Disruptive Advertising

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager for a managed service provider for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We were looking for another partner to help us with PPC. We had worked with other PPC service providers but the outcomes and customer service weren’t good.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we started the process, Disruptive Advertising went through a rather intensive onboarding with the website overview and what we were looking for. They did a lot of competitive research. They specifically manage our PPC on Google Ads primarily, as well as Bing Ads. The team has created landing pages on-demand.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had two one-on-one account managers, but we’ve also interacted with several other teammates.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I looked at Clutch reviews and spoke to three providers. We ultimately chose Disruptive Advertising.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $65,000, including ad spend.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We look to get about two leads per month. It’s been a challenging year, so we haven’t quite met the metric. Given our business, it’s not easy to get leads this way. However, we’ve been happy with the leads we’ve had, even though we’re not where we want to be.

We’ve gotten several new clients out of this engagement. The team has done very well. They’re proactive and put in a lot of effort, which, based on previous experience, counts for a lot.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform extremely well, and our account manager communicates frequently. She always has the updated analytics and gives us access to that information. We also have wrap-up calls every other week with updates and analytics, and they tell us what’s going on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service is quite good. The team works very hard not to waste our funds and to direct them appropriately or make changes where needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. I have a lot of confidence in our account manager’s skills.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand that it’s a long term service with no immediate fix. Don’t expect immediate results because you’re not likely to get them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Refloor provides replacement hardwood flooring to homeowners in the Detroit Metro Area. I serve as their Chief Marketing Officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising, and what were your goals?

Our PPC campaigns were not generating enough leads at a low enough cost per lead. We felt like we were leaving money on the table. Our previous agency was also not able to integrate our google campaigns into salesforce to better understand what terms were converting from clicks to google conversions to actual appointments and sales.

We needed to find a new PPC agency who could review our strategy and implement enhanced tracking metrics.

SOLUTION

How did you select Disruptive Advertising and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed several different companies. Disruptive was recommended to us through a business associate.

We ultimately chose them because of our confidence that they understood PPC, recognized that we measured success on appointments (not clicks or google conversions) and they understood how to link our google campaigns to our salesforce account.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Disruptive immediately took over our existing campaigns, and over the first month worked on streamlining it by eliminating poor performing keywords, updating our ad copy and creating new segments for targeting. They also implemented a retargeting campaign.

On the analytics side, they worked with our internal IT department and website manager to create tracking codes to link Google Ads to Salesforce through our Zapier account. We also built and tested a new landing page in the first month.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had an account manager and an IT lead who we met with on a regular basis. They were supported by a number of other internal resources - 2 or 3 of whom we met at the beginning of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Since we started, our CPL has come down nearly 20% and our CPS improved by 8%. That's only in the first month. In month two we saw an additional CPL decrease of 25% and CPS improvement of another 6%. Plus, they are great to work with, incredibly responsive and constantly pushing us to try new tactics.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

We have a monthly meeting to outline strategic goals for the month, and then weekly meetings to discuss progress. We rely on email for most communication, with an online dashboard to track results.

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

It feels like they actually care about our success, and are in the trenches with us. Their responsiveness has been excellent, and they have taken the time to learn our business and what really matters for our success.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not yet, no.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a Cosmetic/Skincare brand that's looking to grow our revenue through PPC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising, and what were your goals?

We had worked with 2 other PPC agencies that didn't really understand our products or take the time to ask us so they could understand what they were trying to market We found Disruptive via their Cluctch.co ranking and reviews.

SOLUTION

How did you select Disruptive Advertising and what were the deciding factors?

Yes and no. We're still trying to figure things out but they are very active and involved in the process. They take the time to try to understand what they're marketing and if something is not working they always have ideas on tests that we can do to figure things out. So far we've had good and bad months but seem to be making upward progress

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

Take our assets and grow our ROI and ROAS via Facebook and Google ads

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I think 3. The first was sales that explained what Disruptive does and how they do it; the 2nd is the business manager that we work with on a weekly basis and I think there's a 3rd person in the background

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We're still working on figuring things out so we've had good and bad months

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

They're responsive, organized, and pretty creative.

