VCM Interactive

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the account manager for an industrial services company. We do industrial nondestructive testing or inspection of pipelines, steel, steel mills, components, cars, planes, trains, and nuclear facilities.

What challenge were you trying to address with VCM Interactive?

We wanted a company to help us produce computer-aided design (CAD) drawings of specialized support for one of our inspections. 

We did ultrasonic thickness surveys of a steel mill and the client required that the results were put into a color-coded format in which every reading represented a certain thickness of the steel.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I reached out to VCM since they have the capacity to take our readings and convert them into a color-coded CAD drawing. We needed to represent the thicknesses that we found in the components that we were testing. At the end of the project, VCM provided us with a fully customized CAD drawing of the component we are testing with a color overlay on top of the drawing.

What is the team composition?

Paul (President) is my main point of contact, but I also work with other 2–3 partners.

How did you come to work with VCM Interactive?

We found VCM online. They were one of my first phone calls since it seemed like they had the capacity to do what we needed. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested $200,000 in the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

Once we received the results from the initial test, we did a lot of back and forth. We modified the color palettes and different minor adjustments. At the end of the day, our customer was happy with the results.

Their work was able to give my client a much quicker picture of the assessment of their components. Instead of looking at numbers, they were able to look at colors and an actual picture of the components, allowing them to establish where they need to focus the repairing efforts every year. 

How did VCM Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

I enjoy their responses and the way they react to our requests. I was also able to sit down with Paul in his office and lay everything out.

What did you find most impressive about them?

VCM's team responds very quickly. They usually complete the task that's given to them within the same day, and they're a great company to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

VCM was very accommodating to our needs, but maybe some reduction in pricing wouldn’t be bad. Currently, the market's asking for reductions in pricing due to the economy, and they're working on that to see what they can do to help reduce the cost to our client.

Other than that there really doesn't need to be any change in their workflow. I would work with them every year — no question.

Any advice for potential customers?

A face-to-face meeting is very important. I know nowadays we're resorting to a lot of online meetings and calls, but I think it's a better way to approach things when you sit down and meet someone in person.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am COO of a television and video production house headquartered in the greater Toronto area.

For what projects/services did your company hire VCM Interactive?

We engaged VCM to design and produce a short series of 2D animated B2B videos for use online by a major global client.

What were your goals for this project?

The main objective was to convey some abstract and complex business principles for users of the client’s website, in an entertaining and easy to understand way.

How did you select VCM Interactive?

We reached out to a small number of handpicked suppliers and obtained competitive bids for the work based on a common set of requirements. VCM provided the most competitive bid backed up by a similar and high quality body of work.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail.

There were a series of creative stages which involved character design, storyboarding, 2D animation, narration casting and recording, music spotting and mixing.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

VCM provided a senior executive throughout the project for regular consultation.

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

Despite delays in the project brought on partly by the impact of the global pandemic on our international client, VCM was able to respond rapidly to unpredictable and sporadic input and successfully deliver the finished product.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The timeline for the project became much more elongated than expected, putting pressure on the project in terms of budget assumptions and inconsistent communications from the international client; however, VCM was able to rise to the challenge and work dynamically towards a successful outcome.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

VCM was responsive and adaptable in challenging circumstances, while always presenting a professional outlook and creative output that required very little direction or re-working during the drafting and editing processes.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were pleased VCM’s end for the project outcome, without any notable course corrections needed in hindsight.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an Indoor Air Quality Manufacturer specializing in a development and manufacturing of products for residential and commercial applications. This is a family owned business focused on product quality, performance and great customer service. Our mission is to help people live better indoors.

For what projects/services did your company hire VCM Interactive?

In this new digital world with information overloaded internet, we realized that we needed more effective tools to market our brand and our products. We reached out to VCM as their values, company mantra and their understanding of video marketing spoke to us.

We needed one of our high end products to become more visible and reach more homeowners through a warm, inviting, yet technology focused video.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create a product video that would create the value and understanding the importance of investment at the consumer level. We asked VCM to help us create a video which can be uploaded on our website, YouTube and other social media to create the product awareness.

How did you select VCM Interactive?

I searched online for Video Production Companies that would be local. I found a few so i visited each website, read the profiles, looked at video portfolios and read each company's services. VCM Interactive portfolio and their philosophy appealed to me so I reached out to Paul by email. The VCM Interactive was the 1st one I reach out to and after the phone conversation with Paul, we have decided to work with his team.

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail.

The VCM Interactive was very professional, detailed oriented and timely from the beginning to the end of the production. Paul and his team studied our website and products. They even researched our competitors so they would have a deeper understanding of the industry we are in.

They took the job very seriously and asked for a guidance when it was needed. Once we prepared the script they worked with us on visualization, portraying of the message and script editing. VCM took on all the 3D creations and visualizations of the scenes. When we asked for edits or changes in their 3D scenes they followed our requests thoroughly.

Collectively we searched for short video footages and pictures to enhance the message we wanted to portray throughout the video. Paul kept in touch with us on regular basis to make sure the video production is on schedule and all the scenes are done according to our wishes.

We were even brought into the virtual sound studio to have an opportunity to guide the voice over for our video. It was a unique and wonderful experience.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

The entire process of video production was thorough and detailed. We were contacted by email and phone regularly to make sure the production is going according to the plans and script. We were always asked for an input or feedback before all the steps within each scene were produced and / or finalized.

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

We have just finished the video and will be posting it on our social media. I have shown it privately to some of our customers as well as friends and so far the reactions and feedback have been very positive. One comment from our customer was - "This video is as good as it can get!"

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Paul who is our main contact at VCM Interactive has been very professional and thorough. Paul is very thoughtful and he follows up with gentle reminders when a customer falls behind on responses or feedbacks.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I enjoyed working with VCM Interactive as their quality of work is impressive. The video they made for us is warm, inviting yet shows the technical side of the technology in the product. We are very happy with their work and our video turned out lovely.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't have any comments on this at this point.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a sales head of a nutritional products company.

What challenge were you trying to address with VCM Interactive?

We wanted a video to promote our brand.

What was the scope of their involvement?

VCM Interactive produced our video. They helped us with the script, music, composition, editing, and graphics. The deliverables were a high definition video along with other assets that related to the video.

What is the team composition?

I was in contact with Paul (President).

How did you come to work with VCM Interactive?

I found them through a Google search for a video production company. I interacted with Paul, he was very sensible and knowledgeable. He gave us a good direction on how to position our video and how to increase the brand value of our products.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested $15,000–$18,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement ran from November 2020–February 2021.

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

It’s too soon for metrics, but we're happy with the video.

How did VCM Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

VCM Iteractive worked in a very collaborative way showing their work in a transparent way at every stage. They shared the style frames, the initial 2-3 minute video, and worked in the best interest of the client.

We communicated via email and calls. Paul answered anytime I called.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service is impressive. Their interest was never compromised.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I’d have them improve. They clearly wanted to make the customer happy. They tried to drive the video in the direction the client wanted.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you don’t know anything about video production, this would be a good start. They’ll brush you up with knowledge. They’re informative and let you know how things work.