Piper Creative

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director at Catalyst-Go, a consulting company that focuses on unmanned aircraft and driverless vehicles. We provide technology analysis and evaluation of market conditions and potential markets for driverless cars and drones. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Piper Creative?

We needed help finding new customers, consolidating our messaging, and showcasing our work to a much broader audience. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first thing that Piper helped us on was to promote Thinking Through Autonomy, a podcast that focuses on autonomy, a niche market. Piper is helping us put together the look, sound, and feel of the podcast, which is our primary communication channel. It is designed to talk about who we are, and it allows our listeners to have a personal connection with us, so when they need insights into the autonomous market, they come to us. 

Piper is helping us use social media to target the online audience. This includes working on the podcast cover artwork, color palleting, and branding alignment. They also advice on the flow of our podcast so that our listeners are hooked. They have helped us improve the introduction and include calls to action to establish engagement among our audience. 

Additionally, Piper is using our various multimedia assets to improve the podcast. They have helped us figure out how to use a music we have for the podcast. They have also taken snippets from the podcast, made them consumable on their own, and uploaded them on YouTube. Lastly, they are helping us write show notes. When users view our podcast, whether it’s on iTunes or Spotify, they’ll see summaries of the conversation from Piper — and that’s the thing they’re spectacular at. 

We also worked on a video production. Piper helped us put together short clips to explain the content of a lengthy research report we did for a client. It involved consolidating our message and making it more consumable for a general audience. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with Hannah (Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer) and Aaron (CEO). Depending on the type, size, and complexity of the project, we work with different teammates. When we have a video, we get the team effort of Hannah and Aaron; when we do podcasts, we work mainly with Aaron. 

How did you come to work with Piper Creative?

I want to say that we found Piper by chance, but that would unjustly simplify the broader search that I did. At the time, I had just moved to Pittsburgh and started podcasting. I was a fish out of water because I had previously worked and lived in Washington, D.C. — I didn't know anybody in Pittsburgh, and I knew that there were services that I needed. 

I needed a podcast producer and a studio to record from, as well as help with my website content. I started looking at social media and finding companies in Pittsburgh that did the work I was looking for. 

I went to a conference where Aaron was a guest speaker, and I was amazed and took note of their team. Back then, they had just started Piper, but the force of their personalities convinced me that I needed to remember these people because they're a great team. 

I continued looking for agencies, not thinking of Piper, and I interviewed some long-standing companies in Pittsburgh. I left every one of those contacts not being excited and feeling there was value in the services that these traditional companies offered. 

That’s when I thought I have to give Hannah and Aaron a try and see what they've got. I picked up the phone and recounted how I introduced myself briefly at the Pittsburgh Technology Council meeting. That began this great collaboration between us and Piper.

How much have you invested with them?

I have spent around $7,000–$10,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2018, and it’s ongoing.

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

When I started the podcast, I could count the number of listeners I had on two hands. When we checked recently, I have over 10,000 listeners — for me, that's the biggest metric that indicates the success of the project. 

Also, people consistently say our podcast is incredibly well done and it's great to listen to. That’s why I try to get the word out that Piper is really the brains behind our podcast. 

How did Piper Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Piper is always on time, under budget, and they turn things around very quickly. I have 100% confidence that they’ll deliver a complicated project in high quality and quickly, without having to look at their project plan.

We communicate mostly via phone and email, and we also use Zoom if we need to. When we only just began our partnership, I visited their office. We got to know each other, had design meetings, and tried to establish the look and feel of the podcast. 

Aaron and Hannah feel like they’re part of my company — they know us and our product very well. They are the people I’d want to have in the C-suite explaining what we need to do — they can connect at that level. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The best part about working with Piper is their reliability. When they tell us they're going to get something done, they really do it — it always gets done. It takes so many headaches away knowing we have a partner we can trust for our social media efforts. 

There are other agencies that slow roll you and say they’ll do it, but when you come back, you find out things have never been done. Piper is not like that — I always look forward to our engagement. 