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

Since they have a large team with specialized departments their creatives look much better than something another agency would come up with because the person coming up with it also managed the placement of the ads and did everything else.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not sure. Can't think of anything right now

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We hold trainings for adults on how to teach yoga to children. Additionally, we have summer camps and merchandise, and more. I’m the director of marketing. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We ran out of marketing bandwidth internally. In particular, we didn’t have someone who was an expert in Google Ads, despite our monthly spending. We were hoping to outsource those services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We outsourced our PPC work to them, giving them access to our Google Ads account. They ran an audit and returned to us with a scope of work based around boosting visibility and training sales. 

However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced lockdowns before they were able to launch a campaign. They’ve worked flexibly with us to accommodate our shift in business, promoting our online products.  

What is the team composition?

We kicked off the sales process with Dawson (PPC Strategist), who answered preliminary questions about the engagement from my CEO and me. Once we got up and running, we started working most closely with Summer (Marketing Analyst).

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I did a Google search for top Google Ads managers for small businesses. Their site popped up, which was impressive for a competitive search query. I vetted three other potential agencies as well as a freelancer. 

Their team stood out with their willingness to leverage their creative team at no additional cost for the campaign. Creative can be expensive, but they recognize that campaigns won’t be successful without compelling creative. Their creative offerings is definitely a considerable strength of theirs.  

How much have you invested with them?

We have a rolling Google Ads management contract with them. To date, we’ve spent about $10,500 on their fees.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We measure success through cost per conversion and ROI. Our ROI has always been above 100% with them, even during the very difficult time of transitioning our business model at the start of the pandemic. They’ve been attentive in making sure conversion tracking is accurate and effective.  

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

We appreciate their flexibility in not holding us to the originally-proposed scope when the pandemic affected our business objectives. That helped us be successful. I imagine that we’ll adjust the scope of work again when the pandemic ends. They’ve gone above and beyond with additional testing and research to help us be successful in unprecedented times.

Summer goes beyond the call of duty for even the best account managers I know. We communicate on a weekly basis. Every month, I receive a strategy deck with brilliant ideas. She also sends helpful follow-ups after meetings with detailed summaries of what we covered. After determining next steps, she gets tasks done in a very efficient, impressive manner.   

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don’t treat us like a small account. Outside of our account manager, their management team has reached out to us to make sure our work is progressing smoothly. On our last call, they eve provided some great ideas about shifting mindsets with regard to our business. They’ve been incredibly helpful.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

They haven’t tried selling us on any other services. At this point, I don’t think we’d take them up on it anyway, so they may just be reading our situation well. However, offering other services may be a good idea in their work with other clients.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear on your goals and what metrics you’ll be using to measure success.  

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CDO (Chief Digital Officer) at Odney and I'm in charge of developing strategic marketing initiatives for our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising, and what were your goals?

We worked with Disruptive Advertising to help us manage some of our larger accounts due to the size of the budget in relation to our team. Our goal was to make sure we provided the most efficient strategy for our clients in terms of CPC (cost per click) and ROAS (return on ad spend).

SOLUTION

How did you select Disruptive Advertising and what were the deciding factors?

I was referred to them by a colleague in the business and after meeting with their team, we gave them a test run with one of our initiatives. The results were much better than expected and better than what we see as an industry average and because of this, we have been working with them for a variety of clients.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and campaigns.

They worked with us to mutually develop strategy, set budgets, and guidelines as we worked through the project. They also worked with us on the individual tactics and ads based on the overall goal. Once everything was ready to go, they allowed us final approval and met every deadline. Each campaign has been a success.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We were assigned a primary contact to communicate with on a regular basis as well as other team members based on any adjustments that may be needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We saw a 30% decrease in CPC on average for each of the clients while continuing to explore new campaign options based on their prior experience. This relationship has been an overwhelming success for us!

