with them.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I can’t think of anything. Over time, we refined our communication so that it was clear, concise, and constant, which made for a solid partnership.
Any advice for potential customers?
Make sure your expectations are clear and detailed. You should be 100% aligned on what it is your company is looking for and how you communicate that to them. They’re going to be much more successful and responsive on their end.
Noble Studios did a phenomenal job of driving digital traffic. They secured the most amount of visitors from the East Coast, the client’s target market. In addition to providing high-quality assets, the team was exceptionally responsive and available to readily address the client’s concerns.