Lift Interactive Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I have Gisele Kreuger Consulting, and we've created The Winner Will, which is our first product. It's called The Winner Will – Peak Under Pressure. I've been doing this work for about 10 years, but I've solidified it, branded it, and taken it to the next level, instead of just my time for money. We have created an online course, a learning manual, and I've written a book. The Winner Will helps elite student athletes remove obstacles that impede their performance, so they can reach their full potential in sports, school, and life. That's essentially our model.

What is your position?

I'm the creator and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lift Interactive?

At one point, I was working with a woman who named The Winner Will. She was a namer down in California. I had a graphic designer here in Calgary who said that my graphics and logo weren't right for the project, so she tried to get my logo, and it was just not going anywhere. While I really liked my designer here, she was right. It was not capturing who I am and the essence of what we were saying The Winner Will is.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Micah [Slavens, cofounder of Lift Interactive] put his top people on it, Chris Provins [Lift Interactive's Director of Brand] and [designer] Katie Owen. He was a senior graphic designer and ideas man. I went up to visit Lift in Edmonton for a day. We said, "This is who we are, this is what we do," and Chris just got it. He was like, "I want to do The Winner Will. I'm with you, so let's start." He nailed it: color, logo, and font. I would describe something, and he would come up with the most brilliant idea.

You should see the manual now. It's so beautiful. It's so simple – simple but not easy. It's clear and it's clean. Chris just got me and was able to put into print form exactly the essence of The Winner Will, and he did a book cover for me. We haven't published the book yet.

We don't really know what we're doing. We're not flying by the seat of our pants. We have a plan, but we don't know what we don't know. Something will come up, and they will just be there for me.

We do all our work through Basecamp. It's very convenient. I'll just say, "Look, I need this in three days, or tomorrow because I'm going out to film," and they'll just do it. That's when he brought on Katie because he's so busy and Katie is just as creative, just as available, and just as good. I just have nothing but great things to say. I believe their price is very fair. They have amazing expertise, and I am willing to pay for the value that I'm getting. I believe their cost is fair.

We chose not to go with them for web design because it just needed to be closer. Our guy, he is the Canadian photographer and videographer of the year five times. The guy is brilliant, and he does web design, so it just made sense that he's doing all our video. He is running the learning management system for the online course. Just to keep it all in one place just made sense that way. They sent all the files to him. Anything he's wanted, they've done it.

They were very cool with that. They responded with "Hey, whatever works for you. We'll do this part." I knew I couldn't lose them as graphic designer. They didn't even blink.  I'm not a big client. I pay my bills, but they have way bigger clients than me. They didn't need my website business, but they were so cooperative and open to working with my guy, to give him all the graphics and the things he needed for the website. I was very grateful with that. They were like, "OK, let us know. We'll send out stuff to him," and it's just been like that all the way.

How did you come to work with Lift Interactive?

I know of Micah, who owns the business, and Kristi [Slavens, also owner of Lift Interactive]. We're very good friends with Kristi's family, who's on our board of directors for The Winner Will. Micah came to mind, and I phoned him. He was all in.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

On average, I was paying around $1,000 a month for the work that they've been doing. Some months, it was $900, some months it was $1,500 but, on average, it was about $1,000 a month for their time and their expertise. We're very excited to generate some income on this business because it cost us a lot, but what we get is so beautiful. I just went out to Winnipeg and worked with a university team there, and they asked, "Who did this manual? Who created this?" The value is, to me, on par with the cost.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in July 2014. I will work with them probably for the rest of my life. As long as I'm producing product, they'll be doing it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did Lift Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

I would say, anytime in business you look at quality, schedule, and budget. My priority is quality because we're not in dire need of the business generating income right away. Whenever I've had a scheduled deadline, they've met it, and like I said, I feel like the budget is on par for what I'm receiving and the value of what I'm getting. I feel like they really get it. Chris will always come back and say, "This is what I heard you say. Here's what your job is, here's what our job is. Done." It's always reiterated and very clear.

What distinguishes Lift Interactive from other providers?