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

They have been great at managing clients and campaigns and we often touch base over the phone to make sure everything is going great for both parties.

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

Their level and breadth of knowledge have been refreshing and they were great at communicating throughout the process.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing to improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and founder of Transfer Studio Inc., which is a D2C (direct-to-consumer) brand of golf products. Our main product is a tattoo for the golf ball.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

As the digital marketplace and the world changed, I wanted to expand our awareness through digital advertising. We wanted to generate a greater return on our advertising investment. Although I managed digital advertising myself and making money, it became more and more complicated and time-consuming. I wanted to outsource it to experts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Disruptive Advertising manages our paid Google and Facebook ad initiatives. Their team works on PPC campaigns, not SEO initiatives. They create ads based on the information I give them. We also created some videos with them.

What is the team composition?

Between 6–7 different members of Disruptive Advertising team have helped me. Currently, I work with two marketing specialists.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I researched digital advertising and a company that had success with them recommended Disruptive Advertising to me. I then directly reached out to them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $40,000 on their services thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I wish I found Disruptive Advertising earlier. We have much better results than we previously received. During certain periods, our results increased 9–10 times over. Although that isn’t the average, we still have a great average. Their team makes us money.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team makes project management easy. We communicate via email and have a phone call with our agents twice a month. Their follow-up is good. If I want a question answered, they’re responsive. Disruptive Advertising also has an internal documentation process through which they send us strategy reports for us to approve.

There was turnover, which was the only challenge. We worked with consultants who understood us but then received a promotion or moved on somewhere else. However, turnover is natural.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m still happy after working with them for more than two years; that should tell you something. If I didn’t think this was valuable, I’d shop around. I’m confident that I’m getting top-level support. The results are impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m satisfied but it would be helpful if they reported on ad sped so I didn’t have to dig up my own figures, which I told them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you're capable of doing so, try digital advertising yourself to set a baseline. It’s also important to budget and to know that you’ll need to spend money on the project. If you don’t set a decent budget, you probably won’t achieve great results. If you do that and allow a few months for setup, you should see results because Disruptive Advertising does a great job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior manager of compliance and marketing for a gourmet food production company. We make dipping oils, season cooking oils, spices, herbs, and rubs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We hired Disruptive Advertising to help us with PPC.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hoping to grow traffic to our site, they set up Google Smart Shopping for our Google Ads campaigns. In addition to managing our account, they identified keywords to target and created a rotation of paid ads.

If a holiday was approaching, they asked about what promotions we were offering. If we were, their team created ads that feature our sales.

What is the team composition?

I worked primarily with Tim (Marketing Consultant), Court (Marketing Consultant), and Cory (VP of Operations).  

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I found them through a Google search. I spent about six weeks researching different companies and met with several team. Disruptive Advertising seemed to have small businesses’ interests at heart. They were one of the few companies willing to work within our budget.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2019 and our contract ended in December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Overall, we’ve seen a 10%–12% increase in retail orders through our website, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Disruptive Advertising helped make our platform more visible.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

I loved working with Tim. We spoke once a month to discuss our goals, what they were doing, and how to utilize our budget. He was very organized and delivered everything on time.

His communication was fantastic. I could call or email him if I needed something, and he responded immediately. He also regularly reached out to me if I was late for a meeting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From the beginning of the project, they consistently went above and beyond for us. They were willing to take on a challenge and did the best with what they had.

They always put in extra work to show how much they cared about their customers. For example, we were still in the onboarding process when I had a family emergency. They send me flowers, a blanket, and a card, and were constantly checking in to see if I needed help with anything. It was clear that we weren’t just a client to them; they cared about us as people too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn’t anything they need to improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If they ask you to do something, do it as quickly as possible. They often had to wait for me to do things, and that made the project more difficult for them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a skincare company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We’re a small company that tends to do everything in-house. But, advertising is something that I obviously don’t know anything about. I decided not to tackle it and, instead, started looking for an advertising company that could handle that for me.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Disruptive Advertising handles my marketing and paid advertising needs. When we first came on board with them, there was a team meeting where their members introduced themselves and described what their roles would be. That included social media, email, and Google Ads. From there, we just went into it and have continued since.

