Why Choosing the Right CGI Vendor Matters
We understand that Marketing Directors play a key role in selecting the right CGI vendor or agency to bring their ideas to life and create an attractive package for future developments. This article serves as a "HOW NOT TO" guide, compiling information about potential risks, miscommunications, and issues that may arise during the onboarding and production phases. These are important considerations and questions to discuss with your vendors before getting started.
Onboarding Stage: Setting Expectations and Avoiding Early Mistakes
Onboarding Stage - This phase involves exchanging files and ideas, usually beginning with a kickoff meeting to clarify needs and set expectations.
Risks at this stage:
- Lack of attention to detail
- Unclear processes and management
- Unclear pricing policies
Advice: When selecting a studio, consider the consistency of their pitch, their past case studies, their understanding of the subject, and whether they offer a unique vision. While it’s natural to compare your project’s volume with their past work, it’s crucial to understand their approach and determine if they truly grasp the process. Ensure that the workflow is clear, transparent, and easy to navigate. The process should be accommodating for everyone involved in decision-making.
Be cautious of freelance-based companies, as they may not guarantee consistent quality. If your project is long-term and involves creating a series of images, films, tours, floor plans, and more, you could experience fluctuations in quality, missed deadlines, and a lack of communication and responsiveness.
Production Stage: Controlling Quality and Process
Production Stage - This is where the actual creation of your product takes place. Predictable results and some level of control over the creation process are crucial.
Common Risks During Onboarding
Risks at this stage:
- Lack of attention to detail
- Quality not meeting expectations (refer to our article about quality on our blog)
- Disappointment during each review round
- Lack of excitement about the product
How to Evaluate a Creative Supplier Before Starting
Advice: Our job is to excite you. It has to be that way. You’re investing in a high-value real estate asset, diving into a competitive market, and in the early stages, visuals are what give you confidence that your project will succeed. It’s something that can ignite new curiosity, and we often see clients fall in love with their projects during this stage. The quality of visualization is the main tool to achieve that.
When choosing a vendor, assess the workflow and try to understand if the process is smooth and reflects the professionalism of the team. Can you clearly see the difference between phases, and is that difference worth the investment? Pay close attention to the quality of color setup, composition, and, of course, detail. Textures in your renderings should look photorealistic, the design in your interiors should be spot on, and each image should have a clear goal in terms of what it conveys to your customer. Quality truly matters, especially when your property is valued at over $50 million.
Delivery Stage: Final Results and Common Pitfalls
Delivery Stage - The final stage involves receiving the content, launching a press release, establishing the website, organizing a presentation event, and sharing the product with stakeholders.
Typical Delivery Risks
Risks at this stage:
- Missed deadlines
- Disappointment in the quality
- Visuals that don’t fit your print collateral design or website
How to Ensure a Successful Final Delivery
Advice: Disappointment usually doesn’t arise at the final delivery stage; it tends to occur in the middle of production. Clients often request additional feedback rounds and invest time in delving deeper into the production process to improve results. The final CGIs must reflect your ideas; they need to be bold, crisp, and attention-grabbing, but most importantly, they must captivate your clients. If the previous stages went smoothly, you should be satisfied with the results.
How to Choose a Reliable CGI Partner
When choosing a vendor, gather more information on how their process works. Ask to see results from different stages to understand their workflow, and look for CGIs on their website. Good referrals are also valuable for gauging trust and campaign success. Find a vendor who can provide educational information, guide you through the process, and explain how production works, including why their pricing is high or low. Understand where they see value and what their unique selling proposition (USP) is.
What “High-End” Service Really Means in CGI
Of course, most vendors will claim to provide high-end service, but does everyone truly understand what "high-end" means? It’s crucial for the team to understand their core values, strengths, and weaknesses, and why you should choose them over others.