Lift Interactive is cutting edge. They're always learning. They don't feel like they have the monopoly on ideas, but they really are strong in who they are, and they believe what they have is valuable. They know who they are and they are valuable, but they are not so arrogant to say, "Well, we're the best." They're always getting better. They tell me that, together, we're going to create something beautiful that is going to be amazing. I really felt that from the very beginning.

They have a very growth mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset. Growth mindset is they're OK to fail. It really is OK to fail because they're going to learn from it. That's how they position it. Like, "If this isn't working for you, just tell us. We're there." It was just such an open, creative process.

I'm very creative in ideas, and I know what I like when I see it, but I can't create it myself. Working with them, they allowed me to put everything out there, and nothing was a dumb idea. They encouraged all the input. To me, that's their strength. They're very progressive and modern. Their feel is very family. They care about their employees. Their employees are happy, so that's what you get. I think that's pretty crucial, too. I think they look after their people.

Is there anything Lift Interactive could have improved or done differently?

Not really – to be honest. I can't think of anything because I've been so overly happy and overly satisfied with their product.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a publisher that is part of a larger company and our flagship publication is a weekly business newspaper. We also have an associated website, and we publish about 14 annual magazines that serve different business sectors, such as event planning, property management, and the tech industry.

What is your position?

I’m the vice president of operations within the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lift Interactive?

We had an existing website, which was on a platform that our company was migrating from. We were being serviced by a centralized corporate web team, but they were resource-challenged. The technology they were moving to wasn’t a good choice for us, so we sought an outside vendor.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We hired Lift to design, develop, and launch a new site for us. Currently, they continue to service us as a support team. They developed the site using Django as the framework, and Armstrong as the content management system. They also had to do plenty of content mapping and data import. We’re considered a typical news site, publishing about ten new pieces of content daily.

Our content includes an events calendar on the website for our events, which is also open to the local business community to post their own. We have a data section, where we have ranked industry lists that are sortable, searchable, and downloadable. There is also a video section, since we have a couple of reporters that appear on TV every day. We put those clips on the site, along with some interview videos as well. Beyond that, the rest is composed of articles with text and images.  

How did you come to work with Lift Interactive?

We didn’t do a big, external search because Lift had worked with another part of our company. They had designed and developed a website for a different division, so we were familiar with their work through that project. It was a preference of my superiors, that if Lift was a good fit for us, we should proceed with them. 

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The whole project cost $100,000, which included all the background research and discovery. We also have them on a retainer each month for the ongoing support.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in early 2014, and the relationship is ongoing. We don’t have an in-house team of developers, so we use them to maintain the site and to do any necessary development for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

From a revenue standpoint, we profit primarily from display advertising and sponsored content campaigns that we deliver on the site, and our revenue has gone up. It’s hard to relate it directly to the site, since there are all kinds of sales activity, but it has increased consistently. Our traffic to the site since launch has increased as well. We have seasonal variations, but it continues to go up over time. We believe that the increase in these two metrics has a lot to do with the product. It’s a big improvement in comparison to the last site.

We are able to serve our paying subscribers, who access portions of the site that are locked down, much better. We also sell print subscriptions through the site, and the user experience there has been increased greatly. That means less phone and email time for our staff, and more transactions on the site.

How did Lift Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

I had no issues with them delivering on time. I saw good, tight management from their end. We have a project manager working with us regularly to handle our requests and then apply them to the right person on their end.

What distinguishes Lift Interactive from other providers?

I think their greatest strength is that they’re very open, and they listen carefully to our needs without being prescriptive at all. They’re really good at helping us find solutions. When we give them a problem, they figure out a technical and strategic solution for it. Also, they can cover a lot of things with a small team, and the people in each position are greatly skilled.

Is there anything Lift Interactive could have improved or done differently?

The only thing missing, for me, is a stronger strategy around continual site optimization. However, it’s also a matter of us putting the funds forth to get this service from them. Our biggest challenge as a new site is deepening the engagement people have on our site. Since we are a publisher that’s basically selling attention to advertisers, site engagement is key. This is what we require more of and I know they can fill that need. It’s just an issue of finding the money to get more of their time.

I would also appreciate it if they had more marketing talent on their team. So if I were to go to them to build a website, they would help us launch it and do the marketing activity around the launch, along with the ongoing audience development. This would address my needs more comprehensively.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an access matting, surface rentals, and reclamation and remediation company that works in fields and construction areas and other limited access areas.

