Stylo Creative

Please describe your company and your position there.

During this project I was the creative producer and creative services manager at Blueland. Blueland is a sustainable cleaning product company working to eliminate single use plastics.

For what projects/services did your company hire Stylo Creative?

We engaged Stylo Creative to help us create 5-8 custom 3D animated videos for our collaboration with Disney. Though we provided initial ideas, Stylo was also tasked to bring the ideas to life in an innovative and creative way. The built everything from scratch and provided final videos with provided music. They also tweaked music to make sure it felt right with the final videos.

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

We engaged several companies both big and small. We found Stylo organically through social media. The team seemed young and hungry. They were obviously skilled but we must loved that they were a small, nimble team that was clearly up-and-coming and wanted to do their best work no matter the scope/brand/etc. We had a call with the team and really vibes with their energy and process.

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

The process started with a briefing to help them build an SOW and Timeline. I worked closely with them on Timeline since we knew the Disney timing protocols for review/approvals. We then had a kick-off call. From there, Stylo followed the timeline we had set which had them sharing the creative at different stages for review and final approvals. When picture was approved by both Blueland Disney, they laid back music and did a final mix/color correct before sharing final deliverables.

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

I mainly worked with one contact (Dillon) for everything (Project Manager). The only time we talked to other team members was during the kick-off call. I would have liked to have a little more collaboration here. Sometimes I felt like it would have been easier for my creative to speak to their creative, rather than Dillon and I be the middle men.

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

We don't know any metrics just yet but both the Blueland team and Disney team we were working with, were all thrilled with the outcome. We are excited to see how they perform!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I think the workflow was successful. I set up a Google Doc where we shared clear feedback and if we needed to set up a call to further discuss, we did. Sometimes we didn't know or think feedback had been addressed so maybe they could have checked things off in the shared doc before sharing? They communicated all deadlines clearly.

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

I liked that I could trust them and that they were a phone call away if I needed them. I am the type of producer that works every transparently and I think Dillon was the same. I liked that they were young and eager. They were super creative and just laid back.I think my creative was hoping they would push the needle a bit more with some of the designs but ultimate time was NOT on our side, nor was budget, so he was aware that they did the best they could for us -- and in the end we were very happy.

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

Again, maybe tracking feedback? Also there were times (maybe 1-1.5 weeks) where we knew they were working but it was radio silence -- maybe it would have been good to just have a check-in with WIP work? I know that can be tough but we didn't see a lot of the sausage making at all.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the art director at Aquis Hair.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stylo Creative?

We needed someone to create 3D animation for our marketing team.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stylo Creative did a creative rendering of how fabric works. One was a hyper-realistic representation of fabric, and the other one was a liquid manipulation graphic. While the videos are currently being prepped for launch, we’ll continue to work with the team as we already have projects in mind for them.

What is the team composition?

My main touchpoint is Dillon (CEO, Founder, & Creative Director), but I know there’s a small team working on the project.

How did you come to work with Stylo Creative?

I found Stylo Creative on Behance. I intended to work with them because my team found one of the pieces that they did very inspirational. I also thought that they seemed very detail-oriented, and they had a solid sense of style and that was important to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in April 2021.

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

I think the project was very successful. Their work is being used by ourselves, as well as our big retailer partners like Sephora and Global-e. We’ve also gotten a lot of great feedback from them, and they’re very excited to help launch this product. 

How did Stylo Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Dylan was a great communicator. We had a tight deadline when we assigned them to the project, so we had to give them information as it came. However, they were very questionable and patient, as we figured out what we wanted to change and update.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with the way they always came with good creative ideas and solutions to the problems we found.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. The project went really well so I don’t have any negative feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t know if I need to give any advice about ways to work with them better because Stylo Creative is easy to work with.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing at Versured, an insurance tech company. People come to our website and fill out basic information and demographics, or if they’re looking for an auto quote they can view that through our site as well. We automate quotes that are catered specifically to the customer.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stylo Creative?

We hired them to be our creative team.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stylo Creative does a lot of design work including working on 3D rendering and creatives in terms of marketing. Their first project for us was a product overview video that had 3D animation and footage parts. The 3D software they used was Cinema 4D and a few others where they were able to design, create, and even build out a mood board and storyline. They hired a voice actress to talk about the product and do a voiceover during one of the ads. This was a tester phase but now we are engaging with them for the final product.

