The team is absolutely thrilled to have won the 2019 Toronto Star Reader’s Choice Videography Service award! Thank you to everyone who voted for us. With this win, we were given the opportunity to have a sponsored article with the Toronto Star. Nicholas spoke about the importance of listening to our customers and ensuring we tailor our services to fit the needs of each unique client.
Toronto Star: Listening to Customers key to Archipelago’s Video Success
In the competitive video market, it takes a lot to stand out from the crowd. But the foundation of Archipelago Production’s success — and part of why it received a Diamond award in the Readers’ Choice awards’ videography category — comes down to a simple concept: listening.
“It’s a simple trick — listen to the customers and absorb what they need,” explained Nicholas Bradford-Ewart, producer at Archipelago Productions. “Once you’ve listened enough you can translate their vision to the screen.”
Bradford-Ewart explained that their company name is representative of its philosophy — they choose not to specialize in any one area, believing that bringing people together with different interests and skill sets makes for a stronger whole.
“We work on documentaries, profiles, narrative stories, experience videos, case studies, and social media” he said. “Having that variety baked in is a good thing for the client as it allows us to use our skills in a variety of ways.”
The company works with everyone from not-for-profit organizations — traditionally with smaller budgets — to larger corporations. They are a Google Canada-preferred video vendor and they approach every project from that perspective.
“We try to treat every customer like a Google,” Bradford-Ewart said. “For example, we’re working with a non-profit and we love what they do, but they have a limited budget. But we’re committed to doing whatever we can to make it work for them.
“We want to make our clients look good to their bosses and customers.”
Their customer-centric focus and commitment to listening means that there is no formulaic approach to how they work — resulting in videos that are tailored to each client’s needs.
“We don’t make things according to a cookie-cutter approach; we don’t try to presume what our clients need,” he said.
And that’s why earning this type of customer-driven recognition is so important.
“[Customer referrals and recognition are] absolutely essential to our business. We will live and die on our reputation,” Bradford-Ewart added. “We’re just really grateful to have received this award. And we’re going to keep doing what got us there in the first place — listening to our clients.”