SimplePlan Media

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Pharos

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We're an influencer marketing agency representing impact creators in the wellness and environmental industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire SimplePlan Media to accomplish?

• Develop brand identity for complete brand overhaul.
• Develop new website.
• Social media strategy and content production.
• Develop marketing materials (media kit).

SOLUTION

How did you find SimplePlan Media?

Online Search

Why did you select SimplePlan Media over others?

High ratings

How many teammates from SimplePlan Media were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We hired SimplePlan for a series of services and they executed all flawlessly.

First, they were tasked with the development of a brand identity as we were rebranding our marketing agency. This included things like brand voice, logo, brand personality, core customer identity, values, mission statement, key words, the "big idea", strategy, etc.

Second, they developed a website from scratch, utilizing the brand identity. The site includes multiple pages, intricate functionality, custom coding, and more. They also wrote the copy - and the final product is perfect. 

Finally, they also assisted with the production of content and marketing materials, like our media kit and templates for our new social media identity. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The website is expertly done and, in my opinion, one of the best in our industry. We've recieved compliments from many colleagues and even competitors. The same goes for our social media templates and content output. From a visual and strategy perspective, it's top tier.

Word of mouth and reputation are very important in our industry and, from our "listenting tools", our business is very highly regarded for the brand identity we've built, powered by SimplePlan.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They were extremely attentive, thorough, and timely with responses. We did have some hiccups along the way but that's to be expected when trying to bring a creative vision to life. In the end, the final product is exactly what we were looking for - even better, really.

We liked that we felt supported by multiple team members - each of whom was an expert in their particular creative niche like social, brand identity, UX/UI design, etc. They went above and beyond with every aspect. It was impressive.

What was your primary form of communication with SimplePlan Media?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They detail they put into every piece of their work presented to us. Their decks were amazing - so thorough and thoughtful. They are EXPERTS at this. 

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

Not really, no.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of an electronics consumer products company. We have about six employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SimplePlan Media?

We needed help with branding, social media marketing (SMM), PR, web design, and web development services.

SOLUTION

What is the scope of their involvement?

SimplePlan Media has built our website with the branding and designs from scratch; their IT team has handled all the front- and backend development. The site has a lot of 3D animations, and they’ve integrated payment options like Apple Pay and Google Pay. They also host and maintain our site.

When we started our marketing work, they did a detailed marketing strategy plan and a brand strategic plan. Currently, their main job is content creation related to our brand, SMM, and PR. SimplePlan Media has designed our packaging with all the visuals and content from our brand. Additionally, some of the blog channels will launch our products during the Christmas season.

What is the team composition?

We work with different people; we have a marketing and a web development team. The project coordinator is our main point of contact.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $55,000 on the project.

What is the status of the engagement?

Our partnership kicked off in December 2021, and it's still an ongoing project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We can’t speak of their success yet; right now, we’re focusing on brand awareness with their creative direction. We just started SMM two months ago, and we’ve seen a lot of demand for our product campaign. More people have engaged us and followed us on Instagram and Facebook, and both channels are leading to sales.

How did SimplePlan Media perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is great. They initially gave us a detailed and reasonable timeframe, and the team has followed all the dates. We haven’t seen any kind of delay. We use emails and Google Meet for communication.

They're a very sophisticated and creative team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

SimplePlan Media offers a full-package service. The team is creative and sophisticated; they focus on more than web development or SMM. We’ve been able to trust them with all our marketing operations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything right now.

Any advice for potential customers?

If someone is looking to start a new brand from scratch, SimplePlan Media is the place to go.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder of a brain-healthy superfood coffee eCommerce company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SimplePlan Media?

We built our website on Squarespace two years ago and because of our growth, we needed to migrate our website to Shopify ASAP.

SOLUTION

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

Simple Plan came highly recommended. We chose them because their communication was second to none. They also offered the most reasonable and fair prices. Their portfolio showed us great work done in the past. Their team was highly experienced and attentive.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After an initial discovery meeting, they created a simple 4 Sprint process with approvals. They executed the plan fast, researched apps, problem solved my customized needs. They were also very thorough in creating how-to videos for me to understand how to do things myself.