What is your position?

I am the manager of assets and technologies, and Lift helped me with that. That's what they were brought in for.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lift Interactive?

They were approached prior to me coming to the company, I just kind of took over. What we were looking for was real-time mobile asset tracking movement, as our product isn't traceable by RFIDs [radio-frequency identification] or anything like that because they're large and dirty and get handled roughly. The technologies for RFID wasn't available, so they were approached to come up with a solution for us.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They built our mobile asset tracking system, which is a web-based software that we've now since implemented with management contracts with some of our clients. Some of our clients are using they system that has been developed through us and Lift.

Our loader operators and pull operators that work in the field have iPads, and they enter the data for each truckload when they ship it, and then they have a send and receive, so a guy at the other end receives the MATs. Our system is usually working 24 hours, it's up to date. It's a MAT tracking and reporting software.

We have Python-based databases, obviously all web-based, and then it had to be compatible through Google Chrome. It's compatible with many formats, including Android and Apple. We have joint ventures with Apple, so the iPad is our predominant driver.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We have an ongoing hosting, and then the fee. I think we pay is $2,000 or $2,500 a month. The development of the app was about $12,000. It's been three years of a great relationship, and they have to put up with me, so it's good.

What is the status of this engagement?

The relationship is ongoing. They've also developed an app for us for the same system. Due to challenges with being in fields and remote locations, cellphone coverage isn't always available. They developed the app, which we are looking to launch pretty quick.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

When we presented it to our client base as value-added, we're able to track their MATs as well, it's allowed us to gain client base because it differentiates us from others in many ways. As far as what it's been worth to us, honestly, it's in the millions, probably.

How did Lift Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

They've done very well. Obviously, when you're dealing with budgets, you always hope that everybody comes in cheaper, but they haven't been overly excessive, and they always communicated if something goes over. For example, the development of the app, I ended up having to make some changes prior to us launching it, so we added some to the budget. It's usually very reasonable, they're very willing to work with us.

We've had clients that are interested in having items delivered quickly, and Lift Interactive is always good at getting those accomplished and changed in a timely manner. They understand the industry is fast paced, compared to some other sectors. I know I'm not their only guy, so I'm understanding to them, too. Obviously, I wish they could do things tomorrow, but it's usually within a couple days.

What distinguishes Lift Interactive from other providers?

As we've done well, so have others, so we're always competing against that company. I think they're doing well because they keep us competing with another company, which is good for a company in our field. I think they've got a great work area and a great crew in there. Actually, we just went to their open house for new offices a couple of weeks ago, and everybody's pretty pumped about what's going on there. When people are happy to be wherever they're going, that's usually a good indication.

Is there anything Lift Interactive could have improved or done differently?

As a customer? I mean, it can always cheaper and faster. But, no, they've been very good to us. They have been willing to make suggestions – that's one of the big factors. I think the only thing would be engaging more with their clients as far as, "OK, now that we've got a great idea of what you do, how can we make it better?' Them reaching out instead of me reaching out – it might be that. Honestly, they're busy, too. If they're not reaching out and I'm not asking for anything, it usually means we're OK for now.

I've enjoyed working with them. They put up with me knowing just old programming and knowing garbage-in, garbage-out. I'd say I can usually understand where they're coming from, so I can explain the timelines to people who don't understand them. That's usually where I'm coming from. We never had any challenges.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The organization is called Tourism Jasper, which is the official destination marketing organization for Jasper, Alberta, and Jasper National Park, Canada. We work with a collective membership to promote the destination of Jasper to our target audience of a regional market, as well as long haul and international markets. We are the marketing organization for Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

What is your position?  

I am the director of marketing and communications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lift Interactive?

As of May of this year [2015], we had launched a new brand, so we've undergone two and a half years of research intercept surveys with visitors, media, and tour operators in and outside of Jasper. At the time, in early 2015, we were undergoing a rebuild of our entire website from the ground up, to match our new brand, which was rolling out in May. Working with them has been tremendous. I can't say enough about them.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Essentially, they took the brand story that was really at that time still in development, before it was finalized, and started building a website based on this new brand. The website itself launched in May of this year.

