How We Tailor Our Process to Fit Clients' Needs

At CounterTake, we pride ourselves on adapting our approach to satisfy the specific and unique needs of our clients. This philosophy is especially crucial when working direct-to-client. Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, and their experience with video production can vary significantly. As we’ve handled more direct-to-client projects over the years, we have learned how to adapt our own capabilities to provide and facilitate whatever it is that each client requires. 

What we expect from clients

In an ideal direct-to-client situation, an in-house marketing team would come to us with market research, a strategy for audience targeting and market positioning, and a creative concept for a video. The reality is that a client having all of that in hand is rarely the case. And that’s ok! We understand that for some businesses video advertising may be seldom called for, and that they may not have extensive experience with the production process. We are more than happy to assist in any way, and we have an extensive network of freelance collaborators to fill in in any areas requiring expertise beyond our own. 

Identifying a client's needs

As an example of what this bespoke approach can be in practice, we recently worked with Leviton, a company who makes a wide range of products for the electrical industry. They were looking to make a video for a specific product, the Leviton Load Center, an innovative and modern breaker box panel. The team we were working with had done some video production in the past, and they expressed that they had been unsatisfied with the collaboration with their past video partners. Specifically, they felt that their previous producers had not brought enough creativity to the table, acting as executors more than creative partners. They were looking for a video production team that could add value to the creative development side of the process, not just to execute a fully developed concept.  

When the team contacted us, they had a target audience and a marketing positioning strategy, both great jumping off points for the creative process. They wanted the video to target electricians and contractors primarily, with a secondary focus on homeowners and developers. They sought to position the product as modern and versatile, without coming across as overly high-tech (complicated) or ultra-luxe (expensive). In addition, they had a general outline for the video, structured around the product features they wanted to highlight. 

Our process in action

With these materials in hand, our team at CounterTake set about writing a script. We conducted our own research on the product and the market as a whole, identifying both selling and pain points customers experienced with this product and its competitors. Our script went through several rounds of client feedback and revision, working to create a final product that both hit on every important technical aspect, while remaining clear and concise enough to make for an engaging video. While writing the voiceover script, we were also developing ideas for the visuals, discussing the clearest way to portray the written ideas and to transition from one idea to the next. 

Similarly, the production of the video was a thoroughly collaborative effort, working with the client at all stages to ensure their vision was being achieved. In the end, this process produced a clear, polished, and engaging video to serve as a valuable marketing asset for the Leviton Load Center. By combining the client’s understanding of their product and market with CounterTake’s experience in creative production, we were able to facilitate a robust collaborative process and deliver a finished product that surpassed the client’s expectations at the outset. 

Creativity through collaboration

Every project is different, and every client is unique.  The key to a successful collaboration is building the process around each partner’s strengths, and focusing on the needs at the core of the ask. When we are brought in early, we can spot opportunities to add value by solving needs creatively, finding efficiencies, and streamlining tricky concepting. At CounterTake, we are committed to making sure our partners get the strongest possible product out of their efforts.

The Leviton Load Center Video