They were great with my feedback and very thorough with testing and making sure that I was satisfied and understood. They reply fast, work fast and are great at offering multiple solutions. They went over and beyond the scope of the project and over delivered.

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

I had access to a team of four at all times.

• The owner
• the project lead
• designer/developer
• account manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They work on time. The site is live. They created me user guides and videos to understand how to work my website myself. They are still available to me to contact with questions

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We only worked on email. We only met 3x. No Slack. They're very detailed oriented. They never miss a request and answer every question.

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

Overall, I couldn't beat what they delivered for their price. I'm very grateful for them working with me. They are very creative and can do so much more. They really care. Their customer service is incredible, warm and friendly. And their English was perfect.

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

The project went smoothly. Any delays were on my side. On a personal preference, I could have used more in-person meetings to clarify things but, in the end, email did the job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Paddy Compare is an insurance lead generator in Ireland. I am a Director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SimplePlan Media?

Our existing brand and website was developed 10 years ago and was outdated. I hired SimplePlan to rebrand and design the frontend of the website. We undertook backend development internally.

SOLUTION

How did you select SimplePlan Media and what were the deciding factors?

We chose SimplePlan because of their detailed project brief, and existing portfolio.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After an initial brand questionnaire and inception meeting to agree milestones, SimplePlan developed the branding. They built a story around the new brand and at each stage of the process proposed a number of options for us to choose from. They then developed the preferred option through the next steps. They left the decision making to us but provided opinions when asked. They genuinely offered unlimited revisions and we we never felt rushed.

This process continued through wireframes, stylescapes and frontend development.

How many resources from the SimplePlan Media team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Approx 4 client-facing staff with additional team members behind the scenes. Transitioning between team members was seamless.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Backend development is ongoing and so the site is not yet live, however the code is extremely clean, and bespoke, and the overall brand and design very clean and professional, just as required. The site has been designed with all devices in mind, not designed for one, with others as an afterthought as is often the case with responsive design.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Daily updates with files shared using Figma and Dropbox. Original source files provided for all content generated. Expected to require regular calls to talk about the next steps but we found this wasn't necessary due to clear email communication.

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

The attention to detail was impressive. The team has positively responded to all comments, and they've work endlessly to ensure the end product is functional.

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

No. The project took longer than intended but at an early stage I emphasised that quality was more important than speed. The cost remained as agreed with the exception of additional work I requested during the project, which was also delivered to the agreed price.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and director of a climate change nonprofit based in New Zealand. We help people lower their carbon emissions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with SimplePlan Media?

We hired SimplePlan Media to do our website and a web app that allowed our users to track their carbon savings. At the moment, they’re working on maintenance and engine optimization as well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first key deliverable was the website. SimplePlan Media (SimplePlan) developed it from scratch using Laravel. They also did the design concepts for it — the layout, color scheme, and a few handwritten illustrations. We gave them our requirements and a draft licence for the website itself, but they came up with the platform and the whole UX and UI.

The second deliverable was the web platform. It’s a dashboard that shows users their emission savings, the low-carbon projects that they support, and their path towards zero emissions. It displays the donations we’ve made to these low-carbon projects and assigns them to a user in the platform.

Those have been the big two deliverables from them, and then we have maintenance on an ongoing basis. If we notice anything we want to change, they just jump in and make those changes.

Recently, we’ve just started a transition with some of the hours we had in maintenance and updates to SEO. At the moment, they’re just working on keyword assessments; we gave them a preliminary list and they’re now narrowing it down and providing some categories and subcategories. Eventually, they’ll help us to optimize the website with tags, Google Ads, keywords, blogs, and more.

What is the team composition?

We have different people working on different tasks. Yogesh (Managing Director) is our main point of contact; he deals with high-level issues.

We’ve always had a main contact, but when we were working on the website, there would also be other people in the meeting for the web design part. Once we got into the building phase, we transitioned to a different person. We’ve had maintenance staff, and now with the SEO, we’ve got another person, so it kind of varies. All in all, there have been probably up to 6–7 people in our team.