I have been in the business for 25 years — I’ve never met anyone that does such high-quality work, at such good prices, with such expertise. I’ve run multimillion dollar businesses, and I have hired numerous vendors to help on projects, but no one has ever done as well as Piper.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Piper is the best in the business in what they do. They stay on top of everything, and they’re doing incredibly expert work. I could not think of telling them there is something different they need to do. I don’t know if they still have anything to improve on. I’m not going to look for it because currently they get the job done. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to get the most out of Piper, listen to what they have to say. What they're telling you is going to be seen in all the metrics that come out of your social media engagements. Keep your eyes and ears open, and realize that they're staying ahead of trends so you don't have to.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner, founder, and president of the National Chauffer Network.

What challenge were you trying to address with Piper Creative?

They’ve developed all my online content and online footprint.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We used a lot of filming, both still and video, and all that was incorporated into a whole package being used as part of a strategy that includes our webpage, which they developed, as well as LinkedIn and YouTube. All of is it linked to our CRM, which does automatic emails as our prospect base continues to grow. They also took all the information and condensed and compiled it, along with financial analysis to be used as part of our capital raising campaign.

How did you come to work with Piper Creative?

We’re both located in Pittsburgh. I usually go to events put on by business incubators because you never know what you’re going to learn. Aaron (Founder & CEO, Piper Creative) was on a panel discussion, and his presentation was about exactly what I was trying to do. I set up a meeting with him afterword and the rest is history.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2019. I’m planning for them to be my content and creative partner as I grow and move forward.

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

They’ve been with me from the start. Nothing was done, nothing was out there when I hired them. We began this project together. The final result has been a far more seamless, professional rollout than I could have imagined.

How did Piper Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Deadlines are always met, and we’re in constant communication. We collaborate on ideas to figure out what the next video shoot will look like. We have a page on our shared Google Drive where both sides can put stuff together if something pops into our heads. They know what I’m trying to do and where I’m going with my next steps. We’re definitely attacking this project as a team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I just have glowing praise for the whole process and professionalism. I’m not sure what else I can say. We have a very good relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a principal at 1517 Fund, a pre-seed stage venture capital fund.

What challenge were you trying to address with Piper Creative?

We were looking to release a podcast and I was happy to do the interviews and recording, but we hired Piper Creative to handle the editing.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They edited all of the episodes to make them sound professional, remove verbal tics, and write show notes to make it very high quality. I gave them the audio and they returned it as a full podcast within our schedule. 

Their team also provided good recommendations for different hardware to use and which streaming services were best for us. Essentially, they were helpful from inception to publication. 

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Aaron (CEO, Piper Creative). 

How did you come to work with Piper Creative?

I’d known the co-founders personally for quite a few years and I knew the CEO had his own experience running and publishing a podcast. They understood our mission and what we were looking to accomplish, so I felt I could hand over the raw audio and they’d know how to reach our goals. 

How much have you invested with them?

Their services cost less than $5,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2019–January 2020. 

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

We’re really pleased with the podcast. We recently did a soft launch for it and we’ve gotten great feedback from our community. Many people have commented on how well produced it sounds, which is largely thanks to Piper Creative. We’re very happy with it, so when we look to create another season, Piper Creative will be at the top of our list. 

How did Piper Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything went really smoothly. They worked within a fairly tight schedule, so I appreciated that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I gave them a lot of leeway in editing the audio and episodes, and they knew what to cut and keep, along with what music they should pick and other details, too. They showed great judgment in making editorial choices. I gave them relatively tight deadlines and they met them quite well, even for the trial episodes. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I was very pleased with them. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president at a luxury gas lamp company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Piper Creative?

They produced a series of how-to videos for us. We needed to educate our customers on the installation of one of our products. Our team found that the structure of a video was much more conducive to engaging and educating customers. We were looking for FAQ, basic knowledge, and installation content to be added to the videos.

What was the scope of their involvement?

