BSTRO

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work as an Associate Brand Manager for The Nature's Bounty Co. on the Solgar brand. We sell natural vitamins and supplements to retailers and consumers both in the US and internationally and were founded in 1947.

For what projects/services did your company hire BSTRO?

Our brand was stuck in the past with print marketing and needed to refresh our digital presence and introduce new consumers to our brand.

BSTRO worked with our team to oversee our website re-design, brand messaging, blog writing, email campaigns, social media management, video campaign production, and paid digital media.

What were your goals for this project?

For the website re-design, our goal was to complete the project in 3 months in order to begin to effectively engage with a new demographic of online consumers who were looking for thought leadership in product education, guidance in e-commerce purchasing, and a better understanding of our brand story communicated with a fresh voice.

How did you select BSTRO?

BSTRO had been working with our Canadian brand Sisu to manage their social media channels, so we scheduled an extensive audit of the Solgar brand with the BSTRO team and our marketing team.

Upon completing this audit and meeting the BSTRO team, we determined BSTRO was not only capable of accomplishing our digital goals, but would be the perfect partner to lead our brand into the digital age.

Describe the project in detail.

The scope of the website re-design project involved selecting a flexible wireframe, reviewing design concepts, developing creative assets, preparing the back-end UX and coding to connect to our internal systems, and integrating third party plug-ins/scripts into the site functionality.

I was the marketing operations lead for this project and worked hand in hand with BSTRO to develop the new site. We contributed our brand's current marketing copy, as well as brand guidelines and BSTRO helped to fine tune these assets and bring them to life across the entire site.

What was the team composition?

BSTRO's team involved roughly 3-4 individuals who helped our team stay on task with the project, develop creative assets, write the coding script, transition our site into the WordPress environment, and collaborate with our IT and legal teams to execute the launch.

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

Upon launching the new website, site speed saw an increase from 8 second page load times to 4 second page load times. The new site also increased visits by 260% with 88% of those people being new visitors.

BSTRO helped us integrate a Buy Online option into our site for the first time, which directly impacted our e-commerce sales. Site session time also increased by around 150% which directly correlates to our goals for education within the site.

Our bounce rates also decreased significantly and now hover around 17%, which is far below the industry benchmark.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The BSTRO team are thought leaders when it comes to digital marketing. They have also always been attentive to our team’s needs and flexible when shifts in priorities happen.

It has been a pleasure working with each member of the BSTRO team and I look forward to continued success as we forge ahead.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

BSTRO never bats an eye at a deadline, while still providing an exceptional result that feels like it was in the works for years. Quality does not suffer, regardless of the timeline BSTRO is given.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager for EarthKind, which makes natural pest repellents and pest-prevention products.

What challenge were you trying to address with BSTRO?

We were looking to improve the UX of our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assessed the current state of our website. Then, they found areas for improvement and walked us through a step-by-step plan. They mapped out what plug-ins, hardware, and software we would need.

They implemented several design and development improvements, but they also assisted us in doing some of it ourselves. They improved our pages’ load speed, simplified site navigation, and streamlined the checkout process. The team conducted user testing to gather feedback about the site’s ease of use.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a team of 2–5 people.

How did you come to work with BSTRO?

Since I was not involved in the selection process, I don’t have that information.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began in August 2018 and they provide ongoing support. They’re also helping with digital content creation.

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

Thanks to their work, we’ve seen great growth in our conversion rates. The site improvements have been outstanding, and the process of working with them has been delightful. They always provide data-driven suggestions and solutions, so all of their choices were reasonable and eventually successful.

How did perform from a project management standpoint?

They were exceptional. They were very easy to communicate with, and they kept us informed on all processes. They were very adaptable when any changes were required. We used Slack to be in continuous contact.

What did you find most impressive about them?

All of their suggestions were backed by concrete data. And, if an initiative didn’t work out for any reason, there were no bruised egos or unnecessary tension. They were very professional and happy to make whatever changes needed for a successful project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just stick to the facts. You can accomplish great things when there aren’t any feelings involved.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a consumer electrics company specializing in streaming devices and video. We sell our product worldwide. I am the creative director of the marketing organization, and manage a team of about nine in-house designers.

What challenge were you trying to address with BSTRO?

We needed to reformat our email template design for weekly email blasts to customers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They pitched ideas, did a lot of work on redesign, and collaborated with our web development team. They provided several useful templates, and we made changes. We used them for quite a while, and still use some of their design language.

As part of the interview process, they presented concepts for redesigning and rebranding our website. We hired them for that a few years ago, along with a couple other agencies. As to the technology involved, they built up Photoshop comps and worked with our engineers on our platform in Drupal. They added functionality for new products on our site, and helped us merchandise new products and resolve UX [user experience] issues.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with their whole team on both projects, including the creative and art directors, designers, writers, and account managers.

How did you come to work with BSTRO?

I had a fun experience working with them at another company, where we worked together on microsites for about three years. They weren’t the only company in the running for this project, but I wanted to hire them again.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked them for a couple of years, beginning in 2012.

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

Our company redesigns periodically, but we kept their designs and inspirations in our emails and webpages for at least a year and a half. The open rates for their email templates were very effective, and I never had to make adjustments make to their design or the UX work. They provided a cleaner, more modern look, and made information easier to find.

How did BSTRO perform from a project management standpoint?