How did you come to work with SimplePlan Media?

I think I originally saw them on an online platform. They had some projects listed, and I reached out to them to see whether they could give me a quote by email. I signed them online, and that was pretty much the process.

How much have you invested with them?

The initial website package was $20,000 for the web platform and app. Since then, we were on retainer for $500 a month, and that ended in November. In total, we’ve spent about $25,000–$26,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around September 2020, and we’re still with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve referred them multiple times to other people, and we’ve just been really happy with their support. Right now, we don't have metrics on the stuff that they’re working on, but we haven’t had any major issues with the website — just a few bugs here and there.

Furthermore, we’ve had really nice feedback from other people. Our co-founder runs a development agency, and he was really impressed with what they did for us, especially considering the price and the high-standard of the design. We’ve also had positive feedback from our users around the looks and experience of the website.

How did SimplePlan Media perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. There were some delays last year, but they were really transparent about it. A lot of the time it was more on our part because we were changing our minds and not having stuff ready for them.

Also, they’re very responsive. We’ve got a Slack channel and a shared Notion board, which is similar to a Trello board. If we have a query, we just put it into the board and they move it through within a week. We use it now for tasks, and it’s working really well for the SEO stuff we’re doing.

Leading up to the launch of the website, we were having weekly calls with the team. Since we’re in New Zealand and they’re in India, we weren’t able to respond to them until the next day due to the time difference, so we found that the best way to deal with it and answer their questions right away was through calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The website they designed for us is so pretty. They really know how to create a beautiful design and UX.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. We’ve worked together really easily. Maybe at the beginning we had some difficulties, but now that we’ve been working with them for a while and we’ve figured it out, I don’t think there could be any other ways for us to work together.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give SimplePlan the opportunity to design something that they think is good. When we originally came into it, we had ideas around what we wanted, and it took a lot of iterations before we got to the final design. In the end, I think we just needed to hand over the reins a little bit and let them come up with a concept for us. Same thing with the original wireframe.

Therefore, I think giving them a little flexibility might be good, because they can really surprise you with what they come up with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Education provider for medical students. Company director

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SimplePlan Media, and what were your goals?

SimplePlan Media was engaged to create a user platform and learning experience based on our goals. The end product had to be clear, user-friendly, with the quick ability to authorise and remove users and have a multi-layer access requirement.

The platform also involved an exam, with numerous question formats requiring different UI, a formula for the scoring, and a simple back-end for our company to review user involvement,

SOLUTION

How did you select SimplePlan Media and what were the deciding factors?

We have used them on a previous project and know how exceptional their level of service is.

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

We set out a plan to commence with, set a timeline, project goals, and payment milestones. They kept us informed of progress, allowed soft-testing, and understood our needs exactly.

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

3.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

User ability to log in without errors or bugs, ability to complete a test online and access online learning content. All stages were achieved with soft-testing and we were delighted.

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

Frequent email feedback, skype updates, and soft-testing availability.

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

They understand the client's needs swiftly and set out a clear and affordable plan to meet the outcome. They respond very quickly and can adapt to new requirements.

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

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Cofounder of Soko, an upcoming women's intimate apparel brand launching in Southeast Asia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SimplePlan Media?

Create a visual brand identity and full website design & development

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our brand to stand out from the traditional incumbents in the industry - to be approachable but still provide plenty of impact and energy. This needed to be felt throughout the visual brand identity and the website.

SOLUTION

How did you select SimplePlan Media?

We discovered them through clutch. We had a call with them and were sold on their professionalism and creativity. We loved some of their previous portfolio work and knew they would be capable of the delivering the design aesthetic we were looking for.

Describe the project in detail.

After we shared the story of who we are and what we hoped to do, the team spent some time getting to know us both as individuals and as a brand. After listening to all of our ideas for the brand, they began to guide us through a discovery process that helped us determine what we really wanted for the brand.