What is the team composition?

We have one main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Stylo Creative?

I searched for local ad agencies and a lot of the work that Stylo Creative did was 3D. That wasn’t something that we were specifically looking for at the get-go, but the more I did research and looked into their pricing in comparison to the quality of their work, it seemed like a good deal.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in November 2020 and the work is still ongoing.

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

With it being a new relationship, we have it set up where we do in-depth market testing and see engagement rates depending on what they produce. Overall, with the feedback we’ve gotten from other people, it has all been positive word-of-mouth feedback. Based on the quality of the product we received, I think someone would pay 10 times more for it than we did. We really got a pretty good bang for our buck.

How did Stylo Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very efficient with meetings and explain what the next steps are. Anytime there was a miscommunication, they took the blow for it. They’re always willing to own up to a mistake made. They communicate well and meet our deadlines or effectively let us know if they need more time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have incredible attention to detail and are very well-organized. The detail adds up, which resulted in really high-quality work. Stylo Creative was willing to bend over backward to help fit our needs and accommodate our input. The team finds a good balance between professionalism and creativity.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Maybe be a little bit more involved in what we do as a company and understand us a little bit better. There are certain times when they pitch creative ideas that it feels likes they’re still learning about us and our product.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There is a large down payment you have to make and I think it’s best to bite the bullet and trust the process because it’s well worth it in the long run.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run an online, e-commerce children’s clothing store.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stylo Creative?

We originally started by selling baby bows, but when we launched our bibs and mats we wanted a video to announce them. Stylo created those videos.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created 5-6 different versions of the videos, including some with 3D renderings.

What is the team composition?

I mainly talked to Dylan (Creative Director).

How did you come to work with Stylo Creative?

They do a lot of work for another company I’m familiar with. I noticed the videos were good for marketing and social media and contacted them. Their examples on their website were in the style I wanted for mine as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000-$15,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2020. The first project ended and we’re going to do another project focusing on another of our projects.

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

There are big benefits to working with companies capable of doing 3D-rendering. It allows you to do a lot more with showcasing the product on video. I believe we got a 9x return on the ad-spend thanks to the video. It’s been a really successful campaign. I’ve really enjoyed working with them.

How did Stylo Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

It was very easy to communicate with them. I prefer texting and they agreed to that. They were always quick to respond.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication stands out the most. They understood what we wanted and were able to pitch extra ideas, which I liked since I’m not the most creative person. They made a great finished product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come into your video with a plan. I didn’t, and that made the project take a bit longer. They’re not the ones who sell the product so you should tell them what you’re picturing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of ACTA, an activewear brand that gives back to charity.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stylo Creative?

We’ve done a lot of projects with them, but our biggest goal is to display our product in a way that would be enticing to our audience and drive sales.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve done between 12–15 projects with Stylo Creative. They rent the appropriate equipment and lighting for each project. Their team also handles the scouting for talent. 

For certain assignments, they go through intense branding with us to make sure it fits our brand and style, as far as motion graphics, animations, or illustrations. Our graphic designer shows them what we’re thinking and they take it to another level and conceptualize it. They shoot all the videos and work on the post-editing needs for animation. 

What is the team composition?

I work mostly with three people. Dillon (Creative Director), Drake (3D Artist & Designer) is the main animator, and Bryan (Executive Producer) steers the creative direction. 

How did you come to work with Stylo Creative?

They are way more talented from a creative aspect, especially in conceptualizing different ideas. I felt like I clicked really well with them personally and it would be easy to work with them. Their 4D animation and talent within their business at their price point was unlike any other option I could find.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent close to $115,000 with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018 and our engagement is ongoing. 

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

Their actual product and service from the very beginning has worked really well for us. 

How did Stylo Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always flexible to our needs, even as we’ve grown as a business and things have changed. We always have really tight deadlines as a business because of our release structure, and they always meet deadlines. They’re honestly even too good at meeting deadlines,working after hours and through the night sometimes. We mainly communicate through text and in-person meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They always conceptualize well and find the talent we need. Their creative direction is their biggest strength. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We moved our headquarters to a different state and I’d want them to be able to be in-person, so we use them a little less because of our situation. Even though their price is really good, I wanted to find even cheaper ways to do it because that’s natural, but there’s not much they could improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to communicate clearly about what you want the results to be for your project and they will make sure it happens. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief strategy officer at SalesRabbit, a SaaS company that sells field sales software.