They were responsive and readily available, and they really embedded with our web development team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re small and agile, and turn work around quickly. We had one-on-one attention, which was especially helpful for a smaller company with a busy launch schedule. Their workflow was helpful, and everyone is involved. The account team that presented to us was the creative team we actually worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their ability to produce copy was lacking when we worked with them, but I think they’ve improved since.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the vice president of marketing at BrightSign, which is a digital signage media player manufacturer. We are based in Los Gatos, California. 

What challenge were you trying to address with BSTRO?

I joined BrightSign 5 ½ years ago and needed to revamp all the marketing materials, the website, and the look and feel of everything except our logo. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

When I was a consultant for BrightSign at the end of 2011, I brought in BSTRO to redesign our print brochure. Once I joined BrightSign in January 2012, we began the redesign of the website with BSTRO’s help. The original website was done in-house. There’s an e-commerce aspect to the website, but as a business, we primarily sell through the Pro AV channel. The website focuses more on branding and education than e-sales.

We slightly changed the color of the logo based on BSTRO’s recommendation, which has saved us tons of money. Previously, we were trying to match an odd pantone. We changed the logo to a basic purple that was much easier to find when buying t-shirts or anything like that.

In addition to working on the website, they also created email templates for outbound communications and website banner ads. They helped with copy and print materials as well. We use them every time we launch a new product, update the brochure, or do a new digital marketing campaign. I have them on retainer.

What is the team dynamic?

The team includes an account manager, at least 1 designer, and a copywriter. For the website, they had 3 design teams and gave me 3 completely different options. That was probably the biggest project I did with them.

How did you come to work with BSTRO?

I first reached out to them because I knew the owner from a previous job. They impressed me, so I didn’t look any further.

How much have you invested with them?

They were super flexible about the cost. They initially quoted about $40,000 but agreed to work with me using the budget that I could get, which was $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started collaborating in January 2012, and the work is ongoing.

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

They’ve been very responsive and listened carefully to our needs. Since 2012, we’ve relaunched all our products. In early 2016, we did a complete overhaul of the website and the materials to give everything a new look. That took a lot of discussion and explanation. They were great. In my experience, an agency that’s been with us for a long time sometimes has difficulty moving away from their original design. I really appreciated working with them on the relaunch because they listened and changed everything according to our discussions. They’re super talented. One of the original designers is still on the team, and we chose his design yet again because it was so original.

We don’t track online sales. Only about 5% of our products are sold online. We had an increase in traffic based on the new launch, as well as the online campaign we did to drive awareness. That included the banners and emails.

How did BSTRO perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fantastic. They always hit their deadlines and have great communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They did a print ad for me and were copied on the email thread from the publication. The account manager from BSTRO reached out to me a few days before the ad was due, saying, “You’ve got to provide materials on Friday. Just wanted to remind you we need to finish this up.” I had forgotten that the materials were due, so that reminder was really helpful. They go above and beyond in their attentiveness.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any suggestions. They’re the best agency I’ve ever worked with. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a senior brand manager of a pharmaceutical company. I was the lead for our CRM initiative in leading a multi-brand execution for a major CPG [Consumer Packaged Goods].

What challenge were you trying to address with BSTRO?

We were looking to do different things. We needed help with email and social media marketing. We wanted to drive acquisition to our CRM, and in others it was to drive purchase at retail.

What was the scope of their involvement?

BSTRO helped us with email marketing, social media marketing, as well as our ad banners, and they also led with some of our content creation. They led our email strategy with regard to subject line testing, the creative that goes into maximising click-through and click-to-open, as well as our social media creative.

I had people who were responsible for our digital marketing, and we also had a separate agency who did our overall CRM strategies with regard to segmentation. They played very well in the sandbox together, among other agencies, and created a one-team feel, so it didn’t feel like there were a couple of agencies vying who was going to win the strategy war. It was people who worked really well in a collaborative environment to help put our brand interest first.

What is the team dynamic?

There were around 5 people associated with our business in total, including my main lead connection to BSTRO. We had some people that led the project management, coordinated the content creation, led our banner creation, created social media strategies, and things like that.  

The team were nimble and smart, kept up to date, and brought insight to us without us asking for it in advance. They delivered a fresh approach, and sometimes pushed us in places that we wouldn’t have ordinarily gone, but we have been happy with the results.

How did you come to work with BSTRO?

BSTRO were already supporting the other businesses in our company, and were highly recommended for being able to high-quality work very quickly, which is what we were looking for. We have kept them on as our activation agency for multiple campaigns.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2014, and they continue to be the agency we use for our CRM endeavours.

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

I thought their quality was good. I feel they were always very receptive to feedback and did a good job.

We are able to demonstrate improvements in our click-to-open and click-through rates through the course of time. The fact that we have retained them as long as we have, speaks to the fact that we have been very pleased with their work, if not, we would have changed.

How did BSTRO perform from a project management standpoint?

My team would have been the ones that managed the deadline component, but I feel like BSTRO would always go above and beyond to try make sure deadlines were hit.

Last year, we were looking to create an ad banner for one of our brands. It came in from our sister brand’s agency in a format that BSTRO knew would not be acceptable with Facebook. Even under a pretty fast deadline, they reworked it to make sure that it met the Brilliant Basics framework of Facebook, and submitted it in time. They were proactive around identifying the issue, solved it, and met the deadline. They are very good about managing that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach to content was very refreshing in the digital format. They took content we had on our site and reworked it making it much more vivid and compelling, and it suited our consumer database more. It is something unique to them that they were able to make that happen, and did so in a very cost-effective manner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Occasionally, some of the copywriting wasn’t as fresh as I would have liked it to be. Their creative is good, their copywriting sometimes needs a little bit of finessing. On the whole, I have been very impressed with their work.