How did you come to work with Lift Interactive?

We had reached out to several companies, including Lift Interactive. They were ultimately successful in their proposal to us. It was a great decision on our end to move ahead with them.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Our monthly retainer with them runs about $4,000. Our web development project came in well under budget. We had budgeted in the neighborhood of $130,000 for the entire project. By the time we were all said and done, I believe we netted at around $55,000 or $60,000. Again, one of the benefits we found, aside from the ease of doing business with them, was that they came in well under the budget we had forecasted.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial project has absolutely been completed. After the initial project, we sat down as teams and decided our course of action moving forward. At the time, we were also working with another digital agency; however, we parted ways with them in favor of continuing our work with Lift.

We do have an ongoing retainer agreement with Lift, we are still clients of theirs. They also work with us on a project-by-project basis, whether it's digital-focused marketing campaigns or initiatives, or monthly upkeep of the website. Right now, we're working on a project to introduce multiple languages on our website, to make it available in international markets. These are additional projects we are working with Lift on.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

For us, it's an interesting business model. Some other destinations, where they have a booking engine or a booking widget on their site, are able to track direct visitors booking into the destination. However, we do not have a booking engine. Our membership group did not want a booking engine, which is completely fine, it's just the direction that our organization took.

For us, the metrics that we are measured on, from a business standpoint, are outgoing leads to our membership, to our shareholders as well as visitation to the website. From May 1, the day that the website launched, to today, year over year that is up 40 percent. In terms of our shareholder leads, we worked with Lift on a completely new structure for how we are going to track these. Quarter 2 and quarter 3, which we've just wrapped up, compared to quarter 1 this year, we're up about 140 percent in terms of these shareholder leads.

For us, this is the best metric we can measure. This is what we are sending to our membership and to their website, for consumers to follow the path to purchase and then book, whether it's a hotel, an activity, or a tour operator. This is what we're able to be measured on.

We also spent time with Lift Interactive through the design process, in building a bit of a traffic acquisition plan, to start measuring three different types of visitors on our website: those who create awareness or generate buzz – obviously for us that's more site visitors; then, we have those that have a conversion, whether it's looking at an event, an activity, or an attraction; then, we also have those outbound referrals, so connecting visitors with local businesses. Those are our core metrics.

We built a three-pronged approach with Lift to measure success. From an analytic standpoint, it's hard to find anything that has been impacted adversely because of the work that we've done. The areas where we're focused, we continue to grow past and beyond our expectations. We spent a lot of time in this process on the user interface, the visitor experience on the website, how we can work with shareholders to manage their expectations as well as our own expectations. All of that was taken into consideration, along with the new brand, and then executed by Lift and their development and design teams.

How did Lift Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

Lift Interactive came in well under budget. From a financial standpoint, we can't thank them enough for that. From a project management standpoint, they were great. They assigned us a project manager, who we still work with on all of our ongoing projects. It's just been a great relationship.

We're four hours away from Edmonton, which is where Lift is based. There aren’t many options in Jasper for a company like Lift. in fact, there are really zero options in Jasper. Managing this is all done through phone conversations. They use Basecamp as their project management software, and they've looped us into all those conversations. It's been effective for us, managing essentially a long-distance relationship with them. It's tremendous in terms of what we've seen.

What distinguishes Lift Interactive from other providers?

In reading their proposal that they sent to us, the principal from Lift, Micah [Slavens], and his family have been attending the Jasper Dark Sky Festival, which is one of our signature events in Jasper. They've been coming here since the event started five years ago. We had no idea who he was, that he was coming to the event, but he is extremely passionate about the product. Every time I've gone to talk to them, the passion has been there.

I don't know a lot of the other projects and can't speak for them directly. However, I can certainly say when he's demoing or gets excited about an idea, he can talk to it with his passion and business hat on. I think that that's really powerful, especially for a destination where a consumer has so many options as to where they're going to take their vacation. To have someone on the inside and on our team, who is as passionate as we are about the destination – that benefits us. It's a huge benefit to have someone like that on our team.