The only things that they need my input on are our social media posts and emails. They come up with the campaigns and graphics, which I then approve. If I have an opinion, I’m free to give my input. As far as Google advertising goes, there’s really nothing for me to do. They’ve taken over the reins.

It’s really easy on my part because they take care of everything for me before I review it. Because they’re so talented, everything always looks great. There’s not much to change on my part. 

What is the team composition? 

I work with three people. Tim P. (Marketing Consultant) runs our Google Ads, Kimberly (Marketing Consultant) does our emails, and a third person who handles our social media. 

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

They were actually the first advertising agency that we’ve ever hired, so we were going into something that we hadn’t done before.

I found them online through one of their ads. Because I’d been shopping around, I started to see more suggestions pop up on Google, including one for Disruptive Advertising. I looked through everything that they did, checked out their reviews, and it just clicked for me.

Everyone always makes me suspicious when I’m searching for new companies because people inflate what they can do. It’s never how it’s presented in real life — at least, as far as my experience. But, when I went over their reviews and portfolio, they seemed different. I’d say that they were more legitimate and professional, and that turned out to be the case.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the partnership in November 2019, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Everything they’ve come up with has been great, so far. My main goal is to focus more on sales directed to our website rather than our other accounts on Amazon, Walmart, and Newegg. Month over month, they’ve delivered that. We’re seeing an increase in visitors and sales, so their strategies are definitely working.

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

What I like best about them are their professionalism and reliability. It’s a pretty well-run ship. Everything is on a strict schedule with them. We have our meetings where they give me weekly updates on where our campaigns are, so I never wonder what’s going on. Rather than having me chase them down, they always come to me with updates at the same time and day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Trust is the number one thing. I have to be able to trust a company to work with them. With something like advertising, you have to be really careful. Not only is it the company’s responsibility to protect your brand, but you also don’t want to have them spend a lot of money recklessly, which could get you in trouble.  

I trust Disruptive Advertising to be on the same page with me. They always get my permission before making any changes, so I don’t have to worry about anything going wrong on that end.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It might be helpful for them to do short training tutorials for customers who aren’t familiar with how social, email, and Google advertising works. 

I was familiar with Facebook ads because I tried it out myself, and we’d worked with another provider previously on promotional emails, but I didn’t know anything about Google Ads. I’m still learning, too. Having a tutorial would help me understand 100% how everything works and how Disruptive Advertising does things.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If there’s anything that you don’t understand, ask about it. The more you understand, the better it is for everyone. You can’t give them the right feedback when they’re giving you stats if you can’t understand what they’re trying to tell you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing for the Texas Home School Coalition. We’re a nonprofit organization working to educate and provide benefits and resources to homeschool families in Texas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Disruptive Advertising?

We wanted to target the right people and create effective workflows and communication given that we’re a small nonprofit.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Disruptive Advertising helped us build paid social media and Google Ad campaigns. From there, we've added on some services that they offer, including generating content and workflows for membership email campaigns and promotional email campaigns.

They help us budget for and build out our content plans. We provide a few assets, but the team provides the static and some video content for our Facebook campaigns and paid ads. For Google Ads, they help us budget, build out a timeline, and analyze our results. 

We recently created a campaign for providing a video series to potential prospective members, and they helped to build out additional landing pages and email templates for that workflow.

What is the team composition?

We have a dedicated account manager and email account manager.

How did you come to work with Disruptive Advertising?

I began working at the organization in September 2020, so we had already worked with Disruptive Advertising. My understanding is that they were recommended to us by some partners in the industry.

