7/28/2019 Hightail Case Study: CHI&Partners
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HIGHTAIL
CHI & Partners: Ad AgencyGlobal marketing and communications
agency improved how they worked
with clients thanks to Hightail.
THE PROBLEM
Creating a great marketing campaign is a team effort.
Getting the right message to the right audience involves a
meeting of minds between a clients marketing strategists
and an agencys creative and media teams, plus input from
a host of external producers, freelancers and vendors.
This is how global agency CHI & Partners has developed
successful work for the likes of Best Buy, Samsung andBritish
Gas. Our process for getting to big ideas, explains
CHI & Partners IT Manager Andrew Freiberger, involves
open and honest collaboration between clients, the agency
and partners. Key to this is the ability to share large
files
such as presentations, advertisements, video and audio
files effortlessly, rapidly and securely on an ad hoc basis.
The agency had been signed up to an expensive FTP
service but, when the license came up for renewal, Andrew
decided to investigate other options. My concern was that it
wasnt being used intensively, he says. I felt we ought to
have a look at other products that our employees were
more likely to use.
THE SOLUTION
A number of people at CHI & Partners suggested Hightail
and Andrew took a free trial to test it out. After
beingimpressed by its ease of use, he investigated whether it
was a solution that would work across the whole agency
and found that Hightail could quickly and easily integrate
with the companys existing IT systems. It meant we
wouldnt have to worry about managing the system on a
day-to-day basis, Andrew adds.
The entire implementation process, from deciding to use
Hightail to having it up and running across the whole
agency, only took a couple of weeks. The service was
quickly embraced and used daily by nearly every employee
at each office around the world. Andrew reports that CHI
&
Partners 200 employees shared close to 4,000 files via
Hightail in one month.
A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNFor the agencys creative directors, graphic
designers and
producers, Hightail provided a huge boost to their
efficiency
and productivity. It was now much easier to share large
media files with colleagues, clients and contractors, while
all
project material could be accessed from anywhere,
including mobile phones and tablets. Creative teams can
edit high-resolution graphics and raw HD videos, while
creative directors and clients can review changes instantly
and approve or give feedback.
Case Study: CHI & Partners
Founded: 2001
What they do: Global marketing and communications agency
No. of employees: 200
Learn more at: www.chiandpartners.com
Every department at CHI & Partners began using Hightail
with the same enthusiasm as the creative teams, from
account management to finance, IT and human resources.
It helped that training or helpdesk support was rarely
needed to get an individual started, but Andrew gives a lot
of credit to Hightails Microsoft Outlook plugin.
One of the things I like most about Hightail is that its
quite
discreet, he explains. For our Windows-based users, it
sits as a plug-in on your Outlook application and if you
happen to send an attachment over 10 megabytes in size, it
just kicks in and does what it needs to do. Most
importantly,
it doesnt require that people change the way they work;rather,
it complements the way they work. They dont need
to learn a new technology. It makes them more productive
in their jobs. And thats really what you want from a
solution
like this.
MOBILE MARKETING
Hightails range of mobile apps has also proved popular
with staff at CHI & Partners, especially with the
executive
team. Frequently on the road speaking to potential new
clients and other partners, most of the execs now use iPads
to deliver presentations. The Hightail app allows them to
ensure they always have the latest version at hand and
helps them easily communicate any updates with
colleagues, no matter where they are in the world.
PROVIDING LIFETIME VALUE
For Andrew, widespread adoption and increased
productivity means joining Hightail has been a huge
success. We even learned that we could custom brand it,
he adds, which was an added plus from our perspective.
Hightail is one of those wonderful tools that makes you
wonder how you ever got along without it in the first place.
Once you start using it, you cant imagine not having it.