We went through multiple steps in order to create the visual identity design - where the team provided us with plenty of different directions (the design mood boards were incredibly helpful!) to help us arrive at the end result. We then spent time wireframing, designing/creating wirescapes, and finally building the entire e-commerce website.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of 4-5 individuals, including multiple members of the creative and client teams. Nothing was lost in communication and we were extremely happy with how everyone worked together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The entire process really exceeded our expectations. We came in having a ton of ideas but struggling to determine the exact final direction. SimplePlan provided amazing guidance to help us get there.

They were incredibly flexible with all of the deliverables we needed and with our timeline. More importantly, they absolutely delivered. We have had great feedback on our branding and website so far from our target audience. More importantly, there is a lot of excitement built up for our launch - surpassing our expectations.

Designing such a unique identity has really helped us stand out from our competitors. SimplePlan made this experience easy for us - from start to finish. We have already recommended them to others.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They kept us continually updated on what they've accomplished and what the next steps are. The team is highly responsive to every question and phone call. They were extremely flexible with any issues that arose from our side and were quick to address all of our pivots.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We found that their commitment to understanding our team and our market really exceeded our expectations and this helped them deliver some great results. They truly do care about the success of our brand and business.

And while I hate to use such a cliche phrase as "they went above and beyond, SimplePlan truly did. They provided guidance and delivered a few extra deliverables that were not within the scope of the projects. They did it purely because they were invested in our success.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, they did a great job for us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are on a mission to help qualified and driven candidates across the globe to land their dream job. I am the founder, director, and chief career consultant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SimplePlan Media?

Branding, Web Design, and Web Dev. These include logo, brand bible, UX, UI, and dev.

What were your goals for this project?

To establish a brand, design a website, develop a website. We are an early start-up and were starting from scratch in all these areas.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They reached out to me through LinkedIn, where I advertised the project. They were excellent throughout the selection process, so we decided to hire them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They started by gathering requirements. Then, they worked on the UX and the branding (logo). In the next milestone, they tackled UI and finalised branding. Lastly, they developed the website.

What was the team composition?

The client-facing team was as below: Delivery director - company owner Creative director Business consultant Analyst

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We are delighted with the brand and the website SimplePlan has developed for us. The end products are fully aligned to our mission, vision, and values, and optimised for our target group.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Simple but effective project management. Exactly what was needed considering the project scope, which was relatively small, as we are an early start-up.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They had an excellent attitude and are also skilled enough to deliver strong quality.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not really. Comms and project management could be slightly improved sometimes, but this is a very minor issues that I would not consider given the excellent work they delivered.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Shiftery is the next generation of integrated sourcing and supply chain management services. We help our clients to see more of their supply chain and mitigate emissions, shifting to traceability & sustainability. I am the co-founder & CEO of Shiftery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire SimplePlan Media?

Website design & development, which started with the color and design development and ranged to the actual programming of the wordpress theme.

What were your goals for this project?

Our business is mostly online and hence a solid first impression of the website is cruicial. We have been asking for a sleek, modern and approachable website. At the same time we need to be able to change content on the website regularly as we are still in the early stages of business development. Hence, a customized theme based on worpress ist the best option for us.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We contacted a wide range of developers, from cheap to expensive, small and big. A long-term relationship is what we have been looking for, to have a trusted partner. We decided on simpleplanmedia because they offer a wide variety of services including graphic design. Further, they gave us a very approachable and commited impression. Finally their structured approach and track record convinced us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Website design & development, which started with the color and design development and ranged to the actual programming of the wordpress theme. All illustrations on our website are unique or at least customized. Further, it includes animations.

What was the team composition?

The team involved sales and key account management/project management in direct contact with us mostly. During the creative design phase, we have been in contact with the design department as well. In the backend both, the design and the coding team were involved in the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The impact on our business can not be validated yet as the website is live for less than a month. We got compliments form our current clients and hope for great reactions and traffic in the future to support our visibility and business growth.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project setup was structured, using Skype, google docs and email communication. Very direct/approachable and responsive communication. There have been no issues with the language barrier.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I mostly value the good communication. They're very attentive to our needs and comments. Making smaller changes even though the project was finished already.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The project duration was longer than assumed in the beginning. This is also due us being a start-up and not having been 100% clear on what we need in the beginning ourselves. Additionally, the corona pandemic made life more difficult for everyone of us.