TDMK Digital

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of digital media for a consumer electronics standards and trade organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TDMK Digital?

We were trying to create a new mobile application and experience via our show app for CES [The International Consumer Electronics Show] with TDMK Digital. The target audience was show attendees at CES. The reason the app was being built was to help attendees navigate the show floor and see what’s available in conference programs and other events that were going on during the event.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired TDMK Digital to redesign and build the app to make it really functional for the attendees and to make it look a little better than it had in the past. It had been very cookie-cutter and standardized, so we wanted to be more forward-thinking with the app design. They presented us with designs as part of the RFP process, we discussed the designs, and they refined them from there. It was built for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. They did some stuff for marketing, but we mostly did a lot of our own marketing.

How did you come to work with TDMK Digital?

I sent out an RFP, and their response was really good. It had designs and thought-through processes on how the whole thing was going to work. They really did a great job on the proposal. Also, I had a personal relationship with Geng [Founder, TDMK Digital] prior to them working for us.

How much have you invested with TDMK Digital?

The first year was gratis. We spent $35,000, maybe $40,000 with them. It was super reasonable. They really wanted to do the app and have CES under their belt.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March of 2014. They did the work for the January 2015 and 2016 shows. After the 2016 show, we redid the RFP process as usual for our business and went with a different firm. I know that Geng was taking his system in a different way, so the company has not used them for a year. That app has been turned off. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

We had certain sections that were really positive like the discovery part of the app, which is all about news and stories. That was really good. We had some growing pains the first year, but a lot of things got smoothed out by the second year with a much better product. However, I can’t disclose any user feedback. Because I’m no longer with the company, I don’t have access to that information; even if I did, I couldn’t disclose it because it’s a proprietary survey.

How did TDMK Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well. They were on top of things. They were communicative and very responsive to our emails. When we had an issue, they were there. There were some third-party data integrations that they had to work with. They stayed on top of it, working through those solutions with that company. We communicated through Basecamp, but we also had emails and weekly calls to discuss the status of the project and our next phase.

What did you find most impressive about TDMK Digital?

Overall, their designs were really good, which is probably their strongest point. After that, I would have to say their project management was also really good.

Are there any areas TDMK Digital could improve?

I think the one thing was working with several different data pulls. We had some issues there. It’s not just them; we have worked with other companies and knew that there were issues there. But, I think that being able to see what the data are and the right way to pull them would be really helpful. Also, they could work on time estimates because we missed a couple of deadlines. Everybody gets under pressure sometimes, so I’m not really going to call them out for that.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with TDMK Digital?

Sit down and make sure that you have everything that you need before starting to work with them. For example, I would make sure that I have all the documentation on data if I were pulling data, or that I have the absolute specs that they needed. I would leave a longer time period between the start and the completion of the project. One of the issues with an event-based app is you only have a certain amount of time before the next event, so you have to rush some things. If I were to work with them again, I would make sure that we had everything set far in advance before we started the actual work.