What challenge were you trying to address with Stylo Creative?

Most of our content was in text form, and we wanted to introduce a lot more video to better convey our value proposition. We wanted to have SEO-based video for Google carousels. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

It started from the ground up with Stylo Creative, and they continue to create videos for us.

For example, we were building a library of 50 videos for sales training course material. Stylo Creative put together a bunch of concepts that have been successful with our clients (e.g. talking head videos with animation). 

It was a collaborative process. The coach featured in the videos and I worked with Dillon (Creative Director, Stylo Creative) and the Stylo team to create outlines and storyboards for the animation that would represent what we were verbally communicating. 

They directed it, animated it, filmed it in their studio and edited it. Ever since then, they’ve managed the assets. For a lot of the projects, they come up with the concepts, including the animation, series, and flows. They’ve also made copy suggestions.

For a lot of videos, they’ve had to reanimate the user interface across iOS, Android, tablets, and smartphones, as well as desktop computers. This was fairly complex, and they did a really good job understanding our product and working with our product team to make sure everything was displayed correctly. 

Over time, they’ve really attuned themselves to our modality of marketing. It’s at the point now where they can generate concepts for us that are on-brand, and the assets they create first round are usually on point.

What is the team composition?

I work mainly with Dillon, but have interacted with other members on their team.

How did you come to work with Stylo Creative?

They were recommended to us by one of the actors in our training series. We had worked with other premium film groups, and while we had good results, they weren’t creating the kind of on-brand experience we were looking for. 

After looking at Stylo Creative’s assets and past projects, it was very clear to us that they’d be able to nail our brand. Also, they’re very talented with animation, and that was a pretty attractive aspect about them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $10,000-$25,000 with the team.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2018, and the video was finished in January 2019. They’re still on retainer with us.

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

Many of our clients license the use of the videos to train their sales teams. There’s been some digital marketing impact from views generated, clickthrough traffic to our website, and lead conversion. The videos have been used in email campaigns and nurture campaigns which have generated clicks and views. 

Anecdotally, it’s helped us position ourselves as an innovative brand, and it’s generated interest and intrigue. It’s disruptive, valuable, and relevant to our particular audiences. We do 20 software demos per-day and segments of that video get used each time. It’s peaked a lot of curiosity in our software demos.

Another example of a successful project: we have a huge conference with thousands of attendees that we do annually. We created a new software marketing product and wanted to launch it there. We had Dillon and his team create this video. They put a lot of work and energy into it and delivered it within a tight deadline. It’s one one of our most-liked videos. We still use the video and are really pleased with it.

How did Stylo Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

We were only 15 minutes away from each other. Dillon is really good about showing up for face-to-face on time when he’s needed. He’s super organized and comes with ideas to discuss.

Remotely, they used Frame.io, and that tool was awesome. We had multiple collaborators from our company on that tool at one given time, and Stylo Creative was very responsive. When they finished a revision or edit, they’d send us a link on Frame.io and we could distribute that amongst our different department heads. They’re also very responsive via text messages, phone calls, and email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They generate solid ideas, and they’re committed to high-quality outcomes. It’s very clear that they don’t want to associate themselves with any low-quality projects. They take their brand and fingerprint on projects very seriously. 

Also, they’ve been able to bring a lot of extra resources to the table when we need them. For example, they’ve been willing to invest in certain equipment. If they don’t have it and they want a certain effect, they’ll go the extra mile to make sure they get it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re on a retainer basis with them, and they could improve their documentation around hours used and what they’re working on. They don’t have the best solution around billing and hours logged. They just use an Excel spreadsheet, which is fine. 

However, part of that is our fault because we built such a good relationship with them now that we allow a lot of autonomy to work in the way that they do. We don’t scrutinize their time allocation or hours. We’ve been super satisfied with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Provide them with a lot of context. Give them homework. Prior to engaging them, give them a list of as much write-up as possible.

Provide them with documented direction whether it’s writing in Google Sheets or showing a video of yourself explaining what you’re trying to do. They consume your communication, direction, and vision really well. They’re responsive, and they’ll return with a lot of ideas, a fresh vision, and added direction.