When I came on, I asked them about their email services because we didn’t have the resources for lead generation and lead nurturing. We liked what they had to say, so we added that service within the last two months. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $25,000–$40,000 a year. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

On most of our campaigns, we see at least a two-time return on ad spend, which we’re really happy with. We feel like that’s very strong, given that it hasn’t even been a full year. 

We are seeing an increase, and we've taken a couple of risks that we knew starting out would give us a lower return on ad spend. For our industry,  if we have a breakeven or a one to one return, we’re doing well. 

For our recent video series campaign, Disruptive Advertising went above and beyond to work with us and provided hours that weren't necessarily within the scope of work because that's what we needed. They understood that as a small nonprofit, our budget has a cap. 

How did Disruptive Advertising perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is great. It’s a very collaborative process. We meet with them every week for about an hour. Disruptive Advertising updates us on what they’re doing, talks through suggestions, and allows us to educate them on our marketing goals, which they use to build out the campaigns. 

They dedicate the time to make sure that they understand our overall objectives. We gave them access to our HubSpot account, so we’re able to see as they’re building things out. We have regular communication via email, and they also give us weekly face-to-face updates.

We also have a Google Doc where Disruptive Advertising puts in their metrics, and they also give us a monthly presentation of the strategy and results from the previous month.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I love their personal touch. We have face-to-face meetings every week, which is something you don’t really get from a lot of agencies. They're willing to listen to what we do, even though it may not be that interesting to people who aren’t involved in homeschooling. We have a real relationship with our account managers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. Anytime we come across something that we feel needs to be improved, Disruptive Advertising addresses it immediately. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make your objectives clear, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. Disruptive Advertising will work with you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company is a virtual office provider. I am the owner and founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Disruptive Advertising?

We hired Disruptive to help us revamp our online presence and drive more prospects to the website.

What were your goals for this project?

My goal for the project is to increase sales for the company and to increase the perceived trustworthiness and professionalism of the perception of the company.

SOLUTION

How did you select Disruptive Advertising?

I selected Disruptive based on the chemistry with the team which I think is the most important part of working with others to attain a common goal. I feel that they understand the goal and provide me with constructive feedback to achieve the goals. The goals change as we dive further into the project and discuss what we all think is best for the pathway to the goal.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Disruptive came on as the paid marketing vendor and has evolved in such a short time to become a mentor to me to understand how the psychology behind a purchase works in the current online environment.

What was the team composition?

The team is made up of many people, and my main points of contact are Heather and Melaina. They bring in other team members based on what we are discussing and the team members they bring in always add to the discussion and give us more insight into the areas we are focused on improving.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have not had any sales from these efforts yet, but I am sure that they are coming. Their team is very well-organized and I can tell that everybody is true to owning which aspects they see as strengths and know who is going to perform best to achieve consistent progress in building up the foundation for a strong marketing campaign.

The synergy in their team is evident and helps me feel comfortable that it was a good decision to decide to work with them. Heather Neilsen and I have had the most communication throughout the process, and it has been a very personally rewarding experience to share my project with her since I can tell she truly cares about our success.

I am excited to continue the positive growth with Disruptive and to develop relationships with other members of their team. I can tell they are really knowledgeable and that I am in good hands with not only Heather, but also with Melaina, Devin, and their extended team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow has been great, they are very ready and willing to help me with everything. Even topics that have nothing to do with marketing, like web development or simply understanding how and why things work are always covered fully and our communication is straight-forward with no games. We are still working on getting things going, but so far it has been a positive experience every time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their company culture, even amidst covid and "work from home", they are a solid team that appears to be in constant communication and staying productive throughout their day.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'd love to see more of their capabilities, so I think an area for improvement is to really communicate all of the different helpful skills that they have so we can continue to grow together and involve other departments or associates in our work.

I have almost every time found out that their team has ABC capability and meet others who are able to help us grow and achieve more in our vision for the company. Perhaps a list of resources or to set up quick "zoom dates" with each of the different people who can add to the project would be beneficial.