That's Micah, he's the one in charge, and I don't talk to him every day for sure, but I feel that passion amongst their whole team. I would say that sets them apart from any other potential web agency. That stood out to us in the proposal that they sent us, and has stood out to us everyday working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Our family business is a clothing retailer. We have a formal department, a menswear department, and a uniform department. We sell retail clothing, we do rentals in formal wear, we wholesale, and we do uniforms.

What is your position and responsibilities?

I am the menswear director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lift Interactive?

We decided to rebrand our menswear department. Specifically where we partnered with Lift was to identify our customer base and do logo design as well as cards and a few other things. We've been working on a couple other projects with them right now, but we've put them on hold just because of a few pending issues that we need to address. We completed our branding project probably about two months ago. One of the gentlemen who works at Lift Chris, did some concepts, and they came out perfect.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

As far as the branding project goes, we had a font family, and we had purchased a logo. Essentially, they did some research, and we gave them a whole bunch of history of our company. He met with us three or four times before, and then we went through the process of doing the rebranding. During about a month period, we went back and forth to determine the concepts of what we liked and what would work for our company and us.

We did the branding identity guide from front to back. The other big thing we did, which was great, was a back-end entry to a brand identity guide. It actually gives you guidelines on our brand, how to use our logo, the font family and everything like that. Previously, with other companies that we've worked with, we didn't have anyone send us anything like that, and the simplicity of being able to share something like that. From my perspective, it was progressive from what we're normally dealing with on a local level for companies.

How did you come to work with Lift Interactive?

Actually, it was through a friend of mine. One of the guys who worked there had done some work for a few of my friends. They own a restaurant and a bar, and he had done their logo design, and actually helped them design some of their patio and a few other things. I had met Chris a couple times, and I said we should sit down and chat. It was more word of mouth than anything, it wasn't really sourcing it online or anything like that. Their offices moved down the street from us, so that was a coincidental thing. I did some research before they moved, and then we started working together.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I believe the price range for the project was $4,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them about four months ago. The first project has been completed. There are a couple other projects that we've talked about but, just for timing purposes, we've had to put them on hold.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I guess realistically, the big part of the project was the thoroughness of having a top-to-bottom product. Lift Interactive was able to identify that it wasn't just a logo that we were looking for. It was to kind of give a full identity to the company. Doing that research, having a couple meetings, going back and forth, and learning about us and our company gave me a lot more comfort with the whole project. When I deal with many people, you talk to a designer once, and then they send you four or five things. It was precise to what we wanted, and the heritage concept with our brand was important. They nailed that for us.

How did Lift Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

Budget was 100 percent taken into consideration. Even after, when we were going into printing projects for it – the business cards and other things – they've even sourced options for us. That didn't necessarily fall on the project list. They just did it to smooth things over for us and make it as easy as possible, which was appreciated. As far as everything else, the brand identity guide was the cherry on the top.

We had an in-house graphic designer for our company, who does a lot of the little things, like fliers and things like that. One of the original problems we had, which we couldn't identify, was that we were always searching for something to share, or we were relying on someone else to send the file. Now, having the option of something like that has really solidified my job, so I can send the link to whoever needs it. It has everything listed on how to use the brand, and there's really no questions that come about it.

What distinguishes Lift Interactive from other providers?

Realistically, from what we needed to do so far with them, they've been really good on the graphic and digital aspects. I've seen some other companies, and have some other friends who have worked with them, and they do a lot of research and development on larger government grant projects. They had an open house at their office, and we got to see some more of the work, meet some of the clients they've had, and see how they've had working relationships with them. Being able to connect with a business, having a personal relationship, always makes things a lot more comfortable.

Is there anything Lift Interactive could have improved or done differently?

Not really. I think the focus of their brand, looking at their online aspect, they have a very broad range. I think they leave it open to have the customer contact them. From a client's perspective, I know many people are visual, and they want to know exactly what you can do. They have such a big team, and they can do anything that you want. But, sometimes, people don't understand that just from looking at a company's website.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are owners and operators of a rafting and canoe company in Jasper, Alberta.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lift Interactive?

