Playfish Media

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Mercy Housing Northwest is a nonprofit that provides affordable housing in Washington state and parts of Idaho. I’m the events and marketing manager.

What challenge were you trying to address with Playfish Media?

They are the videographer for our event video. This is our second year working with them. We do a fundraising event every year. We play a video as part of the program which leads into our donation appeal. It’s effective and impactful and allows the audience to connect and feel inspired about the work we do. Hopefully, that inspires them to donate to our cause.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created 2 videos for us, one for each year. Before filming, we brainstormed with the producer about our intentions. The producer took notes and compiled a structured outline. They filmed during meal prep and during an exercise session. We had both real programming and scripted sections. Sometimes, we had to recreate activities since they don’t occur daily. Collaboratively, we chose the shots that we wanted to see through the storyline, and we worked together on the captions. Playfish suggested great ideas and also selected the music.

How did you come to work with Playfish Media?

We researched local videographers and producers. It was important for us to work with someone local. I received referrals from folks who are in my position in our nonprofit counterparts, and one of them recommended Playfish. I met with the producer and was impressed with their work.

How much have you invested with them?

Each film has been $5,000­–$5,500. Honoring a nonprofit discount, they do great work with local nonprofits.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2016, and the project was completed this month.

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

At our fundraiser events, we played the videos directly before the donation appeal. We surveyed the attendees last year about the program and they thought the video was impactful and inspiring. Their video increased our numbers. Overall, we’ve been quite successful in the past 2 years in fundraising, and fundraising increased by over 20% for the event alone.

How did Playfish Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re a close-knit team which has proven to be very successful. They’re very hands-on. The relationship has been a great experience. This year, we worked on a shorter timeline, so we were more rushed (because of our team). Last year, we had more time to be more structured. Playfish is very detailed, and they have their structure and formats. They managed all of the details and worked to get back to us in a timely manner. With the urgency of our timeline this year, they checked in and provided status updates, making us feel confident they would come through.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The relationship that they build with their client is great. They have a lot of clients and are working with multiple people at the same time, but they do their research to relate to what the film is about and it feels like they are part of the mission. They were very interested in making it something that was very inspirational.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They continue to grow, and we mentioned to them that they probably need to multiply and find more staff. They’re doing a great job with the people they have. They just need the capacity to have that one-on-one attention without spreading themselves too thin. They work very hard with the clients they have including working nights, weekends, etc.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief development and communications officer at Child Care Resources in Seattle, Washington.

What challenge were you trying to address with Playfish?

Our organization didn’t have a simple, short, identity video that explained what we did. It’s an asset that an agency needs at all times. We wanted it created with the intention of having a pretty long shelf-life of three to five years.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have done two videos with Playfish. The first one was an identity video that we played at an event but used primarily for our website homepage. The second video focused on our customers, children and parents. Our customers said what they love about childcare, and the video was meant to celebrate childcare professionals. The video was shown at an event last week, but it's meant to have a long shelf-life. We plan to use it at events throughout the year such as Childcare Appreciation Day. It’s a great celebratory video.

For both videos, Playfish Media provided overall strategy, needs assessment, video shooting, editing, and production. For the first video, there was a little bit more of a script, and the Playfish team helped with those script ideas. I had a very clear dream video in mind. I had a sample video from another non-profit that I was using as a guide for the video that we wanted to make. We knew we wanted a similar look and feel, similar vibe, and similar music. The script was partly finished by the time we brought Playfish into the loop, so we mainly did the scripting internally.

The second video didn’t have a script and there was no sample. It’s very hard to find videos in the world that have children being interviewed in kind of a funny way. So, we made the video from scratch. Playfish helped locate music for both videos. They did everything I needed them to do.

Additionally, our team was using headshots of childcare providers for a recent event, and we didn’t think we had enough. I asked Playfish if they could turn some of the video footage of the providers into stills. The team explained some of the challenges in that process and they were able to help.

The team will also help to repurpose one of the video into a 30-second "thank you" video at the end of the year.

How did you come to work with Playfish?

I did a Google search and reached out to five or six lower budget video producers. Playfish was the first to get back to me. There was an immediate connection with Jillian’s [Owner, Playfish] style that I liked a lot.

How much have you invested with them?

The videos each cost between $4,000 and $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2016, and the work lasted until September 2017.

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

We’ve had completely positive feedback. 90% of survey participants from our recent event rated the impact of Playfish Media's video either very good or excellent. The people internally who have seen the video also had positive things to say, and they agreed that it could be used for other purposes.

How did Playfish perform from a project management standpoint?

There was a good mix of professional, fun, and casual. They’re very easy to work with, but they also honor the idea that you have to keep the project moving when there’s a deadline. They’re very responsive. They would always email me back within 24 hours, which is great. Most of the time, it was much sooner than that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed, as were other people internally, with how quickly they understood the vibe or the feel of Child Care Resources. The video struck the right chord. It wasn't too polished, but it was polished enough. The music, the look, and the overall feeling of the video were spot on. It matched our voice and our tone as an agency. That’s hard to do for someone who doesn’t know us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’re totally great. I intend to work with them throughout my entire career when I need videos.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of a nonprofit called Ignite Worldwide that’s based in Seattle, Washington. We educate girls in grades six through 12 about careers in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math]. We work directly with schools and teachers. Throughout the school year, girls hear from women in STEM industries about their career choices, how they got there, and what obstacles they had to overcome. Then the girls do workshops and hands-on activities to learn about these kinds of careers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Playfish Media?

We needed a four-minute video to represent what we do and explain what the program is about, what the program components are, and how it works. We wanted to use it for marketing on our website and at our yearly gala, as well as for training volunteers and teachers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Playfish made three videos for us that were three to four minutes long. We worked on the look of the videos together. I had ideas about what I wanted to include, and Jillian [Owner, Playfish Media] was really great about helping us write the script. She interviewed me and pulled out some main themes to highlight.

Our main requirements were for the videos to get the point across effectively in a short time and for viewers to connect emotionally with the program. Using footage of actual activities with the girls, they put together a draft video to see what we thought and what changes or fixes we’d like to make and then edited accordingly.

How did you come to work with Playfish Media?

One of my volunteers helped me research companies, and she interviewed several. I liked that Jillian [Owner, Playfish Media] had her own company, which fit in well with our organization’s values.

How much have you invested with them?

The first video was about $15,000. I’d have to look at my records for the others, but they were cheaper. We saved money by reusing sections of the first one and adding still pictures.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2015 and finished in July 2016. It’s an ongoing relationship in that they’ll be our go-to again when we need videos. I’m thinking of doing a volunteer training video in the next year.

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

The videos have been received very well, and we’ve only gotten positive feedback on them. People really like the program overview video and often comment on how well it highlights what we do.

How did Playfish Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great—very professional and easy to work with. They did exactly what they said they were going to do. They always were on time, on budget, and they produced great videos. We were on a rushed, two-week scheduled because of the timing of the gala, but that wasn’t a problem for them. I only have good things to say.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I love working with them. They’re great!

The video was so well-done. The first draft captured what we wanted so well, they didn’t need to do much editing.

I felt like they truly had their heart in this project and truly care about our organization. They wanted the videos to be successful and make a difference for our work. Jillian cares about working with nonprofits. She works really hard to keep costs reasonable and within our budget. This project was very affordable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.