It was a pretty simple two-camera production setup with a spot mic. They created a series of videos according to our expectations in just a few weeks. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with about two members of their team.

How did you come to work with Piper Creative?

I had known Aaron (CEO, Piper Creative) for quite a while, and he had a good reputation within the space. After reaching out, they seemed like the team for the job.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $2,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them in September 2019. 

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

The final videos came out great, and we received a strong response from them. We’d definitely work with them again when we have the need. The videos are up on YouTube and within our site’s video gallery. We’re seeing a steady number of views on both channels.

Our team is able to direct people there when they have questions. Additionally, when we do incremental releases on LinkedIn and Facebook, we get several likes and compliments. There’s definitely a positive impact.

How did Piper Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They moved through the process very quickly. It was speedy and collaborative, which was important to us because we were on a time crunch. If I texted them, I knew I’d hear back in about an hour.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their services helped us establish a level of credibility that we didn’t have in the past. In our few rounds of edits, we found that they were happy to take care of anything that came up. We even noticed an issue two months after the engagement, and they didn’t hesitate to correct the problem.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It may be beneficial to close projects by offering their continued help in future projects. They may want to be a bit more proactive on that end.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the head of marketing for a robotics company that creates autonomous mobile robot solutions for the logistics and supply chain industry.

For what projects/services did your company hire Piper Creative, and what were your goals?

We wanted to launch our own podcast and had zero experience with how to execute this initiative. Our goal was to publish audio and video versions of the podcast and to establish benchmarks for future seasons.

How did you select Piper Creative and what were the deciding factors?

Piper is well known for their podcasting capabilities and we wanted to learn from them and emulate what they have done with their podcasts.

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

We started with a discussion about what we were looking to do and how we were going to produce the podcast. We agreed to have some podcasts recorded remotely and some done in person. We set up our accounts on the recommended platforms from Piper and provided them access to upload the finished versions for podcast distribution.

Once we had the recordings, Piper took the footage and edited the content. From there we promoted our podcasts.

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

We worked directly with Aaron and Hannah. The feedback process was easy. Many of our discussions happened via email, within Google docs, and when they would be on-site for an in-person recording. Everything was pretty fluid and easy to work through.

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

We launched the podcast and it quickly received hundreds of views and listeners. We are now getting requests from people about how to get on our podcast!

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

We used Google Sheets to manage the release dates for when each episode of the podcast was going to drop and a shared folder to review video assets.

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

Piper Creative is attentive to details and efficient with turning around deliverables.

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

I don't have any recommendations for improvement.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO and co-founder of a wealth management firm. We provide holistic and comprehensive financial planning to high net worth individuals.

For what projects/services did your company hire Piper Creative, and what were your goals?

We founded our RIA in 2020 and needed to:

1. produce educational video content for our current client base 
2. build a digital footprint and brand recognition to increase client base.

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

We chose to work with Piper Creative after using their services for an initial photo session and a few well-produced videos to announce our business. They provided proactive support and low-pressure coaching while shooting the videos. A big differentiator is their turnaround time and quality of work. They over delivered!

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and marking tools used.

Piper Creative started the relationship with getting to know our brand (and what we hoped it to be), personalities, business structure, and industry. We shot approximately 30 videos. Piper created an intro piece for the videos. One highlight was the support provided beyond our project. They have helped build and advised on our social media platforms.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with Aaron and Hannah, both of whom proved indispensable with building our digital footprint.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have a 100% retention rate, received 59 unsolicited referrals for new business, increased followers on our platforms, and according to our client survey results, clients who love the content.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We primarily communicate via email, however Aaron and Hannah have made themselves extremely available, responding to texts and calls as well. Very little communication is required after production, as they have gotten to know our preferences and key intent.

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

They go above and beyond. How they handled business was intuitive, proactive, and well-explained. They explain the bigger "why", specific techniques, and marketing trends. They also have an unbelievably fast turnaround time with content!

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

Piper Creative is extremely efficient, structured, and communicative. I can't identify any areas for improvement.