We had just started a canoe division of our rafting company, and we had worked on WordPress for a while to start our site. We knew that we had to take it to another level, and we wanted to make sure that we could do that for our new brand.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We worked with them on branding and web design, and we're in the process of working on optimization. They built a whole new platform – a brand new site. We worked through Basecamp for communication, which helped us avoid any miscommunication about what we wanted to focus on. The flow of what needed to get done moved quickly due to the process of working with the team through Basecamp. I'm not a big fan of responding to a lot of emails for specific tasks, so that made it a lot easier than what I've dealt with in the past for web development.

How did you come to work with Lift Interactive?

I had seen their site online, and we had heard some good things about them from some local channels in Jasper.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

That information is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

Relationship started about six months ago [April 2015], and is ongoing. We've just ended our busy season, so now we're going to pick up the pace with Lift in the next few weeks [October 2015].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We definitely had a lot of feedback on our site – just on the imagery alone. Lift Interactive put in a lot of time to make it look professional, not something that a bunch of guys from Jasper threw together. The branding that they put together for us has been really in depth. We have lots of options for T-shirts and things like that. It was quite impressive on the whole brand development that they've done for us.

How did Lift Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

They were right on top of project management, the strongest that I've ever worked with in regards to communication and knowing where you stand.

What distinguishes Lift Interactive from other providers?

I like the way that they have specific people working on specific tasks, not one person that's doing a bit of everything. I like how they put people in that position, where they each have specific areas that they focus on. We did have to communicate with a few different people but, in the end, it was great because they were the specialists in their skills.

Is there anything Lift Interactive could have improved or done differently?

Maybe they could have given us other ideas of what they think we should move toward in the future. You use these people because you want to get innovative. You want them to come up with the next best thing or the thing that you should be thinking about. More insight on our next steps would have been great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for Sure Hire Occupational Testing. We do all sorts of occupational testing services for clients. We work primarily with the oil and gas and drilling industries, which involves drug and alcohol, fitness to work, and audio testing. We're across Canada and expanding into the United States next year, and we've been in operation for 12 years

What is your position and responsibilities?

I'm the manager of business and systems analysis. I'm involved in IT [information technology] upgrades and process efficiencies. I find partners to work with to implement efficiencies and technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lift Interactive?

When the company first started, they were working out of a small office. They would book appointments and post results through Outlook, like a calendar. Eventually, that wasn't sufficient enough, so we wanted an application that would allow us to book appointments across Canada, link to our facilities, provide work orders, send out notifications to donors and recruiters, and have that all in one database. We needed the same thing for our results process, software that would allow us to attach result files, post results, and send out notifications and clearance letters.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Lift built both services. We call them Sure Book and Sure Wire. Sure Book does the bookings, and Sure Wire does the results. They launched both for us. For the past year, Lift has been working on combining our two systems into one. That's now completed, and we're in the internal testing phase.

How did you come to work with Lift Interactive?

I wasn't here at that time, but I know we looked at about five for six different providers. Lift provided an RFP [request for proposal] that best suited what we were looking for.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The most recent project was about $46,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe the relationship started in 2004 or 2005, and we are still working with them. We're a pretty dynamic company, and often the changes we request come from client feedback. Lift supports us daily. We've never stopped needing their services because there are always ways to improve.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I have never worked with a company as willing to accommodate and go beyond my expectations as the team at Lift, the people that are steering the project for us. What I value the most is that I can take a business problem to them, and they are able to provide a recommendation with several solutions that are timely and cost efficient.

They strive to keep things under budget, if not on budget, so it's something that's always in the forefront of their mind. Other companies that I've had experiences with have only recommended solutions that are very costly or outside the scope. It was always about how they could make more money as opposed to keeping us under budget and what's best for us in the long run. That's been new for me and something that I value.

For example, if I have a business problem, they will come back and say, "You could do this, but this is what it will cost you. This is a different solution that would be more efficient in the long run." They're able to foresee in the future with regards to growth we would have, because they've been able to watch us grow. They are able to predict things that I can't foresee because I don't have that background. I really appreciate that. They're honestly like a second family to me. I have a really close relationship with the team there.

How did Lift Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

Yes, absolutely. With every request that's put in, I often have a date of launch and they've always delivered.

What distinguishes Lift Interactive from other providers?

