One Tree Forest Films

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the owner and Managing Partner of a marketing agency specializing in strategic planning, creative development and results analysis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire One Tree Forest Films, and what were your goals?

Our client assembled teams based on various workstreams within their business across multiple operating companies to create educational videos. The goal was to create one concept that could be modified by workstream, and customized for each operating company. A total of almost 100 videos were produced ranging from 1-3 minutes each. The client teams were quite large and each workstream had its own lead and project team. There were a lot of people, details and timelines to manage.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We had worked with One Tree Forest on a smaller initiative prior to the journey team project. We were introduced to Abby and Chad through a mutual business associate. Their team structure and creativity were just what our project needed, and their pricing was competitive. The primary deciding factor for us was that they quickly understood the initiative and that project management was critical to completing the work while maintaining a high standard of creative execution.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail, including the project steps and all stages of production.

We started with a meeting between OTF and our internal team to jointly develop a project plan, creative brief for each workstream, timelines, review and approval processes and meeting cadence. Once we had a plan established we presented it to the clients, made necessary modifications and then scheduled our first workstream kick-off. The workstreams were started about 2-3 weeks apart to allow for a staged approach to completing the videos.

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

We worked daily with the project manager and had weekly status calls with the full team. We'd meet in person monthly to stay connected and update the project plan's timeline as the work progressed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The final videos aligned with our clients' end goals, quality of work, and understandable executions. They also adhered to the budget and timelines.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The project manager and lead relationship manager were clear and concise in their communications, and realistic about revisions requested, due dates and budgets. And, they were passionate about the creative product and how the message was being delivered for customers through both visuals and voiceover.

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

The OTF team took the time to learn about the elements of the initiative, the multi-layered review and approval process, and collaborated as a team right from the start. We never felt like OTF was a vendor - they were a true partner when things were going well and when we had challenges to address.

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

We could have established a smoother document share process from the start. It took us about one month working together to get our cadence for meetings and process for updating documents to sync up.