The atmosphere in the organization itself is really productive and attractive. Often, when I go there for meetings, I want to stay in Lift Interactive's office and work from there the rest of the day. They are very team oriented. They're not a reactive company, and they don't say yes to everything. They're not afraid to say no, which is something unique, I think. They work with companies that best fit their culture, so a lot of the core values they have align with ours.

Is there anything Lift Interactive could have improved or done differently?

I think they have experts in so many different areas of programming. I wish I could say there was an area in which they lack, but I don't have that experience. They constantly communicate, I'm kept in the loop, and they're very transparent.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for Pinnacle Sportswear & Promotions. We're a branded merchandising company. We've been in business since 1999, and we help businesses promote themselves through products, so any tangible goods they can put their logo onto. We help with product design, art direction, and stuff like that.

What is your position?

I am the sales manager and partner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Lift Interactive?

I've worked with them in a few cases. The original challenge is that they were helping me with my visual identity, and content strategy for online. Also, they did some self-promotional items recently, and I helped them do some merchandising in-house, dealing with their design department. We did some hats, sweaters, and things like that, for the open house they had recently.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They helped us with visual identity; everything from creating a logo mark to the system of how it all works together – the branding. Then, the content strategy would be all encompassing, like the language tone, everything behind your brand, how you communicate with your clients, how you're perceived in the public, and how you differentiate from your competitors. So, basically, all the deliverables that are involved with that – how you should do your signage, how you should be perceived online, and how you should look.

On the product side, more specifically, it was for their launch event, which was just recently, showcasing their new workspace. They did up some headwear, T-shirts, hoodies, and some posters for their office, just to give out to a few people, sell on auction kind of items, and just to create some buzz around their brand and to be recognized in the city.

How did you come to work with Lift Interactive?

It was on a referral basis through another designer. Through an affiliate there, I met their brand director, and through him I met the Lift team. It was through a referral, and we've been working on projects from there.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It totally depends on the project. I'd say they'd be on the medium to high range, compared to their competitors.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together for two years, and the work is ongoing. They're more of an interactive firm, so a lot of times they do a lot of visual identity stuff. Their clients will sometimes need help with merchandising, so they'll pass clients off to me, and we'll work together on stuff. I guess it's an ongoing relationship. How they're helping me right now with my visual identity is still an ongoing work in progress.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

From my angle, I'm dealing with stuff that's already been done, and they are essentially passing it off. I'm doing stuff for them in a way. We're almost working together on projects, and I would say that it's great. With visual identity, they're awesome for sure. Lift Interactive is very professional, and they have a good team behind them. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the way it's been going so far.

What distinguishes Lift Interactive from other providers?

Like with any good team, it's probably their approach. It's very human, and it seems like it's super chill. It's not strict at all. They've got a good group of people. Quite a younger firm, I'd say. Even the president [Micah Slavens] is a younger guy, so there's a very youthful feel. It doesn't seem like anything is in that need of a rush, ever, but they get it done. They kind of calm me down a little bit because I'm running around all the time.

Is there anything Lift Interactive could have improved or done differently?

At this point, I don't really have any constructive criticism at all. I haven't worked with them enough to give them anything negative. Everything's been positive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Director, Marketing of Explore Edmonton

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Destination Marketing Organization

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Lift Interactive Inc. to accomplish?

• Website design
• Digital campaign
• Graphic design and branding

SOLUTION

How did you find Lift Interactive Inc.?

Long-term partner

Why did you select Lift Interactive Inc. over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Lift Interactive Inc. were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We've contracted Lift Interactive for ongoing work supporting our owned event brands, including website design, digital campaign strategy and management, event branding and design production.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Website visitors

Campaign impressions and conversions

Ticket sales

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

Project management is where Lift completely excels. The use of online project management tools and shockingly speedy response times make managing projects with Lift enjoyable!

What was your primary form of communication with Lift Interactive Inc.?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Lift is equally invested in the success of our brands as we are. They are true partners who care deeply about the outcomes of our web, digital marketing and branding projects. We're proud to have them as partners, and the strong relationships we've built between our teams have been instrumental in our continued success.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Lift Interactive Inc. could have done differently?

N/A